I read this thread since a long time and I find it quite informative and I appreciate the contribution of all the users in here.
I would give my views regarding the issue of Slavic toponyms in the Balkans, the Romanians been a Latin speakers while the Bulgarians Slavic although genetically we can observe that the Slavic Macedonians and Bulgarians are more closer to Albanians and Greeks than Romanians are!
I can say that I agree with Scholarios and Aherne on many things but I have some different views as well!
I think what happened is that the proto-Slavs started moving out of their homeland as early as 4th century and the catalyst for that was of course the Hunnic appearance in Europe.
Although the Slavs were not recorded before 6th century, their ancestors were very likely part of the large Hunnic confederation and after the collapse of the Hunnic empire, they filled the void which was left in Pannonia and the Carpathian basin.
It is here, where the proto-South Slavs were formed!
I am saying proto-South Slavs because here the original proto-Slavs mixed with some indigenous, older population most probably!
I believe this older population to be of Dacian and extract, whose language was closely related to the modern Albanian language and also to the Romance language!
I believe this because there is a strong connection when it comes to both grammar and vocabulary between the Albanian and Romanian from one side and the South Slavic languages on the other side, but most importantly the Slavic Macedonian and the Bulgarian!
For more info see here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkan_sprachbund
From genetic point of view, the proto-Slavs would have been primarily belonging to: I-Z17855, I-S17250, R1a-M458 and R1a-Z280, while the native population belonging to various J2b2, R1b and E-V13 as the strongest marker among the native population.
Why I think that E-V13 would have been the strongest marker in the Northern Balkans is that, if we look in the y-dna of the Balkan Slavs we can see that E-V13 is very strong in them but also, if we look in the distribution of y-dna in Greece by regions, we can see that J2a and R1b are the strongest in the South and in the islands, than comes E-V13, being strong in the South and the islands but also in mainland Greece and finally, we can see high occurrence of R1a and I2 in Northern Greece!
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To me this is something similar as the geological evidence, kind of when the geologists look into the deep layers of the ground, that in classical Greece, J2a, E-V13 and R1b were strongest, and than in late antiquity end early Medievals there was influx of migrants who brought additional E-V13, I2 and R1a!
What happened in the Carpathian basin most probably is that after mixing of the populations, there was ratio of 3/1 of Slavic/Native!
However, the larger Slavic populace assimilated the native one and thus, we have now 100% Slavic speaking population!
It's important to mentioned that the proto-South Slavs here mixed with some Celtic and Germanic population who were more like ruling elites and less in numbers than the proto-Slavs!
I suspect this population to have been autosomally similar to modern Croats, Hungarians and Moldavians!
The most important moment for the South Slavs is the coming of the Avars and the Onogur Bulgars!
This two groups were the responsible for the large scale invasion and destruction of the Balkans and it's subsequent population with Slavs!
On their way southwards, the Slavs probably mixed with other or assimilated native groups who they captured or settled next to, and thus the ratio of Slavic/Native y-dna lineages increased in favor of the later!
It is important to mention the division between the South-West Slavic(Croatian, Slovenian, Serbian) which occurred in the Avar Khaganate and the South-East Slavic(Bulgarians, Slavic Macedonians) which occurred in the Bulgarian Khaganate.
Both Avars and Bulgars were minor ruling elite which didn't have much impact on the South Slavic peoples genetics.
I believe that the Slavs that migrated and settled in Greece were Avaro-Slavs, judging by some joint Avar and Slavic archeological finds in Greece but also from the Slavic toponyms in Greece!
Toponyms like Koniskos in Trikala municipality or Koncika in Thesprotia, Epirus, Kurenta and Tserkovista in Epirus and others, show similarity with toponyms found in Slovenia, Croatia and not in the Eastern Balkans!
As I already said, these Avaro-Slavs were already with high native Balkan admixture but 100% linguistically Slavs!
The Greeks retreated in the coastal towns and the islands, thus living the mainland to these Avaro-Slavs who were free to establishe new settlement and of course, to name them with Slavic names!
When the Roman army started liberating Greece, they were moving along the coast of Thracia, reaching Salonika and than moving down along the coast, all the way to Peloponnese!
Most of the Slavs in the Eastern half of Greece were destroyed, captured and moved to other places, Minor Asia!
Thus that's why we find more Slavic toponyms in the Western half of Greece rather than the East:
The Greeks repopulated the Eastern half and slowly started to Hellenize the remaining Slavs!
The later migrations of Arvanites and Vlachs diluted the remaining Slavic dna in Epirus and Thessaly, however the toponyms remained as a relic of a past time!
On the Eastern half of the Balkan peninsula however, in the Bulgar Khagante, the modern nations of the Bulgarians and the Romanians were formed from the mix of the proto-South Slavs and additional native population, who will later invade the territory of modern Bulgaria and Macedonia, although at some point of time, there was a clear differentiation of two groups, one Latin and other Slavic speaking!
Because the Greco-Romans didn't have contact with much of the mainland as late as the 9th century, we don't have a record, when and how the Vlachs appeared in Greece but I believe that many of the early Slavs that settled in Greece could have been mixed Slavo-Vlachs as is the case with the Vlacho-Rynhini as mentioned by Scholarios!
Another strong argument for this is the name of their leader, Pervundos or Perbundos as recorded in the miracles of St.Demetrius!
Interestingly enough, Perbundos doesn't mean anything in the Slavic languages but it does have meaning in the Albanian!
Namely, Perbindesh in Albanian means monster, and we know of an Illyrian deity from Bosnia "Bindus", meaning to believe or a believer!
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Originally Posted by Asgardsrei
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