Iran is a country many people around the world have grown to fear or loathe. On American media, much talk of nuclear weapons and terrorism circulates on the news cycle, stemming from the 1979 Iranian Revolution that saw Islamic fundamentalism take over the West Asian country. But if we look beyond modern politics, we can see a vast and rich history of emperors, battles, and artistic achievements shaping the Persian language we know today.
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First, we will start with its ancient Indo-European origins, then pivot to how the language evolved during the Persian Empire and through the introduction of Islam, and observe how modern Persian keeps its roots alive. Strategically set between Arab nations like Syria, Iraq, and Kuwait to the West and Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India to the East, Iran is the perfect region to delve into, especially with all the surrounding political events happening today.
From Humble Pastoral Beginnings To An Empire
Far off in the B.C. era, specifically around 2500, nomads migrated to the top of the Iranian plateau and, over the years, divided and spread into India and towards the West. These agricultural migrants, some scholars posit, came from modern-day Russia and Ukraine, while others believe they originated in Turkey.
Those farmers gradually evolved into fierce tribes of herders and nomads surrounded by kingdoms like the Medians and Babylonians. Fast-forward to 549 B.C.: Cyrus the Great united Iran’s tribes and founded the Achaemenid Empire (history’s first Persian Empire) in modern Iran; this 200-year period remains our only source of authentic Old Persian cuneiform inscriptions.
The Old Persian language was mainly for the empire’s elites. Avestan, another Old Iranian dialect, was designated for priestal use, and served as the language for the Zoroastrian holy book, the Avesta. A handful of regional languages circulating at the time were Elamite, Median, and Scythian, among others.
At its zenith, the Persian Empire touched modern-day Ukraine, extended towards northern India, and even reached Egypt. Alexander the Great’s army destroyed Cyrus’s dynasty in 331 B.C. and his Greek successors from Macedonia ruled Persia until the 2nd century B.C.
However, the collective term Persian Empire refers to consecutive dynasties (including Parthian, Zoroastrian, and Roman conquerors and invaders) that continued on until Muslim warriors invaded the territory, marking the definitive end of Cyrus the Great’s ancient legacy.
Read About Other Languages
This article is part one of our Language Focus series. Here are some of the other articles in the series:
Arabic, the Language Of the Desert Revered By Close To Two Billion Muslims
8 Types of Spanish—How to Choose for Your Translations
The Alluring History Behind Swahili (And Why You Should Learn It)
Greek: A Modern Language With Beloved Ancient Roots
Is Chinese Really the Hardest Language in the World to Learn?
Afrikaans in South Africa—What Is Its History and Significance Today?
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism, born around three to four thousand years ago, is the most well-known and influential of all indigenous Persian religions. The prophet Zarathushtra (also known as Zoroaster or Zartosht) established the monotheistic faith after experiencing a vision from Ahura Mazda, their only god. Zarathushtra’s mission, akin to Judeo-Christian and Islamic prophets, was to take Persians away from their polytheistic practices and worship a one true god.
The Achaemenid and Parthian Empires embraced Zoroastrian doctrine. As said earlier, the Avestan language was their holy tongue, just as Arabic and Hebrew are holy languages to Islam and Judaism, respectively. Other similarities among these faiths are the belief of an enduring spiritual battle between good and evil and a day of judgment for all souls.
Zoroastrian Dari is mostly unique to those in the spiritual community. This version of Dari is a sibling of Persian, and their vocabularies do mirror one another. Dari contains many sub-dialects, but they all are now critically endangered. One reason for this predicament is mass migration to Iran’s big cities and outside the country.
Another factor to blame is the national language: speaking Persian is necessary to find work in the capital Tehran, and past administrations have cared less to introduce any preservation policies for minority languages. This insulation increased native speakers’ protectiveness of their mother tongue, hence its use is gearing fast towards nonexistence. Zoroastrian Dari’s unfortunate situation reflects the religion’s fate, as well.
In our time, Zoroastrianism has dimmed to a minor religion with no more than 200,000 followers globally. Notably, the majority of Zoroastrians no longer reside in Iran but in India. The second-highest concentration is found back in Iran, and the third-highest in North America, more so in the United States and Canada.
As for the Indian diaspora, their ancestors first moved there while fleeing religious persecution inflicted by Muslims in the seventh century. Indian Zoroastrians, collectively known as “Parsis” (a nod to their Persian heritage), avoid evangelizing their faith in fear of backlash from the Hindu majority, a strategy that has thus contributed to its current diminished status.
Within Iran, only about 25,000 people devotedly practice Zoroastrianism still. Their priests kept Avestan prayers alive via oral transmission, but the government continues to disrespect and erase their practices and temples. Examples of this are drafting Zoroastrian youth into suicide missions for the army, tearing down Zarathushtra’s pictures, and using intimidating verses from the Quran about non-believers destined for eternal damnation.
And while Islamic invaders brought Zoroastrianism’s practice to its heels, many credit the Persian Empire’s prominence for helping it shape the three Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Islam, and Christianity alike.
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Islam Expands & Molds Modern Persia
Islam was founded in 610 A.D. by the prophet Muhammad in modern-day Saudi Arabia, specifically in the city of Mecca. After the Prophet’s death in June 632, caliphates consequently took on the task of spreading Islam’s doctrines and ways of life. They did this through conquest and battle, as most popularly remembered through their clashes with Christians in the Crusades 400 years later.
Islam’s conquest of Persia occurred between 635 and 650. It is said that Iranians at the time welcomed the Bedouin invaders due to their Sassanid lords’ corruption and degeneracy (an attitude eerily reflecting events that will happen in the 1970s). The usual cultural exchanges and adoptions occurred between Arabs and Persians–but the biggest effect was moving the state religion from Zoroastrianism to Shia Islam in the 16th century, which remains the case to this day.
Arabic also was the official state language for 200 to 300 years until New Persian came to replace it. Farsi–a name often used interchangeably with New Persian–is modern Iran’s official language and has just under 60 million speakers. Its preservation is mainly thanks to various poets and intellectuals who spread its use to the Middle East and as far as India. Even British colonists in India learned Persian in local courts until, by the mid-1800s, the East India Company banned people from using the language.
Farsi’s most celebrated poet was Ferdowsi, or Firdowsi. Born Hakīm Abul-Qāsim Firdawsī Tūsī, he lived from 940 to 1020, and scholars credit him for keeping Iran’s indigenous literature alive and preventing Arabic from taking over Iranian identity. His poem, Shahnameh, has remained Iran’s national epic throughout the centuries.
Shahnameh chronicles a thousand years’ worth of stories: it starts at the world’s creation, then discusses Iran’s kings, including mythical legends, and ends with the Muslims’ conquest of Persia. Ferdowsi clearly succeeded in his goal of cultural preservation, as his epic of Persian lore is classed as one of the greatest works of writing ever seen in history.
Quite a number of people attribute anti-Muslim sentiments to Ferdowsi. One quote from Shahnameh is, “Damn this world, damn this time, damn this fate / That uncivilized Arabs have come to make me Muslim.” While only a literary character uttered these words, some Persians harped on them to underscore feelings of supremacy that will later come into play in modern Iran’s relations with Arab countries in particular.
Arabic vs. Persian & Farsi
Despite preservational endeavors, Arabic’s effects on Farsi are clear. An estimated 25 to 30% of Farsi is directly or indirectly derived from Arabic, while many loan words hold different meanings or contexts. Some other testaments to this influence are grammatical elements and letter pronunciations.
The Persian and Arabic alphabets also are quite alike: we read both scripts from right to left, and most letters adjoin in cursive. The Persian alphabet, which intellectuals describe as “Perso-Arabic,” has only four letters completely unique unto itself, while the rest (28 in number) are copied straight from Arabic. Other scripts Persian speakers used that predate Perso-Arabic include cuneiform, Aramaic, and Pahlavi.
While Arabic has had an obvious impact on Farsi, they do not share similar origins in any way. This phenomenon is parallel to Arabic’s impact on Swahili: a language of Bantu-origin that once adopted Arabic script and loan words, but they are in no way of direct relation to one other. If you’d like to learn more about Arabic’s history, check out our article here. Now, let’s move on to yet another bloody revolution and what part Farsi played in shaping it.
The Iranian Revolution & Politicization of Farsi
In the 1970s, the Shah of Iran (full name: Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi) was a very unpopular man. Nations like Great Britain and the United States used interventionist tactics starting decades prior to control Iran’s oil sales and sabotage nationalist politicians in their efforts of making Iran self-reliant. Shah Pahlavi’s warm embrace of foreign schemes, alongside graft and elitism, instigated mass street protests and contributed to fundamental Islamists’ popularity.
Enter Ayatollah Khomeini, who the lower social classes viewed as a savior of sorts. They extolled him as a religious leader bent on turning Iran into a caliphate and a cultural purist divinely destined to clean society of corrupting Western influences. The Shah exiled the Ayatollah and used American-trained security forces to quell street demonstrations, which only culminated in a brutal overthrow of his regime. The Shah went into exile and died outside his home country years later.
English-language programs and resources were at their most-available during the Shah’s reign. Shah Pahlavi, fluent in English, French, Persian, and German, helped America establish language programs, train Iranian English teachers, and further their maneuvers within the oil sector. Persian nationalists and theocrats long waged the battle of Farsi versus English, and they finally found their hero in the Ayatollah.
“Anti-intrusion policies” against English were swiftly enacted under Khomeini’s rule. The new government banned English instruction in schools and replaced international learning materials with Iran-centric lessons and history. Educators who did not comply with the new order found themselves chased from the country.
Farsi was a political tool to further Iran from the West’s neo-colonial agenda. The Ministry of Education urged citizens with this caveat in 2011: “Do not try to copy others, do not try to speak foreign languages, and do not borrow their overused experiences.” Even so, many Iranians continued to learn English, mainly to expand the profits they were making in tourism and business.
Ayatollah Khameini, Khomeini’s successor, continued on with the campaign, prioritizing Farsi and Arabic learning. He eventually allowed foreign languages in school curricula so that students “get familiar with findings and achievements of other societies in the region and in the world.”
Indigenous Iranian Languages Around the Region Today
There are sixty-five indigenous languages still spoken in Iran now. Many others have become extinct over time, such as Khwarezmian, Parthian, Bactrian, Saka, and Sogdian. Ossetic is an example of one indigenous language that evaded extinction, as it is descended from the ancient Alani tongue in the East.
Tajik Language
Tajik is the official language of Tajikistan, a country in Central Asia landlocked by Afghanistan, China, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Tajik is a southwest Iranian language, and often correlates with Farsi in speech, but uses the Cyrillic alphabet system. Balochi (also spelled Baluchi) hails from northwestern Iran and is one of the longest-living languages there. It impressively spread past Pakistan and Afghanistan to as far as the Arab Gulf region and East Africa. It usually utilizes Arabic letters but its first writings extend only up to 200 years ago.
Kurdish Language
Scholars posit that Kurdish shares ancestral beginnings with Persian. Iraq, Syria, Iran, and Afghanistan hold 20 to 40 million Kurdish speakers. Iran has a history of subjugating indigenous languages in favor of Persian alone and labeled Kurdish as just another “Iranian dialect.” Now, Kurdish holds legitimate standing on its own in the government’s eyes, but the push for Persian’s supremacy still feeds into tensions with nearby countries and their fight for a distinct identity.
Pashto Language
Afghanistan’s national language, Pashto, is an offshoot of Persian and also widely used in Pakistan. A southeastern Iranian language, its vocabulary is closest to Dari Persian (with Indian and Arabic influences) and its alphabet is based off of Perso-Arabic. Even so, Dari is Afghanistan’s lingua franca and provides controversy of its own.
Dari Language
Dari is the strongest link to Farsi: it is considered the “Afghan dialect of Farsi,” where its writing comes in the form of an altered Arabic alphabet. There is a surprising level of animosity against the term “Dari,” because it unnecessarily isolates Dari from Farsi when many contend that they are one and the same. The contention surrounding nomenclature came about when Afghan nationalists first sought to steer their country away from Iran’s sphere of influence.
Their grievances hinge upon ethnic tensions, as well, which goes to show how powerful of a force language is in world politics. One perfect example is when BBC launched their Dari channel—the news giant was accused of “fascism” and divisiveness. The next section will delve further into the region’s problems with Iranian power and the cold shoulder they give towards Farsi.
Iran’s Rivalry with the Muslim World & How Language Plays A Role
Although they share close religious and linguistic similarities, Iran and many of its Middle Eastern neighbors are far from friends. We just saw how Afghanistan sought to distance itself from Iran through language, and this reflects a broader context of security tensions.
Afghanistan is currently fighting with Iran over border security and natural resources like water. The Taliban actively rejects notions that Persian education or culture can make any positive contributions to the nation—this is just a legacy of prior Afghani administrations removing Persian from public signs and discouraging study of Persian literature in universities. This level of discrimination dates back 100 years or more.
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, also counts itself among Iran’s detractors. It’s very interesting to note how both governments see themselves as Islam’s guardians, yet their agendas starkly contrast. Labeled “bitter rivals” in a cold war, both nations disagree on religion (Iran is Shia Muslim and Saudi Arabia is Sunni), using this argument to manipulate smaller weaker governments (such as Iraq’s and Syria’s).
Iranian and Saudi officials are mindful of the Muslim conquest’s implications: both sides consequently feel a sense of “cultural superiority.” Language is not a hotspot of the issue: the two countries sponsor public broadcasts in each other’s languages, although members of the press corps can be detained or banished for perceived misbehavior. Again, Persian identity overcame colonialization’s threat but still yearns for a higher social standing in global affairs.
Iran is not always the victim of colonization but often takes on the role of perpetrator. The geo-cultural area of Kurdistan is battling Iran (and Iraq) for the freedom to create their own internationally-recognized nation. Kurds take pride in their ethnic and political societies within Iran, but this is only fodder for the government to sow unrest and keep the Kurds from forming a united powerful bloc.
Kurdish rebels have a long violent history with the Iranian government. Shah Pahlavi’s regime was vicious towards the Kurds, and today’s administration uses Kurdish political parties as a scapegoat for protests and division in the country. Kurds living in Iran and Iraq are the object of assassinations, drone strikes, and military operations, all because they value cultural distinction—just as the Persians have.
Kurdish and Persian share a 51.5% lexical similarity, and most Kurds speak Farsi as their second language. Kurdish also has its own major dialects: Kurmanji, Sorani, and Pehlewani. Because they are an ethnic minority (they form 15% of Iran’s population), however, Kurds suffer discrimination in education, the legal system and policing, fair passage into the job market, and acquiring adequate housing. In short, similar language and history do not always translate to unity or respect.
Iran’s Art Culture & Brutal Government Censorship
The catalogue of Persian art goes far back to around 5000 B.C. Their first kind of art was metalwork, such as weapons and jewelry. By the 1600s A.D., paintings of kings and legends graduated to more risqué scenes. The Persians also mastered carpet-weaving back during the Achaemenid Empire, bringing about the legendary Persian rug.
The 1979 revolution put a halt to the rapid rise of modern Iranian art that began in the 1950s. Styles included printmaking, abstract pieces, and even political cartoons. After the Shah’s overthrow, censorship increased but photographers kept the revolution’s events alive. The government claims it is mainly concerned with art not encroaching upon Islam’s prohibitions.
Predictably, music attracted controversy in 1979. Ayatollah Khomeini justified banning popular Western music styles as limiting the West’s sphere of influence and selfish interests. A nationwide ban restricted women from singing on public stages, although concerts can now occur as long as they obtain permits from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance beforehand. Although pop and rock music were condemned, there is a roster of impressive and resilient creatives like the female singer Googoosh who continue to defy the regime.
Methods the government uses to sabotage artists, musicians, and actors range from exile to freezing bank accounts to calling from mystery numbers. The mental toll is burdensome, and Iran is consequently experiencing a brain drain. Pen America’s 2023 Freedom to Write Index, which “tracks the detention and imprisonment of writers,” placed Iran in the top detainers of intellectuals around the world. Pen America also labeled Iran as the second-highest country of concern regarding this issue, just after China.
One way Iranian artists counter censorship is using subliminal messaging in their work. The government only commissions murals that spread propaganda—large paintings of revolutionary heroes, glorious depictions of Iran’s battles against Iraq, and Islamic martyrdom. Secret police forces and prisons force artists to go underground and only those in the diaspora can produce their unadulterated work without too much fear.
If you would like to support and donate to Iranian artists, there are a few amazing organizations to take note of. The Iranian Artists Support Project (IASP) gives artists assistance in relocating from Iran, processing their immigration applications, and more. The Kooch Foundation grants financial aid to Iranian artists all over Europe; their goal is to lower their living costs and widen exposure of their work.
Just like language, art has become a manipulation tactic for the Iranian government to dictate what society’s ideals and aspirations should be. If Iran managed to save Persian from fading with time, we can only hope that the same happens with their art forms and self-expression.
Conclusion
Persian language and culture hold a lengthy, multifaceted, and intense history. The Persian Empire’s founding father, Cyrus the Great, oversaw the birth of the Achaemenid Empire. It gave the world Farsi’s foundation and created a territory foreign rulers jostled to take over. Each dynasty that followed shaped Iran in its own substantive way, but Muslims left an imprint most obvious although not isolated in impact.
Iran fought hard, notably through poetry and political maneuvering, to maintain their culture and way of life. Migration and conquests allowed Iranian languages to infiltrate other parts of the globe and vice versa, but Persian still triumphed as a linguistic mammoth. It’s a story of infighting, control, lust for power, and perseverance in the face of extinction.
A problem with much of Western media is their propensity to conflate Middle Eastern and Central Asian interests and convictions (on both a religious and political scale). Iran is an enemy to major Arab powers, because they perceive expanding Iranian influence as a deep threat. Even smaller state actors actively reject Iran through banning the Persian language and discounting Persian intellectuals’ gifts to global literature and thought.
Spurning Iran has only emboldened the theocratic state even more. Banning English in schools after the 1979 revolution was a longing for a distinct identity built upon culture and religion in an increasingly hostile world. Iran’s problems with Saudi Arabia throw this perspective into confusion when remembering that Islam’s holy language is Arabic. The Iranian government was still able to mark Arabic as a religious necessity without dethroning Persian.
Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, ample with mythical lore, also curiously contrasts the government’s theocratic stances. That, too, survived purification efforts, most logically in the name of cultural pride. Scarily, Ayatollah Khomeini once derided the national epic as sacrilegious and a fellow official of his almost bulldozed Ferdowsi’s tomb. Today’s creatives still struggle with harsh restrictions and unfairly suffer intimidation tactics just for their passion for culture.
Amidst all this tug-of-war, the Persian language remains Iran’s cultural pillar. For them, it’s more than a language. It’s a tool of unity, survival, pride, and self-determination. We also discussed how other ethnic groups view Farsi Persian askance, thanks to Iran’s neocolonial agenda. As with most things, this language doesn’t bring the same positive connotations for everyone. The controversy only makes Persian more fascinating and whoever decides to learn it will realize the doors it opens to history and countless opportunities within world politics and security.
About the author: Althea is from Lower Westchester, New York, just 17 miles outside of Manhattan. She uses her experiences living in the United States, Europe, and East Africa to write about language and other topics. Althea holds a Masters in International Relations from Nottingham Trent University and now lives and works an hour outside London. She speaks Swahili as a second language, is conversational in Spanish, and can read and write Arabic. Connect with her on LinkedIn here.
Photos:
Bahram Yaghooti: https://www.pexels.com/@byaghooti/
Atiabii: https://www.pexels.com/@aliatiabi/
Emir Bozkurt: https://www.pexels.com/@emir-bozkurt-237273318/
Arian Malek Khosravi: https://www.pexels.com/@arynmllk/
Mostafa Meraji: https://www.pexels.com/@mostafameraji/