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GREATER IRAN
This thread is about the Iranic world and the connections of the people living within it.
The map of Greater Iran above covers the areas that have been historically been associated with Iran and the Persian empire(s). This includes principally Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Western Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. However, Bahrain, Armenia, and Turkmenistan also show considerable Iranian influence.
This cultural zone is defined heavily by languages belonging to the Iranic family. Persian, Kurdish, Balochi, Pashto, Mazandarani, Lori, and the Pamiri languages. However, it's not the only characteristic because Azeri(Turkic) and Arabic(Semitic) are also present in Greater Iran.
Iraq:
Mesopotamia has seen a large degree of Persian settlement, particularly in medieval times. This is reflected in the genetics of Iraqi Arabs who typically show notable Iranian influences. The heaviest Persian influence is in the Shiite shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala where much of the population descends from Shiite Iranians but is not limited to there. Iranian influence is present all throughout the Shiite south and even among Sunni Arabs.
Iraqi Shias
Afghanistan:
The two most spoken languages in Afghanistan are Dari which is more or less just an eastern variant of Persian, and Pashto. Both are Iranic languages. The city of Herat in western Afghanistan was considered an intrinsic part of Iran proper. Most Afghans are Sunni however, unlike Iranians.
Kurdistan:
Kurds are probably the group that is most genetically similar to Persians. The similarities between Kurds and Persians are very deep and Nowruz is celebrated among Kurds the same way it is in Iran as well as Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
Western Pakistan: Home to the Balochi and Pashtun people. Balochi is a northwest Iranian language related to Kurdish. The people are linked the southern coastal Persians of Iran. Balochistan is split between Iran and Pakistan. The Pashtuns of Pakistan have close ties to the ones in Afghanistan.
Central Asia: Much of Central Asia was part of Khwarezmia or Khorasan, a region that is now split into multiple countries and stretches into northeastern Iran and northern Afghanistan as well. The original language here was an eastern Iranian language called Khwarezmian, which was later replaced by Persian. During the Islamic Golden Age, it was a very important center of the Persian world due to its location on the Silk Road until the Mongol invasions of the 13th century caused massive destruction a large scale population replacement as Turkic peoples flooded the now depopulated region. Still, Persian speakers(Tajiks) predominate in Tajikistan and are a large minority in parts of Uzbekistan bordering Tajikistan.
Azerbaijan/Azeris: A large portion of Iran's population is made up of the Turkic speaking Azeri people. There are more of them in Iran than there are in Azerbaijan, where they are the dominant majority. Like Iran's Persians, they are almost entirely Shiite Muslims. In addition, they are genetically close to Persians and Kurds despite their linguistic differences. It is likely that Azeris descend from a NW Iranian speaking population similar to Kurds prior to becoming Turkified.
The architecture across Greater Iran is incredibly similar. One of the photos below is from Iraq and the other is from Uzbekistan. Can you tell which is which?
Spoiler!
Another interesting fact is that there is a high degree of phenotypic overlap between the people from this region. Even groups that are not genetically closely related(although their language and cultures are) like Persians and Pashtuns can look quite similar regardless. Many Baloch can pass in Kurdistan as locals, and many Kurds can pass in Pashtunistan. Many Persians can pass in Iraq as locals and vice versa.
Furthermore, this can apply to non-Iranic groups present in this region as well. Take these Burusho women from NW Pakistan for example. They speak a language isolate and are therefore not Iranic, yet no one would question it if you said they were from say, Tehran(aside from their dress of course).
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Originally Posted by Dr_Maul
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