User talk:A Gounaris

Welcome!

Hello, A Gounaris, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:

• Introduction to Wikipedia
• The five pillars of Wikipedia
• How to edit a page and How to develop articles
• How to create your first article
• Simplified Manual of Style

Please remember to sign your messages on talk pages by typing four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically insert your username and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or ask your question on this page and then place {{help me}} before the question. Again, welcome! --Vejvančický (talk / contribs) 16:43, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

"Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"

Hi. Regarding your recent edits to the Balkans article, it was decided some time ago that the name "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (or the abbreviation "FYROM") should not be used in general mentions of the modern Republic of Macedonia. See WP:MOSMAC. If you believe the specific situation at issue requires more clarification, feel free to discuss the issue at Talk:Balkans; however, edit warring — including trying to reimpose this edit without a true consensus for making it (or in defiance of a clear consensus not to make such a change) — will not be tolerated and is likely to get you blocked from editing. See also WP:ARBMAC, a decision by the Arbitration Committee imposing special scrutiny on articles relating to the Balkans. In order that there will be no uncertainty as to whether you have been properly warned of this situation, I am including a standard warning notice below.

The Arbitration Committee has permitted administrators to impose discretionary sanctions (information on which is at Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Discretionary sanctions) on any editor who is active on pages broadly related to the Balkans. Discretionary sanctions can be used against an editor who repeatedly or seriously fails to adhere to the purpose of Wikipedia, satisfy any standard of behavior, or follow any normal editorial process. If you continue to misconduct yourself on pages relating to this topic, you may be placed under sanctions, which can include blocks, a revert limitation, or an article ban. The Committee's full decision can be read at the "Final decision" section of the decision page.

Please familiarise yourself with the information page at Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Discretionary sanctions, with the appropriate sections of Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Procedures, and with the case decision page before making any further edits to the pages in question. This notice is given by an uninvolved administrator and will be logged on the case decision, pursuant to the conditions of the Arbitration Committee's discretionary sanctions system.

— Richwales (no relation to Jimbo) 15:52, 7 March 2013 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Original Barnstar
	Not to forget the most important... Welcome to Wikipedia! In case you need any piece of advice just let me know. And don't forget to add the necessary references in your addition as you well did in the Despotate of Epirus. Well done. Alexikoua (talk) 16:31, 19 January 2014 (UTC)

Doukas article scope

Hello! To clarify this, there is indeed a restriction on pre-12th century members, because this is the usage of the sources used in the article; in the ODB, the EHW, Cheynet and every single specialist work dealing with the family there is a clear distinction made between the Doukas clan of the 9th-11th centuries and the later bearers of the name, often unrelated to the former. The one thing that must be avoided is lumping the Komnenodoukai. the Vatatzes-Doukai etc. with the earlier Doukai together as if they were all part of the same family, because they were not. The article is not meant to be an index of every person who ever bore the surname "Doukas", but to focus chiefly on the middle Byzantine family. The inclusion of the later evolution in the name's usage, and some examples of people who bore it, are unavoidable, but the scope itself is limited. Constantine ✍ 14:27, 1 February 2014 (UTC)

Paul Dukas surname debate

I contributed edits on Paul Dukas' family background and suggested - without any references or evidence to back it up - that his father Jules Dukas may have had a Greek Jew descendant originally from Ottoman-era Greek Macedonia. I thought Ottoman-Greek Jews might have adopted the name Dukas/Doukas under the INFLUENCE of their Greek-speaking Christian Orthodox neighbours. This MIGHT explain why there were and still are other Jewish families in Britain, France and Austria-Hungary who bear the name Doukas/Dukas, since many Jews from Ottoman-era Greek Macedonia are known to have immigrated to these countries. But this idea is really only an interesting line of inquiry and not historical fact.

It is important to emphasize that even among most of those Greek-speaking Christian Orthodox families from Epirus, Greek Macedonia and elsewhere in northern Greece - where the late Byzantine Doukai and Komneno-Doukai were most active - who have Doukas/Dukas as a surname (or additional surname) VERY FEW of these will even claim descent from the Byzantine-era noble family. Most of those especially northern Greek families who have the name Doukas/Dukas in the final or middle position do so simply because an earlier ancestor probably adopted it for prestige reasons. Modern Greece has not maintained a living aristocratic tradition, not just because the end of the 1967-74 military dictatorship led to the deposition of the Greek monarchy (which in any case was not indigenous to Greece) but because Byzantine Greek aristocrats in the Ottoman period tended to marry into the Ottoman ruling family or the noble families of Christian Orthodox Russia and elsewhere in Europe. Hope this helps those interested in the name Dukas/Doukas. Thanks.

Macedonia

Please, make a difference between Ancient Macedonia, Macedonia (Roman province), Diocese of Macedonia, Byzantine Macedonia and the modern region. The ancient kingdom of Macedon lay entirely within the central and western parts of the current Greek province of Macedonia. In the second century BC however Macedonia covered approximately the area where it is considered to be today, but the northern regions of today Republic of Macedonia were not identified as Macedonian lands. In the next centuries Macedonia's location was changed significantly. The Roman province of Macedonia consisted of what is today Northern and Central Greece, much of the geographical area of the present-day Republic of Macedonia and southeast Albania. In late Roman times the Diocese of Macedonia, consisting of most of modern mainland Greece, Crete, southern Albania, and parts of modern-day Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia. In the Byzantine Empire, a province under the name of Macedonia was carved out of the original Theme of Thrace, which was well east of the Struma River. The modern region of Macedonia, on the other hand, which was ruled by the First Bulgarian Empire was called Kutmichevitsa throughout the 9th and the 10th century, till it was incorporated into the Byzantine Empire in 1018 under the name Themе of Bulgaria. Under the Ottomans the name of Macedonia disappeared as an administrative designation for several centuries. The ancient name was again revived to mean a distinct geographical region in the late 19th century, and it developed roughly the same borders that it has today. As you know the term Greek Macedonia arose in its modern boundaries after the First World war, i.e. till 1912 it was under the Ottomans and in 1913 and between 1915 and 1918 its eastern part was under Bulgarian control. Regarding your recent edits to several articles, it was decided here that the name "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (or the abbreviation "FYROM") should not be used in general mentions of the modern Republic of Macedonia. See WP:MOSMAC. Jingiby (talk) 12:14, 24 February 2014 (UTC)

I am not using FYROM to describe the Republic of Macedonia, please note I like most others aware of the current situation viz. ongoing discussions on the name dispute, simply use "former Yugoslav" as an adjective before the actual name, so as to avoid confusion with the much larger region of Greek Macedonia. A Gounaris

Regarding the permanent use of the designation "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" of you, in a 2007 arbitration case, administrators were given the power to impose discretionary sanctions on any user working on articles concerning the Balkans. This notice is not to be taken as implying any inappropriate behaviour on your part, merely to warn you of the Arbitration Committee's decision. Thank you. Jingiby (talk) 15:11, 24 February 2014 (UTC)

Again, I am not using FYROM to describe the Republic of Macedonia, please note I like most others aware of the current situation viz. ongoing discussions on the name dispute, simply use "former Yugoslav" as an adjective before the actual name Republic of Macedonia. This is both so as to avoid confusion with the much larger region of Greek Macedonia and also out of respect for the international community's decision to refer to the new state in this way until the name dispute with Greece is resolved. However, I will now avoid this also and refer to it as the Republic of Macedonia (the former Yugoslav Socialist Republic of Macedonia, not to be confused with the larger region of Greek Macedonia).

N.B. Unlike some Greek Macedonians I personally do not believe 'Macedonia' or 'Macedonian' are names to which only one of the main ethnic groups of the region - whether the descendants of the original Greek Macedonian inhabitants in Northern Greece or the Albanian Macedonians, Turkish Macedonians, Bulgar Macedonians, or Romani-Gypsy Macedonians of the Republic of Macedonia(previously known as the Yugoslav Socialist Republic of Macedonia - have an exclusive right to use. One of the greatest things about Macedonia is precisely its very rich and diverse history and culture, and also the fact that scholars from the indigenous Greek inhabitants of Macedonia have always been happy to teach the Christian Orthodox faith and the arts of writing and literature to illiterate newcomers to the region, whatever their ethnic origin. However, I and many other Greek Macedonians do have a problem with the fact that some people belonging to certain other ethnic-linguistic communities with little or no claims to scholarship, high culture, theology, or empire building manifest their frustrations and resentment by consistently trying to undermine the universally acknowledged contribution to civilization of Greek Macedonians in the Classical, Byzantine, and modern periods, even to the extent of collaborating with foreign invaders of Macedonia like Nazi Germany and its ally Bulgaria so as to end Greek domination of the province. Thank you. Alexis Gounaris

Caucasus Greeks

Can editors of this page, particularly of sections on Caucasus Greek villages in Kars Oblast, please ensure that alongside old Greek, Armenian, and Russian place names they also provide the contemporary modern Turkish ones with links if possible. I created this page on behalf of the Caucasus Greek community in Greek Macedonia precisely for the benefit of English speakers not familiar with the history - or even existence - of our community as well as for Greeks interested in the subject. It is completely pointless providing geographical and village information without also being able to show in most cases where these places are on a map today and what their present-day names are. Otherwise people unfamiliar with the background might wonder if there really is any concrete basis to our history and the only people likely to take any interest in the subject will be...the handful of Caucasus Greeks, and Pontic Greeks in general, who already know something about it. Surely this would defeat the very purpose of even having an English language page on Caucasus Greeks that is more widely accessible in the first place! Thank you. Alexis Gounaris