The Gypsies in History and Today,
Europe's "public enemy"
by James Mayfield (Chairman, European Heritage Library)
The Gypsies are an easily-identified, incredibly distinct, and unfortunately a bitterly hated non-European race dispersed throughout Eastern Europe and the Balkans. The Roma people, a sub-group of the greater Romani race that occupies Europe, emigrated as nomads from North India several centuries ago. The exact timeframe and circumstances incurring their relocation are unclear. They may have migrated for superior agricultural opportunities, they may have traveled westward on trade routes created by Alexander the Great, or they may have been fleeing from persecution in India by the invading Mujahidin of the Muslim sultanates there (Ghorids, Ghaznavids, or the Lodis of Delhi). The only certainty is that it took centuries and began at least over 500 years ago.
The Gypsies are an easily-identified, incredibly distinct, and unfortunately a bitterly hated non-European race dispersed throughout Eastern Europe and the Balkans. The Roma people, a sub-group of the greater Romani race that occupies Europe, emigrated as nomads from North India several centuries ago. The exact timeframe and circumstances incurring their relocation are unclear. They may have migrated for superior agricultural opportunities, they may have traveled westward on trade routes created by Alexander the Great, or they may have been fleeing from persecution in India by the invading Mujahidin of the Muslim sultanates there (Ghorids, Ghaznavids, or the Lodis of Delhi). The only certainty is that it took centuries and began at least over 500 years ago.