View source for Persians

{{Short description|Iranian ethnic group who make up over half the population of Iran}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{for-multi|the breed of cat|Persian cat|present day Iranian ethnic groups|Iranian peoples#Demographics||Persian (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Persians
| native_name      = پارسی‌ها/فارسی/ایرانی
| native_name_lang = fa
| rawimage         = 
| population       = {{circa|'''60+ million'''}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/pes|title=Persian, Iranian|website=[[Ethnologue]]|access-date=11 December 2018}} Total Iranian Persian users in all countries.</ref>
| region1          = {{flag|Iran}}
| pop1             = 51–65%<ref name="Elling"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Crane |first1=Keith |last2=Lal |first2=Rollie |last3=Martini |first3=Jeffrey |title=Iran's Political, Demographic, and Economic Vulnerabilities |date=6 June 2008 |publisher=RAND Corporation |page=38 |isbn=9780833045270 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PmlMdb5ACHEC&pg=PA38 |access-date=17 January 2023}}</ref><ref name="Congress">{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/cs/profiles/Iran.pdf |title=Country Profile: Iran |work=Library of Congress – Federal Research Division |date=May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007125857/https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/cs/profiles/Iran.pdf |access-date=30 April 2019|archive-date=2015-10-07 }}</ref> (also including [[Gilaks]] and [[Mazanderanis]])<ref name="Elling">{{cite book |last1=Elling |first1=Rasmus Christian |author1-link=Rasmus Christian Elling |title=Minorities in Iran: Nationalism and Ethnicity after Khomeini |date=18 February 2013 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-137-04780-9 |page=19 |quote=The ''Factbook'' puts 'Persian and Persian dialects' at 58 percent, but 51 percent of the population as ethnic Persians, while the Library of Congress states that Persian 'is spoken as a mother tongue by at least 65 percent of the population and as a second language by a large proportion of the remaining 35 percent. The 'Persian' mentioned in the latter report must thus also include Gilaki and Mazi. However, Gilaki and Mazi are actually from a different branch of the Iranian language subfamily than Persian, and could be as such be seen not as dialects, but as distinct languages. Suffice it here to say that while some scholars see categories such as Gilakis and Mazandaranis as referring to separate ethnic groups due to their linguistic traits, others count them as 'Persians' on exactly the same basis.}}</ref> of the total population
| languages        = [[Persian language|Persian]], other [[Iranian languages]]
| religions        = '''Majority:'''<br/>[[Shia Islam]]<br/>'''Minority:'''<br/>[[Zoroastrianism]], [[Christianity]], [[Judaism]], [[Baháʼí Faith]], [[Sunni Islam]], and [[Religion in Iran|various others]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://radis.org/%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AC-%DB%8C%DA%A9-%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%86%D8%AC%DB%8C-%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%81%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%AD%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%AF-%D9%86%DB%8C%D9%85%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2/|title=Goman Poll}}</ref>
| related          = Other [[Iranian peoples]]
}}
{{Contains special characters|Perso-Arabic}}

The '''Persians'''<!--,<ref name="CIA Geos">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iran/ |title=Iran — The World Factbook |work=Central Intelligence Agency |access-date=13 May 2013 }}</ref><ref name="Congress"/>--> ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɜr|ʒ|ən|z}} {{respell|PUR|zhənz}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɜr|ʃ|ən|z}} {{respell|PUR|shənz}}) are an [[Iranian peoples|Iranian ethnic group]] who comprise over half of the population of [[Iran]].<ref name="Congress" /> They share a [[Culture of Iran|common cultural system]] and are native speakers of the [[Persian language]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Lois |title=Nomads in Postrevolutionary Iran: The Qashqa'i in an Era of Change |year=2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1317743866 |page=xxii |quote=(...) an ethnic Persian; adheres to cultural systems connected with other ethnic Persians (...)}}</ref><ref name="Samadi">{{cite book |last1=Samadi |first1=Habibeh |title=Assessing Grammar: The Languages of Lars |year=2012 |publisher=Multilingual Matters |isbn=978-1-84769-637-3 |last2=Perkins |first2=Nick |editor1-last=Ball |editor1-first=Martin |editor2-last=Crystal |editor2-first=David |editor3-last=Fletcher |editor3-first=Paul |page=169}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iran-v1-peoples-survey |date=29 March 2012 |first=R. N. |last=Fyre |title=IRAN v. PEOPLES OF IRAN |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |quote=The largest group of people in present-day Iran are Persians (*q.v.) who speak dialects of the language called Fārsi in Persian, since it was primarily the tongue of the people of Fārs."}}</ref> as well as of [[Iranian languages|the languages that are closely related to Persian]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |quote=Conversely, the Nehāvand sub-province of Hamadān is home to ethnic Persians who speak NLori as a mother tongue. (...) The same is true of areas to the southwest, south, and east of the Lori language area (...): while the varieties spoken there show more structural similarity to Lori than to Persian, speakers identify themselves as ethnically Persian. |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/lori-language-ii |title=LORI LANGUAGE ii. Sociolinguistic Status of Lori |date=20 December 2012 |first=Erik J. |last=Anonby}}</ref>

The ancient Persians were originally an [[List of ancient Iranian peoples|ancient Iranian people]] who had migrated to the region of [[Persis]] (corresponding to the modern-day Iranian province of [[Fars province|Fars]]) by the 9th century BCE.<ref name="Iranica: Fars">{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/fars-i |title=FĀRS i. Geography |volume=IX |pages=?–336 |date=24 January 2012 |author=Xavier de Planhol |quote=The name of Fārs is undoubtedly attested in Assyrian sources since the third millennium B.C.E. under the form Parahše. Originally, it was the "land of horses" of the Sumerians (Herzfeld, pp. 181–82, 184–86). The name was adopted by Iranian tribes which established themselves there in the 9th century B.C.E. in the west and southwest of Urmia lake. The Parsua (Pārsa) are mentioned there for the first time in 843 B.C.E., during the reign of Salmanassar III, and then, after they migrated to the southeast (Boehmer, pp. 193–97), the name was transferred, between 690 and 640, to a region previously called Anšan (q.v.) in Elamite sources (Herzfeld, pp. 169–71, 178–79, 186). From that moment the name acquired the connotation of an ethnic region, the land of the Persians, and the Persians soon thereafter founded the vast Achaemenid empire. A never-ending confusion thus set in between a narrow, limited, geographical usage of the term—Persia in the sense of the land where the aforesaid Persian tribes had shaped the core of their power—and a broader, more general usage of the term to designate the much larger area affected by the political and cultural radiance of the Achaemenids. The confusion between the two senses of the word was continuous, fueled by the Greeks who used the name Persai to designate the entire empire.}}</ref><ref name="book2"/> Together with their compatriot allies, they established and ruled [[History of Iran|some of the world's most powerful empires]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/achaemenid-dynasty |title=ACHAEMENID DYNASTY |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |pages=414–426 |volume=I |first=R. |last=Schmitt |quote=In 550 B.C. Cyrus (called "the Great" by the Greeks) overthrew the Median empire under Astyages and brought the Persians into domination over the Iranian peoples; he achieved combined rule over all Iran as the first real monarch of the Achaemenid dynasty. Within a few years he founded a multinational empire without precedent—a first world-empire of historical importance, since it embraced all previous civilized states of the ancient Near East. (...) The Persian empire was a multinational state under the leadership of the Persians; among these peoples the Medes, Iranian sister nation of the Persians, held a special position.}}</ref><ref name="book2"/> that are well-recognized for their massive cultural, political, and social influence, which covered much of the territory and population of the [[Ancient history|ancient world]].<ref>{{cite book |title=History of the Persians |first=Edward |last=Farr |publisher=Robert Carter |year=1850 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/historypersians00farrgoog/page/n134 124]–7 |url=https://archive.org/details/historypersians00farrgoog}}</ref><ref name="Roisman 2011 345">{{harvnb|Roisman|Worthington|2011|p=345}}.</ref><ref name="Simon and Schuster">{{cite book |first=Will |last=Durant |title=Age of Faith |publisher=Simon and Schuster |date=1950 |page=150 |quote=Repaying its debt, Sasanian art exported its forms and motives eastward into India, Turkestan, and China, westward into Syria, Asia Minor, Constantinople, the Balkans, Egypt, and Spain.}}</ref> Throughout history, the Persian people have contributed greatly to [[Persian art|art]] and [[Science and technology in Iran|science]].<ref name="burke" /><ref name="Persian presence" /><ref name="Bertold Spuler" /> [[Persian literature]] is one of the world's most prominent literary traditions.<ref name="Persian literature" />

In contemporary terminology, people from [[Afghanistan]], [[Tajikistan]], and [[Uzbekistan]] who natively speak the Persian language are known as ''[[Tajiks]]'', with the former two countries having their own dialects of Persian known as [[Dari]] and [[Tajik language|Tajiki]], respectively; whereas those in the [[Caucasus]] (primarily in the present-day [[Azerbaijan|Republic of Azerbaijan]] and [[Dagestan]], [[Russia]]), albeit heavily assimilated, are known as ''[[Tat people (Caucasus)|Tats]]''.<ref name="Iranica-Tajiks">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/tajik-i-the-ethnonym-origins-and-application |title=TAJIK i. THE ETHNONYM: ORIGINS AND APPLICATION |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |date=20 July 2009 |quote=By mid-Safavid times the usage ''tājik'' for 'Persian(s) of Iran' may be considered a literary affectation, an expression of the traditional rivalry between Men of the Sword and Men of the Pen. Pietro della Valle, writing from Isfahan in 1617, cites only ''Pārsi'' and ''ʿAjami'' as autonyms for the indigenous Persians, and ''Tāt'' and ''raʿiat'' 'peasant(ry), subject(s)' as pejorative heteronyms used by the Qezelbāš (Qizilbāš) Torkmān elite. Perhaps by about 1400, reference to actual Tajiks was directed mostly at Persian-speakers in Afghanistan and Central Asia; (...)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ostler |first1=Nicholas |title=The Last Lingua Franca: English Until the Return of Babel |date=2010 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-0141922218 |pages=1–352 |quote=''Tat'' was known to have been used at different times to designate Crimean Goths, Greeks and sedentary peoples generally, but its primary reference came to be the Persians within the Turkic domains. (...) ''Tat'' is nowadays specialized to refer to special groups with Iranian languages in the west of the Caspian Sea.}}</ref> Historically, however, the terms ''Tajik'' and ''Tat'' were used synonymously and interchangeably with ''Persian''.<ref name="Iranica-Tajiks"/> Many influential Persian figures hailed from outside of Iran's present-day borders—to the northeast in Afghanistan and [[Central Asia]], and to a lesser extent within the Caucasus proper to the northwest.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nava'i |first1=Ali Shir (tr. & ed. Robert Devereaux) |title=Muhakamat al-lughatain |date=1996 |publisher=Leiden: Brill |page=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Starr |first1=S. F. |title=Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane |date=2013 |publisher=Princeton University Press}}</ref> In historical contexts, especially in [[English language|English]], "Persian" may be defined more loosely (often as a national identity) to cover all subjects of the ancient Persian polities, regardless of their ethnic background.

==Ethnonym==
===Etymology===
{{see also|Perseus}}
The term ''Persian'', meaning "from Persia", derives from [[Latin]] {{lang|la|Persia}}, itself deriving from [[Greek language|Greek]] {{transl|grc|Persís}} ({{lang|grc|[[wikt:Περσίς|Περσίς]]}}),<ref>{{LSJ|*persi/s|Περσίς|ref}}.</ref> a Hellenized form of [[Old Persian]] {{transl|peo|Pārsa}} ({{lang|peo|[[wikt:𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿|𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿]]}}), which evolves into {{transl|fa|Fārs}} ({{lang|fa|[[wikt:فارس#Persian|فارس]]}}) in modern Persian.<ref>{{OEtymD|Persia}}</ref> In the [[Bible]], particularly in the books of [[Book of Daniel|Daniel]], [[Esther]], [[Ezra]], and [[Nehemiah|Nehemya]], it is given as {{transl|he|Pārās}} ({{lang|he|[[wikt:פרס#Hebrew|פָּרָס]]}}).

A Greek folk etymology connected the name to [[Perseus]], a legendary character in [[Greek mythology]]. [[Herodotus]] recounts this story,<ref>{{Cite book |author=Herodotus |title=Histories |volume=Book 7 |chapter=61}}</ref> devising a foreign son, [[Perses (son of Perseus)|Perses]], from whom the Persians took the name. Apparently, the Persians themselves knew the story,<ref>{{Cite book |author=Herodotus |title=Histories |volume=Book 7 |chapter=150}}</ref> as [[Xerxes I]] tried to use it to suborn the [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argives]] during his invasion of Greece, but ultimately failed to do so.

===History of usage===
Although [[Persis]] (Persia proper) was only one of the provinces of ancient Iran,<ref name="Arnold Wilson">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FocirvdZKjcC |title=The Persian Gulf (RLE Iran A) |publisher=Routledge |last=Wilson |first=Arnold |page=71 |chapter=The Middle Ages: Fars |year=2012 |isbn=978-1136841057}}</ref> varieties of this term (e.g., ''Persia'') were adopted through Greek sources and used as an exonym for all of the [[Persian Empire]] for many years.<ref name="Michael Axworthy">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IGRuDQAAQBAJ |publisher=Oxford University Press |title=Iran: What Everyone Needs to Know |last=Axworthy |first=Michael |page=16 |year=2017 |isbn=978-0190232962}}</ref> Thus, especially in the [[Western world]], the names ''Persia'' and ''Persian'' came to refer to all of Iran and its subjects.<ref name="Michael Axworthy"/><ref name="Iranica: Fars"/>

Some medieval and early modern Islamic sources also used cognates of the term ''Persian'' to refer to various Iranian peoples and languages, including the speakers of [[Khwarazmian language|Khwarazmian]],<ref>For example, [[Al-Biruni]], a native speaker of Khwarezmian, refers to "the people of Khwarizm" as "a branch of the Persian tree". See: {{cite book |author=Al-Biruni |title=Al-Athar al-Baqiyya 'an al-Qurun al-Khaliyya |trans-title=The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries |page=56 |location=Tehran |publisher=Miras-e Maktub |year=2001 |quote={{lang|ar|و أما أهل خوارزم، و إن کانوا غصنا ً من دوحة الفُرس}} (...)}}. (Translation: "The people of Khwarizm, they are a branch of the Persian tree.")</ref> [[Mazanderani language|Mazanderani]],<ref>The language used in ''Marzbān-nāma'' was, in the words of the 13th-century historian Sa'ad ad-Din Warawini, "the language of Ṭabaristan and old, ancient Persian ({{transl|fa|fārsī-yi ḳadīm-i bāstān}})". See: {{cite encyclopedia |last=Kramers |first=J.H. |title=Marzbān-Nāma |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam |editor-first=P. |editor-last=Bearman |editor2-first=Th. |editor2-last=Bianqui |editor3-first=C.E. |editor3-last=Bosworth |editor4-first=E. |editor4-last=van Donzel |editor5-first=W.P. |editor5-last=Heinrichs |publisher=Brill |year=2007 |access-date=18 November 2007 |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/marzban-nama-SIM_4990}}</ref> and [[Old Azeri language|Old Azeri]].<ref>10th-century Arab Muslim writer Ibn Hawqal, in his {{transl|ar|Ṣūrat al-Arḍ}}, refers to "the language of the people of Azerbaijan and most of the people of Armenia" as {{transl|ar|al-fāresīya}}. {{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |first=E. |last=Yarshater |date=18 August 2011 |volume=III |pages=238–245 |title=AZERBAIJAN vii. The Iranian Language of Azerbaijan |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/azerbaijan-vii}}</ref> 10th-century Iraqi historian [[Al-Masudi]] refers to ''Pahlavi'', ''Dari'', and ''Azari'' as dialects of the Persian language.<ref>{{cite book |author=Al Mas'udi |year=1894 |title=Kitab al-Tanbih wa-l-Ishraf |editor=De Goeje, M.J. |publisher=Brill |pages=77–78 |language=ar}}</ref> In 1333, medieval Moroccan traveler and scholar [[Ibn Battuta]] referred to the [[Afghan (ethnonym)|Afghan]]s of [[Kabul]] as a specific sub-tribe of the Persians.<ref>{{cite book |title=Travels in Asia and Africa, 1325–1354 |author=Ibn Battuta |publisher=Routledge |year=2004 |isbn=0-415-34473-5 |page=180 |quote=We travelled on to Kabul, formerly a vast town, the site of which is now occupied by a village inhabited by a tribe of Persians called Afghans. They hold mountains and defiles and possess considerable strength, and are mostly highwaymen. Their principal mountain is called [[Sulaiman Mountains|Kuh Sulayman]]. It is told that the [[Solomon in Islam|prophet Sulayman [Solomon]]] ascended this mountain and having looked out over India, which was then covered with darkness, returned without entering it.}}</ref> Lady Mary (Leonora Woulfe) Sheil, in her observation of Iran during the Qajar era, states that the Kurds and the Leks would consider themselves as belonging to the race of the "old Persians".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/glimpseslifeand00sheigoog |title=Glimpses of Life and Manners in Persia |page=[https://archive.org/details/glimpseslifeand00sheigoog/page/n448 394] |first=Lady Mary Leonora Woulfe |last=Sheil |publisher=J. Murray |year=1856}}</ref>

On 21 March 1935, the then-king of Iran [[Reza Shah]] of the [[Pahlavi dynasty]] issued a decree asking the international community to use the term ''Iran'', the native name of the country, in formal correspondence. However, the term ''Persian'' is still historically used to designate the predominant population of the Iranian peoples living in the [[Greater Iran|Iranian cultural continent]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Persian |title=Persian |work=Merriam-Webster |date=13 August 2010 |access-date=10 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Bausani |first=Alessandro |title=The Persians, from the Earliest Days to the Twentieth Century |year=1971 |publisher=Elek |isbn=978-0-236-17760-8}}</ref>

==History==
{{see also|List of ancient Iranian peoples|label 1=Ancient Iranian peoples|Proto-Indo-Europeans}}

Persia is first attested in [[Assyria]]n sources from the third millennium BC in the [[Akkadian language|Old Assyrian]] form {{transl|akk|Parahše}}, designating a region belonging to the [[Sumer]]ians. The name of this region was adopted by a nomadic [[list of ancient Iranian peoples|ancient Iranian people]] who migrated to the region in the west and southwest of [[Lake Urmia]], eventually becoming known as "the Persians".<ref name="Iranica: Fars"/><ref name="EncWH">{{cite encyclopedia |title=The Medes and the Persians, c.1500-559 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of World History |year=2001 |editor-last=Stearns |editor-first=Peter N. |edition=6th |publisher=The Houghton Mifflin Company}}</ref> The ninth-century BC [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Neo-Assyrian]] inscription of the [[Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III]], found at [[Nimrud]], gives it in the Late Assyrian forms [[Parsua|{{transl|akk|Parsua}}]] and {{transl|akk|Parsumaš}} as a region and a people located in the [[Zagros Mountains]], the latter likely having migrated southward and transferred the name of the region with them to what would become [[Persis]] (Persia proper, i.e., modern-day [[Fars Province|Fars]]), and that is considered to be the earliest attestation to the ancient Persian people.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |title=ACHAEMENID DYNASTY |volume=I |pages=414–426 |first=R. |last=Schmitt |date=21 July 2011 |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/achaemenid-dynasty |quote=The Achaemenid clan possibly ruled over the Persian tribes already in the 9th century B.C., when they were still settled in northern Iran near Lake Urmia and tributary to the Assyrians. Of a king with the name Achaemenes there is no historical evidence; but it may have been under him that the Persians, under the pressure of Medes, Assyrians, and Urartians, migrated south into the Zagros region, where they founded, near the Elamite borders, the small state Parsumaš (with residence at present-day Masǰed-e Solaymān in the Baḵtīārī mountains, according to R. Ghirshman).}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K1hEMQAACAAJ |title=Persianism in Antiquity |first1=Rolf |last1=Strootman |first2=M. J. |last2=Versluys |publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag |isbn=9783515113823 |page=22 |year=2017}}. (footnote 53).</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Abdolhossein |last=Zarinkoob |publisher=Sokhan |title=Ruzgārān: Tārix-e Irān az Āğāz ta Soqut-e Saltanat-e Pahlavi |script-title=fa:روزگاران: تاریخ ایران از آغاز تا سقوط سلطنت پهلوی |trans-title=Times: History of Iran from the Beginning to the Fall of the Pahlavi Monarchy |language=fa |page=37}}</ref><ref name="Firuzmandi">{{cite book |first=Bahman |last=Firuzmandi |year=1996 |title=Mād, Haxāmaneši, Aškāni, Sāsāni |script-title=fa:ماد، هخامنشی، اشکانی، ساسانی |trans-title=Median, Achaemenid, Arsacid, Sasanian |publisher=Marlik |pages=12–20, 155}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Eduljee |first=K.E. |title=Zoroastrian Heritage |url=http://heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/zagros/index.htm |year=2012 |work=Heritage Institute |access-date=9 April 2014}}</ref>

[[File:Ancient Persian costumes.jpg|thumb|upright|Ancient Persian attire worn by soldiers and a nobleman. ''The History of Costume'' by Braun & Scheider (1861–1880).]]
The ancient Persians played a major role in the downfall of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization |first=A. Leo |last=Oppenheim |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1964 |page=49}}</ref> The [[Medes]], another group of ancient Iranian people, unified the region under an empire centered in [[Media (region)|Media]], which would become the region's leading cultural and political power of the time by 612 BC.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iran-ii1-pre-islamic-times |title=IRAN ii. IRANIAN HISTORY (1) Pre-Islamic Times |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |date=29 March 2012 |volume=XIII |pages=212–224 |first=Ehsan |last=Yarshater |quote=Of the numerous Iranian tribes who had settled in Iranian plateau, it was the Medes (...) who grew in power and achieved prominence. (...) Finally in 612 B.C.E. and in alliance with the Babylonians, he attacked the Assyrian capital, Nineveh. Their combined forces succeeded in bringing the Assyrian Empire down, thus eliminating a power that had ruled with ruthless efficiency over the Middle East for several centuries. (...) Achaemenes (q.v.; ''Haxāmaniš''), eponymous ancestor of the Achaemenids according to Darius I, formed a kingdom in the Elamite territory of Anshan in Fārs as a vassal of the Median king (...).}}</ref> Meanwhile, under the [[Achaemenid family tree|dynasty of the Achaemenids]], the Persians formed a vassal state to the central Median power. In 552 BC, the Achaemenid Persians [[Persian Revolt|revolted]] against the Median monarchy, leading to the victory of [[Cyrus the Great]] over the throne in 550 BC. The Persians spread their influence to the rest of what is considered to be the [[Iranian Plateau]], and assimilated with the non-Iranian [[indigenous peoples|indigenous]] groups of the region, including the [[Elam]]ites and the [[Mannaeans]].<ref name="Iran in Iranica">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iran-i-lands-of-iran |author=Xavier de Planhol |title=IRAN i. LANDS OF IRAN |date=29 March 2012 |volume=XIII |pages=204–212 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica}}</ref>

[[File:Achaemenid_Empire_(flat_map).svg|thumb|Map of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] at its greatest extent.]]
At its greatest extent, the [[Achaemenid Empire]] stretched from parts of [[Eastern Europe]] in the west to the [[Indus River|Indus Valley]] in the east, making it the largest empire the world had yet seen.<ref name="book2">{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Sacks |first2=Oswyn |last2=Murray |first3=Lisa R. |last3=Brody |title=Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gsGmuQAACAAJ |year=2005 |publisher=Facts On File |isbn=978-0-8160-5722-1 |page=256 (''at the right portion of the page'')}}</ref> The Achaemenids developed the infrastructure to support their growing influence, including the establishment of the cities of [[Pasargadae]] and [[Persepolis]].<ref name=gov>{{cite book |title=Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome |first=Charles |last=Gates |publisher=Psychology Press |year=2003 |page=186 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8aLb5pnm1j4C |isbn=9780415121828}}</ref> The empire extended as far as the limits of the Greek city states in modern-day mainland [[Greece]], where the Persians and Athenians influenced each other in what is essentially a reciprocal cultural exchange.<ref>{{cite book |title=Athens and Persia in the Fifth Century BC: A Study in Cultural Receptivity |author=Margaret Christina Miller |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2004 |page=243 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oGXMMD5rXBQC |isbn=9780521607582}}</ref> Its legacy and impact on the kingdom of [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedon]] was also notably huge,<ref name="Roisman 2011 345"/> even for centuries after the withdrawal of the Persians from Europe following the [[Greco-Persian Wars]].<ref name="Roisman 2011 345"/>

[[File:The Alexander Mosaic depicting the Battle of Issus between Alexander the Great & Darius III of Persia, from the House of the Faun in Pompeii, Naples Archaeological Museum (5914216315).jpg|thumb|Persian warriors led by [[Darius III]] in the antique ''[[Alexander Mosaic]]'']]
During the Achaemenid era, Persian colonists settled in [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]].{{sfn|Raditsa|1983|page=105}} In [[Lydia]] (the most important Achaemenid satrapy), near [[Sardis]], there was the [[Hyrcanian plain]], which, according to [[Strabo]], got its name from the Persian settlers that were moved from [[Hyrcania]].{{sfn|Raditsa|1983|pages=102, 105}} Similarly near Sardis, there was the plain of Cyrus, which further signified the presence of numerous Persian settlements in the area.{{sfn|Raditsa|1983|page=102}} In all these centuries, Lydia and [[Pontus (region)|Pontus]] were reportedly the chief centers for the worship of the Persian gods in Asia Minor.{{sfn|Raditsa|1983|page=102}} According to [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], as late as the second century AD, one could witness rituals which resembled the Persian fire ceremony at the towns of Hyrocaesareia and [[Hypaepa]].{{sfn|Raditsa|1983|page=102}} [[Mithridates I of Pontus|Mithridates III of Cius]], a Persian nobleman and part of the Persian ruling elite of the town of [[Cius]], founded the [[Kingdom of Pontus]] in his later life, in northern Asia Minor.{{sfn|McGing|1986|page=15}}{{sfn|Van Dam|2002|page=17}} At the peak of its power, under the infamous [[Mithridates VI of Pontus|Mithridates VI the Great]], the Kingdom of Pontus also controlled [[Colchis]], [[Cappadocia]], [[Bithynia]], the [[Greeks|Greek]] colonies of the [[Chersonesus|Tauric Chersonesos]], and for a brief time the [[Asia (Roman province)|Roman province of Asia]]. After a long struggle with Rome in the [[Mithridatic Wars]], Pontus was defeated; part of it was incorporated into the [[Roman Republic]] as the province of [[Bithynia and Pontus]], and the eastern half survived as a client kingdom.

Following the [[Wars of Alexander the Great|Macedonian conquests]], the Persian colonists in Cappadocia and the rest of Asia Minor were cut off from their co-religionists in Iran proper, but they continued to practice the [[ancient Iranian religion|Iranian faith]] of their forefathers.{{sfn|Boyce|2001|page=85}} Strabo, who observed them in the [[Kingdom of Cappadocia|Cappadocian Kingdom]] in the first century BC, records (XV.3.15) that these "fire kindlers" possessed many "holy places of the Persian Gods", as well as fire temples.{{sfn|Boyce|2001|page=85}} Strabo, who wrote during the time of [[Augustus]] ({{Reign|27 BC|AD 14}}), almost three hundred years after the fall of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, records only traces of Persians in western Asia Minor; however, he considered Cappadocia "almost a living part of Persia".{{sfn|Raditsa|1983|page=107}}

The Iranian dominance collapsed in 330 BC following the conquest of the Achaemenid Empire by [[Alexander the Great]], but reemerged shortly after through the establishment of the [[Parthian Empire]] in 247 BC, which was founded by a group of ancient Iranian people rising from [[Parthia]]. Until the Parthian era, Iranian identity had an ethnic, linguistic, and religious value. However, it did not yet have a political import.<ref name="Gnoli">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iranian-identity-ii-pre-islamic-period |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |volume=XIII |pages=504–507 |date=30 March 2012 |first=Gherardo |last=Gnoli |title=IRANIAN IDENTITY ii. PRE-ISLAMIC PERIOD |quote=The inscriptions of Darius I (...) and Xerxes, in which the different provinces of the empire are listed, make it clear that, between the end of the 6th century and the middle of the 5th century B.C.E., the Persians were already aware of belonging to the ''ariya'' "Iranian" nation (...). Darius and Xerxes boast of belonging to a stock which they call "Iranian": they proclaim themselves "Iranian" and "of Iranian stock," ''ariya'' and ''ariya čiça'' respectively, in inscriptions in which the Iranian countries come first in a list that is arranged in a new hierarchical and ethno-geographical order, compared for instance with the list of countries in Darius's inscription at Behistun (...). All this evidence shows that the name ''arya'' "Iranian" was a collective definition, denoting peoples (...) who were aware of belonging to the one ethnic stock, speaking a common language, and having a religious tradition that centered on the cult of Ahura Mazdā. (...) Although, up until the end of the Parthian period, Iranian identity had an ethnic, linguistic, and religious value, it did not yet have a political import. The idea of an "Iranian" empire or kingdom is a purely Sasanian one. (...) It was in the Sasanian period, then, that the pre-Islamic Iranian identity reached the height of its fulfilment in every aspect: political, religious, cultural, and linguistic (with the growing diffusion of Middle Persian). Its main ingredients were the appeal to a heroic past that was identified or confused with little-known Achaemenid origins (...), and the religious tradition, for which the Avesta was the chief source.}}</ref> The [[Parthian language]], which was used as an official language of the Parthian Empire, left influences on Persian,<ref name="Ammon">{{cite book |title=Sociolinguistics / Soziolinguistik |first1=Ulrich |last1=Ammon |first2=Norbert |last2=Dittmar |first3=Klaus J. |last3=Mattheier |first4=Peter |last4=Trudgill |year=2008 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |edition=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=3110199874 |quote=The Pahlavi language (also known as Middle Persian) was the official language of Iran during the Sassanid dynasty (from 3rd to 7th century A. D.). Pahlavi is the direct continuation of old Persian, and was used as the written official language of the country. However, after the Moslem conquest and the collapse of the Sassanids, Arabic became the dominant language of the country and Pahlavi lost its importance, and was gradually replaced by Dari, a variety of Middle Persian, with considerable loan elements from Arabic and Parthian. |page=1912 |isbn=978-3110199871}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Windfuhr |first=G. |year=1989 |chapter=New West Iranian |editor-first=R. |editor-last=Schmitt |title=Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum |location=Wiesbaden |pages=251–62}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/dimli |first=Garnik S. |last=Asatrian |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |title=DIMLĪ |date=28 November 2011 |volume=VI |pages=405–411}}</ref> as well as on the neighboring [[Armenian language]].

[[File:Victory of Shapur I over Valerian.jpg|thumb|right|A bas-relief at [[Naqsh-e Rustam]] depicting the victory of Sasanian ruler [[Shapur I]] over Roman ruler [[Valerian (emperor)|Valerian]] and [[Philip the Arab]].]]
The Parthian monarchy was succeeded by the Persian [[Sasanian family tree|dynasty of the Sasanians]] in 224 AD. By the time of the [[Sasanian Empire]], a national culture that was fully aware of being Iranian took shape, partially motivated by restoration and revival of the wisdom of "the old sages" ({{transl|pal|dānāgān pēšēnīgān}}).<ref name="Gnoli"/> Other aspects of this national culture included the glorification of a great heroic past and an archaizing spirit.<ref name="Gnoli"/> Throughout the period, Iranian identity reached its height in every aspect.<ref name="Gnoli"/> [[Middle Persian]], which is the immediate ancestor of Modern Persian and a variety of other Iranian dialects,<ref name="Ammon"/><ref name="Skjærvø">{{cite encyclopedia |first=Prods Oktor |last=Skjærvø |title=IRAN vi. IRANIAN LANGUAGES AND SCRIPTS (2) Documentation |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |volume=XIII |pages=348–366 |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iran-vi2-documentation |date=29 March 2012 |quote=Only the official languages Old, Middle, and New Persian represent three stages of one and the same language, whereas close genetic relationships are difficult to establish between other Middle and Modern Iranian languages. Modern Yaḡnōbi belongs to the same dialect group as Sogdian, but is not a direct descendant; Bac-trian may be closely related to modern Yidḡa and Munji (Munjāni); and Wakhi (Wāḵi) belongs with Khotanese. (...) New Persian, the descendant of Middle Persian and official language of Iranian states for centuries, is today spoken widely in and outside Iran in a number of variants.}}</ref><ref name="Lazard">{{cite book |quote=The language known as New Persian, which was usually called at this period by the name of ''darī'' or ''parsī-i darī'', can be classified linguistically as a continuation of Middle Persian, the official, religious and literary language of Sasanian Iran, itself a continuation of Old Persian, the language of the Achaemenids. Unlike the other languages and dialects, ancient and modern, of the Iranian group such as Avestan, Parthian, Soghdian, Kurdish, Pashto, etc., Old Middle and New Persian represent one and the same language at three states of its history. It had its origin in Fārs (the true Persian country from the historical point of view) and is differentiated by dialectical features, still easily recognizable from the dialects prevailing in north-western and eastern Iran. |last=Lazard |first=Gilbert |year=1975 |chapter=The Rise of the New Persian Language |editor-last=Frye |editor-first=R. N. |title=The Cambridge History of Iran |volume=4 |pages=595–632 |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref><ref name="EIS"/> became the official language of the empire<ref name="Fortson">{{cite book |first=Benjamin W. |last=Fortson |title=Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |year=2009 |page=242 |quote=Middle Persian was the official language of the Sassanian dynasty (...)}}</ref> and was greatly diffused among Iranians.<ref name="Gnoli"/>

The Parthians and the Sasanians would also extensively interact with the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] culturally. The [[Roman–Persian Wars|Roman–Persian wars]] and the [[Byzantine–Sasanian wars]] would shape the landscape of [[Western Asia]], [[Europe]], the [[Caucasus]], North Africa, and the Mediterranean Basin for centuries. For a period of over 400 years, the Sasanians and the neighboring Byzantines were recognized as the two leading powers in the world.<ref name=EIr-Sasanian>{{harv|Shapur Shahbazi|2005}}</ref><ref name="Norman A. Stillman pp 22">{{cite book |first=Norman A. |last=Stillman |title=The Jews of Arab Lands |page=22 |publisher=Jewish Publication Society |year=1979 |isbn=0827611552}}</ref><ref name="Byzantine Studies 2006, pp 29">{{cite book |author=International Congress of Byzantine Studies |title=Proceedings of the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies, London, 21-26 August 2006 |volume=1–3 |page=29 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |date=30 September 2006 |isbn=075465740X}}</ref> Cappadocia in [[Late Antiquity]], now well into the Roman era, still retained a significant Iranian character; Stephen Mitchell notes in the ''Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity'': "Many inhabitants of Cappadocia were of Persian descent and Iranian fire worship is attested as late as 465".{{sfn|Mitchell|2018|page=290}}

Following the [[Muslim conquest of Persia|Arab conquest of the Sasanian Empire]] in the medieval times, the Arab [[caliphate]]s established their rule over the region for the next several centuries, during which the long process of the [[Islamization of Iran]] took place. Confronting the cultural and linguistic dominance of the Persians, beginning by the [[Umayyad Caliphate]], the Arab conquerors began to establish Arabic as the primary language of the subject peoples throughout their empire, sometimes by force, further confirming the new political reality over the region.<ref name="Cambridge: Ajam">{{cite book |last1=Frye |first1=Richard Nelson |last2=Zarrinkoub |first2=Abdolhosein |title=Cambridge History of Iran |date=1975 |volume=4 |page=46 |location=London}}</ref> The Arabic term [[Ajam|{{transl|ar|ʿAjam}}]], denoting "people unable to speak properly", was adopted as a designation for non-Arabs (or non-Arabic speakers), especially the Persians.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ajam |title=ʿAJAM |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |date=29 July 2011 |volume=I |pages=700–701}}</ref> Although the term had developed a derogatory meaning and implied cultural and ethnic inferiority, it was gradually accepted as a synonym for "Persian"<ref name="Cambridge: Ajam"/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E324pQEEQQcC |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=21 October 2004 |first=John L. |last=Esposito |isbn=9780199757268 |page=12 |quote=People unable to speak properly. Refers to non-Arabs. Connotes cultural and ethnic inferiority. Adjectival form: ajami. Principally used to designate (and eventually synonymous with) Persians.}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Ngom |first1=Fallou |last2=Zito |first2=Alex |title=Sub-Saharan African literature, ʿAjamī |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE |editor-first1=Kate |editor-last1=Fleet |editor-first2=Gudrun |editor-last2=Krämer |editor-first3=Denis |editor-last3=Matringe |editor-first4=John |editor-last4=Nawas |editor-first5=Everett |editor-last5=Rowson |year=2012 |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_26630}}</ref> and still remains today as a designation for the Persian-speaking communities native to the modern [[Arab world|Arab states]] of the Middle East.<ref name="Islam Today">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-dM4hPlxMw8C |isbn=9780801464898 |year=2010 |publisher=Cornell University Press |first1=Werner |last1=Ende |first2=Udo |last2=Steinbach |page=533 |title=Islam in the World Today: A Handbook of Politics, Religion, Culture, and Society}}</ref> A series of Muslim Iranian kingdoms were later established on the fringes of the declining [[Abbasid Caliphate]], including that of the ninth-century [[Samanid Empire|Samanids]], under the reign of whom the [[Persian language]] was used officially for the first time after two centuries of no attestation of the language,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/persian-language-1-early-new-persian |title=PERSIAN LANGUAGE i. Early New Persian |first=Ludwig |last=Paul |date=19 November 2013}}</ref> now having received the Arabic script and a large Arabic vocabulary.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arabic-v |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |title=ARABIC LANGUAGE v. Arabic Elements in Persian |volume=II |pages=229–243 |date=10 August 2011 |first=John R. |last=Perry}}</ref> Persian language and culture continued to prevail after the invasions and conquests by the Mongols and the Turks (including the [[Ilkhanate]], [[Ghaznavids]], [[Seljuk Empire|Seljuks]], [[Khwarazmian dynasty|Khwarazmians]], and [[Timurid Empire|Timurids]]), who were themselves significantly [[Persianization|Persianized]], further developing in [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]], [[Central Asia]], and [[South Asia]], where Persian culture flourished by the expansion of the [[Persianate society|Persianate societies]], particularly those of [[Turco-Persian tradition|Turco-Persian]] and [[Indo-Persian culture|Indo-Persian]] blends.

[[File:Portrait of Shah Ismail I. Inscribed "Ismael Sophy Rex Pers". Painted by Cristofano dell'Altissimo, dated 1552-1568.jpg|thumb|right|One of the first actions performed by [[List of monarchs of Persia|Shāh]] [[Ismail I|Ismā'īl I]] of the [[Safavid dynasty]] was the proclamation of the [[Twelver]] denomination of [[Shia Islam|Shīʿa Islam]] as the [[Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam|official religion]] of his newly founded [[Safavid Iran|Persian Empire]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Masters |author-first=Bruce |year=2009 |chapter=Baghdad |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC&pg=PA71 |editor1-last=Ágoston |editor1-first=Gábor |editor2-first=Bruce |editor2-last=Masters |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire |location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Facts On File]] |page=71 |isbn=978-0-8160-6259-1 |lccn=2008020716 |access-date=21 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160516202344/https://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC&pg=PA71 |archive-date=16 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>]]
After over eight centuries of foreign rule within the region, the Iranian hegemony was reestablished by the emergence of the [[Safavid Iran|Safavid Empire]] in the 16th century.<ref>{{cite book |quote=Why is there such confusion about the origins of this important dynasty, which reasserted Iranian identity and established an independent Iranian state after eight and a half centuries of rule by foreign dynasties? |first=R.M. |last=Savory |title=Iran under the Safavids |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |year=1980 |page=3}}</ref> Under the Safavid Empire, focus on Persian language and identity was further revived, and the political evolution of the empire once again maintained Persian as the main language of the country.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/safavids |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |first=Rudi |last=Matthee |title=SAFAVID DYNASTY |date=28 July 2008}}</ref> During the times of the [[Safavid dynasty|Safavids]] and subsequent modern Iranian dynasties such as the [[Qajar dynasty|Qajars]], architectural and iconographic elements from the time of the Sasanian Persian Empire were reincorporated, linking the modern country with its ancient past.<ref name="Hillenbrand">{{cite encyclopedia |first=R. |last=Hillenbrand |pages=345–349 |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/architecture-vi |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |volume=II |title=ARCHITECTURE vi. Safavid to Qajar Periods |date=11 August 2011 |quote=Safavid inscriptions on the pre Islamic monuments (e.g., Persepolis and Bīsotūn) perhaps presage that wholesale adoption of and identification with ancient Iran that later characterized the Qajars, but there are not enough inscriptions to clinch the point. (...) An unexpected burst of activity in secular architecture marks the 17th century. Bridges which have wider functions than carrying traffic were built, reviving Sasanian custom (...). (...) Qajar decoration is usually unmistakable. Simple, rather strident tiled geometric or epigraphic designs in small glazed bricks were especially popular. The repertory of cuerda seca tiles now included episodes from the epic and legendary past, portraits of Europeans, scenes from modern life, and the country’s heraldic blazon of the lion and the sun (...). Pavilions and palaces bore figural paintings which revived Sasanian royal iconography (Negārestān palace, Tehran) or betrayed the influence of European illustrated magazines or painted postcards depicting landscapes and tourist spots (...).}}</ref> Contemporary embracement of the legacy of Iran's ancient empires, with an emphasis on the Achaemenid Persian Empire, developed particularly under the reign of the [[Pahlavi dynasty]], providing the motive of a modern nationalistic pride.<ref name="Amanat">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/historiography-ix-1 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |title=HISTORIOGRAPHY ix. PAHLAVI PERIOD (1) |volume=XII |pages=377–386 |date=22 March 2012 |first=Abbas |last=Amanat |quote=Typical of comparable nationalist historiographies in the early part of the 20th century (e.g., Greek, Italian, Egyptian, and Turkish), the state-sponsored historical narrative under the Pahlavis decidedly favored highlighting the might and glory of the ancient Persian empires, as supported by new archeological and textual evidences. (...) Moreover, promotion of the ancient past as a wholesale propaganda tool in the service of the state engendered nationalistic pride that proved detrimental to dispassionate historical inquiry. (...) The most visible change in the nationalist historiography under Reżā Shah was emphasis on the pre-Islamic, and particularly the Achaemenid, past.}}</ref> Iran's modern architecture was then inspired by that of the country's classical eras, particularly with the adoption of details from the ancient monuments in the Achaemenid capitals Persepolis and Pasargadae and the Sasanian capital [[Ctesiphon]].<ref name="Wilber">{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/architecture-vii |title=ARCHITECTURE vii. Pahlavi, before World War II |pages=349–351 |volume=II |first=D. N. |last=Wilber |date=11 August 2011}}</ref> Fars, corresponding to the ancient province of Persia, with its modern capital [[Shiraz]], became a center of interest, particularly during the annual international [[Shiraz Arts Festival]] and the [[2,500 year celebration of the Persian Empire|2,500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |title=FĀRS iv. History in the Qajar and Pahlavi Periods |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/fars-iv |first=Ahmad |last=Ashraf |date=24 January 2012 |pages=341–351 |volume=IX}}</ref> The Pahlavi rulers modernized Iran, and ruled it until the [[Iranian Revolution|1979 Revolution]].

==Anthropology==
In modern Iran, the Persians make up the majority of the population.<ref name="Congress"/> They are native speakers of the modern dialects of [[Persian language|Persian]],<ref name="glott">{{cite web |url=http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/fars1255 |title=Subfamily: Farsic |website=Glottolog |access-date=1 May 2019}}</ref> which serves as the country's official language.<ref>{{cite web |title=Iran |url=http://www.langcen.cam.ac.uk/resources/persian/persian.php |publisher=University of Cambridge |access-date=16 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918060805/http://www.langcen.cam.ac.uk/resources/persian/persian.php |archive-date=18 September 2012 }}</ref>

===Persian language===
{{Main|Persian language}}
{{See also|Iranian languages|Western Iranian languages}}

[[File:BehistunInscriptiondetail.jpg|thumb|[[Old Persian]] inscribed in [[Old Persian cuneiform|cuneiform]] on the [[Behistun Inscription]].]]
The Persian language belongs to the [[Western Iranian languages|western group]] of the [[Iranian languages|Iranian]] branch of the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language family]]. Modern Persian is classified as a continuation of [[Middle Persian]], the official religious and literary language of the [[Sasanian Empire]], itself a continuation of [[Old Persian]], which was used by the time of the [[Achaemenid Empire]].<ref name="Lazard"/><ref name="Ammon"/><ref name="Skjærvø"/> Old Persian is one of the oldest Indo-European languages attested in original text.<ref name="Skjærvø"/> Samples of Old Persian have been discovered in present-day Iran, [[Armenia]], [[Egypt]], [[Iraq]], [[Romania]] ([[Gherla]]),{{sfn|Kuhrt|2013|page=197}}{{sfn|Schmitt|2000|page=53}} and [[Turkey]].<ref name="OPGTL 6">{{cite book |last=Kent |first=R. G. |title=Old Persian: Grammar Texts Lexicon |page=6 |publisher=American Oriental Society |year=1950}}</ref> The oldest attested text written in Old Persian is from the [[Behistun Inscription]],<ref name=s2008-80-1>{{Harv|Schmitt|2008|pp=80–1}}</ref> a multilingual inscription from the time of Achaemenid ruler [[Darius the Great]] carved on a cliff in western Iran.

===Related groups===
{{See also|Iranian peoples|Iranian nationalism}}
There are several ethnic groups and communities that are either ethnically or linguistically related to the Persian people, living predominantly in Iran, and also within Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, the Caucasus, Turkey, Iraq, and the [[Arab states of the Persian Gulf]].<ref>{{cite web |year=2005 |title=SociolinguistEssex X – 2005 |publisher=Essex University |page=10 |url=http://www.essex.ac.uk/langling/documents/slx/slx_x_programme.pdf |access-date=29 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014181639/http://www.essex.ac.uk/langling/documents/slx/slx_x_programme.pdf |archive-date=14 October 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[Tajiks]] are a people native to [[Tajikistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[Uzbekistan]] who speak Persian in a variety of dialects.<ref name="Iranica-Tajiks"/> The Tajiks of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are native speakers of [[Tajik language|Tajik]], which is the official language of Tajikistan, and those in Afghanistan speak [[Dari language|Dari]], one of the two official languages of Afghanistan.

The [[Tat people (Caucasus)|Tat people]], an Iranian people native to the Caucasus (primarily living in the [[Azerbaijan|Republic of Azerbaijan]] and the [[Russia]]n republic of [[Dagestan]]), speak a language ([[Tat language (Caucasus)|Tat language]]) that is closely related to Persian.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Gruenberg |first=Alexander |year=1966 |title=Tatskij jazyk |editor-last=Vinogradov |editor-first=V. V. |encyclopedia=Jazyki narodov SSSR |volume=1: Indoevropejskie jazyki |pages=281–301 |quote=The Tat language belongs to the Southwest group of Iranian languages and is close in its grammatical structure and lexical content to the Persian and Tajik languages.}}</ref> The origin of the Tat people is traced to an Iranian-speaking population that was resettled in the Caucasus by the time of the Sasanian Empire.<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=R. |editor-last=Khanam |title=Encyclopaedic Ethnography of Middle-East and Central Asia |volume=1: P-Z |publisher=Global Vision Publishing House |year=2005 |page=746 |quote=The contemporary Tats are the descendants of an Iranian-speaking population sent out of Persia by the dynasty of the Sasanids in the fifth to sixth centuries.}}</ref><ref name="Gernot Windfuhr 1979. pg 4">{{cite book |first=Gernot |last=Windfuhr |title=Persian Grammar: history and state of its study |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=1979 |page=4 |quote=(...) Tat- Persian spoken in the East Caucasus (...)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Dalby |first1=Andrew |title=Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages |date=2014 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1408102145 |page=109 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7dHNCgAAQBAJ |quote=(...) and Tat (a variety of Persian) (...)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Windfuhr |first1=Genot |title=Iranian Languages |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1135797041 |page=417 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QtpQZ1DD6tEC |quote=The Northwestern outpost of Persian is Caucasian Tat Persian (...)}}</ref><ref>V. Minorsky, "Tat" in M. Th. Houtsma et al., eds., The Encyclopædia of Islam: A Dictionary of the Geography, Ethnography and Biography of the Muhammadan Peoples, 4 vols. and Suppl., Leiden: Late E.J. Brill and London: Luzac, 1913–38.
"Like most Persian dialects, Tati is not very regular in its characteristic features (...)".</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Journal of Islamic Studies |volume=21 |issue=1 |date=January 2010 |pages=147–151 |publication-date=4 March 2010 |first=C. |last=Kerslake |publisher=Oxford University Press |quote=It is a comparison of the verbal systems of three varieties of Persian—standard Persian, Tat, and Tajik (...)}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |journal=Iran and the Caucasus |title=Tabari Language Materials from Il'ya Berezin's Recherches sur les dialectes persans |first=Habib |last=Borjian |year=2006 |publisher=Brill |volume=10 |number=2 |pages=243–258 |quote=It embraces Gilani, Ta- lysh, Tabari, Kurdish, Gabri, and the Tati Persian of the Caucasus, all but the last belonging to the north-western group of Iranian language. |doi=10.1163/157338406780346005}}</ref>

The [[Lurs]], an ethnic Iranian people native to western Iran, are often associated with the Persians and the [[Kurds]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Frye |first=Richard N. |title=Handbuch der Altertumswissenschaft, Part 3, Volume 7 |year=1983 |publisher=Beck |isbn=978-3406093975 |page=29}}</ref> They speak various dialects of the [[Luri language]], which is considered to be a descendant of [[Middle Persian]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/isfahan-xxi-provincial-dialects |title=Isfahan xxi. PROVINCIAL DIALECTS |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |volume=XIV |pages=93–112 |date=5 April 2012 |first=Donald |last=Stilo}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=C.S. |last=Coon |title=Iran: Demography and Ethnography |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Of Islam |volume=IV |publisher=E.J. Brill |pages=8–10}}</ref><ref name="EIS">{{cite encyclopedia |first=C.S. |last=Coon |title=Iran |chapter=Demography and Ethnography |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam |volume=IV |publisher=E.J. Brill |pages=10–8 |quote=The Lurs speak an aberrant form of Archaic Persian (...)}}</ref>

The [[Hazaras]], making up the third largest ethnic group in Afghanistan,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/afghanistan/ |title=Afghanistan — The World Factbook |work=Central Intelligence Agency |access-date=17 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/video/asia/2011/11/2011111284512336838.html |title=Hazara community finds safe haven in Peshawar |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date=12 November 2011 |access-date=13 November 2011 |first=Kamal |last=Hyder}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/cs/profiles/Afghanistan.pdf |title=Country Profile: Afghanistan |publisher=Library of Congress |date=August 2008 |access-date=5 May 2019}}</ref> speak a variety of Persian by the name of [[Hazaragi]],<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hazara-4 |title=HAZĀRA iv. Hazāragi dialect |access-date=5 June 2014 |date=20 March 2012 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |first=Charles M. |last=Kieffer |pages=90–93 |volume=XII}}</ref> which is more precisely a part of the Dari dialect continuum.<ref>{{cite book |first=Franz |last=Schurmann |year=1962 |title=The Mongols of Afghanistan: An Ethnography of the Moghôls and Related Peoples of Afghanistan |publisher=Mouton |location=The Hague, Netherlands |page=17 |oclc=401634}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1224&context=theses |last=Jamal |first=Abedin |title=Attitudes Toward Hazaragi |year=2010 |publisher=Theses |page=217 |access-date=5 May 2019}}</ref> The [[Aimaq people|Aimaq]]s, a semi-nomadic people native to Afghanistan,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Janata |first=A. |editor-first=Ehsan |editor-last=Yarshater |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |title=AYMĀQ |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aymaq-turk |edition=Online |publisher=Columbia University |location=United States}}</ref> speak a variety of Persian by the name of [[Aimaq dialect|Aimaqi]], which also belongs to the Dari dialect continuum.<ref name="glott"/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Aimaq |url=http://www.everyculture.com/Africa-Middle-East/Aimaq.html |encyclopedia=World Culture Encyclopedia |publisher=everyculture.com |access-date=14 August 2009}}</ref>

Persian-speaking communities native to modern Arab countries are generally designated as ''Ajam'',<ref name="Islam Today"/> including the [[Ajam of Bahrain]], the [[Ajam of Iraq]], and the [['Ajam of Kuwait|Ajam of Kuwait]].

The [[Parsis]] are a Zoroastrian community of Persian descent who migrated to [[South Asia]], to escape religious persecution after the fall of the [[Sasanian Empire|Sassanian Empire]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marashi |first=Afshin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IDHnDwAAQBAJ |title=Exile and the Nation: The Parsi Community of India & the Making of Modern Iran |date=2020-06-08 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-1-4773-2082-2 |language=en}}</ref> They have had a significant role in the development of [[India]], [[Pakistan]] and [[Sri Lanka]], and also played a role in the development of [[Iranian nationalism]] during the late Qajar years and Pahlavi dynasty.<ref>{{Citation |last=Ringer |first=Monica M. |title=Iranian Nationalism and Zoroastrian Identity |date=2012 |url=https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137013408_13 |work=Iran Facing Others: Identity Boundaries in a Historical Perspective |pages=267–277 |editor-last=Amanat |editor-first=Abbas |access-date=2023-03-17 |place=New York |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |language=en |doi=10.1057/9781137013408_13 |isbn=978-1-137-01340-8 |editor2-last=Vejdani |editor2-first=Farzin}}</ref> They are primarily located in the western regions of India principally the states of [[Gujarat]] and [[Maharashtra]], with smaller communities in other parts of India and in South and Southeast Asia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Palsetia |first=Jesse S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R6oNt3M_yLgC |title=The Parsis of India: Preservation of Identity in Bombay City |date=2001-01-01 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-12114-0 |language=en}}</ref> They speak a dialect version of [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], and no longer speak in Persian.<ref name="Brill">{{cite book |last1=Palsetia |first1=Jesse S. |title=The Parsis of India: Preservation of Identity in Bombay City |date=2001 |publisher=Brill |page=13}}</ref> They do however continue to use [[Avestan]] as their liturgical language.<ref name="Brill"/> The Parsis have adapted many practices and tendencies of the Indian groups that surrounded them, such as Indian dress norms, and the observance of many Indian festivals and ceremonies.<ref name="Brill"/>

==Culture==
{{main|Persian culture|Persian art}}

From [[Persis]] and throughout the Median, Achaemenid, Parthian, and Sasanian empires of ancient Iran to the neighboring [[List of ancient Greek cities|Greek city states]] and the [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|kingdom of Macedon]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Greece: I. Legendary Greece: II. Grecian history to the reign of Peisistratus at Athens |volume=12 |first=George |last=Grote |publisher=P. F. Collier |year=1899 |page=106 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tJcOAAAAYAAJ}}</ref><ref name="Roisman 2011 345"/> and later throughout the medieval [[Muslim world|Islamic world]],<ref name=lapidus/><ref name="Persian presence">{{cite book |title=The Persian Presence in the Islamic World |first1=Richard G. |last1=Hovannisian |first2=Georges |last2=Sabagh |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1998 |pages=80–83 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39XZDnOWUXsC |isbn=9780521591850}}</ref> all the way to modern [[Iran]] and others parts of [[Eurasia]], Persian culture has been extended, celebrated, and incorporated.<ref>{{cite book |title=Foreign Influence on Ancient India |first=Krishna Chandra |last=Sagar |publisher=Northern Book Centre |year=1992 |page=17 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0UA4rkm9MgkC |isbn=9788172110284}}</ref><ref name="Bertold Spuler">{{cite book |title=Persian Historiography & Geography |first1=Bertold |last1=Spuler |first2=M. Ismail |last2=Marcinkowski |publisher=Pustaka Nasional Pte Ltd |year=2003 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rD1vvympVtsC |isbn=9789971774882}}</ref><ref name=lapidus>{{cite book |title=A History of Islamic Societies |first=Ira Marvin |last=Lapidus |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2002 |page=127 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I3mVUEzm8xMC |isbn=9780521779333}}</ref><ref name=miller>{{cite book |title=Athens and Persia in the Fifth Century BC: A Study in Cultural Receptivity |first=Margaret Christina |last=Miller |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2004 |pages=243–251 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oGXMMD5rXBQC |isbn=9780521607582}}</ref> This is due mainly to its geopolitical conditions, and its intricate relationship with the ever-changing political arena once as dominant as the Achaemenid Empire.

The [[Persian art|artistic heritage of the Persians]] is eclectic and has included contributions from both the east and the west. Due to the central location of Iran, Persian art has served as a fusion point between eastern and western traditions. Persians have contributed to various forms of art, including [[Persian calligraphy|calligraphy]], [[Persian carpet|carpet weaving]], [[glass art|glasswork]], [[lacquerware]], [[marquetry]] ([[khatam]]), [[metalworking|metalwork]], [[Persian miniature|miniature illustration]], [[mosaic]], [[Persian pottery|pottery]], and [[textile design]].<ref name=burke>{{cite book |title=Iran |first1=Andrew |last1=Burke |first2=Mark |last2=Elliot |publisher=Lonely Planet |year=2008 |pages=295 & 114–5 (''for architecture'') and pp. 68–72 (''for arts'') |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gEca_4iSNCUC |isbn=9781742203492}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
Persia - Achaemenian Vessels.jpg|5th-century BC [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] gold vessels. [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], [[New York City]].
Anahita Dish, 400-600 AD, Sasanian, Iran, silver and gilt - Cleveland Museum of Art - DSC08123.JPG|Ancient Iranian goddess [[Anahita]] depicted on a [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] silver vessel. [[Cleveland Museum of Art]], [[Cleveland]].
Nimtaneh-sasani.jpg|[[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] marble [[bust (sculpture)|bust]]. [[National Museum of Iran]], [[Tehran]].
Persian-Potteries-17th-Century-Isfahan.jpg|17th-century [[Persian pottery|Persian potteries]] from [[Isfahan]]. [[Royal Ontario Museum]], [[Toronto]].
</gallery>

===Literature===
{{Main|Persian literature}}
{{See also|Persian literature in Western culture}}

The Persian language is known to have one of the world's oldest and most influential literatures.<ref name="Persian literature">{{cite book |first=Arthur John |last=Arberry |title=The Legacy of Persia |publisher=Oxford: Clarendon Press |year=1953 |isbn=0-19-821905-9 |page=200}}</ref> Old Persian written works are attested on several inscriptions from between the 6th and the 4th centuries BC, and [[Middle Persian literature]] is attested on [[Inscriptional Pahlavi|inscriptions]] from the Parthian and Sasanian eras and in [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] and [[Manichaeanism|Manichaean]] scriptures from between the 3rd to the 10th century AD. [[Persian literature|New Persian literature]] flourished after the [[Muslim conquest of Persia|Arab conquest of Iran]] with its earliest records from the 9th century,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iran-vi2-documentation |title=Iran vi. Iranian languages and scripts (2) Documentation |first=Prods Oktor |last=Skjærvø |pages=348–366 |volume=XIII |access-date=30 December 2012}}</ref> and was developed as a court tradition in many eastern courts.<ref name="Persian literature" /> The ''[[Shahnameh]]'' of [[Ferdowsi]], the works of [[Rumi]], the ''[[Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam|Rubaiyat]]'' of [[Omar Khayyam]], the ''[[Khamsa of Nizami|Panj Ganj]]'' of [[Nizami Ganjavi]], the ''[[The Divān of Hafez|Divān]]'' of [[Hafez]], ''[[The Conference of the Birds]]'' by [[Attar of Nishapur]], and the miscellanea of ''[[Gulistan (book)|Gulistan]]'' and ''[[Bustan (book)|Bustan]]'' by [[Saadi Shirazi]] are among the famous works of medieval Persian literature. A thriving contemporary Persian literature has also been formed by the works of writers such as [[Ahmad Shamlou]], [[Forough Farrokhzad]], [[Mehdi Akhavan-Sales]], [[Parvin E'tesami]], [[Sadegh Hedayat]], and [[Simin Daneshvar]], among others.

Not all Persian literature is written in Persian, as works written by Persians in other languages—such as Arabic and Greek—might also be included. At the same time, not all literature written in Persian is written by ethnic Persians or Iranians, as Turkic, Caucasian, and Indic authors have also used Persian literature in the environment of [[Persianate society|Persianate cultures]].

===Architecture===
{{further|Achaemenid architecture|Sasanian architecture}}
{{See also|Iranian architecture}}

The most notable examples of ancient Persian architecture are the works of the Achaemenids hailing from [[Persis]]. [[Achaemenid architecture]], dating from the expansion of the empire around 550 BC, flourished in a period of artistic growth that left a legacy ranging from [[Tomb of Cyrus|Cyrus the Great's solemn tomb]] at [[Pasargadae]] to the structures at [[Persepolis]] and [[Naqsh-e Rostam]].<ref name=book>{{cite book |title=Understanding Architecture |author=Marco Bussagli |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=2005 |page=211 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fMfCkY6-9joC&q=Achaemenid+architecture&pg=PA211 |isbn=9781845110895}}</ref> The [[Arg e Bam|Bam Citadel]], a massive structure at {{convert|1940000|sqft|m2}} constructed on the [[Silk Road]] in [[Bam, Iran|Bam]], is from around the 5th century BC.<ref>{{cite book |title=Land of Lion, Land of Sun |author=Rafie Hamidpour D E Dabfe, Rafie Hamidpour |publisher=AuthorHouse |year=2010 |page=54 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cP__ziIW39cC&q=bam+citadel&pg=PA54|isbn=9781449091491}}</ref> The quintessential feature of Achaemenid architecture was its eclectic nature, with elements from Median architecture, Assyrian architecture, and Asiatic Greek architecture all incorporated.<ref>{{cite book |title=How to study architecture |author=Charles Henry Caffin |publisher=Dodd, Mead and Company |year=1917 |page=[https://archive.org/details/howtostudyarchi02caffgoog/page/n361 80] |url=https://archive.org/details/howtostudyarchi02caffgoog|quote=Persian Architecture. }}</ref>

The [[Sasanian architecture|architectural heritage of the Sasanian Empire]] includes, among others, castle fortifications such as the [[Fortifications of Derbent]] (located in [[North Caucasus]], now part of [[Russia]]), the [[Rudkhan Castle]] and the [[Falak-ol-Aflak Castle|Shapur-Khwast Castle]], palaces such as the [[Palace of Ardashir]] and the [[Sarvestan Palace]], bridges such as the [[Shahrestan Bridge]] and the [[Shapuri Bridge]], the [[Taq Kasra|Archway of Ctesiphon]], and the reliefs at [[Taq-e Bostan]].

<gallery mode="packed">
Persepolis 06.jpg|Ruins of the [[Tachara]], [[Persepolis]].
Pasargad Tomb Cyrus3.jpg|[[Tomb of Cyrus]], [[Pasargadae]].
Sassanid reliefs at Taq e Bostan.jpg|The [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] reliefs at [[Taq-e Bostan]].
Falakolaflak.jpg|[[Falak-ol-Aflak Castle|Shapur-Khwast Castle]], [[Khorramabad]].
</gallery>

Architectural elements from the time of Iran's ancient Persian empires have been adopted and incorporated in later period.<ref name="Hillenbrand"/> They were used especially during the modernization of Iran under the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty to contribute to the characterization of the modern country with its ancient history.<ref name="Amanat"/><ref name="Wilber"/>

====Gardens====
{{Main|Persian gardens}}
{{See also|Paradise garden|Bāgh (garden){{!}}Bāgh}}

[[Xenophon]], in his ''[[Oeconomicus]]'',<ref name=hobhouse>{{cite book |title=Gardens of Persia |author1=Penelope Hobhouse |author2=Erica Hunningher |author3=Jerry Harpur |publisher=Kales Press |year=2004 |pages=7–13 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AMFRyiAxZ6YC&q=Persian+garden |isbn=9780967007663}}</ref> states:
{{Blockquote|"The Great King [Cyrus II]...in all the districts he resides in and visits, takes care that there are {{transl|grc|parádeisos}} ("paradise") as they [Persians] call them, full of the good and beautiful things that the soil produce."}}

The [[Persian gardens|Persian garden]], the earliest examples of which were found throughout the Achaemenid Empire, has an integral position in Persian architecture.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/garden-i |title=GARDEN i. ACHAEMENID PERIOD |first=Mehrdad |last=Fakour |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |volume=X |pages=297–298 |access-date=30 December 2012}}</ref> Gardens assumed an important place for the Achaemenid monarchs,<ref name=hobhouse/> and utilized the advanced Achaemenid knowledge of water technologies,<ref name=Mays>{{cite book|title=Ancient Water Technologies|author=L. Mays|publisher=Springer|year=2010|pages=95–100|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AEzOzSZEAToC&q=Persepolis+irrigation&pg=PA94|isbn=9789048186327}}</ref> including [[Aqueduct (water supply)|aqueduct]]s, earliest recorded gravity-fed water rills, and basins arranged in a geometric system. The enclosure of this symmetrically arranged planting and irrigation by an infrastructure such as a palace created the impression of "paradise".<ref>{{cite book|title=Persian Garden: Echoes Of Paradise|author1=Mehdi Khansari |author2=M. Reza Moghtader |author3=Minouch Yavari |publisher=Mage Publishers |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0msdJAAACAAJ&q=Persian+garden |isbn=9780934211758}}</ref> The word ''paradise'' itself originates from [[Avestan]] {{transl|ae|pairidaēza}} ([[Old Persian]] {{transl|peo|paridaida}}; [[Persian language|New Persian]] {{transl|fa|pardis}}, {{transl|fa|ferdows}}), which literally translates to "walled-around". Characterized by its quadripartite (''[[charbagh|čārbāq]]'') design, the Persian garden was evolved and developed into various forms throughout history,<ref name=hobhouse/> and was also adopted in various other cultures in Eurasia. It was inscribed on [[UNESCO]]'s [[World Heritage Site|World Heritage List]] in June 2011.

<gallery mode="packed">
Naghshe Jahan Square Isfahan modified.jpg|[[Naqsh-e Jahan Square|Shah Square]], [[Isfahan]].
Botanical Garden, Shiraz.jpg|[[Eram Garden]], [[Shiraz]].
Hafez 880714 095.jpg|[[Tomb of Hafez]], [[Shiraz]].
باغ وعمارت شاهزاده ماهان.jpg|[[Shazdeh Garden]], [[Kerman County|Kerman]].
</gallery>

===Carpets===
{{Main|Persian carpet}}

[[File:Louvre - Tapis à décor de jardin de paradis, dit Tapis de Mantes.jpg|thumb|A Persian carpet kept at the [[Louvre]].]]
Carpet weaving is an essential part of the Persian culture,<ref name=langton>{{cite book |title=How to know oriental rugs, a handbook |author=Mary Beach Langton |publisher=D. Appleton and Company |year=1904 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_YtcPAAAAYAAJ/page/n57 57]–59 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_YtcPAAAAYAAJ|quote=Persian rugs. }}</ref> and Persian rugs are said to be one of the most detailed hand-made works of art.

Achaemenid rug and carpet artistry is well recognized. [[Xenophon]] describes the carpet production in the city of Sardis, stating that the locals take pride in their carpet production. A special mention of Persian carpets is also made by [[Athenaeus|Athenaeus of Naucratis]] in his ''[[Deipnosophistae]]'', as he describes a "delightfully embroidered" Persian carpet with "preposterous shapes of [[griffin]]s".<ref name=ronald/>

The [[Pazyryk culture|Pazyryk]] carpet, a [[Scythians|Scythian]] pile-carpet dating back to the 4th century BC that is regarded as the world's oldest existing carpet, depicts elements of Assyrian and Achaemenid designs, including stylistic references to the stone slab designs found in Persian royal buildings.<ref name=ronald>{{cite book |title=The Arts of Persia |author=Ronald W. Ferrier |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1989 |pages=118–120 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G2Qkf0h2Pj4C&q=Pazyryk+Carpet+Persia&pg=PA118|isbn=0300039875}}</ref>

===Music===
{{Main|Persian traditional music}}
[[File:Dancers and musicians on a Sasanian bowl.jpg|thumb|Dancers and musical instrument players depicted on a [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] silver bowl from the 5th-7th century AD.]]

According to the accounts reported by Xenophon, a great number of singers were present at the Achaemenid court. However, little information is available from the music of that era. The music scene of the Sasanian Empire has a more available and detailed documentation than the earlier periods, and is especially more evident within the context of [[Zoroastrian music|Zoroastrian musical rituals]].<ref name=EI-mhphi>{{harv|Lawergren|2009}} iv. First millennium C.E. (1) Sasanian music, 224–651.</ref> Overall, [[Sasanian music]] was influential and was adopted in the subsequent eras.<ref>{{cite book |title=Islamic art and spirituality |author=Seyyed Hossein Nasr |publisher=SUNY Press |year=1987 |pages=3–4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EBu6gWcT0DsC&q=Sassanid+music&pg=PA3 |isbn=9780887061745}}</ref>

Iranian music, as a whole, utilizes a variety of musical instruments that are unique to the region, and has remarkably evolved since the ancient and medieval times. In traditional Sasanian music, the [[octave]] was divided into seventeen tones. By the end of the 13th century, Iranian music also maintained a twelve-interval octave, which resembled the western counterparts.<ref name=music>{{cite book |title=The American history and encyclopedia of music |author1=Janet M. Green |author2=Josephine Thrall |publisher=I. Squire |year=1908 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanhistory08unkngoog/page/n100 55]–58 |url=https://archive.org/details/americanhistory08unkngoog|quote=music of persia. }}</ref>

===Observances===
The Iranian [[New Year]]'s Day, [[Nowruz]], which translates to "new day", is celebrated by Persians and other peoples of Iran to mark the beginning of spring on the [[March equinox|vernal equinox]] on the first day of [[Farvardin]], the first month of the [[Iranian calendars|Iranian calendar]], which corresponds to around March 21 in the Gregorian calendar. An ancient tradition that has been preserved in Iran and several other countries that were under the influence of the ancient empires of Iran,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/nowruz-ii |title=NOWRUZ ii. In the Islamic Period |edition=online |first=A. Shapur |last=Shahbazi |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |date=15 November 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2010/ga10916.doc.htm |title=General Assembly Recognizes 21 March as International Day of Nowruz, Also Changes to 23–24 March Dialogue on Financing for Development – Meetings Coverage and Press Releases |publisher=UN |access-date=20 March 2017}}</ref> Nowruz has been registered on [[UNESCO]]'s [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists|Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Intangible Heritage List |author=UNCESCO |year=2009 |access-date=9 March 2011 |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?RL=00282}}</ref> In Iran, the Nowruz celebrations (incl. [[Chaharshanbe Suri|Charshanbe Suri]] and [[Sizdah Be-dar|Sizdebedar]]) begin on the eve of the last Wednesday of the preceding year in the Iranian calendar and last on the 13th day of the new year. [[Islamic holidays|Islamic festivals]] are also widely celebrated by Muslim Persians.

== See also ==
*[[Demographics of Iran]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book|last1=Ansari|first1=Ali M.|title=Iran: A Very Short Introduction|date=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0199669349}}
* {{cite book|last1=Boyce|first1=Mary|author-link1=Mary Boyce|title=Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices|date=2001|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0415239028}}
*{{cite book|last1=McGing|first1=B.C.|title=The Foreign Policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus|date=1986|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-9004075917}}
* {{cite book|last=Mitchell|first=Stephen|chapter=Cappadocia|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2018|isbn=978-0192562463| editor-given1 = Oliver | editor-surname1 = Nicholson }}
* {{cite book|last=Raditsa|first=Leo|chapter=Iranians in Asia Minor|title=The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 3 (1): The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian periods|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1983|isbn=978-1139054942| editor-given1 = Ehsan | editor-surname1 = Yarshater }}
*{{cite book|last1=Roisman|first1=Joseph|last2=Worthington|first2=Ian|title=A Companion to Ancient Macedonia|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4051-7936-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lkYFVJ3U-BIC}}
*{{cite book|last1=Roisman|first1=Joseph|last2=Worthington|first2=Ian|title=A Companion to Ancient Macedonia|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|year=2011|isbn=978-1-4443-5163-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QsJ183uUDkMC&q=Achaemenid+Persians+ruled+balkans&pg=PA345}}
*{{cite book|last1=Van Dam|first1=Raymond|title=Kingdom of Snow: Roman Rule and Greek Culture in Cappadocia|date=2002|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0812236811}}

==External links==
* {{cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=pes |work=Ethnologue |title=Persian, Iranian}}

{{Iranian peoples}}
{{Ethnic groups in Iran}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Persian People}}
[[Category:Persian people| ]]
[[Category:Iranian ethnic groups]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Iran]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in the Middle East]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of West Asia]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples of Asia]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples of the Near East]]