Alawis of Syria and the Vlachs of Greece
Reader comment on item: The Alawi Capture of Power in Syria

Submitted by Matousis (United Kingdom), Oct 30, 2006 at 05:00

It is not unusual for a minority (ethnic, linguistic or religious) to take over and rule (for a while) the host-state. It happened in Persia which was ruled by the Turkomans and then by the Qajar dinasty (both of them non-Perisan). It happened in Modern Greece whose first Prime-Minister in the 19th Century was the Vlach-speaking Ioanis Colleti. The Vlachs gave many Defence and Foreign Secretaries later on and their clannish ways ensured they reached always top positions. Nevertheles there was a high price to be paid later on.

The Vlachs, much as they ruled Greece as individuals, lost out eventually to the Greeks. As the Alawis in Syria, they now are about to lose their identity, specificity and language and while gaining a lot as individuals from their ephemere positions of power they are now quasi-extinct as a distinct community.

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