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The term Persians
The term “Persians” refers to an ethnic group primarily associated with Iran, where they form the majority of the population. They are speakers of the Persian language, also known as Farsi, and share a rich cultural and historical heritage that dates back thousands of years. The Persian people are a Western Iranian ethnic group, and their history is closely tied to the ancient Persian empires, which played a pivotal role in shaping world history. Historically, the term “Persian” is most commonly associated with the ancient Iranian people who settled in the region of Persia (modern-day Fars province in Iran) around the 9th century BCE. These early Persians established one of…
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The Western Iranian languages
The Western Iranian languages are a branch of the Iranian language family, which itself is part of the larger Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. These languages are spoken in a vast region that spans Southwest Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and parts of western South Asia. They have historical roots dating back to the Old Persian and Median languages, with evidence of their existence from the 6th century BC. The Western Iranian languages are traditionally divided into two main subgroups: Northwestern Iranian and Southwestern Iranian. The Northwestern Iranian languages include languages such as Gilaki, Mazandarani, Talysh, and various Kurdish dialects. These languages are spoken in regions like the…
