Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Persians
Persians are the descendents of the original Elamite and Aryan races who arrived in what
is now Iran during the 3rd millennium BC. The Persians, or Farsis, were originally the
tribes that came to establish the Achaemenid Empire and, when Gilaki and Mazandarani
people are included in the number (their language is a variation on Farsi but are still eth-
nically Persians), now make up about 60% of the population. Persians are found across
Iran, but Tehran, Mashhad, Esfahan, Yazd and particularly Shiraz have the highest con-
centrations. Farsi is the main Iranian language and Persian culture is often considered Ira-
nian culture. For more on Persian culture, see Daily Life (
Click here
)
.
Azaris
Commonly called 'Turks' in Iran, the Azaris
make up about 16% of the population. They
speak Azari Turkish, a dialect mixing Turkish
with Farsi. They are concentrated in northwest
Iran, in the Azarbayjan provinces around Tab-
riz. See
Click here
for more.
As the largest and most influential ethnic group,
Persians fill most of Iran's senior government posts.
However, people from most other ethnic groups (as
opposed to religions) can still reach the top - Iran's
supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, is an ethnic Azari.
Kurds
Iran has more than seven million Kurds. The Kurds lay claim to being the oldest Iranian
people in the region, descended from the Medes. In Iran, Kurds live in the mountainous
west, particularly Kordestan province near the Iraqi border. Kurds also live in Iraq, Syria
and Turkey, and at more than 20 million in total comprise the largest ethnic group without
their own country. Kurds are widely feared and misunderstood by other Iranians. For more
on the Kurds, see
Click here
.
Arabs
Arabs make up about 2% of the population and
are settled mostly in Khuzestan, near the Iraq
border, and on the coast and islands of the Per-
sian Gulf. They are often called
bandari
(
bandar
means port), because of their historic-
al links to the sea. Their differing language (a
dialect of Arabic), dress, music and faith
(many are Sunni Muslims) mean other Iranians
Bahman Ghobadi's film
A Time for Drunken
Horses,
a cowinner of the Cannes' Caméra d'Or
prize in 2000, is the story of Kurdish orphans living
in a border village. Ghobadi has since had hits with
Turtles Can Fly
and
Half Moon
.
consider them exotic. See also
Click here
.
