Vlachs ( or ) is a historical term used for
Eastern Romance-speaking peoples in the
Balkans and
Eastern Europe; several modern peoples descending from the Romanized population in present-day Romania and Moldova, the southern Balkan Peninsula and south and west of the
Danube. They were identified during the 11th century (when they were described by
George Kedrenos), and their prehistory during the
Migration Period is a matter of scholarly speculation. According to
one origin theory, the Vlachs originated from Latinized Dacians. According to some linguists and scholars, the
Eastern Romance languages prove the survival of the
Thraco-Romans in the lower Danube basin during the Migration Period and western Balkan populations known as "Vlachs" also have had Romanized
Illyrian origins. Nearly all central- and southeastern European nations (Hungary, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Albania, Greece and Bulgaria) have native Vlach (or Romanian) minorities; in other countries, the Vlachs have assimilated to the
Slavic population. The term was also commonly used for
shepherds. Today, the Eastern Romance-speaking communities number 24,187,810 people.