As early as 1100 AD, African slaves were brought to India by Arab merchants in medieval times from the Bantu-speaking parts of eastern Africa. These Africans became known as Siddi or Habshi, Arabic word meaning Black African. Today, marriage has made the Siddi population in India much smaller. Someone of Indian and African background is considered an Indo-African. In South Asia, there are over 15,000 individuals who identify as Afro-Asian.