Persians

This article is about the ethnic Persians of Iran. For information about people of Iran, see Iranians. For Central Asian Persians see Tajiks. For South Asian Persians see either Iranis or Parsis. For the ancient empire, see Persian Empire.

Persians

File:Cyrus portrait.jpg
Regions with significant populations
Iran:    40,810,716    34,689,910 United States of America:    913,000 United Arab Emirates:    400,000 Germany:    110,000 Canada:    88,000 Australia:    50,000
Languages
Persian (Western dialect, in addition to regional varieties)
Religion
Shi'a Islam, Sunni Islam, Bahá'í Faith, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism.
Related ethnic groups
Other Iranian peoples Azerbaijani people

The Persians are an Iranian people who speak the Persian language and share a common culture and history.

Significant numbers of Persians reside outside of Iran with the largest communities found in the United States of America, Germany, England, Canada and Iraq. Smaller communities are also found in surrounding countries and the Arabian Peninsula.

History

See also: Persian Empire and History of Iran

According to some sources, a typical Persian does not exist, because there are within the limits of the Empire many distinct type, easily recognized, though they originally represent geographical and climatic areas rather than different racial origins. The original inhabitants of Persia were replaced in some areas and in others assimilated, by Aryan-speaking Nordic nomads from Eastern Russia, and by Turanian-speaking Mongolians from Western Siberia. This took place as early as 2000 B.C., and continued many centuries.

The Persians of Iran are descendents of the Aryan (Indo-Iranian) tribes that began migrating from Central Asia into what is now Iran in the 2nd millennium BC. 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 peoples indigenous to the Iranian plateau such as the Elamites. The first known written record about them is from an Assyrian inscription of the 834 BC, which mentions both Parsua (Persians) and Madai (Medes).

The ancient Persians from the province of Pars became the rulers of a large empire under the Achaemenid dynasty (Hakhamanesheeyan) in the sixth century BC, reuniting 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, Seljuk Turks, Afsharids and Qajars.

The founding dynasty of the empire, the Achaemenids, and later the Sassanids, were from the southern province of Pars, (the Parthian dynasty arose from the north) from which in Western literature the word Persia is derived and used to distinguish between ancient and modern Iran. (lit: Land of the Aryans) 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 Persia had been called Iran from its birth.

Related sub-groups

Ethnic Persians can also be found outside of Iran and include the Tajiks and Parsiwan (also known as the Farsiwan) who can be found in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and Xinjiang, China while another group called the Tats lives mainly in the Caucasus region concentrated in Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russian Dagestan. The Parsis of India and eastern Pakistan are also largely descended from Persian Zoroastrian refugees who fled from Persia following the Arab conquests. The Irani's of western India are descended from more recent Persian Zoroastrian immigrants to the subcontinent. In addition, the Hazara are largely a Persianized Turkic-Mongol ethnic group.

Persian language

Main article: Persian language

The Persian language is one of the world's oldest languages still in use today. By native speakers as well as in Urdu, Arabic and other neighboring peoples, it is called Fãrsi in Iran and Dari or Tajiki east of Iran. It is part of the Iranian sub-section of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Persian-speakers are today in the majority in Iran, Tajikistan, and possibly Afghanistan , and form a large minority in Uzbekistan as well. Smaller groups of Persian-speakers are found in western Pakistan and western China, as well as in Bahrain and Iraq and Azerbaijan.

Religion

The Persian civilization spawned four major religions: Zoroastrianism, Mithraism, Manichaeanism, and the Bahá'í Faith. Other religions such as Mazdakism and Manichaenism also arose from ancient Iran, with the former having been dubbed the first communistic ideology, and the latter heavily influencing Saint Augustine; hence, indirectly influencing Christianity: Both religions were sub-branches of Zoroastrianism. Today many scholars while still debating on which religion first introduced monotheism; Zoroastrianism, or Judaism, they, however, have conceded that it was the religion of Zoroastrianism that for the first time introduced angelology, demonology, apocalyptical doctrines, as well as, some eschatological notions to humanity. Such ideas would later be passed on to the Babylonian Jews via the Persian Empire. All of these reflect the dualism of Persian culture which has also significantly influenced Judeo-Christianity and Western civilization. In addition, Persian civilization has affected its neighbors through culture, religion, and language.

Most Persians in Iran are Shia Muslims, while smaller communties of Sunni Muslims, Bahá'ís, Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians remain. There are also Persians who are Atheist and Agnostic. Also see religious minorities in Iran.

Persian arts

Main article: Persian art

File:MahmoudFarshchian.jpg

A modern example of Persian miniature

The artistic heritage of Persia is actually quite 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.

Persian painting and depiction artistry

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.

Persian music

Main article: Music of Iran

The music of Persia goes back to the days of Barbod 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 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.

Persian architecture

Main article: Iranian architecture

The ruins of Persepolis known as the Takht-e Jamshid or seat of power 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 and the Minaret of Jam in western Afghanistan. Persian techniques can also be clearly seen in the structures of the Taj Mahal at Agra and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

Persian 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 have a history as old as humanity itself.

Persian gardens

Main article: Persian Gardens

The Persian garden was designed as a reflection of paradise on earth; the word "garden" itself coming from Persian roots as does the word paradise which was often associated with Persian 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 Arabian Nights and the works of Omar Khayyam.

Persian women

Main article: Persian Woman

Persian women have played an important role throughout history. Shahrazad, 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. Females were given such status in ancient Persia that they were the first to ever serve in a national military. Peace activists such as Shirin Ebadi have pushed for greater rights for women, while many Iranian women exiles have set examples of excellence that have no doubt inspired many Persian women to strive for change in the conservative society prevalent in today's Iran. Even with the current climate of religious conservativism Persian women still tend to take a more active role in social, religious and family affairs than their Arab or Turkish counterparts. Despite the barriers imposed by the Revolution, Iranian women can be seen working in a variety of areas such as politics, law enforecement, taxi driving, 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, 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. Outstanding Iranian female academics, such as Laleh Bakhtiar have forever left a mark in the fields they contribute to.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Iran

From the humble brick to the windmill, Persians have strived to create a better world by mixing creativity with art. Persian culture can be defined through its literary tradition, social customs, religions (both past and present), distinctive foods, and foreign influences that have merged with local traditions. In recent years, Persian culture has seen itself expressed through the medium of 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.

See also

• Demographics of Iran
• History of Iran
• Parsis of India (Zoroastrians)
• Tajiks
• Iranis of India

External links

• Ethnologue information for Western Persians
• Statistics on geographic distribution of Persians worldwide
• Persian Diaspora