| Revision as of 16:36, 25 February 2006 view sourceShervink (talk | contribs)1,543 edits please discuss changes on the talk page before editing here. also, i assume you finally accept that kurds are iranians since you want them depicted here. whom do you suggest?← Previous edit | Revision as of 18:55, 25 February 2006 view source Aucaman (talk | contribs)2,729 edits Does everyone agree with this definition? It's modeled after Germanic peoplesNext edit → | ||
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| The '''Iranian peoples''' are the |
The '''Iranian peoples''' are the nations and peoples speaking one of ]. | ||
| ==Iranian peoples defined== | ==Iranian peoples defined== | ||
Revision as of 18:55, 25 February 2006
Ethnic group| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, eastern Turkey, western Pakistan, northern Iraq, and in parts of Uzbekistan, Syria, the Caucasus. | |
| Languages | |
| Balochi, Gilaki, Kurdish, Luri, Mazanderani, Ossetic, Pashto, Persian, Tajik, Wakhi, Zazaki and other smaller groups | |
| Religion | |
| Islam (both Sunni and Shi'a), Yazidism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Bahá'í Faith, Atheism and Agnosticism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Nuristani, Dardic and Indo-Aryans |
The Iranian peoples are the nations and peoples speaking one of Iranian languages.
Iranian peoples defined
Iranian peoples are those ethnic groups who speak an Iranian language and inherit the Iranian culture and/or religions , in which case Iranian is an over-arching term for various peoples and their languages, customs, and beliefs, many of whom share a common descent from a particular branch of the ancient Aryans (Iranians), as discerned from the relationship between their languages, as well as between some of their other inherited core cultural traits.
The term itself is derived from the etymological term Iran which is synonymous with Aryan, and does not have an exclusive meaning that is only applicable to either the state of Iran or the Persian people. From a linguistic point of view, the term Iranian or Iranian people is similar, in its usage, to the term Germanic, for example, which includes various peoples who happen to share related Germanic languages such as German, English, and Dutch. This type of usage can be applied in numerous other instances including the Slavic peoples category that includes Russians, Serbo-Croatians, and Poles. Thus, along these lines the Iranian peoples include not only the Persians/Tajiks of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, but also the Pashtuns, Kurds, Ossetians, Baluchis, and other smaller groups.
Although most of the Iranian peoples are found on the Iranian plateau region, many have moved beyond and can be found from the Caucasus and Turkey to the Indus and western China. The Iranian peoples have often mingled with other populations with the notable example being the Hazaras who display a distinct Turkic-Mongol background that contrasts with most other Iranian peoples. Similarly, the Baluch have mingled to a small degree with Indian populations such as the Brahui, while the Ossetians have invariably mixed with Georgians, Russians, and other peoples with whom they live. The Kurds are an example of a very eclectic Iranian people who, although displaying some ethnolinguistic ties to other Iranian peoples (in particular their Iranian language), have substantial genetic ties to the Caucasus , Europeans and Jews among other regions. Modern Persians themselves are a diverse group of peoples descended from various Iranian and indigenous peoples of the Iranian plateau including the Elamites. Thus, not unlike the previous example of Germanic peoples involving the English, who are of mixed Germanic and Celtic origin, Iranian is an ethno-linguistic group and the Iranian peoples display varying degrees of common ancestry and/or cultural traits that denote their respective identities. On the other hand, the Parsis of India, who are probably descended from racially unmixed ancient Persians, are examples of an Iranian people who have kept their genetic identity and yet have nationally, linguistically and, to a certain extent, culturally lost their Iranian identity in exchange for an Indo-Aryan one.
Some ancient peoples such as the Scythians, Sarmatians, and Alans are also widely believed to have belonged to the Iranian group, based upon 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 sub-family, which is in turn a sub-branch of the Indo-European family of languages, which was formerly, although inaccurately, also referred to as Aryan – a usage academically discredited.
Geographic concentration
There are an estimated 150 million native speakers of Iranian languages. Currently, most of these Iranian peoples live in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, western Pakistan, the Kurdish areas (sometimes referred to as Kurdistan) of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria, as well as in parts of Uzbekistan (especially Samarkand and Bukhara), the Caucasus (Ossetia and Azerbaijan). Smaller groups of Iranian peoples can also be found in western China and India (home to the Parsis).
Genetic tests and possible links
Genetic testing of Iranian peoples has revealed many common origins for most of the Iranian peoples, but with regional variations as to be expected. Nonetheless the preliminary genetic evidence suggests a common relationship amongst most of the Iranian peoples:
Populations located west of the Indus basin, including those from Iran, Anatolia and the Caucasus, exhibit a common mtDNA lineage composition, consisting mainly of western Eurasian lineages, with a very limited contribution from South Asia and eastern Eurasia (fig. 1). Indeed, the different Iranian populations show a striking degree of homogeneity. This is revealed not only by the nonsignificant FST values and the PC plot (fig. 6) but also by the SAMOVA results, in which a significant genetic barrier separates populations west of Pakistan from those east and north of the Indus Valley (results not shown). These observations suggest either a common origin of modern Iranian populations and/or extensive levels of gene flow amongst them.
Basically, the findings of this study reveal many common genetic markers found amongst the Iranian peoples from the Tigris to the areas west of the Indus. This correlates with the Iranian languages spoken in the areas that span from the Caucasus to Kurdish areas in the Zagros region and eastwards to western Pakistan and Tajikistan and parts of Uzbekistan in Central Asia. The extensive gene flow is perhaps an indication of the spread of Iranian-speaking peoples whose languages are now spoken mainly upon the Iranian plateau and adjacent regions. These results relate the relationships of Iranian peoples with each other, while other comparative testing reveals some varied origins for Iranian peoples such as the Kurds, who show genetic ties to the Caucasus at considerably higher levels than any other Iranian peoples except the Ossetians as well as links to Semitic populations that live in close proximity such as Jews and Arabs. An inclusive new study that combined all of the previous studies regarding comparative tests showing the relationship of the Kurds with Georgians, Europeans, and Jews was incorporated into a 2005 study that conducted further comparative tests amongst Kurdish groups from various regions. This study entitled 'MtDNA and Y-chromosome Variation in Kurdish Groups' concluded the following:
Kurdish languages belong to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. What is the genetic relationship between Indo-European speaking Kurdish groups and other West Asian Indo-European and non-Indo-European speaking groups? For both mtDNA and the Y-chromosome, all Kurdish groups are more similar to West Asians than to Central Asian, Caucasian, or European groups, and these differences are significant in most cases. However, for mtDNA, Kurdish groups are all most similar to European groups (after West Asians), whereas for the Y-chromosome Kurds are more similar to Caucasians and Central Asians (after West Asians) than to Europeans. Richards et al. (2000) suggested that some Near Eastern mtDNA haplotypes, among them Kurdish ones from east Turkey, presumably originated in Europe and were associated with back-migrations from Europe to the Near East, which may explain the close relationship of Kurdish and European groups with respect to mtDNA. Subsequent migrations involving the Caucasus and Central Asia, that were largely male-mediated, could explain the closer relationship of Kurdish Y-chromosomes to Caucasian/Central Asian Ychromosomes than to European Y-chromosomes. In another study, Kurdish Jews were found to be close to Muslim Kurds, but so were Ashkenazim and Sephardim, suggesting that much if not most of the genetic similarity between Jewish and Muslim Kurds is from ancient times.
Ultimately, genetic tests reveal that while the Iranian peoples show numerous common genetic markers overall, there are also indications of interaction with other groups and regional variations. In addition, indigenous populations may have survived the waves of early Aryan invasions as cultural assimilation led to large-scale language replacement (as with some Kurds). Further testing will ultimately be required and may further elucidate the relationship of the Iranian peoples with each other and various neighboring populations.
List of Iranian peoples
Past
- Persians
- Medes (ancient people speaking a precursor to the modern Iranian language)
- Parthians
- Parni
- Cimmerians (ethnicity as Iranians specifically unknown)
- Sigynnae (uncertain, known only by obscure reports)
- Scythians
- Sarmatians, including the Rhoxolani, Iazyges, Siraces, and some regard the Alans as a subset of the Sarmatians as well
- Bactrians
- Khwarezmians
- Alans
- Saka
- Sogdians
- Massagetae
- Kambojas
- Pallavas, descended from Persian invaders of India
- Indo-Scythians
Present
Iranian peoples in modern times include:
See also
References
- Banuazizi, Ali and Weiner, Myron (eds.). The State, Religion, and Ethnic Politics: Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan (Contemporary Issues in the Middle East), Syracuse University Press (August, 1988)
- Khoury, Philip and Kostiner, Joseph. Tribes and State Formation in the Middle East, University of California Press (May, 1991)
- McDowall, David. A Modern History of the Kurds, I.B. Tauris; 3rd Rev edition (May 14, 2004)
- Sims-Williams, Nicholas. Indo-Iranian Languages and Peoples, British Academy (March 27, 2003)
- The Iranian Peoples of the Caucasus, Routledge Curzon
- Ethnologue report for Iranian
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Iranian languages
- The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies: Iranian languages and lierature
- The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies-Articles on: Anthropology, Genealogy & Folklores of the Iranian peoples
- Where West Meets East: The Complex mtDNA Landscape of the Southwest and Central Asian Corridor, Am. J. Hum. Genet., 74:827-845, 2004
External links
- The Iranian people around the world
- "THE ORIGIN OF THE PRE-IMPERIAL IRANIAN PEOPLES", by Oric Barirov