How exactly the Roma appeared in Europe is still the subject of heated debate in science. It is only known that their historical homeland is India. They settled on the territory of Moldova at least more than 500 years ago and managed to walk here a difficult path - from slaves to inspirers of famous poems and films. Today in Moldova it is an ethnos, overgrown with the largest number of legends and myths.
Linguistic studies have shown the proximity of the Roma language to the Indo-Aryan language group and Sanskrit. These data were confirmed by comparison of cultural traditions and even genetic studies. But it is not known for certain when, how and why the Roma migrated to Europe. The beginning of the 1000s is considered to be an approximate "start" of migration.
Theory one
It is believed that the Roma came to Europe from the northwestern part of India, after the Muslims began to penetrate there. According to this theory, the Roma entered Europe already as slaves. But they retained this status only in the Danubian principalities - Tsara Romynaske and Tsara Moldovei.
Second theory
The second theory was proposed by the historian Nicolae Jorga. In his opinion, the Roma came to the Danube principalities together with the Tatars. The latter even had a city on the territory of Moldova: the settlement of the Golden Horde was located in the current complex of Old Orhei. As Ion Duminica notes, the appearance of the Roma here along with the Tatars has no documentary or other scientific evidence. However, it seems partly logical: the Tatars arrived here with slaves, and the Roma could have been the slaves.
