[The Egyptian so-called Barmakids and Medieval gypsy migration--chronologic research]

In the 2nd half of the 8th century A.D., the Barmakids, descendants of an Iranian princely house of Central Asia, succeeded for 3 generations as viziers and governors of the caliphs to be very popular with the common people and, at the same time, to achieve considerable influence, wealth and power at the court of the reigning Abbasids. However, in the course of time, this astounding rise filled the caliph Hãrũn al Rashĩd with growing distrust and later on with indomitable hatred. Finally, all these events induced him to bring about an unexpected cruel end to the rule of the constantly growing power of this court dynasty, an actual state in the state. The fact that a group of the later Egyptian gipsies, who were also called Ghawãzĩ, still bear the name Barãmika can perhaps be better understood on the following grounds. It might have happened that, owing to Oriental exceeding recklessness, the gypsies who at that time inhabited the present Iraq were given this denomination as a particularly oppurtune degrading and insulting name by the residential Arabian population which because of the gloomy events must have been extremely upset and alarmed. On the other hand, it might have also been that the gypsies who at that time were expelled from Mesopotamia because of the existing hatred against foreigners have, in order to disguise themselves, adopted the name of this noble house which in the Islamic world continued to be highly esteemed. Finally, both might have happened in close historical succession. All that allows to draw the cautious conclusion that a small split off migrating group of gypsies, who in the 6th century A.D. on their move in flight before the rage of the Huns had immigrated to Iran, halted during their migration in Mesopotamia at the latest in about the 8th century. A survey of the recorded denominations of the gypsies in the 19th to 20th century and the denominations of romoid ethnic groups in Egypt are presented.