Home Page

Stefan's Florilegium

Gypsy-tmeline-art



This document is also available in: text or RTF formats.

Gypsy-tmeline-art- 3/1/03

 

"Timeline of the Roma" by Sayidda Rakli Zada Orlenda.

 

NOTE: See also the files: Gypsies-art, Gypsies-msg, Gypsies-lnks, carts-msg, East-Eur-msg, cl-Mid-East-msg, clothing-bib.

 

************************************************************************

NOTICE -

 

This article was submitted to me by the author for inclusion in this set of files, called Stefan's Florilegium.

 

These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

 

Copyright to the contents of this file remains with the author.

 

While the author will likely give permission for this work to be reprinted in SCA type publications, please check with the author first or check for any permissions granted at the end of this file.

 

Thank you,

Mark S. Harris...AKA:..Stefan li Rous

stefan at florilegium.org

************************************************************************

 

Timeline of the Roma

by Sayidda Rakli Zada Orlenda

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
  

420 – 438 A.D.

  
  

Bahram   Gur, Shah of Persia, brought some musicians and dancers from India to Persia.   Hamza, the Arab historian (950 AD) called these musicians "LuriÓ, or ÒZottÓ   depending on whose translation you read.  Both names are used for Gypsies in   the Middle East.

  
  

669 or 670 A.D.

  
  

The Caliph   Muawiya brought several families of Zott and Sayabiga who had worked for the   Shah from Basra to Antioch. This seems to have been a precautionary measure   to remove from the Arab headquarters these untrustworthy elements who might still   feel sympathy with the deposed Persian ruler.

  
  

710 A.D.

  
  

Some of   the Zott from the south were resettled in the Antioch region by Caliph Walid   I.

  

 

  
  

720 A.D.

  
  

Caliph   Yazid II sent more Zott from the south to the Antioch region. These Zott were   sent there as herdsmen along with their buffaloes. There were colonies then   in Antioch itself as well as the neighboring settlements of Masisa and Buka.

  
  

820 – 834 A.D.

  
  

Zott state   established on the banks of the Tigris River. 27,000 Zott were taken to   Baghdad after their defeat. They were then deported and resettled in two   towns in the north-east, Khaneikin and Ainzarba (Aintab).

  
  

855 A.D.

  
  

The Greeks   captured Ainzarba and the Zott were deported once more, this time to mainland   Greece. Other captives went elsewhere in the Arab empire, to Khaneikin and   the Syrian border. (These probably formed the main bulk of the unskilled   Romanies who moved north into Armenia and then into Europe, ending up working   the fields in the Balkans and elsewhere.)

  
  

1050 A.D.

  
  

Earliest   reference to Gypsies ("Athingani") in Constantinople. They were   astrologers, fortune-tellers, acrobats, snake charmers, bear trainers and   vetinerary surgeons.

  

 

  

A   Byzantine Chronicler describes how Emperor Constantine Monomachus asked the ÒAdsincaniÓ   to rid his forests of the wild animals which were killing off his hunting   preserve.  They were so proficient at this task that they were rewarded   grandly for their time.

  

 

  

(Some Zott   evidently did cross from Antioch to the Mediterranean islands) We have a   report by the monk Symon Simeonis of a nomadic people living on the island of   Crete. He wrote, "There also we saw a race outside the city asserting   themselves to be of the family of Ham (Noah's son). They rarely or never stop   in one place beyond thirty days but always wander and flee as if accursed by   God, and after the thirtieth day they remove themselves from field to field   with their oblong tents, black and low, and from cave to cave."

  

 

  
  

c. 1200 A.D.

  
  

The   canonist Theodore Balsamon describes the canon LXI of the Council in Trulho   (692) which threatens a six-year excommunication for any member of the Church   (including Athinganoi) from displaying bears or other animals for amusement or by telling   fortunes.

  

 

  
  

1290 A.D.

  
  

Romani   shoemakers are recorded in Greece residing on Mount Athos.

  

 

  
  

1320 A.D.

  
  

Kenrick   surmised the following dates for the arrival of the Gypsies to the Greek   islands: 1322-Crete, 1373 or earlier-Corfu, 1384-Modon, 1397 or   earlier-Nauplie. These Gypsies were part of a general movement from Asia   Minor to Europe.
  The Gypsies who landed on Cyprus around 1322 probably came across from the   Crusader colonies on the eastern Mediterranean coast-present day Lebanon and   Israel.

  

 

  
  

1322 A.D.

  
  

Roma are   recorded on the island of Crete.

  
  

1348 A.D.

  
  

Roma are   recorded in Prizren, Serbia.

  

 

  
  

1362 A.D.

  
  

Roma are   recorded in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

  

 

  
  

1378 A.D.

  
  

Roma are   recorded living in villages near Rila Monastery, Bulgaria.

  

 

  
  

1383 A.D.

  
  

Roma are   recorded in Hungary.

  

 

  
  

1384 A.D.

  
  

Romani   shoemakers are recorded in Modon, Greece.

  

 

  
  

1385 A.D.

  
  

The first   recorded transaction of Roma slaves in Romania.

  

 

  
  

1387 A.D.

  
  

Mircea the Great of Wallachia indicates that Roma have   been in that country for over one hundred years.

  

 

  
  

1396 A.D.

  
  

During the   rise of the Ottoman Empire, Gypsies are first referred to as ÒEgyptiansÓ in   Ottoman records.

  

 

  
  

1407 A.D.

  
  

Roma are   recorded at Hildesheim, Germany. First   documentation of Gypsies in Western Europe. Known to gypsies as the Hokkano Bar— , or ÒGreat TrickÓ.

  

 

  
  

1415 A.D.

  
  

Roma present in Kronsadt (today Brasov, Romania).   According to documents there, ÒMaster Emaus from Egypt, with 120 followers,   received money and food from the city council.Ó

  

 

  
  

1416 A.D.

  
  

Roma are expelled from the Meissen region of Germany.

  

 

  
  

1421 A.D.

  
  

An   alderman writes a vivid description of gypsies entering Arras in Burgundy.

  

 

  
  

1417 – 1423 A.D.

  
  

King Sigismund of Hungary issues safe-conduct orders at   Spis Castle for travelling Roma.

  

 

  
  

1418 A.D.

  
  

Roma are recorded in Colmar, France.

  

 

  
  

1419 A.D.

  
  

Roma are recorded in Antwerp, Belgium.

  

 

  
  

1420 A.D.

  
  

Roma are recorded in Deventer, Holland.

  

 

  
  

1422 A.D.

  
  

An Italian   writes descriptions of the garb the gypsies wear as they enter Rome.

  

 

  
  

1425 A.D.

  
  

Roma are recorded in Zaragoza, Spain.

  

 

  
  

1427 A.D.

  
  

Hundreds of Roma arrive at the gates of Paris. The city   sends them on to the town of Pontoise in less than a month.

  

 

  
  

1445 A.D.

  
  

Prince   Vlad Dracul of Wallachia transports some 12,000 persons "who looked like   Egyptians"   from Bulgaria for slave labour.

  

 

  
  

1447 A.D.

  
  

First record of Roma in Catalonia.

  

 

  
  

1449 A.D.

  
  

Roma are driven out of the city of Frankfurt-am-Main.

  

 

  
  

1468 A.D.

  
  

Written   record of Gypsies in Cyprus. In the Chronicle of Cyprus compiled by Florio   Bustron, the "Cingani" are said to have paid tax to the royal   treasury, at that time King James II.

  

 

  
  

1471 A.D.

  
  

The first anti-Gypsy laws are passed in Lucerne,   Switzerland.

  

 

  

17,000 Roma are transported into Moldavia by Stephan the   Great for slave labour.

  

 

  
  

1472 A.D.

  
  

Duke   Friedrich of the Rhine Palatinate asks his people to help Roma pilgrims.

  
  

1476 A.D.

  
  

King   Matthias of Slovakia issues safe-conduct orders for travelling Roma.

  
  

1482 A.D.

  
  

The first   anti-Gypsy laws are passed in state of Brandenburg.

  
  

1487 A.D.

  
  

King   Matthias of Slovakia issues safe-conduct orders for travelling Roma again.

  
  

1492 A.D.

  
  

The first   anti-Gypsy laws are passed in Spain.

  
  

1493 A.D.

  
  

Roma are   expelled from Milan.

  
  

1496 A.D.

  
  

The Reichstag (parliament) in Landau and   Freiburg declares Roma traitors to the Christian countries, spies in the pay   of the Turks, and carriers of the plague.

  

 

  
  

1498 A.D.

  
  

On   ColumbusÕs third voyage to the New World, he brought gypsies to the West   Indies.

  

 

  
  

1499 A.D.

  
  

Medina del   Campo in Spain orders Gitanos to find a trade and master, cease travelling with other   Gitanos, all within sixty days. Punishment for failure to obey is 100 lashes   and banishment. Repeat offences are punished by amputation of ears, sixty   days in chains, and banishment. Third-time offenders become the slaves of   those who capture them.

  

 

  
  

1504 A.D.

  
  

Roma are prohibited by Louis XII from living in France.   The punishment is banishment.

  

 

  
  

1505 A.D.

  
  

Roma are recorded in Scotland, probably from Spain.

  

 

  
  

1512 A.D.

  
  

Roma are first recorded in Sweden on 29 September. A   company of about 30 families, lead by a "Count Anthonius" arrives   in Stockholm, claiming that they came from "Little Egypt". They are   welcomed by the city and given lodging and money for their stay. A few years later,   King Gustav Vasa (1521-1560), suspects that the Roma are spies and orders   that they be driven out from the country.

  

 

  

Roma are expelled from Catalonia.

  

 

  
  

1526 A.D.

  
  

The first anti-Gypsy laws are passed in Holland and   Portugal.

  

 

  
  

1530 A.D.

  
  

The first law expelling Gypsies from England is   introduced. Henry VIII forbids the transportation of Gypsies into England.   The fine is forty pounds for ship's owner or captain. The Gypsy passengers   are punished by hanging.

  

 

  
  

1540 A.D.

  
  

Gypsies are allowed to live under their own laws in   Scotland.

  

 

  
  

1547 A.D.

  
  

Andrew   Boorde authors an encyclopedia in England entitled The Fyrst Boke of the   Introduction of Knowledge. It has a chapter on Romani, which includes some of the earliest   specimens of the language.

  

 

  
  

1549 A.D.

  
  

The French   traveler Andre Theret found "les Egyptiens ou Bohemiens" in Cyprus   and other Mediterranean islands. He observed their simple way of life, supported   by the production of nails by the men and belts by the women, which were sold   to the local population.

  

 

  
  

1554 A.D.

  
  

In the   reign of Philip and Mary, an Act is passed which decrees that that the death   penalty shall be imposed for being a Gypsy, or anyone who "shall become   of the fellowship or company of Egyptians."

  

 

  
  

1560 A.D.

  
  

Spanish   legislation forbids Gitanos of travelling in groups of more than two. Gitano "dress and clothing" is   banned. Punishment for wearing Gitano clothing and travelling in groups of   more than two is up to eighteen years in the galleys for those over fourteen   years of age. This legislation is later altered to change the punishment to   death for all nomads, and the galleys reserved for settled Gitanos.

  

 

  
  

1563 A.D.

  
  

The   Council of Trent in Rome affirms that Roma cannot be priests

  
  

1574 –1595 A.D.

  
  

The   historian Selaniki Mustafa reported that Gypsies could be found among the   regiments of janissaries during the reign of Sultan Murad Khan.

  

 

  
  

1579 A.D.

  
  

Wearing of   Romani dress is banned in Portugal

  
  

1595 A.D.

  
  

Stefan   Razvan, the son of a Roma slave and free woman, becomes ruler of Moldavia in   April. He is deposed four months later and murdered in December of the same   year.

  

 

------

Copyright 2002 by Amber Hansford, 96 Von Steuben, St. Marys, GA 31558. <hawthorn62 at hotmail.com>. Permission is granted for republication in SCA-related publications, provided the author is credited and receives a copy.

 

If this article is reprinted in a publication, I would appreciate a notice in

the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also

appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being

reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.

 

<the end>



Formatting copyright © Mark S. Harris (THLord Stefan li Rous).
All other copyrights are property of the original article and message authors.

Comments to the Editor: stefan at florilegium.org