Arnaut

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Turkish ethnonym used to denote Albanians

title: "Arnaut" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["turkish-words-and-phrases", "albanian-people"] description: "Turkish ethnonym used to denote Albanians" topic_path: "geography/turkey" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnaut" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Turkish ethnonym used to denote Albanians ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Arnaut-in-Cairo.jpg" caption="''Arnaut'' in [[Cairo]], a painting by [[Jean-Léon Gérôme"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Prayer_in_the_House_of_the_Arnaut_Chief_by_Jean-Léon_Gérôme.jpg" caption="''Prayer in the house of an Arnaut chief'', by [[Jean-Léon Gérôme]], 1857."] ::

Arnaut () is a Turkish ethnonym used to denote Albanians. Arvanid (اروانيد), Arnavud (آرناوود), plural: Arnavudlar (آرناوودلر): modern Turkish: Arnavut, plural: Arnavutlar; are ethnonyms used mainly by Ottoman and contemporary Turks for Albanians with Arnavutça being called the Albanian language. 'Albanian' (Arnavud) was one of the few ethnic markers normally used, besides the regular religious labels, for the identification of people in official record of the Ottoman state.

Arnavudluk (آرناوودلق) was the Ottoman Turkish geographical designation of the Albanian regions, including areas such as present-day Albania, Kosovo, western North Macedonia, southern Serbia, southern Montenegro and parts of northern Greece.

Etymology

The Turkish ethnonym Arnaut is derived from Arnavut, obtained through metathesis (-van- to -nav-) of the Byzantine Greek ethnonym Ἀρβανίτης Arvanítis, "Albanian", which evolved from Ancient Greek Ἀλβανίτης (approx. "Albanítes", which in turn derived from Ἀλβανός Albanós), through the evolution of the sound "β" from in Ancient Greek to in Byzantine Greek. A related Greek term is Arvanites.

The Ottoman Turks borrowed their name for Albanians after hearing it from the Byzantine Greeks.

Usage

Ethnic marker

During the Ottoman era, the name was used for ethnic Albanians regardless of their religious affiliations, just like it is today.

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, due to socio-political disturbances by some Albanians in the Balkans, the term was used as an ethnic marker for Albanians in addition to the usual millet religious terminology to identify people in Ottoman state records. While the term used in Ottoman sources for the country was Arnavudluk (آرناوودلق) for areas such as modern Albania, Western Macedonia, Southern Serbia, Kosovo, parts of northern Greece and southern Montenegro. The name Arnavutluk for Albanian regions was a geographical designation, while Arnavud kavmı was an ethnic designation, with kavimiyet meaning 'ethnicity'. In modern Turkish Arnavutluk refers only to the Republic of Albania.

Transfer to other languages

The term Arnā'ūṭ (الأرناؤوط) also entered the Arabic language as an exonym for Albanian communities that settled in the Levant during the Ottoman era onward, especially for those residing in Syria. The term Arnaut (Арнаут), plural: Arnauti (Арнаути) has also been borrowed into Balkan South Slavic languages like Bulgarian and within Serbian the term has also acquired pejorative connotations regarding Albanians.

North Pontic coast and Ukraine

During the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) (before the first annexation of Crimea), many Albanians who fought on the Ottoman side switched sides and were resettled along the Southern Bug from Voznesensk to Mykolaiv. Along with the local population, they were drafted into Buh Cossacks host.

In Ukraine, Albanians who lived in Budzhak and who later also settled in the Azov Littoral of Zaporizhzhia Oblast are also known as Arnaut. The city of Odesa has two streets: Great Arnaut Street and Little Arnaut Street.

Albanian Ottoman soldiers

| image1 = "Arnaut", Amadeo Preziosi.jpg | image2 = Amadeo Preziosi Albanians Mercenaries in the Ottoman Army.jpg | image3 = Preziosi - Arnăut, 1866.jpg | footer = Albanian Ottoman soldiers - Arnauts armed with Tançica, portrayed by Amedeo Preziosi in late 19th century.

Historically used as an exonym, the Turkish term Arnaut has also been used for instance by some Western Europeans as a synonym for Albanians that were employed as soldiers in the Ottoman army. In Romanian arnăut was used in a similar way, since at least the eighteenth century, for Albanian mercenaries dressed in traditional garb and hired either by the rulers of the Romanian principalities for their court guards, or by the boyars as bodyguards.

Albanian volunteers and mounted infantry were called Arnauts in Egypt, and they were greatly valued in the Egyptian Army, especially for their traditional role as skirmishers, experts of mountain fighting, patrolling and bodyguard units.

References

Bibliography

References

  1. "Arnavudca". ''[http://www.osmanlicayazilisi.com/osmanlica-sozluk-madde-39184.html Osmanlıcayazılışı]''. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  2. {{harvnb. Kerslake. Göksel. 2014
  3. {{harvnb. Gawrych. 2006
  4. Malcolm, Noel. "Kosovo, a short history". London: Macmillan, 1998, p.29 "The name used in all these references is, allowing for linguistic variations, the same: 'Albanenses' or 'Arbanenses' in Latin, 'Albanoi' or 'Arbanitai' in Byzantine Greek. (The last of these, with an internal switching of consonants, gave rise to the Turkish form 'Arnavud', from which 'Arnaut' was later derived.)"
  5. Ethnic Groups of Europe: An Encyclopedia; Jeffrey E. Cole - 2011, Page 15, "Arbëreshë was the term self-designiation of Albanians before the Ottoman invasion of the 15 century; similar terms are used for Albanian origins populations living in Greece ("Arvanitika," the Greek rendering of Arbëreshë) and Turkey ("Arnaut," Turkish for the Greek term Arvanitika).
  6. {{harvnb. Anscombe. 2006
  7. {{harvnb. Anscombe. 2006b
  8. {{harvnb. Kolovos. 2007
  9. {{harvnb. Emin. 2014
  10. {{harvnb. Norris. 1993
  11. Murati 1991, p. 71. "emri etnik a nacional e shqiptarëve, përkundër trajtës së drejtë sllave Albanci, tash del të shqiptohet si Šiptari e Šipci me një konotacion përbuzës negativ, ashtu siç është përdorur në krye të herës te serbët edhe në kohën e Jugosllavisë së Vjetër bashkë dhe me formën Šiftari e Arnauti me po të njëtat konotacione pejorative. [ethnic name or the national one of Albanians, despite the right Slavic term Albanci, now appears to be pronounced as Šiptari of Šipci with a connotation that is contemptuously negative, as it is used in the very beginning of the Serbs era at the time of the old Yugoslavia together and the form Šiftari and Arnauti which have the same pejorative connotations.]"
  12. {{harvnb. Theißen. 2007. Ἀλβάνος) wurde im Neugriechischen zu Ἀρβανίτης… In türkischer Vermittlung erfuhr die Silbe -''van''- eine Metathese zu -''nav''-, so dass die türkische Form des Namens für die Albaner arnavut bzw. arnaut Lautet. In dieser Form gelangte das Wort ins Bulgarische (BER I/1971: 15). [The original name Ἀλβανίτης (derived from {{sic. Ἀλβάνος) was established in Modern Greek to Ἀρβανίτης .... In Turkish the syllable was experienced and mediated as -''van''- and by metathesis to -''nav''- so that the Turkish form of the name for the Albanians became respectively Arnavut or Arnaut. In this form, the word came into Bulgarian (BER I / 1971: 15).]"
  13. {{harvnb. Državnoj štampariji. 1878
  14. [http://life.pravda.com.ua/travel/2014/05/13/167467/ Seven ethnographical miracles of Ukraine]. [[Ukrayinska Pravda]]. May 13, 2014
  15. {{harvnb. Malcolm. 2009
  16. (2009). "Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române (ediția a II-a revăzută și adăugită)". Editura Univers Enciclopedic Gold for the Lingvistics Institute of the Romanian Academy.
  17. Flaherty, Chris. (2021). "Turkish army Crimean war uniforms – Volume 2". Soldiershop Publishing.

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