Roma in Bulgaria - History

History

Bulgarian ethnologists Elena Marushiakova and Veselin Popov assert that no direct evidence indicates when precisely the Roma first appeared in Bulgaria. While they mention that other Bulgarian and international scholars have associated the 1387 Charter of Rila term Agoupovi Kleti with the Roma, they hold that the term refers to seasonal lodgings for mountain herdsmen. Instead, they delimit the mass settlement of Roma in Bulgarian territory between the 13th and 14th centuries, supporting this time frame with thirteenth- and fourteenth-century documents referring to Roma presence in the surrounding Balkan states. According to Bulgarian sociologist Ilona Tomova, Ottoman fiscal reports between the 15th and 17th centuries also indirectly indicate Roma settlement in Bulgaria since the 13th century, as most registered Roma possessed Slavonic names and were Christians.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, Muslim Roma arrived in Bulgaria with the Ottoman conquerors, serving as auxiliaries, craftsmen, musicians and other professions. Unlike the Ottoman Empire’s other subjects in the millet system, Roma were governed based on their ethnicity, not their religious affiliation. Ottoman tax records first mention Roma in the Nikopol region, where 3.5% of the registered households were Roma. Under Mehmed II’s reign, all Roma – Christian and Muslim – paid a poll-tax that was otherwise imposed only on non-Muslims.

During the 16th century, Suleiman I enacted laws to prohibit the mingling of Muslim and Christian Roma and to administer taxes collected from the Roma: the 1530 Gypsies in the Rumelia Region Act and a 1541 law for the Roma sancak. Muslim Roma were taxed less than Christian Roma, yet they were taxed more than other Muslims for not adhering to Islamic laws and customs. Ottoman imperial assembly registers from 1558-1569 characterize the Roma as ehl-i fesad (people of malice), charging them with crimes such as prostitution, murder, theft, vagrancy and counterfeiting.