12/03/2026
📸 We are back!
After a short break following Christmas (and, to be honest, some internal discussions as well), we are ready to continue our series of public history posts exploring the shared cultural heritage of the First World War in the Balkans.
👥 Today we focus on some of the smaller ethnic communities of the region, often squeezed between the dominant national groups.
🗺️ The expulsion of the Ottoman Empire from the Balkans, a vast multi-ethnic empire, gave rise to new nation-states. Yet these states inherited territories inhabited by a complex mix of peoples. During Ottoman rule, the main divisions between populations were largely based on religion (Christians, Muslims, Jews, and others). With the creation of nation-states, however, ethnicity and nationality became increasingly important, often creating tensions between dominant national groups and smaller communities that found themselves marginalised.
🧭 In reality, identifying people’s nationality was far from simple. Communities lived side by side, sharing languages, customs, and economic activities, and their identities were often fluid. When the Allied armies arrived in the region in 1915, they attempted to classify these populations. These distinctions were used not only for statistical and administrative purposes, but also to assess which groups might be friendly or hostile to the Entente, and therefore considered higher or lower security risks.
📑 As a result, Allied lists and reports, whether concerning labour recruitment, wounded civilians, or suspected espionage, carefully categorised people into groups such as Vlachs, Aromanians, Macedonians, Jews, and others. Many of these communities did not yet fit neatly into the national narratives of the new Balkan states that replaced the Ottoman Empire. They lived alongside Albanians, Greeks, Serbs, Montenegrins, Bulgarians, and Turks, forming the complex social mosaic of the region.
📷 In the photograph we share today, the Allied photographer identifies the woman as “Kautso-Vlach.” The image was taken mainly for ethnographic documentation, capturing an everyday practice of Vlach pastoral life.
🐑 The Vlachs of Greece, traditionally shepherding communities, practiced seasonal transhumance, moving their flocks mainly from the plains of Thessaly to the mountains of Macedonia during the summer months. The journey usually began at the end of April, with the return taking place around late October. Entire families travelled together with their animals, and the migration could last 30–40 days on foot.
🏛️ Today, this seasonal movement of herds, a tradition shared across several Balkan countries, is recognised as part of the region’s intangible cultural heritage, reminding us how deeply connected the peoples of the Balkans have always been through everyday practices and ways of life.
✨ Stay tuned for more stories from the archives of the Great War and the shared histories of the Balkans.
JOIST
Πανεπιστήμιο Πατρών University of Patras
ИЕФЕМ - БАН / IEFSEM - BAS
Филозофски факултет - Скопје
Филозофски Факултет Бг
Maja Vasiljevic
