[102] Fire was regarded as an important and highly sacred element, and also a deity. [111] They do however continue to use Avestan as their liturgical language. The heart of the storied Persian empire of antiquity, Iran has long played an important role in the region as an imperial power and laterbecause of its strategic position and abundant natural resources, especially petroleumas a factor in colonial and superpower rivalries. [citation needed], Iranian languages were and, to a lesser extent, still are spoken in a wide area comprising regions around the Black Sea, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia and the northwest of China. [11] The Achaemenids developed the infrastructure to support their growing influence, including the establishment of the cities of Pasargadae and Persepolis. The Himalayan is usually a medium-sized cat although she is massive and heavily boned. 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 musical rituals. The main migration of Turkic peoples occurred between the 6th and 10th centuries, when they spread across most of Central Asia. For example, both Early Iranian and Slavic supreme gods were considered givers of wealth, unlike the supreme thunder gods in many other European religions. [108] 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. [51] According to 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. Omissions? [33] German scholar Martin Kummel also argues the same distinction of Iranian from Iranic.[34]. [78] 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. While Iran (a homeland of a significant number of Persians) has a large amount of land covered by desert, the majority of the population chooses to live in other parts of the country. [90][91][92][93][94][95][96], The Lurs, an ethnic Iranian people native to western Iran, are often associated with the Persians and the Kurds. Identifying a Persian Cat: Physical Characteristics and Behavioral Cues. The area around Mesopotamia was very fertile, which gave the Persians a life easier than some countries further south. [69] Although the term had developed a derogatory meaning and implied cultural and ethnic inferiority, it was gradually accepted as a synonym for "Persian"[68][70][71] and still remains today as a designation for the Persian-speaking communities native to the modern Arab states of the Middle East. These Iranian-speaking Scythians and Sarmatians dominated large parts of Eastern Europe for a millennium, and were eventually absorbed and assimilated (e.g. An ancient tradition that has been preserved in Iran and several other countries that were under the influence of the ancient empires of Iran,[129][130] Nowruz has been registered on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. [125], The Pazyryk carpet, a 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. [102] Zoroastrianism, a form of the ancient Iranian religion that is still practiced by some communities,[103] was later developed and spread to nearly all of the Iranian peoples living in the Iranian Plateau. Corrections? The tail is short and the ears are small. [4] They are native speakers of the modern dialects of Persian,[82] which serves as the country's official language.[83]. However, this is not entirely accurate. For a period of over 400 years, the Sasanians and the neighboring Byzantines were recognized as the two leading powers in the world. From Persis and throughout the Median, Achaemenid, Parthian, and Sasanian empires of ancient Iran to the neighboring Greek city states and the kingdom of Macedon,[112][14] and later throughout the medieval Islamic world,[113][17] all the way to modern Iran and others parts of Eurasia, Persian culture has been extended, celebrated, and incorporated. Iran | History, Culture, People, Facts, Map, & Nuclear Deal About one-third of its 4,770-mile (7,680-km) boundary is seacoast. [9], The ancient Persians were originally an ancient Iranian people who had migrated to the region of Persis (corresponding to the modern-day Iranian province of Fars) by the 9th century BCE. As the definition of the God of Iranians, The presence of "East-Eurasian" haplogroup. [80] 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 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire. Required fields are marked *, This Article was Last Expert Reviewed on December 15, 2022 by Chris Drew, PhD. 10 Turkish People Physical Characteristics and Traits Houtsma et al., eds., The Encyclopdia of Islam: A Dictionary of the Geography, Ethnography and Biography of the Muhammadan Peoples, 4 vols. The academic usage of the term Iranian is distinct from the state of Iran and its various citizens (who are all Iranian by nationality), in the same way that the term Germanic peoples is distinct from Germans. [72] A series of Muslim Iranian kingdoms were later established on the fringes of the declining Abbasid Caliphate, including that of the ninth-century 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,[73] now having received the Arabic script and a large Arabic vocabulary. "[40] One group were the Indo-Aryans who founded the Mitanni kingdom in northern Syria;[41] (c.1500 c.1300 BC) the other group were the Vedic people. The early Iranian peoples practiced the ancient Iranian religion, which, like that of other Indo-European peoples, embraced various male and female deities. As an Iranian or Persian guy who knows a bit of history, Iran was called Persia up until around 100 years ago when its name was changed to Iran officially. [63] Remnants of the Median language and Old Persian show their common Proto-Iranian roots, emphasized in Strabo and Herodotus' description of their languages as very similar to the languages spoken by the Bactrians and Sogdians in the east. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. The Scythian and Sarmatian tribes were spread across Great Hungarian Plain, South-Eastern Ukraine, Russias Siberian, Southern, Volga,[59] Uralic regions and the Balkans,[60][61][62] while other Scythian tribes, such as the Saka, spread as far east as Xinjiang, China. The Iranian peoples[1] or Iranic peoples[2] are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples[1][3] who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities. The modern Ossetians are believed to be the direct descendants of the Alans, as other remnants of the Alans disappeared following Germanic, Hunnic and ultimately Slavic migrations and invasions. You can be Iranian and not speak Persian. [25] In the Bible, particularly in the books of Daniel, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemya, it is given as Prs ( ). The nose itself is actually seen as a beautiful feature of most Persians, especially females. The first of these conquerors was Alexander the Great, who swept through the region and conquered the Achaemenid Empire in 330 B.C.E. New Persian literature flourished after the Arab conquest of Iran with its earliest records from the 9th century,[116] and was developed as a court tradition in many eastern courts. [105] The language-shift from Middle Iranian to Turkic and New Persian was predominantly the result of an "elite dominance" process. Even so, the foundations of Persian culture were already set prior to the 3rd millennium BCE.. In ancient Iran, fire was kept with great care in fire temples. [78], The extensive contact between these Scytho-Sarmatian Iranian tribes in Eastern Europe and the (Early) Slavs included religion. Persian (Farsi) is the predominant and official language of Iran. History in the Qajar and Pahlavi Periods", "Hazara community finds safe haven in Peshawar", "Iranian Nationalism and Zoroastrian Identity", "Iran vi. Persia was eventually conquered by Alexander the Great in 334 B.C.E. [39][40][41][42][43], The ancient Persians played a major role in the downfall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Average Lifespan: 12-17 years. This is false, as they speak a language called Farsi, which is from the Indo-European family. 14767. An Iranian cultural renaissance in the late 8th century led to a reawakening of Persian literary culture, though the Persian language was now highly Arabized and in Arabic script, and native Persian Islamic dynasties began to appear with the rise of the hirids in the early 9th century. canal noun artificial waterway. Persians have contributed to various forms of art, including calligraphy, carpet weaving, glasswork, lacquerware, marquetry (khatam), metalwork, miniature illustration, mosaic, pottery, and textile design.[16]. Corrections? Culture of Iran - history, people, clothing, traditions, women, beliefs Several Sintashta towns were built over older Poltavka settlements or close to Poltavka cemeteries, and Poltavka motifs are common on Sintashta pottery. Pahlavi, before World War II", "FRS iv. All articles are edited by a PhD level academic. After Slavic and Baltic languages diverged the Early Slavs interacted with Iranian peoples and merged elements of Iranian spirituality into their beliefs. In traditional Sasanian music, the octave was divided into seventeen tones. This video is a guide on how to identify a Persian cat based on their physical chara. [19][20] Today, the Old Iranian arya- remains in ethno-linguistic names such as Iran, Alan, Ir, and Iron. While they may have only had an average height of around 5.8 feet tall, this was still much taller than the average Roman or Greek of the day, which averaged approximately 5.5 feet. The Iranian Language of Azerbaijan", "Iranian Identity ii. However, the term Persian is still historically used to designate the predominant population of the Iranian peoples living in the Iranian cultural continent. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro as well as in North Macedonia, Slovenia, Germany and Austria. The lying, deception, manipulation for the lack of better words deserves our attention. Update of 30 Mar (2018). Persian-speaking communities native to modern Arab countries are generally designated as Ajam,[72] including the Ajam of Bahrain, the Ajam of Iraq, and the Ajam of Kuwait. Geographically, much of Iran consists of a central desert plateau, which is ringed on all sides by lofty mountain ranges that afford access to the interior through high passes. The Andronovo culture is a collection of similar local Bronze Age Indo-Iranian cultures that flourished c. 1800900 BC in western Siberia and the west Asiatic steppe. It is believed that these Scythians were conquered by their eastern cousins, the Sarmatians, who are mentioned by Strabo as the dominant tribe which controlled the southern Russian steppe in the 1st millennium AD. The first written reference to the Parsa occurs in the annals of Shalmaneser II, an Assyrian king, who reigned in the 9th century bce. Persian cats are medium-sized, usually weigh between seven and 12 pounds, and measure from 10-15 inches tall. At first, the Western Iranian peoples in the Near East were dominated by the various Assyrian empires. Old Persian. The Persian is usually a medium sized cat, although she is massive and heavily boned. 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 vernal equinox on the first day of Farvardin, the first month of the Iranian calendar, which corresponds to around March 21 in the Gregorian calendar. There are an estimated 150 to 200 million native speakers of Iranian languages, the six major groups of Persians, Lurs, Kurds, Tajiks, Baloch, and Pashtuns accounting for about 90% of this number. Old Persian is attested in the Behistun Inscription (c. 519 BC), recording a proclamation by Darius the Great. Farsi is closer to English than the Scandinavian branches and is one of the oldest Indo-European languages. Thomson. Iran (pronounced ee-RAHN), formerly known as Persia, is situated at the crossroads of Central Asia, South Asia, and the Arab states of the Middle East. Calm. conquered by Iranian culture. Among the most important Persian holidays are the Muslim ds (canonical festivals); the birthday of the 12th imam, whose return is expected at the Last Judgment; and the Persian New Year, called Nrz. )-language text, Articles containing Persian-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 9 April 2023, at 20:02. [32], All this evidence shows that the name Arya 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 Ohrmazd.[20]. There are numerous physical characteristics that many of the Persian people share, and there are also multiple stereotypical traits that have been assigned to them by outside influences. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. [56] Other aspects of this national culture included the glorification of a great heroic past and an archaizing spirit. Thanks for the input Cheri, I think this adds value to the piece. [74] Persian language and culture continued to prevail after the invasions and conquests by the Mongols and the Turks (including the Ilkhanate, Ghaznavids, Seljuks, Khwarazmians, and Timurids), who were themselves significantly Persianized, further developing in Asia Minor, Central Asia, and South Asia, where Persian culture flourished by the expansion of the Persianate societies, particularly those of Turco-Persian and Indo-Persian blends. [117] The Bam Citadel, a massive structure at 1,940,000 square feet (180,000m2) constructed on the Silk Road in Bam, is from around the 5th century BC. 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. [22][23] In historical contexts, especially in 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. Author of, Professor of Political Science, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, 197087; Director, Middle East Languages and Area Center, 196783. The abundant East Iranian-derived toponyms in Eastern Europe proper (e.g. Iranian languages and scripts (2) Documentation", "General Assembly Recognizes 21 March as International Day of Nowruz, Also Changes to 2324 March Dialogue on Financing for Development - Meetings Coverage and Press Releases", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Persians&oldid=1149033509, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, "Related ethnic groups" needing confirmation, Articles using infobox ethnic group with image parameters, Articles containing Old Persian (ca. [27], The trilingual inscription erected by the command of Shapur I gives a more clear description. However, little information is available from the music of that era. [55] In the Volga basin, interaction with the Srubna culture was the most intense and prolonged, and Federovo style pottery is found as far west as Volgograd. Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. Parthian, London, P. Lund, Humphries 19762001, R.W. Himalayan Cat Breed - Facts and Personality Traits | Hill's Pet Pointing: It is considered rude to point your index finger at another person during conversation. Architectural elements from the time of Iran's ancient Persian empires have been adopted and incorporated in later period. Europeans, and certain South Asians (specifically the Parsi minority) showed the highest affinity with Iranians, while Sub-Saharan Africans and East Asians showed the highest differentiation with Iranians.[131]. They found that the most common paternal haplogroups were: Two large scale papers by Haber (2012)[143] and Di Cristofaro (2013)[144] analyzed populations from Afghanistan, where several Iranian-speaking groups are native. Learn more about our academic and editorial standards. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. [24][a] The earliest epigraphically attested reference to the word arya- occurs in the Bistun Inscription of the 6th century BC. (Dari, a variant of the Persian language, is the lingua franca and an official language of Afghanistan and is also spoken in Pakistan.). They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Hazragi dialect]. The name of this region was adopted by a nomadic ancient Iranian people who migrated to the region in the west and southwest of Lake Urmia, eventually becoming known as "the Persians". 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.[88]. The boning is heavy but the tail is short and the ears are small. Among the most renowned Persian literary figures are 10th-century court poet, musician, and singer Rdak, who composed versified renditions of local lore; mathematician, astronomer, and skeptic Omar Khayyam, to whom is attributed a collection of quatrains advocating a hedonistic approach to an otherwise meaningless life; and Rm, a 13th-century mystic of the Sufi branch of Islam, whose compilation of couplets in Masnav-yi Manav (Spiritual Couplets) has influenced religious thought and literature throughout the Muslim world. The ancestors of the Persian people still mainly live in modern-day Iran and share a significant amount of characteristics with their ancient ancestors. As with Tehrn, cities such as Efahn and Shrz combine modern buildings with important landmarks from the past and serve as major centres of education, culture, and commerce. [19] The Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, the works of Rumi, the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, the Panj Ganj of Nizami Ganjavi, the Divn of Hafez, The Conference of the Birds by Attar of Nishapur, and the miscellanea of Gulistan and Bustan by Saadi Shirazi are among the famous works of medieval Persian literature. [48] Its legacy and impact on the kingdom of Macedon was also notably huge,[14] even for centuries after the withdrawal of the Persians from Europe following the Greco-Persian Wars.[14]. Due to the central location of Iran, Persian art has served as a fusion point between eastern and western traditions. Excerpt: "ARYA an ethnic epithet in the Achaemenid inscriptions and in the Zoroastrian Avestan tradition. Iranian peoples - Wikipedia [25] In the Bible, particularly in the books of Daniel, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemya, it is given as Prs (). Retrieved 22 August 2017. Sasanian marble bust. [127], 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. [71] The Baloch who speak a west Iranian language relate an oral tradition regarding their migration from Aleppo, Syria around the year 1000 AD, whereas linguistic evidence links Balochi to Kurmanji, Soran, Gorani and Zazaki language.[72]. The Persian is an extreme-looking breed. Here is a list of five of the significant stereotypical traits: Greek writers often referred to the Persians as slavish by birth because they had a peaceful life full of agricultural farming. [70], The early inhabitants of the Achaemenid Empire appear to have adopted the religion of Zoroastrianism. For instance, the social event of Nowruz is an ancient Iranian festival that is still celebrated by nearly all of the Iranian peoples. [78] 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.[79][80]. These Sarmatians were also known to the Romans, who conquered the western tribes in the Balkans and sent Sarmatian conscripts, as part of Roman legions, as far west as Roman Britain. Ancient Persians were known for being of a relatively large stature. As ancient tribes and identities changed, so did the Iranian peoples, many of whom assimilated foreign cultures and peoples.[90]. Iranians have been taken advantage of over the years by many people and have become very mistrusting of others at times. Gestures: Iranians are generally reserved in their body language and gesture much less than their Arab neighbours. [111] 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.[111]. Ancient Persian Culture flourished between the reign of Cyrus II (The Great, r. c. 550-530 BCE), founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and the fall of the Sassanian Empire in 651 CE. The Persian literary tradition extends back at least to the time of Zoroaster. [89] 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. Before the Muslim conquest of Persia in the 7th century ce, most Persians followed Zoroastrianism, based on the teachings of the ancient prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra), who lived during the first half of the 1st millennium bce. Iranian Arabs and Azeris genetically overlap with Iranian peoples. 4. Persian holidays are occasions for enjoying local foods. [109] 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. The Persians spread their influence to the rest of what is considered to be the Iranian Plateau, and assimilated with the non-Iranian indigenous groups of the region, including the Elamites and the Mannaeans. To the east, it reaches into the Minusinsk depression, with some sites as far west as the southern Ural Mountains,[55] overlapping with the area of the earlier Afanasevo culture. The Tajiks are a people native to Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan who speak Persian in a variety of dialects. Carpet weaving is an essential part of the Persian culture,[124] and Persian rugs are said to be one of the most detailed hand-made works of art. [49] 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. Iranian culture is today considered to be centered in what is called the Iranian Plateau, and has its origins tracing back to the Andronovo culture of the late Bronze Age, which is associated with other cultures of the Eurasian Steppe. [4][5] At their peak of expansion in the mid-1st millennium BC, the territory of the Iranian peoples stretched across the entire Eurasian Steppe, from the Great Hungarian Plain in the west to the Ordos Plateau in the east and the Iranian Plateau in the south.[6]. The Persian language is known to have one of the world's oldest and most influential literatures. In recent decades it has become known for its unique brand of Islamic republic. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. [29][64] Following the establishment of the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian language (referred to as "Farsi" in Persian after being changed from Parsi) spread from Pars or Fars Province to various regions of the Empire, with the modern dialects of Iran, Afghanistan (also known as Dari) and Central-Asia (known as Tajiki) descending from Old Persian. Its been well-documented that Persian women, as well as the men, have some of the worlds most beautiful eyes. A number of languages and dialects from three language familiesIndo-European, Altaic, and Afro-Asiaticare also spoken. Learn more about our academic and editorial standards. The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates by Hugh Kennedy, B. Campbell, Disappearing people? The "long and narrow" skulls cannot be found farther east than the Black Sea. Harvard University Press, 1978. The languages used are Parthian, Middle Persian, and Greek. Although Persis (Persia proper) was only one of the provinces of ancient Iran,[28] 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. This article will discuss five physical characteristics and five stereotypical traits of the Persian people. This article was most recently revised and updated by. [47] It is probably the archaeological manifestation of the Indo-Iranian language group. [91] Currently, most of these Iranian peoples live in Iran, Afghanistan, the Caucasus (mainly Ossetia, other parts of Georgia, Dagestan, and Azerbaijan), Iraqi Kurdistan and Kurdish majority populated areas of Turkey, Iran and Syria, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. Later, during the 2nd millennium AD, the Iranian peoples would play a prominent role during the age of Islamic expansion and empire. Your email address will not be published. Iran is bounded to the north by Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, and the Caspian Sea; to the east by Pakistan and Afghanistan; to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman; and to the west by Turkey and Iraq. IRANIAN HISTORY (1) Pre-Islamic Times", "IRANIAN IDENTITY ii. [98], Like other Indo-Europeans, the early Iranians practiced ritual sacrifice, had a social hierarchy consisting of warriors, clerics, and farmers, and recounted their deeds through poetic hymns and sagas. https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/admin/, Physical Characteristics Of The Persian People, Divided Attention: 10 Examples and Overview, Machiavellianism: 10 Examples and Definition, Overgeneralization: 10 Examples and Definition, 17 Gender Stereotype Examples (For Men and Women). Iranian influence spread to the neighbouring Ottoman Empire, where Persian was often spoken at court (though a heavy Turko-Persian basis there was set already by the predecessors of the Ottomans in Anatolia, namely the Seljuks and the Sultanate of Rum amongst others) as well to the court of the Mughal Empire. Saladin, a noted adversary of the Crusaders, was an ethnic Kurd, while various empires centered in Iran (including the Safavids) re-established a modern dialect of Persian as the official language spoken throughout much of what is today Iran and the Caucasus. Key Personality Traits: Affectionate. In the 1st millennium AD, their area of settlement, which was mainly concentrated in the steppes and deserts of Eurasia,[7] was significantly reduced as a result of Slavic, Germanic, Turkic, and Mongolic expansions; many were subjected to Slavicization[8][9][10][11] and Turkification. As the Parsa expanded their sphere of political influence, particularly under the Achaemenian dynasty (559330 bce), the entire Iranian plateau became known to outsiders (such as the ancient Greeks) as Persia; its various peoples were designated (collectively) the Persians. Related Article: 10 Russian People Physical Characteristics And Traits. However, it did not yet have a political import. Social/Attention Needs: Moderate Tendency to Shed: High Coat: Length: Long [25], In royal Old Persian inscriptions, the term arya- appears in three different contexts:[20][21], In the Dna and Dse, Darius and Xerxes describe themselves as "an Achaemenid, a Persian, son of a Persian, and an Aryan, of Aryan stock". As Persian people generally resist doing anything that would bring shame to their name or family, they are known for adhering to social expectations in their homeland. They believe that acting through humility prevents an excess of criticism.
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