Fārsīwān or Pārsīwān ("Persian-speakers"), or simply Pārsī ("Persians"), is another term often used for urbanized Tajiks of Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Afghanistan, the Farsiwan are found in most parts of the country while in Pakistan they are mainly concentrated around the city of Quetta in the Balochistan province (with smaller communities in Karachi). An alternative name for the Fārsīwān (as well as for the Tājiks in general) is Deḥgān^[1]. “Farsi” redirects here. ... This article is about the Persian people, an ethnic group found mainly in Iran. ... Tajiks are Central Asian Iranians or East-Iranians. ...

They are generally distinguished from the rest of the Tajiks by their adherence to Shia Islam as opposed to the Sunni sect favored by the majority of Tajiks. In essence, they are basically almost identical to the Persians of Iran due to their various similarities. The only distinction is that the Farsiwan sometimes speak a dialect more akin to the so-called Darī (or Kābolī) dialect of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan as opposed to the Fārsī (or Tehrānī) dialect of Iran. Most of the the Fārsīwān speak the so-called Khorasani dialect, native to Herat, Farah province, Tus, and Nishapur. Shiʻa Islam (Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite) makes up the second largest sect of believers in Islam, constituting about 30%–35% of all Muslim. ... Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... The Persians of Iran (officially named Persia by West until 1935 while still referred to as Persia by some) are an Iranian people who speak Persian (locally named Fârsi by native speakers) and often refer to themselves as ethnic Iranians as well. ... Dari (Persian: ) is the official name for the Persian language in Afghanistan, popularly and locally known as Farsi. ... “Farsi” redirects here. ... Khorasan (Persian: خراسان) (also transcribed as Khurasan and Khorassan; Horasan in Turkish) is a region located in eastern Iran. ... Herāt (Persian: ‎ ) is a city in western Afghanistan, in the province also known as Herāt. ... Farah is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. ... Categories: Iran geography stubs | Cities in Iran ... Nishapur (or Neyshâbûr; نیشابور in Persian) is a town in the province of Khorasan in northeastern Iran, situated in a fertile plain at the foot of the Binalud Mountains, near the regional capital of Mashhad. ...

Unlike the Hazara who are also Persian-speaking and Shia, the Farsiwan do not show any, or very limited traces of Turkic or Mongol ancestry as they are of Mediterranean sub-stock^[2]. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the various peoples speaking one of the Turkic languages. ... Honorary guard of Mongolia. ... Languages French Occitan Greek Italian Portuguese Spanish Catalan Religions Predominantly Roman Catholic Protestant Orthodox The Mediterranean race was one of the three sub-categories into which the people of Europe were divided by anthropologists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, following the publication of William Z. Ripleys...

There are at least 900,000 Farsiwans in Afghanistan, mainly in the province of Herat and the city of the Province of Farah which belonged to Herat^[3]. They are also the main inhabitants of the city of Herāt^[4]. They are also found in large numbers in Kabul, Mazari Sharif, and Ghazni and elsewhere with Shia Tajik populations. Herat is a province of Afghanistan; together with Badghis, Farah, and Ghor provinces it makes up the western region of the country. ... Herāt (Persian: ‎ ) is a city in western Afghanistan, in the province also known as Herāt. ... For other places with the same name, see Kabul (disambiguation). ... Mazari Sharif, also known as Mazar-i Sharif or Mazār-e SharÄ«f (Persian: ‎ ), is the fourth largest city of Afghanistan, with population of 300,600 people (2006 official estimate). ... Ghazni (Persian: غزنی , ÄžaznÄ«) is a city in eastern Afghanistan, with an estimated population of 149,998 people. ...

Closely related to the Farsiwan, but often mistakenly regarded as a (separate) ethno-linguistic group, are the Kizilbash of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Kizilbash (Turkish: Kızılbaş, Azerbaijani: Qızılbaş, Persian: قزلباش Qezelbāsh) - Red Heads - name given to a wide variety of extremist Shiite militant groups (ghulāt) who helped found the Safavid Dynasty of Iran. ...

See also

• Tajiks
• Persian people
• Persian language
• Demographics of Afghanistan

Tajiks are Central Asian Iranians or East-Iranians. ... This article is about the Persian people, an ethnic group found mainly in Iran. ... “Farsi” redirects here. ... Ethnic groups of Afghanistan (1980 map)  42% Pashtun  27% Tajik  9% Hazara  9% Uzbek         3% Turkmen  2% Baloch        Languages of Afghanistan (1980 map)  50% Dari dialect of Persian  35% Pashto  8% Uzbek  3% Turkmen  2% Baloch        The Demographics of Afghanistan are ethnically and linguistically mixed. ...

References