Iranian peoples

The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples, are a ethno-linguistic group who speak Iranian languages, a branch of the Indo-European languages.

Iranian peoples
Iranic peoples

Regions where Iranian languages ​​are spoken
Regions with significant populations
Iran: 79% of population Afghanistan: 71% of population Tajikistan: 79.9% of population South Ossetia: 89.9% of population
Pakistan	18.99% of population
Uzbekistan	1,544,700
Syria	7%–10% of population
Iraq	15–20% of population
Russia	760.536
Azerbaijan	143,300
Languages
Iranian languages (a branch of the Indo-European languages)
Religion
Predominately: Islam (Sunni, Shia and Alevi) Minorities: Christianity (Eastern Orthodoxy, Nestorianism, Catholicism and Protestantism), Judaism, Baháʼí Faith, Yazidism, Yarsanism, Zoroastrianism, Assianism (Historically also: Manichaeism and Buddhism)

Modern Iranian peoples include the Kurds, Lurs, Mazanderanis, Ossetians, Azerbaijanis, Tats, Tajiks, Balochs, Talyshs, Zazas, Pashtuns, Pamiris, Yaghnobis, Wakhis, Persians and Gilaks.

Historical Iranian peoples include the; Alans, Scythians, Dahae, Sakas, Medes, Bactrians, Sogdians, Sarmatians, Parthians, Khwarezmians, Cimmerians, and Daylamites.

Iranian Peoples Media

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  The Bistun Inscription of Darius the Great describes itself to have been composed in Arya [language or script].

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  Early Indo-European migrations from the Pontic steppes and across Central Asia.

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  Archaeological cultures associated with Indo-Iranian migrations (after EIEC). The Andronovo, BMAC and Yaz cultures have often been associated with it.

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  According to Allentoft (2015), the Sintashta culture probably derived from the Corded Ware culture.

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  The Andronovo culture's approximate maximal extent, with the formative Sintashta-Petrovka culture (red), the location of the earliest spoke-wheeled chariot finds (purple), and the adjacent and overlapping Afanasevo, Srubna, and BMAC cultures (green).

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  Saka horseman, Pazyryk, from a carpet, c. 300 BC

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  Distribution of Iranic peoples during the Iron Age.

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  Persepolis: Persian guards

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  The Eastern Iranic and Balto-Slavic dialect continuums in Eastern Europe, the latter with proposed material cultures correlating to speakers of Balto-Slavic in the Bronze Age (white). Red dots = archaic Slavic hydronyms

Sources

• Ivantchik, Askold (2018). "Scythians". Encyclopædia Iranica.  “SCYTHIANS, a nomadic people of Iranian origin (...)” 
• Harmatta, János (1996). "The Scythians". In Herrmann, Joachim; Zürcher, Erik (ed.). History of Humanity: From the seventh century B.C. to the seventh century A.D. Vol. 3. UNESCO. pp. 181–182. ISBN 923102812X. [B]oth Cimmerians and Scythians were Iranian peoples.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
• Sulimirski, T. (1985). "The Scyths". In Gershevitch, I (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran: The Median and Achaemenian Periods. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press. pp. 149–153. ISBN 978-1-139-05493-5. During the first half of the first millennium B.C., c. 3,000 to 2,500 years ago, the southern part of Eastern Europe was occupied mainly by peoples of Iranian stock [...] [T]he population of ancient Scythia was far from being homogeneous, nor were the Scyths themselves a homogeneous people. The country called after them was ruled by their principal tribe, the "Royal Scyths" (Her. iv. 20), who were of Iranian stock and called themselves "Skolotoi" (...)
• West, Stephanie (2002). "Scythians". In In Bakker, Egbert J.; de Jong, Irene J. F.; van Wees, Hans (ed.). Brill's Companion to Herodotus. Brill. pp. 437–456. ISBN 978-90-04-21758-4. [T]rue Scyths seems to be those whom [Herodotus] calls Royal Scyths, that is, the group who claimed hegemony [...] apparently warrior-pastoralists. It is generally agreed, from what we know of their names, that these were people of Iranian stock (...){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
• Rolle, Renate (1989). The World of the Scythians. University of California Press. pp. 56. ISBN 0-520-06864-5. The physical characteristics of the Scythians correspond to their cultural affiliation: their origins place them within the group of Iranian peoples.
• Rostovtzeff, Michael (1922). Iranians & Greeks In South Russia. Clarendon Press. pp. 13. The Scythian kingdom [...] was succeeded in the Russian steppes by an ascendancy of various Sarmatian tribes — Iranians, like the Scythians themselves.
• Minns, Ellis Hovell (2011). Scythians and Greeks: A Survey of Ancient History and Archaeology on the North Coast of the Euxine from the Danube to the Caucasus. Cambridge University Press. pp. 36. ISBN 978-1-108-02487-7. The general view is that both agricultural and nomad Scythians were Iranian.
• Tokhtas’ev, Sergei R. (1991). "CIMMERIANS". Encyclopædia Iranica, Vol. V, Fasc. 6. 563–567. “CIMMERIANS, a nomadic people, most likely of Iranian origin (...)” 
• Harmatta, János (1996a). "The Scythians". In Herrmann, Joachim; Zürcher, Erik (ed.). History of Humanity: From the seventh century B.C. to the seventh century A.D. Vol. 3. UNESCO. pp. 181–182. ISBN 923102812X. [B]oth Cimmerians and Scythians were Iranian peoples.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
• Diakonoff, I. M. (1985). "Media". In Gershevitch, I. (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran: The Median and Achaemenian Periods. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-521-20091-2. The majority of the "Eastern" Iranian tribes – Scythians, Alani, Massagetae, Sakas, Chorasmians, Sogdians – remained on the territory of south-eastern Europe and in Central Asia.