Persian, known locally as Farsi, is the official language of Iran and the primary language used in government, education and media. The Iranian Constitution requires Persian for official documents, correspondence and texts, as well as text-books. Persian language and culture continued to prevail after the invasions and conquests by the Mongols and the Turks (including the Ilkhanate, Ghaznavids, Seljuks, Khwarazmians, and Timurids), who were themselves significantly Persianized, further developing in Asia Minor, Central Asia, and South Asia, where Persian culture flourished by the ...

Understanding the Context

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...

Key Insights

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). Ancient Persian culture flourished between the reign of Cyrus II (The Great, r. c.

Final Thoughts

550-530 BCE), founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and the fall of the Sassanian Empire in 651 CE. Easy Persian website offers online lessons in listening, speaking, reading and writing Persian or Farsi as spoken in Iran. English and Persian translations. Iranian Persian (Persian, Western Persian, or Farsi) is spoken in Iran, and by minorities in Iraq and the Persian Gulf states. Eastern Persian (Dari Persian, Afghan Persian, or Dari) is spoken in Afghanistan.