By referring to themselves as 'Persian,' they sometimes express the desire to look at the segment of history – the ancient empires, for instance – that makes them proud. Why is it, for example, that they identify more readily with Cyrus the Great than with figures in contemporary culture?
Iranians have always called themselves Iranian. Persian is an ethnic sub-group among Iranians which makes up around 55% of Iranians within Iran.
People: Iranian or Persian? “Iranian” and “Persian” are often used interchangeably. If you have friends from Iran, I'm sure some of them say they're “Iranian” while others say they're “Persian.” On My Persian Corner, you'll notice I always use the term “Iranian.” Why?
First of all, not all Iranians are ethnically Persian, but most of them say they are. Persia was an empire that, of course, no longer exists. For example, you don't hear people calling themselves Babylonians, Romans, although you hear people calling themselves Assyrians and Turks.
Rather, the distinctive Persian identity engenders a strong sense of pride and belonging among its people. It is common for Iranians to refer to themselves as “Persian”, which carries the association and prestige of the historical empire.
Although Iran's state religion is Shiite Islam and the majority of its population is ethnically Persian, millions of minorities from various ethnic, religious, and linguistic backgrounds also reside in Iran. Among these groups are ethnic Kurds, Baluchis, and Azeris.
Persian vs Farsi: Is Farsi the same as Persian? The short answer is yes, Farsi and Persian are the same language. The confusion comes from the fact that 'Persian' is the term used by English speakers and 'Farsi' is the term used by Iranian speakers to refer to Persian, the official language of Iran.
Over 1 million Iranian Sayyids are of Arab descent but most are Persianized, mixed and consider themselves Persian and Iranian today. The majority of Sayyids migrated to Iran from Arab lands predominantly in the 15th to 17th centuries during the Safavid era.
With the spread of Islam in the mid-seventh century, the Persian-speaking world became predominantly Muslim although vestiges of the earlier pre-Islamic religious and philosophical traditions remained.
The Persian people are one of the oldest civilizations that still inhabit their homeland. They are often defined by physical characteristics such as olive and pale skin, large dark or deep blue eyes, and almond shaped eyes.
The vast majority of Iranians are Muslims of the Ithnā ʿAsharī, or Twelver, Shiʿi branch, which is the official state religion. The Kurds and Turkmen are predominantly Sunni Muslims, but Iran's Arabs are both Sunni and Shiʿi.
The Middle Iranian ērān/aryān are oblique plural forms of gentilic ēr- (Middle Persian) and ary- (Parthian), which in turn both derive from Old Iranian *arya-, meaning "'Aryan,' i.e., 'of the Iranians.
Politeness and etiquette are demonstrated on a daily basis in Iran. It is often exhibited through the traditional verbal and nonverbal system of politeness – 'taarof'. Under taarof, Iranians strive to make the other person in the interaction feel as appreciated and welcomed as possible.
The Persian word “Salam” means “Hello”. Greetings may involve a handshake with the right hand only. Men and women generally will not shake hands unless the female outstretches her hand first and the man is willing to reciprocate the gesture.
On the day of the Persian New Year, March 21 1935, Reza Shah Pahlavi, requested foreign delegates to use the term Iran, instead of Persia, in a conscious reference to the ancient ancestry of the Iranians.
Almost all Iranians as Muslim, with 90–95% thought to associate themselves with the official state religion – Shia Islam – and about 5–10% with the Sunni and Sufi branches of Islam. 99.8% of Iranians identifying as Muslim.
As the region of Iran was once called Persia, 'Iranian' is often assumed to be synonymous with 'Persian'. The two can usually be used interchangeably. However, “Persian” specifically refers to the particular Persian ethnicity or Farsi language within Iran.
Who was the main god of the Persian people? The main god in ancient Persia was Ahura Mazda. In the ancient Zoroastrian religion, Ahura Mazda was held to be the creator of the universe.
Sunni and Shi'i are the two largest branches of Islam, with the overwhelming majority of Iranians practicing Shi'i Islam. About 90 percent of Iranians practice Shi'ism, the official religion of Iran. [i] By contrast, most Arab states in the Middle East are predominantly Sunni.
Iran is an anomaly in the Middle East as the Iranian people do not speak Arabic, but rather Persian or “Farsi.” While there is diversity in Iran, the majority of the Iranian people are culturally, ethnically, and religiously unique from their surrounding neighbors.
Iranian Arabs (Arabic: عرب إيران ʿArab Īrān; Persian: عربهای ايران Arabhāye Irān) are the Arab inhabitants of Iran who speak Arabic as their native language. In 2008, Iranian Arabs comprised about 1.6 million people, and are primarily located in Khuzestan Province. 1.3–2.1 milliion (2014, est.)
Michael: Arabic, Negar: عربی (arabi), Michael: is another language that shares many, many similarities with Persian. In fact, much like Urdu, it's estimated that Arabic shares more than 70% of its language with Persian.
The Culture of Iran is a mix of ancient pre-Islamic culture and Islamic culture. Iranian culture has long been a predominant culture of the Middle East and Central Asia, with Persian considered the language of intellectuals during much of the 2nd millennium, and the language of religion and the populace before that.
As for the question that which of them is older, then Persian takes the prize if we include the history of its earliest version. The Old Persian had been around since 550-330 BC until it transitioned into the Middle version of the tongue in 224 CE. Old Arabic, on the other hand, emerged in the 1st century CE.