In Turkey, they are known as Kurdish. In Romania, where many of them have been living as slaves for around 600 years, they called themselves Roma. Which obviously has nothing to do with the Roman Empire, since they originated in India. Still, considering the extensive spread, the high adaptability and strong survival skills, the domination and assimilation of local genes, we can talk about another kind of empire. If anyone was wondering why Romania is the second country after Syria in emigration rate, this is the explanation. It is a matter of survival of the gene.