The Persian people are defined by the use of the Persian language Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Bahrain and has official-language status in the first three countries under different names. Persian is a pluricentric language. The Persian language has been a medium for literary and (Western Persian, under the strictest definition) as their mother tongue. However, the term Persian has also a supra-ethnic significance and has been historically referred to a part of Iranian peoples The Iranian peoples are an ethnic and linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly on the Iranian plateau and beyond in central, southern, and southwestern Asia and southeastern Europe. As a group of people, they are predominantly defined along linguistic lines as speaking the Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European. The origin of the Persian people, at least in terms of language, is traced to the ancient Indo-Iranians Indo-Iranian people consist of the Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Dardic and Nuristani people, that is, speakers of Indo-Iranian languages (Aryans Aryan is an English language loanword. As the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language states at the beginning of its definition, "[it] is one of the ironies of history that Aryan, a word nowadays referring to the blond-haired, blue-eyed physical ideal of Nazi Germany, originally referred to a people who looked vastly different), who arrived in parts of Greater Iran Greater Iran refers to the regions that have significant Iranian cultural influence. It roughly corresponds to the territory surrounding the Iranian plateau, stretching from the Caucasus to the Indus River in modern day Pakistan, and conform to the historical understanding of the full territory of "Iran." circa 2000-1500 BCE. Starting around 550 BCE, from the region of Persis in southern Iran Iran (Persian: ايران [ʔiˈɾɒn] ), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persia until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf, northwestern shore of the Gulf of Oman, and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. Both "Persia" and "Iran&, encompassing the present Fars Fars (pronounced /fɑːs/ (Persian: فارس, Fârs) (Originally Pars) is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. It is in the south of the country and its center is Shiraz. It has an area of 122,400 km². In 2006, this province had a population of 4.34 million people, of which 61.2% were registered as urban dwellers, 38.1% villagers, and 0.7% nomad province, the ancient Persians The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire (550–330 BC) was amongst the first Persian Empires that ruled over significant portions of Greater Iran, and followed the Iranian Median Empire. At the height of its power, the Iranian Achaemenid Empire encompassed approximately 7.5 million square kilometers, holds the greatest percentage of spread their language The Old Persian language is one of the two attested Old Iranian languages . Old Persian appears primarily in the inscriptions, clay tablets, seals of the Achaemenid era (c. 600 BCE to 300 BCE). Examples of Old Persian have been found in present-day Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt the most important attestation by far being the contents of the and culture to other parts of the Iranian plateau The Iranian plateau, also known as the Persian plateau is a geological formation in Southwest Asia, Southern Asia and the Caucasus region. It is the part of the Eurasian Plate wedged between the Arabian and Indian plates, situated between the Zagros mountains to the west, the Caspian Sea and the Kopet Dag to the north, the Hormuz Strait and through conquest and assimilated local Iranic The Iranian peoples are an ethnic and linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly on the Iranian plateau and beyond in central, southern, and southwestern Asia and southeastern Europe. As a group of people, they are predominantly defined along linguistic lines as speaking the Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European and non-Iranic Elam was centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of Khuzestan and Ilam Province , as far as Jiroft in Kerman province and Burned City in Zabol[citation needed], as well as a small part of southern Iraq groups over time. This process of assimilation continued in the face of Greek Alexander III of Macedon, popularly known to history as Alexander the Great, was an Ancient Greeki[›] king (basileus) of Macedon. Born in 356 BC, Alexander succeeded his father Philip II of Macedon to the throne in 336 BC, and died in Bablyon in 323 BC at the age of 32, Arab The Muslim conquest of Persia led to the end of the Sassanid Empire in 644, of the Sassanid dynasty in 651 and the eventual extirpation of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia. The Sassanid Empire was first invaded by Muslims in present day Iraq in 633 under general Khalid ibn Walid, which resulted in Muslim conquest of Iraq. Following the transfer, Mongol The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate or Il Khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanate rulers, beginning with Ghazan, embraced Islam, the religion professed by most of the people living in its territories which included present-day Iran, most of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Turkic The Ghaznavids were an Islamic and Persianate dynasty of Turkic mamluk origin which existed from 975 to 1187 and ruled much of Persia, Transoxania, and the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. The Ghaznavid state was centered in Ghazni, a city in present Afghanistan. Due to the political and cultural influence of their predecessors - that of invasions and continued right up to Islamic times The Islamization in Iran occurred as a result of the Islamic conquest of Persia. It was a long process by which Islam was gradually accepted by the majority population. On the other hand Iranians have maintained their pre-Islamic traditions including language and culture and adapted them with Islamic codes. Finally these two customs and traditions.^[1][2]

Numerous dialects and regional identities emerged over time, while a Persian orientation fully manifested itself in Iran and Afghanistan by the 20th century, mirroring developments in post-Ottoman Turkey, Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast. Europe is washed upon to the north by the Arctic Ocean and, the Caucasus The Caucasus or Caucas is a geopolitical region located between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, including Europe's highest mountain (Mount Elbrus) and the Arab world Arab nationalism is a nationalist ideology which rose to prominence amongst Arabs from the early 20th century onwards. Its central premise is that the peoples and countries of the Arab World, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea, constitute one nation and are bound together by their common linguistic, cultural, and historical heritage. One. With the disintegration of the final Persian Empires The Persian Empire was a series of successive Iranian or Iraniate empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland, and beyond in Western Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus. The first Persian Empire formed under the Median Empire after defeating and ending the Assyrian Empire with the help of Babylonians of the Afsharid The Afsharids were members of an Iranian dynasty of Turkic descent from Khorasan who ruled Persia in the 18th century. The dynasty was founded in 1736 by the military commander Nader Shah who deposed the last member of the Safavid dynasty and proclaimed himself king of Iran. During Nader's reign, Iran reached its greatest extent since the Sassanid and Qajar The Qajar dynasty ( Qajar (help·info)) (Persian: سلسله قاجاریه - or دودمان قاجار) is a common term to describe Iran (then known as Persia) under the ruling Turco-Persian Qajar royal family that ruled Iran from 1794 to 1925. In 1794 the Qajar family took full control of Iran as they had eliminated all their rivals, including dynasties,territories in the Caucasus Azerbaijan (pronounced /ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn/ ; Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan), formally the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası), is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the,^[3] and Central Asia Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan (Tajik: Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and People's Republic of China to the east. Tajikistan also lies adjacent to Pakistan but is either became independent from Iran or incorporated into the Russian Empire The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union. It was the second largest contiguous empire the world had seen, surpassed only by the Mongol Empire. At one point in 1866, it stretched from eastern Europe, across Asia,.

The Persian peoples emerged as an eclectic collection of groups with the Persian language Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Bahrain and has official-language status in the first three countries under different names. Persian is a pluricentric language. The Persian language has been a medium for literary and being the main shared legacy. Diverse populations in Central Asia, such as the Hazaras show traces of Mongol ancestry. As Persian was the lingua franca of the Iranian plateau (the highlands between Iraq and the Indus) it has come to be used by numerous groups as a second language including Turkic and Arab Iranian Arabs are the Arabic-speaking peoples of Iran. Most Iranian Arabs live in the coastal regions of southern Iran by the Persian Gulf. Iranian Arab communities are also found in Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates groups. While most Persians in Iran adhere to Shia Islam Shia Islam , is the second largest denomination of Islam, after Sunni Islam, those to the east remain followers of Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘ah (Arabic: أهل السنة والجماعة‎ "people of the example and the community") or Ahl as-Sunnah (Arabic: أهل السنة‎) for short. The word Sunni comes from the word Sunnah (Arabic: سنة‎), which. Small groups of Persians continue to follow the pre-Islamic faiths of Zoroastrianism, Christianity Adherents of Christianity, known as Christians, believe that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible . Orthodox Christian theology claims that Jesus suffered, died, and was resurrected to open heaven to humans. They further maintain that Jesus ascended into heaven, and most denominations teach that Jesus will return to judge all humans,, Judaism Judaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts. Judaism presents itself as the covenantal relationship between the Children of Israel (later, the Jewish nation) and God. It is considered either the first or one of the first monotheistic and Bahá'í in Iran.

While a categorization of a 'Persian' ethnic group persists in the West, Persians have generally been a pan-national group often comprising regional peoples who rarely refer to themselves as 'Persians' and sometimes use the term 'Iranian' instead. The synonymous usage of Iranian and Persian persisted over the centuries despite the varied meanings of Iranian, which includes different but related languages and ethnic groups. As a pan-national group, defining Persians as an ethnic group, at least in terms used in the West, is problematic since Persians are a varied group.

Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Ancient 1.2 Islamic era 1.3 Modern era 2 Sub-groups 3 History 4 Language 5 Religion 6 Culture 6.1 Arts 6.2 Statues 6.3 Music 6.4 Architecture 6.5 Rugs 6.6 Gardens 7 Women 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

Terminology

This section requires expansion.

Costumes of an ancient Persian noblemen and soldiers.

The term Persia was adopted by all western languages through the Greeks and was used as an official name for Iran by the West until 1935. Due to that label, all Iranians were considered Persian. Also, many others who embraced the Persian language and culture are also often referred to as Persian as a part of Persian civilization (culturally and/or linguistically).

Ancient

The first known written record of the term Persian is from Assyrian Assyria was a political state centered on the Upper Tigris river, in Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times in history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur (Akkadian: Aššur; Arabic: أشور Aššûr; Hebrew: אַשּׁוּר Aššûr, Aramaic: ܐܫܘܪ Ašur, ܐܬܘܪ Atur). The term inscriptions of the 9th century BCE, which mention both Parsuash and Parsua .^[4][5] These cognate words were taken from old Iranian Parsava and presumably meant border, borderland and were geographical designations for Iranian populations (who referred to themselves as Aryans as an ethnic designation or showing the nobility). Nonetheless, Parsua and Parsuash, were two different geographical locations, the latter referring to southwestern Iran, known in Old Persian The Old Persian language is one of the two attested Old Iranian languages . Old Persian appears primarily in the inscriptions, clay tablets, seals of the Achaemenid era (c. 600 BCE to 300 BCE). Examples of Old Persian have been found in present-day Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt the most important attestation by far being the contents of the as Pârsa (Modern Fars). The Greeks The Greeks , also known as Hellenes, are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions, who can also be found in diaspora communities around the world (who tended earlier to use names related to "Median") began in the fifth century to use adjectives such as Perses, Persica or Persis for Cyrus the Great Cyrus the Great , (c. 600 BC or 576 – December 530 BC), also known as Cyrus II of Persia and Cyrus the Elder, was the first Zoroastrian Persian Shāhanshāh (Emperor). He was the founder of the Persian Empire under the Achaemenid dynasty, which was an empire without precedent— a world-empire of major historical importance's empire,^[6] which is where the word Persian in English comes from. In the later parts of the Bible Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew or Jewish Bible. It comprises three parts: the Torah , the Prophets, and the Writings. It was primarily written in Hebrew with some small portions in Aramaic.[citation needed] In Christian religions, the Tanakh is known as the Old Testament, where this kingdom is frequently mentioned (Books of Esther Esther , born Hadassah, was a Jewish queen of the Persian Empire in the Hebrew Bible, the queen of Ahasuerus (traditionally identified with Xerxes I), and heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther which is named after her. The name Esther comes from the Persian word "star", Daniel Daniel is the central protagonist of the Book of Daniel. The name "Daniel" means "God is my judge", Dan = judge, "i = a 1st person singular possessive suffix, and "El" = God, Ezra Ezra was a Jewish priestly scribe who led about 5,000 Israelite exiles living in Babylon to their home city of Jerusalem in 459 BC. Ezra reconstituted the dispersed Jewish community on the basis of the Torah and with an emphasis on the law. According to the Hebrew Bible, Ezra resolved the identity threat which arose by the intermarriage between and Nehemya), it is called "Paras" (Hebrew פרס), or sometimes "Paras ve Madai" (פרס ומדי) i.e. "Persia and Media The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. This area is known as Media (also Medea; Greek Μηδία, Old Persian Māda; the English adjective is Median, antiquated also Medean). They entered this region with the first wave of Iranian tribes, in the late second millennium BC (the Bronze Age".

One of the roots of creative stimulations during the Parthian Empire The Arsacid Empire (247 BC - 224 AD), was an Iranian significant political and cultural power in the ancient Near East, and a counterweight to the Roman Empire in the region. Its ruling dynasty was founded by Arsaces, hence the origin of the term "Arsacid". The Arsacid dynasts were from Parthia ("roughly western Khurasan" in was the Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire (550–330 BC) was amongst the first Persian Empires that ruled over significant portions of Greater Iran, and followed the Iranian Median Empire. At the height of its power, the Iranian Achaemenid Empire encompassed approximately 7.5 million square kilometers, holds the greatest percentage of. Courtiers spoke Persian and used the Pahlavi script.^[7] During the Sassanid Empire The Sassanid Persian Empire (Persian: ساسانیان IPA: [sɒsɒnijɒn]) is the name of the last pre-Islamic Iranian empire. It was one of the two main powers in Western Asia for a period of more than 400 years. The Sassanid dynasty was founded by Ardashir I after defeating the last Parthian (Arsacid) king, Artabanus IV Ardavan) and ended when the intermingling of Persians, Medes, Parthians and indigeneous people of Iran, including the Elamites Elam was centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of Khuzestan and Ilam Province , as far as Jiroft in Kerman province and Burned City in Zabol[citation needed], as well as a small part of southern Iraq gained more ground and a homogeneous Iranian identity was created to the extent that all were just called Iranians/Persians irrespective of clannish affiliations and regional linguistic or dialectical alterities. The Elamite language may have survived as late as the early Islamic period. Ibn al-Nadim Abu'l-Faraj Muhammad bin Is'hāq al-Nadim , whose father was known as al-Warrāq (الورّاق) (died September 17, 995 or 998) was a of unknown origin although some sources refer to him as Persian Shi'ite Muslim scholar and bibliographer. Some scholars regard him as a Persian but this is not certain. He is famous as the author of the Kitāb al- among other medieval historians Although Herodotus and Xenophon referred to the entire region as Susiana, the name Khuzestan is what has been referred to the southwestern most province of Persia from antiquity, for instance, wrote that "The Iranian languages are Fahlavi (Pahlavi), Dari, Khuzi, Persian and Suryani", and Ibn Moqaffa Abū-Muhammad Abd-Allāh Rūzbeh ibn Dādūya/Dādōē , mostly known as Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ (Arabic: ابن المقفع - Persian: ابن مقفع) or Rūzbeh pūr-e Dādūya (Persian: روزبه پور دادوَيه), was an 8th-century (d. c. 756) Persian thinker and a Zoroastrian convert to Islam noted that Khuzi was the unofficial language of the royalty of Persia, "Khuz" being the corrupted name for Elam. However the Elamite identity might have vanished already. As to Strabo Strabo was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher, the Cyrtians who were plausibly the ancestors of the modern Kurds The Kurds are an Ethnic-Iranian ethnolinguistic group mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Substantial Kurdish communities also exist in the cities of western Turkey, and they can also be found in Lebanon, Armenia, Azerbaijan and, in recent decades, some European countries were called one of the Persian tribes. Cyrtians, the generally accepted progenitors of the Kurds and Lurs might already have been significantly scattered in the Zagros from Persis into Media.^[8][9]

Islamic era

The term Persian continued to refer to various Iranic people including speakers of Chorasmian Language,^[10] old Tabari language,^[11] Old Azari language ,^[12] Laki and Kurdish speakers.^[13]

The Arab historian Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn Al-Masudi (896-956) also refers to various Persian dialects and the speakers of these various Persian dialects as Persian. While considering modern Persian (Dari) to be one of these dialects, he also mentions Pahlavi and Old Azari, as well as other Persian languages. Al-Masudi states:^[14]

The Persians are a people whose borders are the Mahat Mountains and Azarbaijan up to Armenia and Arran, and Bayleqan and Darband, and Ray and Tabaristan and Masqat and Shabaran and Jorjan and Abarshahr, and that is Nishabur, and Herat and Marv and other places in land of Khorasan, and Sejistan and Kerman and Fars and Ahvaz...All these lands were once one kingdom with one sovereign and one language...although the language differed slightly. The language, however, is one, in that its letters are written the same way and used the same way in composition. There are, then, different languages such as Pahlavi, Dari, Azari, as well as other Persian languages.

Modern era

The name "Persia" was the "official" name of Iran in the Western world before 1935, but Persian people inside their country since the Sassanid period (226–651 A.D.) have called it "Iran". Accordingly the term "Persian" was used in the Western world as the people inhabiting Iran; for instance, Ramsay MacDonald (1866-1937), the Prime-Minister of the United Kingdom, and the British ambassador in Iran, Percy Loraine, used Persian and Persian people to talk about the Iranian people and government.^[15] On 21 March 1935, the ruler of the country, Reza Shah Pahlavi, issued a decree asking foreign delegates to use the term Iran in formal correspondence. From then on "Iranian" and "Persian" was applied interchangeably to the population of Iran. It is still historically being used to designate some Iranian people living in Greater Iran.^[16][17][18]

Sub-groups

Main articles: Persian-speakers of Iran and Tājik people, Hazara people, Farsiwan, Kizilbash, and Tats

Persians can be found in Iran, Georgia, Turkey, Armenia, the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Northern Pakistan.^[19][20] Like the Persians of Iran (Western Persians), the Tajiks (Eastern Persians) are descendants of various Iranian peoples, including Persians from Iran, as well as numerous invaders. Tajiks and Farsiwan have a particular affinity with Persians in neighboring Khorasan due to historical interaction some stemming from the Islamic period.

Other smaller groups include the Qizilbash of Afghanistan and Pakistan who are related to the Farsiwan and Azerbaijanis. In the Caucasus, the Tats are concentrated in Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russian Dagestan and their origins are traced to Sassanid merchants who settled in the region. Parsis, a Zoroastrian sect of western India centered around Gujarat and Mumbai and also found in southern Pakistan, while the Parsees, are also largely descended from Persian Zoroastrians. The Iranis, another small community in western South Asia, are descended from more recent Persian Zoroastrian immigrants. In addition, the Hazara and Aimaq of Afghanistan are ethnic groups of partial Persianized Mongol and Turkic origin.

History

See also: Persian Empire, History of Iran, History of Tajikistan, History of Uzbekistan, and History of Central Asia

The Persians are believed to be descendents of the Aryan (Indo-Iranian) tribes that began migrating from Central Asia into what is now Iran in the second millennium BCE.^[21][22][23] The Persian language and other Iranian tongues emerged as these Aryan tribes split up into two major groups, the Persians and the Medes, and intermarried with minority peoples indigenous to the Iranian plateau such as the Elamites.^[24][25] The first mention of the Persians dates to the 9th century BCE, when they appear as the Parsu in Assyrian sources, as a people living at the southeastern shores of Lake Urmia.

Achaemenid Empire at greatest extent.

The ancient Persians from the province of Pars became the rulers of a large empire under the Achaemenid dynasty (Hakhamaneshiyan) in the sixth century BCE, reuniting with the tribes and other provinces of the ancient Iranian plateau and forming the Persian Empire. Over the centuries Persia was ruled by various dynasties; some of them were ethnic Iranians including the Achaemenids, Parthians (Ashkanian), Sassanids (Sassanian), Buwayhids and Samanids, and some of them were not, such as the Seleucids, Ummayyads, Abbasids, and Seljuk Turks.

The founding dynasty of the empire, the Achaemenids, and later the Sassanids, were from the southern region of Iran, Pars. The latter Parthian dynasty arose from the north. However, according to archaeological evidence found in modern day Iran in the form of cuneiforms that go back to the Achaemenid era, it is evident that the native name of Parsa (Persia) had been applied to Iran from its birth.^[26][27]

Language

Main articles: Persian language and Iranian languages

The Persian language is one of the world's oldest languages still in use today, and is known to have one of the most powerful literary traditions, with formidable Persian poets like Ferdowsi, Hafez, Khayyam, Attar, Saadi, Nezami, Roudaki, Rumi and Sanai. By native speakers as well as in Urdu, Bengali, Turkish, Arabic and other neighboring languages, it is called Fārsī, and additionally Dari or Tajiki in the eastern parts of Greater Iran.

"Persian" has historically referred to some Iranian languages, however what today is referred to as the Persian language is part of the Western group of the Iranian languages branch of the Indo-European language family. Today, speakers of the western dialect of Persian form the majority in Iran. The Eastern dialect, also called Dari or Tajiki, forms majorities in Tajikistan, and Afghanistan,^[28] and a large minority in Uzbekistan. Smaller groups of Persian-speakers are found in Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Pakistan, western China (Xinjiang), as well as in the UAE, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman and Azerbaijan.

Religion

Main articles: Shia Sunni relations, Islam in Iran, Islam in Afghanistan, Islam in Tajikistan, and Islam in Uzbekistan

The Persian civilization spawned three major religions: Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, which heavily influenced Saint Augustine before he turned to Christianity, and the Bahá'í Faith. Another religion that arose from ancient Iran is Mazdakism, which has been dubbed the first communistic ideology. Both Mazdakism and Manichaeism were sub-branches of Zoroastrianism that is said to be the first monotheistic religion.

Sunni was the dominant form of Islam in most of Iran until rise of Safavid Empire. There were however some exceptions to this general domination of the Sunni creed which emerged in the form of the Zaydīs of Tabaristan, the Buwayhid, the rule of Sultan Muhammad Khudabandah (r. Shawwal 703-Shawwal 716/1304-1316CE), the Hashashin and the Sarbedaran. Nevertheless, apart from this domination there existed, firstly, throughout these nine centuries, Shia inclinations among many Sunnis of this land and, secondly, all three surviving branches of Shi'a Islam, Twelver, Ismaili, as well as Zaidi had prevalence in some parts of Iran. During this period, Shia in Iran were nourished from Kufah, Baghdad and later from Najaf and Hillah.^[29] Shiism were dominant sect in Tabaristan, Qom, Kashan, Avaj and Sabzevar. In many other areas the population of Shia and Sunni was mixed. In recent centuries Ismailis have also largely been an Indo-Iranian community,^[30]

Many scholars and scientists in Persia who lived before the Safavid era, such as Avicenna, Geber, Salman the Persian,Al-Farabi and Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī, were Shi'a Muslims, as was most of Iran's elite, while other greatest Sunni Muslim scientists, scholars and personaliries were Persian or had Persian descent, including Abu Dawood, Hakim al-Nishaburi, Al-Tabarani, Ghazali, Imam Bukhari, Tirmidhi, Al-Nasa'i and Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, amongst many others. Abu Hanifa, the founder of the Sunni Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence is also widely accepted of Persian ancestry.

The first Shia regime, the Safavid dynasty in Iran, propagated the Twelver faith, made Twelver law the law of the land, and patronized Twelver scholarship. For this, Twelver ulama "crafted a new theory of government" which held that while "not truly legitimate", the Safavid monarchy would be "blessed as the most desirable form of government during the period of waiting" for the twelfth imam.^[31]

The entrance to Shah Mosque (aka Imam Mosque or Shah Jame' Mosque) in Isfahan. This mosque is an example of Persian architecture during the Safavid dynasty.

Today, most Persians are Twelver Shia succeeded by Hanafi Sunni Muslims. There is also a sizeable number of Shafi`i Sunni Muslims in southern Iran and amongst Kurds. Small Ismaili Shia minorities also exist in scattered pockets. Some communities practice Shi'a Sufism. There are also smaller communities of Zoroastrians, Christians, Jews, and Bahá'ís. Bahá'ís are the largest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran.^[32] There exists Persians who are atheist and agnostic. Also see religious minorities in Iran.

Culture

Main articles: Culture of Iran, Culture of Afghanistan, Culture of Tajikistan, Indo-Persian culture, Turko-Persian tradition, and Culture of Uzbekistan

Persian culture can be defined through its films, as Persian cinema has attained a substantial amount of international and critical acclaim through such films as Children of Heaven and Taste of Cherry, which give both insights into the current state of Persian culture and profound depictions of the general human condition.

Arts

Main article: Persian art

The artistic heritage of Persia is eclectic and includes major contributions from both east and west. Persian art borrowed heavily from the indigenous Elamite civilization and Mesopotamia and later from Hellenism (as can be seen with statues from the Greek period). In addition, due to Persia's somewhat central location, it has served as a fusion point between eastern and western arts and architecture as Greco-Roman influence was often fused with ideas and techniques from India and China. When talking of the creative Persian arts one has to include a geographic area that actually extends into Central Asia, the Caucasus, Asia Minor, and Iraq as well as modern Iran. This vast geographic region has been pivotal in the development of the Persian arts as a whole.

Statues

Main article: Persian miniature

Persians' artistic expression can be seen as far back as the Achaemenid period as numerous statues depicting various important figures, usually of political significance as well as religious, such as the Immortals (elite troops of the emperor) are indicative of the influence of Mesopotamia and ancient Babylon. What is perhaps most representative of a more indigenous artistic expression are Persian miniatures. Although the influence of Chinese art is apparent, local Persian artists used the art form in various ways including portraits that could be seen from the Ottoman Empire to the courts of the Safavids and Mughals.

Music

Main article: Persian Music

The music of Persia goes back to the days of Barbad in the royal Sassanid courts, and even earlier. As it evolved, a distinct eastern Mediterranean style emerged as Persian folk music is often quite similar to the music of modern Iran's neighbors. In modern times, musical tradition has seen setbacks due to the religious government's policies in Iran, but has survived in the form of Iranian exiles and dissidents who have turned to Western rock music with a distinctive Iranian style as well as Persian rap.

Architecture

Main article: Persian architecture The ruins of Persepolis known as the Takht-e Jamshid or throne of Jamshid is part of the ancient architectural tradition of Persia.

Architecture is one of the areas where Persians have made outstanding contributions. Ancient examples can be seen in the ruins at Persepolis, while in modern times monuments such as the Tomb of Omar Khayyam are displays of the varied tradition in Persia. Various cities in Iran are historical displays of a distinctive Persian style that can be seen in the Kharaghan twin towers of Qazvin province and the Shah Mosque found in Isfahan. Persian architecture streams over the borders of Iran and is clearly seen throughout Central Asia as with the Bibi Khanum Mosque in Samarkand as well as Samanids mausoleum in Bukhara and the Minaret of Jam in western Afghanistan. Islamic architecture was founded on the base established by the Persians. Persian techniques can also be clearly seen in the structures of the Taj Mahal at Agra and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

Rugs

Main article: Persian rug

Gottfried Semper called rugs "the original means of separating space". Rug weaving was thus developed by ancient civilizations as a basis of architecture. Persian rugs are said to be the most detailed hand-made works of art. Also known as the starus Rugs very important in the culture. Interworking of fibers to produce cloth was known in Iran as early as the 5th millennium BCE.^[33] When the famous Greek commander Themistocles was asking for asylum from Persia , the “Persian carpet” was mentioned in his speech:

he [Artaxerxes I of Persia] commanded him to speak freely what he would concerning the affairs of Greece. Themistocles replied, that a man’s discourse was like to a rich Persian carpet, the beautiful figures and patterns of which can only be shown by spreading and extending it out; when it is contracted and folded up, they are obscured and lost; and, therefore, he desired time.

—Plutarch (Plutarch’s Lives, Chpter 49, Themistocles^[34])

Gardens

Main article: Persian Gardens

The Persian gardens were designed to reflect paradise on earth;^{[citation needed]} The English word paradise is thought to come from the Persian word Pardis, which refers to these gardens.

Although having existed since ancient times, the Persian garden gained greater prominence during the Islamic period as Arab rulers cultivated Persian techniques to create gardens of Persian design from Al-Andalus to Kashgar. Persian gardens are immortalized in the One Thousand and One Nights and the works of Omar Khayyam.

Women

Main articles: Iranian women, Gender roles in Afghanistan, and Women in Tajikistan

Persian women have played an important role throughout history. Scheherazade, though fictional, is an important figure of female wit and intelligence, while the beauty of Mumtaz Mahal inspired the building of the Taj Mahal itself. While in ancient times, aristocratic females possessed numerous rights sometimes on par with men, generally Persian women did not attain greater parity until the 20th century. However, Táhirih, the poet, had a great influence on modern women's movements throughout the Middle East. The Táhirih Justice Center is named after her.^{[citation needed]}

Persian women today serve an active role in society.^{[citation needed]} Persian women can be seen working in a variety of areas such as politics, law enforcement, transportation industries, etc. Universities still tend to be dominated by women in Iran and one may find a large number of female legislators in the Iranian Majlis (parliament),^{[citation needed]} even by western standards. Former Vice President Masoumeh Ebtekar, noted for her eloquence in dealing with western media, set a new standard for aspiring Iranian female politicians while serving under President Khatami.

See also

Iranian Peoples List of Iran-related topics List of Afghanistan-related topics

Demographics of Iran Demographics of Russia Demographics of Armenia Demography of Afghanistan Demographics of Turkey Demographics of Tajikistan Demographics of Uzbekistan

Persianate society Persianization Turko-Iranian Turco-Persian Iranis of India Parsis of India

References

1. ^ http://www.iranologie.com/history/history9.html
2. ^ Lands of Iran Encyclopedia Iranica (July 25, 2005) (retrieved 3 March 2008)
3. ^ Treaty of Turkmenchay, Treaty of Gulistan and Anglo-Persian War
4. ^ Abdolhossein Zarinkoob "Ruzgaran : tarikh-e Iran az aghaz ta soqut-e saltnat-e Pahlevi" pp. 37
5. ^ Bahman Firuzmandi "Mad, Hakhamaneshi, Ashkani, Sasani" pp. 155
6. ^ Liddell and Scott, Lexicon of the Greek Language, Oxford, 1882, p 1205
7. ^ http://www.livius.org/pan-paz/parthia/parthia02.html
8. ^ BRUNNER, C. J. (May 2006). "IRAN, v(2). Pre-Islamic Period". Center for Iranian Studies, Encyclopædia Iranica. New York: Columbia University. http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v13f3/v13f3004b.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-09.
9. ^ Schmitt, Rüdiger. "CYRTIANS". Center for Iranian Studies, Encyclopædia Iranica. New York: Columbia University. http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v6f5/v6f5a025.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-09.
10. ^ For example, Abu Rayhan Biruni, a native speaker of the Eastern Iranian language Chorasmian mentions in his Āthār al-bāqiyah ʻan al-qurūn al-xāliyah that: "the people of Khwarizm, they are a branch of the Persian tree." See: Abu Rahyan Biruni, "Athar al-Baqqiya 'an al-Qurun al-Xaliyyah" ("Vestiges of the past: chronology of ancient nations"), Tehran, Miras-e-Maktub, 2001. Original Arabic of the quote: "و أما أهل خوارزم، و إن کانوا غصنا ً من دوحة الفُرس"(pg 56)
11. ^ The language used in the ancient Marzbānnāma was, in the words of the 13th-century historian Sa'ad ad-Din Warawini, “ the language of Ṭabaristan and old, original Persian (fārsī-yi ḳadīm-i bāstān)”See: Kramers, J.H. "Marzban-nāma." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman , Th. Bianquis , C.E. Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2007. Brill Online. 18 November 2007 <http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=islam_SIM-4990>
12. ^ The language of Tabriz, being an Iranian language during the time of Qatran Tabrizi, was not the standard Khurasani Parsi-ye Dari. Qatran Tabrizi(11th century) has an interesting couplet mentioning this fact: Mohammad-Amin Riahi. “Molehaazi darbaareyeh Zabaan-I Kohan Azerbaijan”(Some comments on the ancient language of Azerbaijan), ‘Itilia’at Siyasi Magazine, volume 181-182. Also available at: [1] بلبل به سان مطرب بیدل فراز گل گه پارسی نوازد، گاهی زند دری Translation: The nightingale is on top of the flower like a minstrel who has lost her heart It bemoans sometimes in Parsi (Persian) and sometimes in Dari (Khurasani Persian)
13. ^ Lady (Mary) Shiel in her observation of Persia during the Qajar describes the Persian tribes and Koords/Laks identified themselves and were identified commonly as Old Persians. See: Shiel, Lady (Mary). Glimpses of Life and Manners in Persia. London: John Murray, 1856. See:[2], excerpt: The PERSIAN TRIBES. The tribes are divided into three races-Toorks, Leks, first are the invaders from Toorkistan, who, from time 'immemorial, have established themselves in Persia, and who still preserve their language. The Leks form the clans of genuine Persian blood, such as the Loors, BekhtiaTees, &c. To them might be added the Koords, as members of the Persian family; but their numbers in the dominions of the Shah are comparatively few, the greater part of that widely-spread people being attached to Turkey. Collectively the Koords are so numerous that they might be regarded as a nation divided into distinct tribes. Who are the Leks, and who are the Koords? This in- quiry I cannot solve. I never met any one in Persia, either eel or moolla, who could give the least elucidation of this question. All they could say was, that both these races were Foors e kadeem,-old Persians. They both speak dialects the greater part of which is Persian, bearing a strong resemblance to the colloquial language of the present day, divested of its large Arabic mixture. These dialects are not perfectly alike, though it is said that Leks and Koords are able to comprehend each other. One would be disposed to consider them as belonging to the same stock,. did they not both disavow the connection. A Lek will- admit that a Koord, like himself, is an 11 old Persian," but he denies that the families are identical, and a Koord views the question in the same light.
14. ^ (Al Mas'udi, Kitab al-Tanbih wa-l-Ishraf, De Goeje, M.J. (ed.), Leiden, Brill, 1894, pp. 77-8). Original Arabic from www.alwaraq.net: فالفرس أمة حد بلادها الجبال من الماهات وغيرها وآذربيجان إلى ما يلي بلاد أرمينية وأران والبيلقان إلى دربند وهو الباب والأبواب والري وطبرستن والمسقط والشابران وجرجان وابرشهر، وهي نيسابور، وهراة ومرو وغير ذلك من بلاد خراسان وسجستان وكرمان وفارس والأهواز، وما اتصل بذلك من أرض الأعاجم في هذا الوقت وكل هذه البلاد كانت مملكة واحدة ملكها ملك واحد ولسانها واحد، إلا أنهم كانوا يتباينون في شيء يسير من اللغات وذلك أن اللغة إنما تكون واحدة بأن تكون حروفها التي تكتب واحدة وتأليف حروفها تأليف واحد، وإن اختلفت بعد ذلك في سائر الأشياء الأخر كالفهلوية والدرية والآذرية وغيرها من لغات الفرس.
15. ^ Ghani, Cyrus. Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah: From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power, 2001, p. 310, I.B.Tauris. ISBN 1860646298
16. ^ Persian entry in the Merriam-Webster online dictionary [3]
17. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition (2000). [4]
18. ^ Bausani, Alessandro. The Persians, from the earliest days to the twentieth century. 1971, Elek. ISBN 978-0236177608
19. ^ Witek, W., 2001. "With Camera to India, Iran and Afghanistan: Access to Multimedia Sources of the Explorer, Professor Dr. Morgenstierne (1892-1975)". National Library of Norway, Oslo. In: Bentkowska-Kafel A. et al., 2005. Digital art history: A Subject in Transition. p. 49. ebrary, Inc. Published by Intellect Books ISBN 1841501166 ISBN 9781841501161 [5], [6]
20. ^ Ethnologue report for Languages of Pakistan
21. ^ Iran :: Ethnic groups - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
22. ^ The Medes and the Persians, c.1500-559 from The Encyclopedia of World History Sixth Edition, Peter N. Stearns (general editor), © 2001 The Houghton Mifflin Company, at Bartleby.com.
23. ^ Bahman Firuzmandi "Mad, Hakhamanishi, Ashkani, Sasani" pp. 20
24. ^ Iran. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05
25. ^ Bahman Firuzmandi "Mad, Hakhamanishi, Ashkani, Sasani" pp. 12-19
26. ^ Persia - Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
27. ^ The Splendor of Persia: The Land and the People - by Robert Payne
28. ^ BBC News - Afghan poll's ethnic battleground
29. ^ Four Centuries of Influence of Iraqi Shiism on Pre-Safavid Iran
30. ^ Nasr, Vali, The Shia Revival, Norton, (2006), p.76
31. ^ Nasr, Vali, The Shia Revival, Norton, (2006), p.74-75
32. ^ Federation Internationale des Ligues des Droits de L'Homme (2003-08). "Discrimination against religious minorities in IRAN" (PDF). fidh.org. http://www.fidh.org/asie/rapport/2003/ir0108a.pdf. Retrieved on 2006-10-04.
33. ^ Rubinson, Karen S. "carpets :vi.pre-Islamic carpets (pages 858 – 861)". Encyclopedia Iranica. http://www.iranica.com/articles/search/searchpdf.isc. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
34. ^ Themistocles. Plutarch. 1909-14. Plutarch’s Lives. The Harvard Classics

External links

• Ethnologue's entry for Western Persian
• Persian People, Lifestyle, History and Religion
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