- The Romani, including groups like the Roma and Synti, originated in India and migrated to Europe around 1000 years ago due to turmoil caused by Islamic invasions.
- Islamic invasions by the Umayyad and Ghaznavid caliphates, including the imposition of the Jizya tax, prompted the Synti and Roma’s westward migration.
- The Synti migrated through Persia, settling in Armenia, while the Roma potentially supported the Ghaznavid, and some converted to Christianity in the Byzantine Empire.
- The Romanis faced severe abuse in Europe, including enslavement, negative perceptions, and persecution. During World War II, the Romani population suffered significant losses in concentration camps.
Imagine the medieval era in Europe, with its knights, castles, and a surprising presence—Indians, known as the Romani or Gypsies. Originating from India, these wanderers brought a unique culture with them. However, integrating into European society posed challenges. They were often stereotyped as thieves, fortune tellers, mystics, and even spies, making their assimilation into the organized societies of Europe a complex endeavor. Their physical appearance—dark skin, silky black hair, distinctive clothing, and unfamiliar religious practices—added to the complexity.
Europeans remained largely unaware of the Romani’s origins until the 18th and 19th centuries. It was then that linguistic and genetic studies confirmed the Romani’s Indian roots and their migration to Europe around 1000 years ago. This migration was spurred by turmoil in India due to Muslim invasions by Arabs and later by Turks.
The Romani, comprising groups like the Roma and the Synti, embarked on a remarkable journey marked by external pressures, economic hardships, and clashes of culture. Understanding their Indian heritage provides insights into the challenges they faced and their enduring impact on European history.
Origins of Synti and Roma people
In the 7th and 8th centuries, the Rashidun and Umayyad caliphates expanded Muslim territory, reaching the western edge of the Indian subcontinent. Seeking to rule over non-believers, the Umayyads imposed a Jizya tax on non-Muslims, cultivating a privileged Arab aristocracy. Conversion to Islam was limited to maintain tax revenues. Historians estimate that only 8 to 10% of the caliphate’s population was Muslim in the mid-8th century. The Umayyads launched brutal campaigns in India, intending to conquer the entire subcontinent. However, the Rajput clans fiercely resisted the Umayyad advances in India’s northwest, routing them by the 740s. Despite this resistance, the Umayyads captured Sindh, devastating cities, farmland, and infrastructure, and enslaving locals.
Under these dire circumstances, migration became inevitable. The Synti, an itinerant community originating in Sindh, embarked on a westward journey, becoming the first group to leave India as they sought peace and opportunity in a new land, highlighting the marginalizing impact of Islamic invasions on indigenous populations.
In the 10th century, Northwest India faced repeated invasions by a Turkic Muslim dynasty led by the Mahmoud of Ghazni. Conquering Punjab and Rajasthan, they plundered wealth, causing devastation, violence, instability, slavery, drought, and famine. The Roma, potentially identified as the Dom, an itinerant community deeply rooted in musical traditions, embarked on a westward journey in the 11th century. Despite the challenges brought by Mahmood’s reign, they sought peace and opportunities, mirroring the historical trajectory of other itinerant communities navigating upheavals and pursuing a better life in new lands.
Reasons for Migrating Westward
The choice of the Roma and Synti to migrate westward, despite the West being the origin of devastation in their homelands, can be understood through the characteristics of itinerant communities. Traditionally offering diverse services like blacksmithing, craft-making, animal care, and even entertainment and fortune-telling, these communities are valuable to settled societies. Migrating further east or south within the subcontinent was hindered by fierce competition from existing itinerant communities. Additionally, the West presented rich opportunities, driven by the constant wars waged by the Ghaznavid. With their innate skills in blacksmithing and animal care, the itinerant communities played a crucial role in military support. The consensus is that the Synti, centuries earlier, served as military logistics, support, and mercenaries for the Umayyads, laying the groundwork for their westward journey. Evidence also suggests that the Roma and Synti may have functioned as traveling entertainers and musicians, aligning with historical records, including Firdausi’s account of their arrival in Persia due to a request from King Bahram the Fifth for Indian musicians.
Analyzing the Synti language, researchers note a semantic shift and a scarcity of Persian loanwords but an abundance of Armenian loanwords. This linguistic profile suggests a swift migration through Persia before settling in Armenia. The imposition of the Jizya tax under the Umayyads might have pressured the Synti, lacking Arab clan associations, to avoid conversion to Islam. By 750 CE, the instability of the Abbasid revolution in Persia could have further motivated the Synti to continue their journey westward. Eventually reaching a portion of Armenia under Byzantine administration, they found a stable but outsider status. Byzantine records referred to them as “Gani,” implying cultural practices linked to Vedic ritual purity. In 803 CE, the Byzantine emperor sought Synti’s assistance in suppressing a rebellion, acknowledging their magical abilities. Although successful, the religious establishment disagreed, leading to tensions. Despite calling the Armenian portion of the Byzantine Empire home for a few centuries, the Synti were on the move again. By the late 10th century, Synti splinter groups spread into the Balkans, Crete, Thrace, and peninsular Greece, establishing themselves in Germany, Italy, France, and Spain by the 14th century, marking their presence and settlement across various European countries.
In the late 10th century, the Roma departed from Punjab or Rajasthan, potentially offering military support to the Ghaznavid during the early stages of their migration. Subsequently, they established strong connections in medieval Persia, where many Roma chose to stay, converting to Islam under Ghaznavid rule. Despite conversion, their distinct religious practices and paganistic elements drew criticism in the broader Islamic world. Some Roma opted to continue their westward journey, finding opportunities in the Byzantine Empire. A portion also splintered off to settle in the Levant and North Africa. Under Byzantine rule, the Roma converted to Christianity, incorporating Vedic Indian elements into their religious practices. However, they faced social and legal restrictions, being often considered “Gani.” While some attained high positions, records indicate tensions. The rise of the Ottomans in the 14th century further fueled Roma migration westward, exposing them to conversion pressure and the oppressive Jizya tax. Despite facing challenges, the Roma’s journey continued, marked by complex relationships with various empires and cultures.
Dispersion into Europe and Reception
Not all Roma chose to leave; some opted to convert and assimilate into Turkish culture to evade the Jizya tax. Nonetheless, as the Ottomans expanded into former Byzantine territory, a significant number of Roma migrated into the Peloponnesus, Greece, following the path of the earlier Synti. Their continued westward migration brought the Roma into the Venetian city of Nauplion, where they were granted residence rights in exchange for military assistance against Ottoman attacks.
Exhausted by the Ottoman threat, the Roma migrated further into Europe, spreading across Poland, Romania, Austria, Hungary, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, England, and Scandinavia. However, both the Roma and Synti encountered severe abuse from Europeans. Roma were routinely enslaved, with records dating back to 1385 documenting the gifting of 40 Roma families as slaves to a monastery. During Maria Teresa’s reign, Romani children were forcibly separated from their families, leading to their escape to other countries. Europeans viewed Roma and Synti as spies and agents of the Ottoman Empire despite their fleeing for asylum. Gypsy hunting practices in the Netherlands and Switzerland involved authorities paying for severed gypsy heads, and Europeans made numerous attempts to destroy the Romani population, with WW-II concentration camps estimated to have claimed between 500,000 to 800,000 Roma and Synti lives, leaving the Synti community severely devastated, with only a few hundred thousand remaining today.
The victimization of the Roma and Synties can be attributed to the alien nature of Romani culture in Europe. Their communal insularity preserved a significant part of their Indian cultural and genetic legacy, rendering them seemingly foreign and unacceptable to Europeans. The excellence of Romani blacksmithing, a common occupation for both Roma and Synties, posed an economic threat to native Europeans. European guilds took action, associating Romani blacksmithing with the devil’s work, even claiming responsibility for smithing the nails used in the crucifixion of Jesus. The widespread negative perception of itinerancy further contributed to their persecution. A Franciscan monk, observing Roma outside the city gates, expressed a judgmental perspective, stating that they must be damned by God to live such a lifestyle.
Postscript
After the article was published, one of our readers noted that the International Commission on Human Rights & Religious Freedom (ICHRRF) deliberated on the plight of Roma people in 2023. It is gratifying to note that our description and their findings were in broad agreement. The ICHRRF report can be accessed here:
ICHRRF Report “The Plight of Roma People in Europe”