Elena Marushiakova & Veselin Popov Roma Muslims in the Balkans PROJECT EDUCATION OF ROMA CHILDREN IN EUROPE COUNCIL OF EUROPE CONSEIL DE L´EUROPE ROMA | CULTURE For centuries numerous Roma communities have lived in the Balkans. Their members are referred to as “Turkish Gypsies” (турски цигани, τουρκο-γύφτοι, ţigani turci and other, similar names) by the surrounding population. In many cases the Gypsies themselves use the same appellation. These Roma are Muslims and in most cases entirely, or at least partially, Turkish-speaking. Many of them also speak Romani or have spoken it in the past. In some cases, the latter is preserved only by the older generations; in other cases, a mixture of Turkish and Romani is still in use. They are neither a uniied nor a homogeneous community. The existing country borders divide the Muslim Roma communities. Additionally, they are further differentiated into more or less detached communities according to various parameters (including endogamy). 1.3 Ill. 1, 2 Xoraxane Roma from Southern Dobruja. National Ethnographic Archive of Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (50ties of 20th century) . HISTORY The irst arrival of Roma Muslims in the Balkans is connected to the Ottoman in- vasion and the establishment of the Otto- man Empire in the region during the 14 th – 15 th centuries. Some of the Roma Mus- lims were directly involved in the con- quest by participating in auxiliary army units or as craftsmen serving the army. At that time there was already a Roma popu- lation in the Balkans who had settled there as a result of earlier migrations (starting from the 11 th century and, according to some authors, even since the 9 th century). The Ottoman Empire dominat- ed the Balkans for over ive centuries and made a distinct impression on the culture and history of the region, including on the new one-nation Balkan states, estab- lished in the 19 th –20 th centuries. Under the designation kıptı or çingene the Roma living in the Balkans were described in various oficial documents throughout the existence of the Empire. From these documents, in particular from various tax registers (some of them speciically devoted to Roma), the changes of their religion over time can be traced.