In the 8th century, Iran was conquered by the
Arab Abbasids who ruled from
Baghdad. The territory of Iran at that time was composed of two portions:
Persian Iraq (western portion) and
Khorasan (eastern portion). The dividing region was mostly the cities of
Gurgan and
Damaghan. The
Ghaznavids,
Seljuqs and
Timurids divided their empires into Iraqi and Khorasani regions. This point can be observed in many books such as
Abul Fazl Bayhqi's
"Tārīkhi Baïhaqī",
Al-Ghazali's ''Faza'ilul al-anam min rasa'ili hujjat al-Islam'' and other books. Transoxiana and
Chorasmia were mostly included in the Khorasanian region.
Caucasus North Caucasus fortress in
Derbent, Dagestan, which has been inscribed on Russia's
UNESCO world heritage list since 2003. Dagestan remains the bastion of
Persian culture in the
North Caucasus with fine examples of Iranian architecture like the Sassanid citadel in
Derbent, the strong influence of
Persian cuisine, and common Persian names amongst the ethnic peoples of Dagestan. The ethnic Persian population of the North Caucasus, the
Tats, remain, despite strong assimilation over the years, still visible in several North Caucasian cities. Even today, after decades of partition, some of these regions retain Iranian influences, as seen in their old beliefs, traditions and customs (e.g.
Norouz).
South Caucasus According to
Tadeusz Swietochowski, the territories of
Iran and the republic of
Azerbaijan usually shared the same history from the time of ancient Media (ninth to seventh centuries b.c.) and the Persian Empire (sixth to fourth centuries b.c.). Intimately and inseparably intertwined histories for millennia, Iran irrevocably lost the territory that is nowadays Azerbaijan in the course of the 19th century. With the
Treaty of Gulistan of 1813 following the
Russo-Persian War (1804–1813) Iran had to cede eastern
Georgia, its possessions in the
North Caucasus and many of those in what is today the
Azerbaijan Republic, which included the khanates of
Baku,
Shirvan,
Karabakh,
Ganja,
Shaki,
Quba,
Derbent, and parts of
Talysh. These Khanates comprise most of what is today the Republic of Azerbaijan and Dagestan in Southern Russia. In the
Treaty of Turkmenchay of 1828 following the
Russo-Persian War (1826–1828), the result was even more disastrous, and resulted in Iran being forced to cede the remainder of the
Talysh Khanate, the khanates of
Nakhichevan and
Erivan, and the
Mughan region to Russia. All these territories together, lost in 1813 and 1828 combined, constitute all of the modern-day Republic of Azerbaijan,
Armenia, and southern
Dagestan. The area to the north of the river
Aras, which includes the territory of the contemporary republic of Azerbaijan, was Iranian territory until it was occupied by Russia in the course of the 19th century. Many localities in this region bear Persian names or names derived from Iranian languages and Azerbaijan remains by far Iran's closest cultural, religious, ethnic, and historical neighbor.
Azerbaijanis are by far the second-largest ethnicity in Iran, and comprise the largest community of ethnic Azerbaijanis in the world, vastly outnumbering the number in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Both nations are the only officially Shia majority in the world, with adherents of the religion comprising an absolute majority in both nations. The people of nowadays Iran and Azerbaijan were
converted to Shiism during exactly the same time in history. Furthermore, the name of "Azerbaijan" is derived through the name of the Persian
satrap which ruled the contemporary region of
Iranian Azerbaijan and minor parts of the Republic of Azerbaijan in ancient times.
Central Asia head of a
Zoroastrian priest wearing a distinctive
Bactrian-style headdress,
Takhti-Sangin,
Tajikistan,
Greco-Bactrian kingdom, 3rd-2nd century BCE.
Khwarazm is one of the regions of
Iran-zameen, and is the home of the ancient Iranians,
Airyanem Vaejah, according to the ancient book of the
Avesta. Modern scholars believe Khwarazm to be what ancient Avestic texts refer to as "Ariyaneh Waeje" or Īrānvīj. These sources claim that
Urgandj, which was the capital of ancient Khwarazm for many years, was actually "Ourva": the eighth land of
Ahura Mazda mentioned in the
Pahlavi text of Vendidad. Others such as
University of Hawaii historian
Elton L. Daniel believe Khwarazm to be the "most likely locale" corresponding to the original home of the Avestan people, while Dehkhoda calls Khwarazm "the cradle of the
Aryan people" (مهد قوم آریا). Today Khwarazm is split between several central Asian republics. Superimposed on and overlapping with Chorasmia was Khorasan which roughly covered nearly the same geographical areas in Central Asia (starting from
Semnan eastward through northern Afghanistan roughly until the foothills of
Pamir, ancient
Mount Imeon). Current day provinces such as
Sanjan in
Turkmenia,
Razavi Khorasan Province,
North Khorasan Province, and
Southern Khorasan Province in Iran are all remnants of the old Khorasan. Until the 13th century and the devastating Mongol invasion of the region, Khorasan was considered the cultural capital of Greater Iran.
China Xinjiang The
Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County regions of China harbored a Tajik population and culture. Chinese Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County was always counted as a part of the Iranian cultural & linguistic continent with
Kashgar,
Yarkand, and
Hotan bound to the Iranian history.
West Asia Bahrain From the 6th century BC to the 3rd century BC, Bahrain was a prominent part of the Persian Empire under the
Achaemenid dynasty. It was referred to by the Greeks as "
Tylos", the centre of
pearl trading, when
Nearchus discovered it while serving under
Alexander the Great. From the 3rd century BC to the arrival of Islam in the 7th century AD, the island was controlled by two other Iranian dynasties, the
Parthians and the
Sassanids. In the 3rd century AD, the Sassanids succeeded the Parthians and controlled the area for four centuries until the Arab conquest. (or Satiran), probably the Parthian governor of Bahrain. The southern province of the Sassanids was subdivided into three districts; Haggar (now al-Hafuf province, Saudi Arabia), Batan Ardashir (now
al-Qatif province, Saudi Arabia), and
Mishmahig (now Bahrain Island) at their greatest extent By about 130 BC, the Parthian dynasty brought the Persian Gulf under their control and extended their influence as far as
Oman. Because they needed to control the Persian Gulf trade route, the Parthians established garrisons along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf. through warfare and economic distress, been reduced to only 60. The influence of Iran was further undermined at the end of the 18th century when the ideological power struggle between the Akhbari-Usuli strands culminated in victory for the Usulis in Bahrain. An Afghan uprising led by Hotakis of Kandahar at the beginning of the 18th century resulted in the near-collapse of the Safavid state. In the resultant power vacuum,
Oman invaded Bahrain in 1717, ending over one hundred years of Persian hegemony in Bahrain. The Omani invasion began a period of political instability and a quick succession of outside rulers took power with consequent destruction. According to a contemporary account by theologian, Sheikh
Yusuf Al Bahrani, in an unsuccessful attempt by the Persians and their Bedouin allies to take back Bahrain from the
Kharijite Omanis, much of the country was burnt to the ground. Bahrain was eventually sold back to the Persians by the Omanis, but the weakness of the Safavid empire saw
Huwala tribes seize control. under
Shah Abbas the Great In 1730, the new Shah of
Persia,
Nadir Shah, sought to re-assert Persian sovereignty in Bahrain. He ordered Latif Khan, the admiral of the Persian navy in the Persian Gulf, to prepare an invasion fleet in
Bushehr. The Persians invaded in March or early April 1736 when the ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh Jubayr, was away on
hajj. The invasion brought the island back under central rule and to challenge Oman in the Persian Gulf. He sought help from the British and Dutch, and he eventually recaptured Bahrain in 1736. During the
Qajar era, Persian control over Bahrain waned and in 1753, Bahrain was occupied by the Sunni Persians of the
Bushire-based Al Madhkur family, who ruled Bahrain in the name of Persia and paid allegiance to
Karim Khan Zand. During most of the second half of the eighteenth century, Bahrain was ruled by
Nasr Al-Madhkur, the ruler of
Bushehr. The Bani Utibah tribe from Zubarah exceeded in taking over Bahrain after war broke out in 1782. Persian attempts to reconquer the island in 1783 and in 1785 failed; the 1783 expedition was a joint Persian-
Qawasim invasion force that never left Bushehr. The 1785 invasion fleet, composed of forces from Bushehr, Rig, and
Shiraz was called off after the death of the ruler of Shiraz,
Ali Murad Khan. Due to internal difficulties, the Persians could not attempt another invasion. In 1799, Bahrain came under threat from the
expansionist policies of
Sayyid Sultan, the
Sultan of Oman, when he invaded the island under the pretext that Bahrain did not pay taxes owed. The Bani Utbah solicited the aid of Bushire to expel the Omanis on the condition that Bahrain would become a
tributary state of Persia. In 1800, Sayyid Sultan invaded Bahrain again in retaliation and deployed a garrison at
Arad Fort, in
Muharraq island and had appointed his twelve-year-old son Salim, as Governor of the island. at its greatest extent Many names of villages in Bahrain are derived from the
Persian language. These names were thought to have been as a result influences during the
Safavid rule of Bahrain (1501–1722) and previous Persian rule. Village names such as
Karbabad,
Salmabad,
Karzakan,
Duraz,
Barbar were originally derived from the Persian language, suggesting that Persians had a substantial effect on the island's history. According to the 1905 census, there were 1650 Bahraini citizens of Persian origin. The
Shah of Iran at the time, more or less dismissed Bahrain due to what he perceived to be its "
Arab Identity", At 12:50 p.m. on March 26, 1970, the London Radio announced that both
Britain and Imperialist
Iran had submitted a request to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations to send a representative from the international organization to
survey the opinion of the
people of Bahrain as to whether they wish to "
remain under British Protectorate or to have Independence or be part of Iran." This concluded with the
independence of Bahrain and the officialization of the
monarchist rule of the
Al-Khalifa family, ruling Bahrain til present day. Bahrain's local Persian community has heavily influenced the country's local food dishes. One of the most notable local delicacies of the people in Bahrain is
mahyawa, which is consumed in Southern Iran as well. It is a watery, earth-brick-coloured sauce made from sardines, and consumed with bread or other food. Bahrain's Persians are also famous in Bahrain for bread-making. Another local delicacy is
pishoo made from
rose water (
golab) and
agar agar. Other food items consumed are similar to
Persian cuisine.
Iraq Throughout history, Iran always had strong cultural ties with the region of present-day
Iraq.
Mesopotamia is considered the cradle of civilization and the place where the first empires in history were established. These empires, namely the
Sumerian,
Akkadian,
Babylonian, and
Assyrian, dominated the ancient middle east for millennia, which explains the great influence of Mesopotamia on the Iranian culture and history, and it is also the reason why the later Iranian and Greek dynasties chose Mesopotamia to be the political center of their rule. For a period of around 500 years, what is now Iraq formed the core of Iran, with the Iranian
Parthian and
Sasanian empires having their capital in what is modern-day Iraq for the same centuries-long time span. (
Ctesiphon) , written in
Babylonian cuneiform in the name of the
Achaemenid king,
Cyrus the Great, describes the Persian takeover of
Babylon (An ancient city in modern-day Iraq). According to
Iranologist Richard N. Frye: Testimony to the close relationship shared by Iraq and western Iran during the
Abbasid era and later centuries, is the fact that the two regions came to share the same name. The western region of
Iran (ancient Media) was called
'Irāq-e 'Ajamī ("Persian Iraq"), while central-southern
Iraq (Babylonia) was called 'Irāq al-'Arabī ("Arabic Iraq") or Bābil ("Babylon"). For centuries the two neighbouring regions were known as "
The Two Iraqs" ("al-'Iraqain"). The 12th century Persian poet
Khāqāni wrote a famous poem
Tohfat-ul Iraqein ("The Gift of the Two Iraqs"). The city of
Arāk in western Iran still bears the region's old name, and Iranians still traditionally call the region between
Tehran,
Isfahan and
Īlām "ʿErāq". During the medieval ages, Mesopotamian and Iranian peoples knew each other's languages because of trade, and because Arabic was the language of religion and science at that time. The
Timurid historian
Ḥāfeẓ-e Abru (d. 1430) wrote of Iraq:
Iraqis share religious and certain cultural ties with
Iranians. The majority of Iranians are Twelver
Shia (an Islamic sect). Iraqi culture has commonalities with the
culture of Iran. The
Mesopotamian cuisine also has similarities to the
Persian cuisine, including common dishes and cooking techniques. The
Iraqi dialect has absorbed many words from the
Persian language.
Kurdistan Kurds speak a Northwestern Iranian language known as
Kurdish.
Vladimir Minorsky suggested that the
Medes, an Iranian people who inhabited much of western Iran, including Azerbaijan and Kurdistan, might have been forefathers of modern Kurds. Minorsky's view was subsequently accepted by many
Kurdish nationalists in the 20th century. However Gernot Windfuhr (1975) identified
Kurdish dialects as closer to
Parthian, albeit with a
Median substratum. The hypothesis of having Median ancestors is rejected by
Martin van Bruinessen. ==See also==