Rūm (Arabic: روم [ruːm], collective; singulative: رومي Rūmī [ˈruːmiː]; plural: أروام ʼArwām [ʔarˈwaːm]; Persian: روم Rum or رومیان Rumiyān, singular رومی Rumi; Turkish: Rûm or Rûmîler, singular Rûmî), also romanized as Roum, is a derivative of the Aramaic (rhπmÈ) and Parthian (frwm) terms, ultimately derived from Greek Ῥωμαῖοι (Rhomaioi, literally 'Romans'). Both terms are endonyms of the pre-Islamic inhabitants of Anatolia, the Middle East and the Balkans and date to when those regions were parts of the Eastern Roman Empire. The term Rūm is now used to describe: