Modern Persian is a continuation of Middle Persian, an official language of the Sasanian Empire (224–651 CE), itself a continuation of Old Persian, which was used in the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BCE). [20][21] It originated in the region of Fars (Persia) in southwestern Iran. [22]
Persian, predominant ethnic group of Iran (formerly known as Persia). Although of diverse ancestry, the Persian people are united by their language, Persian (Farsi), which belongs to the Indo-Iranian group of the Indo-European language family.
Persian evokes an ancient civilization known for its empires, literature and artistic traditions. It refers to a specific cultural and ethnic heritage that has influenced much of the Iranian...
The history of the Persian language is divided into three eras: Old Persian (ca. 525 BC- 300 BC), Middle Persian (c. 300 BC- 800 AD), and Modern Persian (800 AD to the present day).
Scholars recognize three major dialect divisions of Persian: Farsi, or the Persian of Iran; Dari Persian of Afghanistan; and Tajik, a variant spoken Tajikistan in Central Asia.
After the fall of the Sassanian Persian Empire to the invading Muslim Arabs in 651 CE, Persian culture spread to other regions and then, through trade along routes such as the Silk Road, toward the West.
Easy Persian website offers online lessons in listening, speaking, reading and writing Persian or Farsi as spoken in Iran. English and Persian translations.
Modern Persian, also known as New Persian is the linguistic continuation of Middle Persian, itself a successor to Old Persian, the language of ancient Iran up to about 330 BCE.