Armenians in Isfahan, 2018 Armenian settlements in Iran dates back millennia. Ever since antiquity, Armenians and Iranians have always had significant interactions with each other. These interactions include cultural, linguistic, economic, and more. Armenians used to inhabit a large portion of modern-day northern Iran, most significantly on the western shores of Lake Urmia. Armenians and Iranians shared many cultural and religious characteristics. Before the 3rd century AD, no other country had as much influence over Armenia as Parthia. Intermarriage between the Parthian and Armenian nobility was very common, and for a large portion of Armenian history, much of Armenia was ruled by the modern-day Iranians. The newly formed Armenian community in Isfahan played a considerable role in Iran's economic and cultural development. Shah Abbas I granted the Armenians monopoly over silk and gave them many other trade incentives. Thus, the Armenian community quickly became very wealthy. The Armenians were given these trade incentives due to the immense trade routes they covered around the globe. Armenians were also known for their honesty regarding trade. The policies of Shah Abbas proved to be very successful for the Iranian economy, where after a brief period of time, the Iranian economy was booming. After the success of the Armenian community in New Julfa, the Armenians of New Julfa migrated to other major countries. They formed other settlements connecting many of these newly formed Armenian settlements to Isfahan, Iran. These settlements were in the Philippines, India, Venice, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Russia. Thus, all these led to creating a new age for Iran where Iranian goods traveled the world and were consumed by Europeans and Indians. The current Iranian-Armenian population is approximately 500,000. They mostly live in
Tehran and
Jolfa district. After the
Iranian revolution, many Armenians immigrated to
Armenian diasporic communities in
North America and
western Europe. Today the Armenians are Iran's largest
Christian religious minority, followed by Assyrians.
Georgians Iranian Georgians are
Twelver Shia Muslims, whereas the vast majority of Georgians elsewhere in the world are
Christian. The
Georgian language is the only
Caucasian language fully functioning in Iran and it's spoken only by those that live in
Fereydan and
Fereydunshahr, and in smaller pockets all over Iran. Almost all other communities of
Iranian Georgians in Iran have already lost their language, but retain a clear Georgian identity. Once a very large minority in
Iran mainly due to mass deportations by the various early modern age and modern age Iranian empires (
Safavids,
Afsharids, and
Qajars), of their Georgian subjects, nowadays, due to intermarrying and assimilating the number of Georgians in Iran is estimated to be over 100,000. The
Georgian language is still used by many of the Georgians in
Iran. The centre of
Georgians in Iran is
Fereydunshahr, a small city 150 km to the west of
Isfahan. The western part of
Isfahan province is historically called
Fereydan. In this area there are 10 Georgian towns and villages around
Fereydunshahr. In this region the old Georgian identity is retained the best compared to other places in
Iran. In many major Iranian cities, such as
Tehran,
Isfahan,
Karaj and
Shiraz, and
Rasht live Georgians too. In many other places such as
Najafabad,
Rahmatabad, Yazdanshahr and Amir Abad (near Isfahan) there are also Georgian pockets and villages. In
Mazandaran province in northern Iran, there are ethnic Georgians too. They live in the town of
Behshahr, and also in
Behshahr county, in Farah Abad, and many other places, which are usually called "Gorji Mahale" (Georgian Neighbourhood). Most of these Georgians no longer speak the
Georgian language, but retain aspects of
Georgian culture and a Georgian identity. Some argue that Iranian Georgians retain remnants of Christian traditions, but there is no evidence for this.
Circassians Like with the Georgians, once a very large minority in Iran all the way from the
Safavid to the
Qajar era, the vast majority of the
Circassians have been assimilated into the population nowadays. However, significant numbers remain present, and they are the second-largest Caucasian ethnic group in the nation after the Georgians. Circassian women were both in
Ottoman Turkey and Persia desired for
their beauty, while the men were known as fearsome warriors. Notable Iranians of Circassian descent of the past include
Teresia Sampsonia,
Shah Abbas II,
Shah Suleiman I,
Pari Khan Khanum (daughter of
Shah Tahmasp, involved in many court intrigues),
Shamkhal Sultan, Jamshid Beg (the assassinator of
Shah Ismail II), and
Anna Khanum. Traces of Circassian settlements have lasted into the 20th century, such as in
Fars,
Rasht,
Aspas,
Gilan,
Mazandaran, and the capital
Tehran (due to contemporary internal migration). Their total number nowadays is unknown due to heavy assimilation and lack of censuses based on ethnicity, but are known to be significant. Due to the same assimilation however, no sizeable number speaks the
Circassian language anymore. Article 15 of the
constitution states: Further, Article 19 of the
Iranian constitution adds: There is in fact, a considerable publication (book, newspaper, etc.) taking place in the two largest minority languages in the Azerbaijani language and Kurdish, and in the academic year 2004–05 B.A. programmes in the Azerbaijani language and literature (in Tabriz) and in the Kurdish language and literature (in Sanandaj) are offered in Iran for the very first time. In addition,
Payame Noor University, which has 229 campuses and nearly 190,000 students throughout the country, in 2008 declared that Arabic will be the "second language" of the university, and that all its services will be offered in
Arabic, concurrent with
Persian. Regional and local radio programmes are broadcast in Arabic, Armenian, Assyrian, Azerbaijani, Baluchi, Bandari, Georgian, Persian, Kurdish, Mazandarani, Turkoman, and Turkish. However, some human rights groups have accused the Iranian government of violating the constitutional guarantees of equality, and the
UN General Assembly has voiced its concern over "increasing discrimination and other human rights violations against ethnic and religious minorities." In a related report,
Amnesty International says: Some Western journalists and commentators have expressed similar views. John Bradley is of the opinion that: Separatist tendencies, led by some groups such as the
Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran and
Komalah in
Iranian Kurdistan, for example, had led to frequent unrest and occasional military crackdown throughout the 1990s and even to the present. In Iran, Kurds have twice had their own
autonomous regions independent of central government control: The
Republic of Mahabad in Iran which was the second independent Kurdish state of the 20th century, after the
Republic of Ararat in modern
Turkey; and the second time after the
Iranian revolution in 1979.
Jalal Talabani leader of the Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), in a 1998 interview, contrasted the situation in Iran with that of Turkey, with respect to Kurds: ==Foreign involvement==