Ashkali and Balkan Egyptians

The Ashkali (Aškalije), also Hashkali (Haškalije), and Balkan Egyptians (Balkanski Egipćani; Komuniteti i Egjiptianëve të Ballkanit; Gjupci) are Albanian-speaking Muslim ethnic cultural minorities (recognized communities), which mainly inhabit Kosovo and southern Serbia as well as Albania, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. Prior to the Kosovo War of 1999, the Balkan Egyptians or Ashkali people registered themselves as Albanians. While some Ashkali speak Romani language, Egyptians do usually not. The two groups are not clearly delineated. On the other hand, they differ linguistically and culturally from the Roma, even though they have often been grouped together under the acronym RAE. The origins of the Balkan Egyptians are obscure. But some Balkan historians trace the origin of Balkan Egyptians to the Iron Age, citing vague references in Herodotus of the presence of Khener, an Ancient Egyptians dance group in the region. They also attribute archaeological structures in the area, notably in modern Ohrid and Bitola, as temples of the Goddess Isis, but the Mysteries of Isis was widespread in the Greco-Roman world. It is also possible, that the Balkan Egyptians are traces back to the Doms in Egypt, other versions are, that after the Ottoman–Egyptian invasion of Mani, Egyptian soldiers went to Albania and become the ancestors. However, historians maintain that during the Ottoman era the 'Balkan Egyptians' and other Balkan Roma were part of a single community, who called by the Ottomans Kıbti (literally 'Copts', reflecting the same group encompassed by the English ethnonym for the Roma, ('Gypsies'). They see the alternative origins as part of a larger phenomenon whereby groups such as the Ashkali and Balkan Egyptians, as part of an effort to achieve greater civil emancipation and to escape anti-Roma prejudice, made an effort to separate themselves from other Roma and constructed a novel history for their peoples.