Iranian

The term Iranian may refer to:

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• the inhabitants of the modern nation of Iran (Persia), which includes several ethnic groups but mostly Parsi.
• the Iranian peoples, in which case Iranian is an over-arching term for various peoples and their languages, which share descent in common from a particular branch of the ancient Aryans (Indo-Iranians), as discerned from the relationship between their languages (see Iranian languages), as well as between some of their other inherited core cultural features. The term is based upon the membership of the main language of Iran in this group, as well as upon an etymological connection between the words Iran and Aryan. Iranian, in this ethno-linguistic usage, are most of the peoples of the modern nation of Iran, but are included as well such groups as the Afghans/Pashtuns, Tajiks/Persians/Tats, Kurds, Baluchis, Ossetes, etc. Some ancient peoples such as the Scythians, Sarmatians, and Alans are also widely believed to have belonged to the Iranian group, based upon scant evidence regarding their languages and the identity of their modern-day descendants. No origin for any of these peoples or their languages in the region of the modern nation of Iran is implied, or should be construed, from this particular use of the word Iranian. The Iranian language group is itself a sub-branch of the Indo-Iranian group, which is in turn a sub-branch of the Indo-European. The Indo-Iranian group includes besides Iranian, also Indo-Aryan and Nuristani.
• The term Iranian (Persian: ایرانیان) is cognate to the term Aryan (Persian: آریایی).

See also: Persian Empire, Aryan, Iran, Afghan, List of topics related to Iran.

Related Topics:
Persian Empire - Aryan - Iran - Afghan - List of topics related to Iran

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