Affinity Bloc: Persian-Median

Overview: The Persian people are an Indo-European ethnic group that speaks one or more Iranian languages. The term 'Persian' comes from 'Persis', a region of the Persian Gulf that today is known as Fars Province in Iran. Originally spelled 'Pars' this region was the cultural center of Iran. It was from this region that Cyrus the Great united competing empires to form the Persian empire. Today, ethnic Persians are scattered across Central Asia, but the core remain in Iran. The Persian people cluster includes Farsi speaking Persians along with two major Caspian peoples, the Gilaki and Mazanderani, and a number of smaller ethnic Iranian groups.

Peoples within this cluster: Deghwari; Digor; Fars, Southwestern; Gazi; Gilaki; Hazara; Khunsari; Larestani; Luwathiya; Mashadi; Mazanderani; Mussulman Tat; Ossetian; Parachi; Persian; Persian, Dari; Qizilbash; Semnani; Sivandi; Soi; Tati, Southern

Countries where they are found: Afghanistan; Armenia; Australia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Bahrain; Belgium; Canada; Denmark; France; Germany; Greece; Indonesia; Iran; Iraq; Italy; Kazakhstan; Kuwait; Malaysia; Netherlands; New Zealand; Oman; Pakistan; Qatar; Russia; South Korea; Syria; Tajikistan; Türkiye; Turkmenistan; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; United States; Uzbekistan; Yemen