Persians from where. Persians

Who are the ancient Persians.

The origin of the people and the place of position.

The first mention of the Persians came from Assyrian sources. The Persians are descended from the Indo-Europeans (in particular, from the Aryans), who arrived on the territory of present-day Iran in the 2nd millennium BC. e. In 550 BC e. The Persians from the Achaemenid dynasty captured Mediah and created a vast Persian Empire on its territories.
The Persian Empire is the name of a series of dynasties centered in present-day Iran, stretching over several centuries (from the 6th century BC to the 20th century AD). The first Persian Empire, founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. e., became one of the largest empires in history, stretching from the Balkan Peninsula in the west to India in the east. The empire began with the unification of semi-nomadic tribes who raised sheep. Cyrus the Great, the leader of one of these tribes, began to conquer nearby kingdoms, including Lydia and Babylon. It soon became the world's first superpower. United under one government three important objects of early human civilization: Mesopotamia, the Egyptian Nile Valley and the Indus Valley. During its heyday, the Persian Empire stretched from the Balkan Peninsula of Europe, some areas of modern Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine - to the Indus River Valley in northwestern India, and in the south - to Egypt. The Persians were the first to establish regular communication routes between the three continents - Africa, Asia and Europe. They built many new roads and developed the world's first postal service. This Iron Age dynasty, sometimes referred to as the Achaemenid Empire, was the world's center of culture, religion, science, art and technology for over 200 years before it fell to the invading army of Alexander the Great. This was the beginning of the period of Greco-Macedonian domination over the Persians.
The independence of Persia was restored in the first half of the 3rd century AD. e. rulers from the Sassanid dynasty. They fought endless wars with the Roman Empire, and later with Russia. In the middle of the 7th century, as a result of the weakening of the state by their wars, the Persians were quickly conquered by the Arabs and gradually converted to Islam, without yielding, however, to Arabization.

Persian culture.

The ancient Persians created art in many forms, including metalwork, rock carving, weaving, and architecture. As the Persian empire expanded to encompass other artistic centers of the early civilization, a new style was formed with the influence of these sources. Early Persian art included large carved rock reliefs carved into the rocks, such as those found at Nakshe Rustam, an ancient cemetery filled with the tombs of Achaemenid kings. The elaborate rock frescoes depict equestrian scenes and battle victories.
The ancient Persians were also known for their metalwork. In the 1870s, smugglers discovered gold and silver artifacts among the ruins near the Oxus (Amu Darya) River in present-day Tajikistan. Artifacts included a small golden chariot, coins, and bracelets decorated with griffin ornaments.
The history of carpet weaving in Persia goes back to nomadic tribes. The ancient Greeks appreciated the artistry of these handmade carpets, known for their intricate designs and vibrant colors.
The shallow rivers of the highlands could not deliver the required amount of water to the canals, and in summer they completely dried up. Therefore, the Persians developed a unique system of underground channels.
The original beliefs of the Iranian peoples were to worship the four main elements: light, water, earth and air. The cult of the Sun, which was credited with life-giving power, was widespread both for the Iranians and for the inhabitants of India. From there comes the sign denoting the sun - a cross with broken arms, that is, a swastika.
Mazdaism was the first Persian religion that developed from the ancient Aryan cults. During the Achaemenid era, most of the inhabitants and kings of Iran professed Zoroastrianism. It was the official religion at that time. In the 7th century AD after the arrival of Muslims in Iran, most of Iranians converted to Islam. In the ninth century a group of Zoroastrians migrated to India, where they became known as the Indian Persians. Another group remained in Iran.
Now in Iran, the majority of the population professes Islam. The official language is Persian. The second most commonly used language in Iran is Arabic. Children in schools are taught Arabic, mainly for reading the holy book - the Quran.

In ancient times, Persia became the center of one of the greatest empires in history, stretching from Egypt to the Indus River. It included all previous empires - Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians and Hittites. The later empire of Alexander the Great included almost no territories that would not have previously belonged to the Persians, while it was smaller than Persia under King Darius.

Since its inception in the 6th c. BC. before the conquest by Alexander the Great in the 4th century. BC. for two and a half centuries, Persia occupied a dominant position in the ancient world. Greek domination lasted about a hundred years, and after its fall Persian power revived under two local dynasties: the Arshakids (the Parthian kingdom) and the Sassanids (the New Persian kingdom). For more than seven centuries, they kept Rome in fear, and then Byzantium, until in the 7th century. AD the Sassanid state was not conquered by Islamic conquerors.

The geography of the empire.

The lands inhabited by the ancient Persians only roughly coincide with the borders of modern Iran. In ancient times, such boundaries simply did not exist. There were periods when the Persian kings were the rulers of most of the then known world, at other times the main cities of the empire were in Mesopotamia, to the west of Persia proper, and it also happened that the entire territory of the kingdom was divided between warring local rulers.

A significant part of the territory of Persia is occupied by high arid highlands (1200 m), crossed by mountain ranges with individual peaks reaching 5500 m. Zagros and Elburs mountain ranges are located in the west and north, which frame the highlands in the form of the letter V, leaving it open to the east. The western and northern borders of the highlands roughly coincide with the current borders of Iran, but in the east it extends beyond the borders of the country, occupying part of the territory of modern Afghanistan and Pakistan. Three areas are isolated from the plateau: the coast of the Caspian Sea, the coast of the Persian Gulf and the southwestern plains, which are the eastern continuation of the Mesopotamian lowland.

Directly to the west of Persia lies Mesopotamia, home to the world's most ancient civilizations. The Mesopotamian states of Sumer, Babylonia and Assyria had a significant impact on the early culture of Persia. And although the Persian conquests ended almost three thousand years after the rise of Mesopotamia, Persia was in many ways the heir to the Mesopotamian civilization. Most of the important cities of the Persian Empire were located in Mesopotamia, and Persian history is largely a continuation of Mesopotamian history.

Persia lies on the paths of the earliest migrations from Central Asia. Slowly moving westward, the settlers skirted the northern tip of the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan and turned south and west, where through the more accessible regions of Khorasan, southeast of the Caspian Sea, they entered the Iranian plateau south of the Elburz mountains. Centuries later, the main trade artery ran parallel to the early route, linking the Far East with the Mediterranean and providing control of the empire and the transfer of troops. At the western end of the highlands, it descended into the plains of Mesopotamia. Other important routes connected the southeastern plains through the heavily rugged mountains with the highlands proper.

Away from a few main roads, the settlements of thousands of agricultural communities were scattered in long and narrow mountain valleys. They led a subsistence economy, due to their isolation from their neighbors, many of them remained aloof from wars and invasions, and for many centuries carried out an important mission to preserve the continuity of culture, so characteristic of ancient history Persia.

STORY

Ancient Iran.

It is known that the most ancient inhabitants of Iran had a different origin than the Persians and their kindred peoples, who created civilizations on the Iranian plateau, as well as the Semites and Sumerians, whose civilizations arose in Mesopotamia. During excavations in caves near the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, skeletons of people dated to the 8th millennium BC were discovered. In the north-west of Iran, in the town of Goy-Tepe, the skulls of people who lived in the 3rd millennium BC were found.

Scientists have proposed to name indigenous people the Caspians, which indicates a geographical connection with the peoples who inhabited the Caucasus Mountains to the west of the Caspian Sea. The Caucasian tribes themselves, as is known, migrated to more southern regions, to the highlands. The "Caspian" type, apparently, has been preserved in a greatly weakened form among the nomadic Lurs in modern Iran.

For the archeology of the Middle East, the central issue is the dating of the appearance of agricultural settlements here. Monuments of material culture and other evidence found in the Caspian caves indicate that the tribes inhabiting the region from the 8th to the 5th millennium BC. engaged mainly in hunting, then switched to cattle breeding, which, in turn, approx. IV millennium BC replaced by agriculture. Permanent settlements appeared in the western part of the highlands before the 3rd millennium BC, and most likely in the 5th millennium BC. The main settlements include Sialk, Goy-Tepe, Gissar, but the largest were Susa, which later became the capital of the Persian state. In these small villages, adobe huts crowded together along winding narrow streets. The dead were buried either under the floor of the house or in the cemetery in a crooked ("uterine") position. The reconstruction of the life of the ancient inhabitants of the highlands was carried out on the basis of a study of utensils, tools and decorations that were placed in the graves in order to provide the deceased with everything necessary for the afterlife.

The development of culture in prehistoric Iran proceeded progressively over many centuries. As in Mesopotamia, large brick houses began to be built here, objects were made from cast copper, and then from cast bronze. Carved stone seals appeared, which were evidence of the emergence of private property. Found large jugs for food storage suggest that stocks were made between harvests. Among the finds of all periods there are figurines of the mother goddess, often depicted with her husband, who was both her husband and son.

The most noteworthy is the huge variety of painted pottery, the walls of some of which are no thicker than the shell of a chicken egg. The bird and animal figurines depicted in profile testify to the talent of prehistoric artisans. Some pottery depicts the man himself, hunting or performing some rituals. Around 1200–800 BC painted pottery is replaced by one-color - red, black or gray, which is explained by the invasion of tribes from as yet unidentified regions. Pottery of the same type was found very far from Iran - in China.

Early history.

The historical era begins on the Iranian plateau at the end of the 4th millennium BC. Most of the information about the descendants of the ancient tribes who lived on the eastern borders of Mesopotamia, in the mountains of Zagros, is gleaned from the Mesopotamian chronicles. (There is no information about the tribes that inhabited the central and eastern regions of the Iranian Highlands, because they had no ties with the Mesopotamian kingdoms.) The largest of the peoples inhabiting the Zagros were the Elamites, who captured ancient city Susa, located on a plain at the foot of the Zagros, and founded the powerful and prosperous state of Elam there. The Elamite Chronicles began to be compiled c. 3000 BC and fought for two thousand years. Further to the north lived the Kassites, barbarian tribes of horsemen, who by the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. conquered Babylonia. The Kassites adopted the civilization of the Babylonians and ruled southern Mesopotamia for several centuries. Less significant were the tribes of the Northern Zagros, the Lullubei and Gutii, who lived in the area where the great Trans-Asian trade route descended from the western tip of the Iranian Highlands to the plain.

The Aryan Invasion and the Median Kingdom.

Starting from the II millennium BC. waves of invasions of tribes from Central Asia hit the Iranian plateau one after another. These were the Aryans, Indo-Iranian tribes who spoke dialects that were the proto-languages ​​of the present-day languages ​​of the Iranian Highlands and Northern India. They also gave Iran its name ("homeland of the Aryans"). The first wave of conquerors surged approx. 1500 BC One group of Aryans settled in the west of the Iranian Highlands, where they founded the state of Mitanni, another group - in the south among the Kassites. However, the main flow of the Aryans passed Iran, turning sharply to the south, crossed the Hindu Kush and invaded North India.

At the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. along the same path, a second wave of newcomers, the Iranian tribes proper, arrived in the Iranian Highlands, and much more numerous. Some of the Iranian tribes - Sogdians, Scythians, Sakas, Parthians and Bactrians - retained a nomadic lifestyle, others left the highlands, but two tribes, the Medes and Persians (Pars), settled in the valleys of the Zagros ridge, mixed with the local population and took their political , religious and cultural traditions. The Medes settled in the vicinity of Ecbatana (modern Hamadan). The Persians settled somewhat to the south, on the plains of Elam and in the mountainous region adjacent to the Persian Gulf, which was later called Persis (Parsa or Fars). It is possible that the Persians initially settled northwest of the Medes, west of Lake Rezaye (Urmia), and only later moved south under the pressure of Assyria, which was then at the peak of its power. On some Assyrian bas-reliefs of the 9th and 8th centuries. BC. battles with the Medes and Persians are depicted.

The Median kingdom with its capital in Ecbatana gradually gained strength. In 612 BC the Median king Cyaxares (reigned from 625 to 585 BC) entered into an alliance with Babylonia, captured Nineveh and crushed the Assyrian power. The Median kingdom stretched from Asia Minor (modern Turkey) almost to the Indus River. During just one reign, Media from a small tributary principality turned into the strongest power in the Middle East.

Persian state of the Achaemenids.

The power of Media did not last longer than the life of two generations. The Persian dynasty of the Achaemenids (named after their founder Achaemenes) began to dominate Pars even under the Medes. In 553 BC Cyrus II the Great, Achaemenid ruler of Parsa, raised an uprising against the Median king Astyages, son of Cyaxares, as a result of which a powerful alliance of the Medes and Persians was created. The new power threatened the entire Middle East. In 546 BC King Croesus of Lydia led a coalition directed against King Cyrus, which, in addition to the Lydians, included the Babylonians, Egyptians and Spartans. According to legend, the oracle predicted to the Lydian king that the war would end with the collapse of the great state. Delighted, Croesus did not even bother to ask which state was meant. The war ended with the victory of Cyrus, who pursued Croesus all the way to Lydia and captured him there. In 539 BC Cyrus occupied Babylonia, and by the end of his reign expanded the borders of the state from the Mediterranean Sea to the eastern outskirts of the Iranian Highlands, making the capital of Pasargada, a city in southwestern Iran.

Organization of the Achaemenid state.

Apart from a few brief Achaemenid inscriptions, we draw the main information about the state of the Achaemenids from the works of ancient Greek historians. Even the names of the Persian kings entered the historiography as they were written by the ancient Greeks. For example, the names of the kings known today as Cyaxares, Cyrus, and Xerxes are pronounced in Persian as Uvakhshtra, Kurush, and Khshayarshan.

The main city of the state was Susa. Babylon and Ecbatana were considered administrative centers, and Persepolis - the center of ritual and spiritual life. The state was divided into twenty satrapies, or provinces, headed by satraps. Representatives of the Persian nobility became satraps, and the position itself was inherited. This combination of the power of an absolute monarch and semi-independent governors was salient feature political structure of the country for many centuries.

All provinces were connected by postal roads, the most significant of which, the "royal road" 2400 km long, ran from Susa to the Mediterranean coast. Despite the fact that a single administrative system, a single monetary unit and a single official language were introduced throughout the empire, many subject peoples retained their customs, religion and local rulers. The reign of the Achaemenids was characterized by tolerance. The long years of peace under the Persians favored the development of cities, trade and Agriculture. Iran was experiencing its golden age.

The Persian army differed in composition and tactics from the previous armies, for which chariots and infantry were typical. The main striking force of the Persian troops was mounted archers, who bombarded the enemy with a cloud of arrows, without coming into direct contact with him. The army consisted of six corps of 60,000 soldiers each and elite formations of 10,000 people, selected from members of the noblest families and called "immortals"; they also constituted the personal guard of the king. However, during campaigns in Greece, as well as during the reign of the last Achaemenid king Darius III, a huge, poorly controlled mass of horsemen, chariots and foot soldiers went into battle, unable to maneuver in small spaces and often significantly inferior to the disciplined infantry of the Greeks.

The Achaemenids were very proud of their origin. The Behistun inscription, carved on a rock by order of Darius I, reads: “I, Darius, the great king, the king of kings, the king of countries inhabited by all peoples, have long been the king of this great land that stretches even further, son of Hystaspes, Achaemenides, Persian, son Persians, Aryans, and my ancestors were Aryans. However, the Achaemenid civilization was a conglomeration of customs, culture, social institutions and ideas that existed in all parts of the world. Ancient World. At that time East and West came into direct contact for the first time, and the resulting exchange of ideas never ceased thereafter.

Hellenic dominion.

Weakened by endless rebellions, uprisings and civil strife, the Achaemenid state could not resist the armies of Alexander the Great. The Macedonians landed on the Asian continent in 334 BC, defeated the Persian troops on the Granik River and twice defeated huge armies under the command of the mediocre Darius III - at the Battle of Issus (333 BC) in southwestern Asia Minor and under Gaugamela (331 BC) in Mesopotamia. Having captured Babylon and Susa, Alexander went to Persepolis and set it on fire, apparently in retaliation for the burning of Athens by the Persians. Continuing to move east, he found the body of Darius III, who had been killed by his own soldiers. Alexander spent more than four years in the east of the Iranian Highlands, founding numerous Greek colonies. He then turned south and conquered the Persian provinces in what is now West Pakistan. After that, he went on a hike in the Indus Valley. Returning in 325 BC in Susa, Alexander began to actively encourage his soldiers to take Persian women as their wives, cherishing the idea of ​​​​a single state of Macedonians and Persians. In 323 BC Alexander, at the age of 33, died of a fever in Babylon. The huge territory conquered by him was immediately divided between his military leaders, who competed with each other. And although the plan of Alexander the Great to merge together Greek and Persian culture was never realized, the numerous colonies founded by him and his successors for centuries retained the originality of their culture and had a significant impact on local peoples and their art.

After the death of Alexander the Great, the Iranian Highlands became part of the Seleucid state, which got its name from one of its commanders. Soon the local nobility began the struggle for independence. In the satrapy of Parthia, located southeast of the Caspian Sea in the area known as Khorasan, a nomadic tribe of Parns rebelled, expelling the governor of the Seleucids. The first ruler of the Parthian state was Arshak I (ruled from 250 to 248/247 BC).

Parthian state of the Arsacids.

The period following the uprising of Arshak I against the Seleucids is called either the Arsacid period or the Parthian period. Constant wars were waged between the Parthians and the Seleucids, ending in 141 BC, when the Parthians, under the leadership of Mithridates I, took Seleucia, the capital of the Seleucids on the Tigris River. On the opposite bank of the river, Mithridates founded the new capital of Ctesiphon and extended his dominion over most of the Iranian plateau. Mithridates II (reigned from 123 to 87/88 BC) further expanded the boundaries of the state and, having taken the title of “king of kings” (shahinshah), became the ruler of a vast territory from India to Mesopotamia, and in the east to Chinese Turkestan.

The Parthians considered themselves the direct heirs of the Achaemenid state, and their relatively poor culture was replenished by the influence of Hellenistic culture and traditions introduced earlier by Alexander the Great and the Seleucids. As before in the state of the Seleucids, political center moved to the west of the highlands, namely to Ctesiphon, therefore few monuments testifying to that time have been preserved in Iran in good condition.

During the reign of Phraates III (ruled from 70 to 58/57 BC), Parthia entered into a period of almost continuous wars with the Roman Empire, which lasted almost 300 years. The opposing armies fought over a vast area. The Parthians defeated the army under the command of Marcus Licinius Crassus at Carrhae in Mesopotamia, after which the border between the two empires ran along the Euphrates. In 115 AD Roman emperor Trajan took Seleucia. Despite this, the Parthian state survived, and in 161 Vologes III devastated the Roman province of Syria. However, long years of war bled the Parthians, and attempts to defeat the Romans on the western borders weakened their power over the Iranian highlands. Riots broke out in a number of areas. The satrap of Fars (or Parsa) Ardashir, the son of a religious leader, declared himself ruler as a direct descendant of the Achaemenids. After defeating several Parthian armies and killing the last Parthian king Artaban V in battle, he took Ctesiphon and inflicted a crushing defeat on the coalition trying to restore the power of the Arsacids.

State of the Sassanids.

Ardashir (reigned from 224 to 241) founded a new Persian empire known as the Sassanid state (from the ancient Persian title "sasan" or "commander"). His son Shapur I (reigned from 241 to 272) retained elements of the former feudal system, but created in the highest degree centralized state. The armies of Shapur first moved east and occupied the entire Iranian Highlands up to the river. Indus and then turned west against the Romans. At the Battle of Edessa (near modern Urfa, Turkey), Shapur captured the Roman emperor Valerian along with his 70,000-strong army. The prisoners, among whom were architects and engineers, were forced to work on the construction of roads, bridges and irrigation systems in Iran.

Over the course of several centuries, about 30 rulers changed in the Sassanid dynasty; often successors were appointed by the higher clergy and the feudal nobility. The dynasty waged continuous wars with Rome. Shapur II, who ascended the throne in 309, fought three times with Rome during the 70 years of his reign. The greatest of the Sassanids is Khosrow I (ruled from 531 to 579), who was called the Just or Anushirvan ("Immortal Soul").

Under the Sassanids, a four-stage system was established administrative division, a flat rate land tax was introduced, and numerous artificial irrigation projects were carried out. In the southwest of Iran, traces of these irrigation facilities are still preserved. Society was divided into four estates: warriors, priests, scribes and commoners. The latter included peasants, merchants and artisans. The first three estates enjoyed special privileges and, in turn, had several gradations. From the highest gradation of the estate, the Sardars, governors of the provinces were appointed. The capital of the state was Bishapur, the most important cities were Ctesiphon and Gundeshapur (the latter was famous as a center of medical education).

After the fall of Rome, Byzantium took the place of the traditional enemy of the Sassanids. Violating the treaty on eternal peace, Khosrow I invaded Asia Minor and in 611 captured and burned Antioch. His grandson Khosrow II (reigned from 590 to 628), nicknamed Parviz ("Victorious"), briefly restored the Persians to their former glory of the Achaemenid times. During several campaigns, he actually defeated Byzantine Empire, but the Byzantine emperor Heraclius made a bold throw at the Persian rear. In 627 Khosrow II's army suffered a crushing defeat at Nineveh in Mesopotamia, Khosrow was deposed and slaughtered by his own son Kavad II, who died a few months later.

The powerful state of the Sassanids found itself without a ruler, with a destroyed social structure, exhausted as a result of long wars with Byzantium in the west and with the Central Asian Turks in the east. Within five years, twelve half-ghostly rulers were replaced, unsuccessfully trying to restore order. In 632, Yazdegerd III restored central authority for several years, but this was not enough. The exhausted empire could not withstand the onslaught of the warriors of Islam, irresistibly rushing north from the Arabian Peninsula. They struck the first crushing blow in 637 at the battle of Kadispi, as a result of which Ctesiphon fell. The Sassanids suffered their final defeat in 642 at the Battle of Nehavend in the central part of the highlands. Yazdegerd III fled like a hunted beast, his assassination in 651 marked the end of the Sassanid era.

CULTURE

Technology.

Irrigation.

The entire economy of ancient Persia was based on agriculture. Rainfall in the Iranian Plateau is insufficient for extensive agriculture, so the Persians had to rely on irrigation. The few and shallow rivers of the highlands did not provide irrigation ditches with sufficient water, and in summer they dried up. Therefore, the Persians developed a unique system of underground canals-ropes. At the foot of the mountain ranges, deep wells dug through the hard but porous layers of gravel to the underlying impervious clays that form the lower boundary of the aquifer. The wells collected melt water from the mountain peaks, covered in winter with a thick layer of snow. From these wells erupted underground conduits the height of a man with vertical shafts located at regular intervals, through which light and air entered for the workers. Water conduits came to the surface and served as sources of water all year round.

Artificial irrigation with the help of dams and canals, which originated and was widely used on the plains of Mesopotamia, spread to a similar region. natural conditions the territory of Elam, through which several rivers flow. This area, now known as Khuzistan, is densely indented with hundreds of ancient canals. Irrigation systems reached their highest development during the Sasanian period. Numerous remains of dams, bridges and aqueducts built under the Sassanids still survive today. Since they were designed by captured Roman engineers, they are like two drops of water reminiscent of similar structures found throughout the Roman Empire.

Transport.

The rivers of Iran are not navigable, but in other parts of the Achaemenid Empire water transport was well developed. So, in 520 BC. Darius I the Great reconstructed the canal between the Nile and the Red Sea. In the Achaemenid period, extensive construction of land roads was carried out, however, paved roads were built mainly in marshy and mountainous areas. Significant sections of narrow, stone-paved roads built under the Sassanids are found in the west and south of Iran. The choice of the place for the construction of roads was unusual for that time. They were laid not along the valleys, along the banks of the rivers, but along the ridges of the mountains. Roads descended into the valleys only to make it possible to cross to the other side in strategically important places, for which massive bridges were erected.

Along the roads, at a distance of a day's journey from one another, postal stations were built, where horses were changed. There was a very efficient postal service, and postal couriers covered up to 145 km per day. Since time immemorial, the breeding center of horses has been a fertile region in the Zagros Mountains, located next to the Trans-Asian trade route. Iranians from antiquity began to use camels as beasts of burden; this “mode of transport” came to Mesopotamia from Media ca. 1100 BC

Economy.

The basis of the economy of Ancient Persia was agricultural production. Trade also flourished. All the numerous capitals of the ancient Iranian kingdoms were located along the most important trade route between the Mediterranean and Far East or on its branch towards the Persian Gulf. In all periods, the Iranians played the role of an intermediate link - they guarded this route and kept part of the goods transported along it. During excavations in Susa and Persepolis, beautiful items from Egypt were found. The reliefs of Persepolis depict representatives of all the satrapies of the Achaemenid state, offering gifts to the great rulers. Since the time of the Achaemenids, Iran has exported marble, alabaster, lead, turquoise, lapis lazuli (lapis lazuli) and carpets. The Achaemenids created fabulous stocks of gold coins minted in various satrapies. In contrast, Alexander the Great introduced a single silver coin for the entire empire. The Parthians returned to the gold monetary unit, and during the Sassanid times, silver and copper coins prevailed in circulation.

The system of large feudal estates that developed under the Achaemenids survived until the Seleucid period, but the kings in this dynasty greatly facilitated the position of the peasants. Then, during the Parthian period, huge feudal estates were restored, and this system did not change under the Sassanids. All states sought to obtain maximum income and established taxes on peasant farms, livestock, land, introduced poll taxes, and collected tolls on roads. All these taxes and fees were levied either in imperial coin or in kind. By the end of the Sassanid period, the number and magnitude of taxes became an unbearable burden for the population, and this tax pressure played a decisive role in the collapse social structure states.

Political and social organization.

All Persian rulers were absolute monarchs who ruled over their subjects according to the will of the gods. But this power was absolute only in theory, but in reality it was limited by the influence of hereditary large feudal lords. The rulers tried to achieve stability through marriages with relatives, as well as by taking as wives the daughters of potential or actual enemies, both internal and foreign. Nevertheless, the rule of monarchs and the continuity of their power were threatened not only by external enemies, but also by members of their own families.

The Median period was distinguished by a very primitive political organization, which is very typical for peoples moving to a settled way of life. Already among the Achaemenids, the concept of a unitary state appears. In the state of the Achaemenids, the satraps were fully responsible for the state of affairs in their provinces, but could be subjected to unexpected checks by inspectors, who were called the eyes and ears of the king. The royal court constantly emphasized the importance of the administration of justice and therefore constantly moved from one satrapy to another.

Alexander the Great married the daughter of Darius III, retained the satrapies and the custom of prostrating himself before the king. The Seleucids adopted from Alexander the idea of ​​the fusion of races and cultures in the vast expanses from the Mediterranean Sea to the river. Ind. During this period there was fast development cities, accompanied by the Hellenization of the Iranians and the Iranianization of the Greeks. However, there were no Iranians among the rulers, and they were always considered outsiders. Iranian traditions were preserved in the area of ​​Persepolis, where temples were built in the style of the Achaemenid era.

The Parthians tried to unite the ancient satrapies. They also played important role in the fight against the nomads from Central Asia advancing from east to west. As before, satrapies were headed by hereditary governors, but a new factor was the lack of natural succession. royal power. The legitimacy of the Parthian monarchy was no longer undeniable. The successor was chosen by a council made up of the nobility, which inevitably led to an endless struggle between rival factions.

The Sasanian kings made a serious attempt to revive the spirit and the original structure of the Achaemenid state, partly reproducing its rigid social organization. In descending order were vassal princes, hereditary aristocrats, nobles and knights, priests, peasants, slaves. The state administrative apparatus was led by the first minister, to whom several ministries were subordinate, including the military, justice and finance, each of which had its own staff of skilled officials. The king himself was the supreme judge, while justice was administered by the priests.

Religion.

In ancient times, the cult of the great mother goddess, a symbol of childbearing and fertility, was widespread. In Elam, she was called Kirisisha, and throughout the Parthian period, her images were cast on Luristan bronze items and were made in the form of statuettes from terracotta, bone, Ivory and metals.

The inhabitants of the Iranian Highlands also worshiped many deities of Mesopotamia. After the first wave of Aryans passed through Iran, such Indo-Iranian deities as Mithra, Varuna, Indra and Nasatya appeared here. In all beliefs, a pair of deities was certainly present - the goddess, personifying the Sun and the Earth, and her husband, personifying the Moon and the natural elements. The local gods bore the names of the tribes and peoples who worshiped them. Elam had its own deities, primarily the goddess Shala and her husband Inshushinak.

The Achaemenid period was marked by a decisive turn from polytheism to a more universal system reflecting the eternal struggle between good and evil. The earliest inscription from this period, a metal tablet made before 590 BC, contains the name of the god Aguramazda (Ahuramazda). Indirectly, the inscription may be a reflection of the reform of Mazdaism (the cult of Aguramazda) carried out by the prophet Zarathushtra, or Zoroaster, as narrated in the Gathas, ancient sacred hymns.

The identity of Zarathushtra continues to be shrouded in mystery. He appears to have been born c. 660 BC, but possibly much earlier, and perhaps much later. The god Ahuramazda personified the good beginning, truth and light, apparently in opposition to Ahriman (Angra Mainu), the personification of the evil beginning, although the very concept of Angra Mainu could appear later. Darius' inscriptions mention Ahuramazda, and the relief on his grave depicts the worship of this deity at the sacrificial fire. Chronicles give reason to believe that Darius and Xerxes believed in immortality. Worship of the sacred fire took place both inside the temples and in open places. Magi, originally members of one of the Median clans, became hereditary priests. They oversaw the temples, took care of strengthening the faith by performing certain rituals. Ethical doctrine based on good thoughts, good words and good deeds was revered. Throughout the Achaemenid period, the rulers were very tolerant of local deities, and starting from the reign of Artaxerxes II, the ancient Iranian sun god Mithra and the fertility goddess Anahita received official recognition.

The Parthians, in search of their own official religion, turned to the Iranian past and settled on Mazdaism. Traditions were codified, and magicians regained their former power. The cult of Anahita continued to enjoy official recognition, as well as popularity among the people, and the cult of Mithras crossed the western borders of the kingdom and spread to most of the Roman Empire. In the west of the Parthian kingdom, they tolerated Christianity, which became widespread here. At the same time, in the eastern regions of the empire, Greek, Indian and Iranian deities united in a single Greco-Bactrian pantheon.

Under the Sassanids, the continuity was preserved, but there were also some important changes in religious traditions. Mazdaism outlived most early reforms Zarathushtra and turned out to be associated with the cult of Anahita. To compete on equal terms with Christianity and Judaism, the sacred book of the Zoroastrians was created Avesta, a collection of ancient poems and hymns. The Magi still stood at the head of the priests and were the keepers of the three great national fires, as well as the holy fires in all important settlements. By that time, Christians had long been persecuted, they were considered enemies of the state, since they were identified with Rome and Byzantium, but by the end of the Sassanid reign, the attitude towards them became more tolerant and Nestorian communities flourished in the country.

During the Sasanian period, other religions also arose. In the middle of the 3rd c. preached by the prophet Mani, who developed the idea of ​​combining Mazdaism, Buddhism and Christianity, and especially emphasized the need to liberate the spirit from the body. Manichaeism demanded celibacy from priests, and virtue from believers. The followers of Manichaeism were required to fast and offer prayers, but not to worship images or perform sacrifices. Shapur I favored Manichaeism and, perhaps, intended to make it the state religion, but this was sharply opposed by the still powerful priests of Mazdaism and in 276 Mani was executed. Nevertheless, Manichaeism persisted for several centuries in Central Asia, Syria and Egypt.

At the end of the 5th c. preached another religious reformer - a native of Iran Mazdak. His ethical doctrine combined both elements of Mazdaism and practical ideas about non-violence, vegetarianism and communal life. Kavad I initially supported the Mazdakian sect, but this time the official priesthood turned out to be stronger and in 528 the prophet and his followers were executed. The advent of Islam put an end to the national religious traditions of Persia, but a group of Zoroastrians fled to India. Their descendants, the Parsis, still practice the religion of Zarathushtra.

Architecture and art.

Early metalwork.

In addition to the enormous number of ceramic objects, items made of such durable materials as bronze, silver and gold are of exceptional importance for the study of ancient Iran. A huge number of so-called. Luristan bronzes were discovered in Luristan, in the Zagros mountains, during illegal excavations of the graves of semi-nomadic tribes. These unparalleled examples included weapons, horse harness, jewelry, and objects depicting scenes from religious life or ceremonial purposes. Until now, scientists have not come to a consensus on who and when they were made. In particular, it was suggested that they were created from the 15th century. BC. by 7th c. BC, most likely - by Kassites or Scythian-Cimmerian tribes. Bronze items continue to be found in the province of Azerbaijan in northwestern Iran. In style, they differ significantly from the Luristan bronzes, although, apparently, both belong to the same period. Bronze items from Northwestern Iran are similar to latest finds made in the same region; for example, the finds of the accidentally discovered treasure in Ziviya and the wonderful golden goblet found during excavations in Hasanlu-Tepe are similar to each other. These items belong to the 9th-7th centuries. BC, in their stylized ornament and the image of deities, Assyrian and Scythian influence is visible.

Achaemenid period.

No architectural monuments of the pre-Achaemenid period have been preserved, although the reliefs in the palaces of Assyria depict cities on the Iranian Highlands. It is very likely that even under the Achaemenids, the population of the highlands led a semi-nomadic lifestyle for a long time, and wooden buildings were typical for the region. Indeed, the monumental structures of Cyrus at Pasargadae, including his own tomb, resembling a wooden house with a gabled roof, as well as Darius and his successors at Persepolis and their tombs at nearby Nakshi Rustem, are stone copies of wooden prototypes. In Pasargadae, royal palaces with pillared halls and porticos were scattered over a shady park. In Persepolis under Darius, Xerxes and Artaxerxes III, reception halls and royal palaces were built on terraces raised above the surrounding area. At the same time, it was not arches that were characteristic, but columns typical of this period, covered with horizontal beams. Labor, building and finishing materials, as well as decorations were delivered from all over the country, while the style of architectural details and carved reliefs was a mixture of artistic styles then prevailing in Egypt, Assyria and Asia Minor. During excavations in Susa, parts of the palace complex were found, the construction of which was begun under Darius. The plan of the building and its decoration reveal a much greater Assyro-Babylonian influence than the palaces in Persepolis.

Achaemenid art was also characterized by a mixture of styles and eclecticism. It is represented by stone carvings, bronze figurines, figurines made of precious metals and jewelry. The best jewelry was discovered in a random find made many years ago, known as the Amu Darya treasure. The bas-reliefs of Persepolis are world famous. Some of them depict kings during ceremonial receptions or defeating mythical beasts, and along the stairs in the large reception hall of Darius and Xerxes, royal guards lined up and a long procession of peoples is visible, bringing tribute to the ruler.

Parthian period.

Most of the architectural monuments of the Parthian period are found to the west of the Iranian Highlands and have few Iranian features. True, during this period an element appears that will be widely used in all subsequent Iranian architecture. This is the so-called. iwan, a rectangular vaulted hall, open from the side of the entrance. Parthian art was even more eclectic than that of the Achaemenid period. In different parts of the state, products of different styles were made: in some - Hellenistic, in others - Buddhist, in others - Greco-Bactrian. Plaster friezes, stone carvings and wall paintings were used for decoration. Glazed earthenware, the forerunner of pottery, was popular during this period.

Sasanian period.

Many buildings of the Sasanian period are in relatively good condition. Most of them were built of stone, although burnt bricks were also used. Among the surviving buildings are royal palaces, temples of fire, dams and bridges, as well as entire city blocks. The place of columns with horizontal ceilings was occupied by arches and vaults; square rooms were crowned with domes, arched openings were widely used, many buildings had aivans. The domes were supported by four trompas, cone-shaped vaulted structures that spanned the corners of the square chambers. The ruins of palaces have been preserved in Firuzabad and Servestan, in the southwest of Iran, and in Kasre-Shirin, on the western outskirts of the highlands. The largest was considered the palace in Ctesiphon, on the river. The tiger known as Taki-Kisra. In its center was a giant iwan with a 27-meter-high vault and a distance between supports of 23 m. More than 20 fire temples have survived, the main elements of which were square rooms topped with domes and sometimes surrounded by vaulted corridors. As a rule, such temples were erected on high rocks so that the open sacred fire could be seen at a great distance. The walls of the buildings were covered with plaster, on which a pattern made by the notching technique was applied. Numerous reliefs carved into the rocks are found along the banks of reservoirs fed by spring waters. They depict kings before Aguramazda or defeating their enemies.

The pinnacle of Sassanid art are textiles, silver dishes and goblets, most of which were made for the royal court. Scenes of royal hunting, figures of kings in solemn attire, geometric and floral ornaments are woven on thin brocade. On silver bowls, there are images of kings on the throne, battle scenes, dancers, fighting animals and sacred birds made by the technique of extrusion or appliqué. Fabrics, unlike silver dishes, are made in styles that came from the west. In addition, elegant bronze incense burners and wide-mouthed jugs were found, as well as clay items with bas-reliefs covered with brilliant glaze. The mixture of styles still does not allow us to accurately date the found objects and determine the place of manufacture of most of them.

Writing and science.

The oldest written language of Iran is represented by as yet undeciphered inscriptions in the proto-Elamite language, which was spoken in Susa c. 3000 BC The much more advanced written languages ​​of Mesopotamia quickly spread to Iran, and Akkadian was used by the people in Susa and the Iranian plateau for many centuries.

The Aryans who came to the Iranian Highlands brought with them Indo-European languages, different from the Semitic languages ​​of Mesopotamia. In the Achaemenid period, royal inscriptions carved on rocks were parallel columns in Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian. Throughout the Achaemenid period, royal documents and private correspondence were either written in cuneiform on clay tablets or written on parchment. At the same time, at least three languages ​​\u200b\u200bare in use - Old Persian, Aramaic and Elamite.

Alexander the Great introduced the Greek language, his teachers taught about 30,000 young Persians from noble families the Greek language and military science. In the great campaigns, Alexander was accompanied by a large retinue of geographers, historians and scribes who recorded everything that happened day after day and got acquainted with the culture of all the peoples they met along the way. Particular attention was paid to navigation and the establishment of maritime communications. The Greek language continued to be used under the Seleucids, while at the same time, the ancient Persian language was preserved in the Persepolis region. Greek served as the language of trade throughout the entire Parthian period, but the main language of the Iranian Highlands became Middle Persian, which represented a qualitatively new stage in the development of Old Persian. Over the centuries, the Aramaic script used for writing in the Old Persian language was transformed into the Pahlavi script with an undeveloped and inconvenient alphabet.

During the Sasanian period, Middle Persian became the official and main language of the inhabitants of the highlands. Its writing was based on a variant of the Pahlavi script known as the Pahlavi-Sasanian script. The sacred books of the Avesta were recorded in a special way - first in Zend, and then in the Avestan language.

In ancient Iran, science did not rise to the heights that it reached in neighboring Mesopotamia. The spirit of scientific and philosophical research awakened only in the Sasanian period. The most important works were translated from Greek, Latin and other languages. It was then that they were born Book of Great Deeds, Book of ranks, Iran countries and Book of Kings. Other works from this period have survived only in a later Arabic translation.



Persians, Indo-European people who lived in the southeast. Elam. The founder of the Persian kingdom (dependent on the Medes) in Anshan is Chishpish, the son of Achaemen, therefore, for other Persians. king the name of the Achaemenids was fixed by the dynasty. see Cyrus II the Great (559 530 BC ... bible encyclopedia Brockhaus

Modern Encyclopedia

PERSIANS, Persians, units. Persian, Persian, husband. The people constituting the main population of Iran (by the former name of Persia). Dictionary Ushakov. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

PERS, ov, unit Persian, a, husband. and (obsolete) Persian, a, husband. Former name for Iranians; now the name of the nation of farces, which makes up about half of the population of Iran. | female Persian, i. | adj. Persian, oh, oh. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

The people of Persia. Vocabulary foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910 ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Exist., number of synonyms: 1 Persians (1) ASIS Synonym Dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary

Persians- (self-names Farses, Irani) a people with a total number of 28,750 thousand people, living mainly in Iran (28,000 thousand people). Other resettlement countries: Iraq 150 thousand people, USA 130 thousand people, Saudi Arabia 100 thousand people, Kuwait 85 thousand ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Farses (self-named Irani, plural Iranian), a nation comprising ca. half of the population of Iran (according to the data of the 1st general census of the population of the country in late 1956, approx. 9 million people, according to an estimate for 1963 10.5 million people). They speak Persian (Farsi), ... ... Soviet historical encyclopedia

Ov; pl. Nation, the main population of Iran (Persia); representatives of this nation. ◁ Persian, a; m. Persian, and; pl. genus. nok, date nkam; well. Persian (see). * * * Persians (Farsi, Irani self-name), the people in Iran (about 21.3 million people). General ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Persians- PERSIANS, ov, pl (unit Persian, a and Obsolete Persian, a, m). The people, the main population of the central and eastern part of Iran (until 1935 Persia), states in the South West. Asia; people belonging to this people, farces; Persian Farsi, Iranian group ... ... Explanatory dictionary of Russian nouns

Books

• Persians. Book one of the historical novel "Scythians", Nikolai Vasilyevich Sokolov. The first book of the historical novel "Scythians" tells about the coup d'état of 522 BC in Persia. After the assassination of the king of Bardia, rebellions and uprisings began in the country, and ... electronic book
• Wild Persians, Panov Vadim. Mysterious disappearances, strange deaths, cruel revenge on criminals... St. Petersburg was swept by a wave of high-profile, seemingly unrelated crimes, the traces of which...

For an outside observer (for example, a European), Persians and Arabs are about the same thing: both are Muslims of varying degrees of swarthyness, speaking an incomprehensible language. Is this really so? Of course no. There is a huge difference between Arabs and Persians - both in language and culture, and even (to the surprise of many) in religion. How are Persians different from Arabs, and what do they have in common? Let's start in order.

Appearance on the historical stage

The Persians were the first to show themselves as active participants in international events. From the first mention in the Assyrian chronicles in 836 BC to the creation of an independent Persian state, and a little later - the Achaemenid Empire, almost 300 years passed. Actually, there was no purely national Persian state in ancient times. Being residents of one of the regions of the Median Empire, close to them in language and culture, the Persians, under the leadership of Cyrus the Great, rebelled and made a change of power, later conquering vast territories that were not part of Media. According to some historians, the Achaemenid state at its peak numbered 50 million people - about half of the world's population at that time.

The Arabs, who originally lived in the northeast of the Arabian Peninsula, begin to be mentioned in historical sources around the same time as the Persians, but they do not participate in military or cultural expansion. The Arab states of South Arabia (Sabaean kingdom) and North Arabia (Palmyra, Nabatea and others) live mainly on trade. Palmyra, which decided to stand in opposition to the Roman Empire, was quite easily defeated by the proud quirites. But the situation changes radically when trading city Mecca is born Mohammed.

He creates the youngest monotheistic religion, whose adherents built one of the largest states of all time - the Arab Caliphate. The Arabs fully or partially assimilated a large number of different peoples, mainly those that were below them in terms of the level of socio-cultural development. The basis of assimilation was a new religion - Islam - and the Arabic language. The fact is that, according to Muslim teachings, the holy book, the Koran, is only the original, written in Arabic, and all translations are considered only its interpretations. This forced all Muslims to learn Arabic and often led to the loss of national identity (in particular, this happened with the ancient Libyans and Syrians, who used to be separate peoples; now their descendants are considered Arab subethnoi).

The difference between the Persians and the Arabs is that in the 7th century AD, Persia was in decline, and the Arabs conquered it relatively easily, establishing Islam. The new religion was superimposed on an ancient rich culture, and Persia in the 8th century AD became the basis for the so-called Golden Age of Islam. During this period, science and culture were actively developing. Later, the Persians adopted Shiism, one of the branches of Islam, as the state religion, opposing themselves to the Arabs and Turks, mostly Sunnis. And today Iran - the successor of ancient Persia - remains the main stronghold of Shiism.

Today, Persians, in addition to Shiism, profess Sunnism and the ancient religion - Zoroastrianism. A Zoroastrian, for example, was the famous rock singer Freddie Mercury. Arabs, being mostly Sunnis, partly adhere to Shiism (part of the population of Syria, most of the inhabitants of Iraq and Bahrain). In addition, part of the Arabs remained faithful to Christianity, once widespread in the territory later conquered by the Muslims. The famous Latin American singer Shakira comes from a Christian Arab family.

Comparison

As is often the case in history, religious differences were the result of political and military confrontation. different states. In religion, it is easier to consolidate dogmas that clearly delimit "us, our own" from "them, strangers." This happened in the case of Persia: Shiism has a number of serious theological differences from Sunnism. Sunnis and Shiites fought each other no less enthusiastically than Catholics and Protestants in contemporary Europe: for example, in 1501 Persia adopted Shiism, and already in 1514 the first war began with the Sunni Ottoman Empire, which extended its influence to most of the Arab territories .

As for the language, Persians and Arabs have nothing in common. Arabic refers to the Semitic branch of the Afroasian language family, and its closest "relative" is Hebrew - the state language of Israel. The similarity is visible even to a non-specialist. For example, the well-known Arabic greeting "salam aleikum" and "shalom aleikhem" in Hebrew are clearly consonant and are translated in the same way - "peace be upon you."

It is incorrect to talk about a single Persian language, since, according to modern ideas, this is a language group consisting of four related languages ​​(however, some linguists still consider them dialects):

• Farsi, or Persian proper;
• Pashto;
• Dari (together with Pashto is one of the official languages ​​of Afghanistan);
• Tajik.

The following fact is widely known: during the war in Afghanistan, the Soviet command often used Tajik fighters to communicate with local residents, since their language is almost identical to Tajik. Whether in this case Pashto, Dari and Tajik should be considered separate languages ​​or only dialects is the subject of linguistic disputes. Native speakers themselves do not discuss this issue especially, understanding each other perfectly.

Table

In concentrated form, information about the difference between Persians and Arabs is presented in the table below. The definition of the number of Persians depends on who is considered Persians (this is not such a simple question as it seems at first glance).

	Persians	Arabs
population	35 million (Persians proper); a large number of closely related peoples number up to 200 million people	About 350 million. This includes all Arab sub-ethnic groups, although many of them call themselves not Arabs, but according to their country of residence - Egyptians, Palestinians, Algerians, etc.
Language	Persian (Western Farsi), Pashto, Dari, Tajik	Different dialects of Arabic
Religion	Shia Islam, some Zoroastrians	Most are Sunni Muslims, some are Shiites and Christians
cultural tradition	Almost three thousand years old	Actually, the Arab cultural tradition is associated with the formation of Islam and is usually considered from the Hijra - the date of the migration of the Prophet Muhammad to Medina (622 AD)

You don't have to go very far to find out who the ancient Persians considered themselves to be. "I, Darius, Persian, son of a Persian, Aryan with Aryan roots ...", says their famous leader, who ruled in 521 - 486 BC ( see left - the image of a Persian warrior from the time of Darius I on a glazed brick, which is kept in the Louvre, Paris. Pay attention to the color of the eyes; click on the image to enlarge the image).
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The descendants of the Persians - modern Iranians, despite their Islam, also remember well who their ancestors were. So, for example, an article about the history of this country, posted on the websites of Iranian embassies abroad, usually begins with the words: " Iran is the oldest Aryan civilization... And, perhaps, everyone agrees with this - even the most ill-wisher of Iran.
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However, among us, the Slavs, who, unlike the vast majority of other peoples, are directly related to this civilization, according to genetic science, such a statement can only cause, at best, distrust - they say, well, which of them, these swarthy Muslims, Aryans. Yes, and in our own involvement in the almighty ancient Persians somehow hard to believe. For a thousand years, we have been so intensely burned with religious napalm and zombified that today not everyone can believe that we are something else.
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However, it is not necessary to react so categorically to information just because it seems incredible to us. It needs to be checked.

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Even the most superficial look at the results of genetic research will convince us that the average inhabitant of today's Iran is still 20 percent really an Aryan - a Slav. In addition, it turns out that the Iranians, although on a smaller scale, also have another Slavic haplogroup - the Varangian-Russian haplogroup! That is, the average Iranian is still more than 20 percent Slavic. And this in the 21st century after almost a thousand years of existence in an isolated state among a not too friendly environment, thanks to which the Persians could not help but undergo intense assimilation!
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When, in addition to everything else, we turn to ancient sources that shed light on what the appearance of the ancient Persians was, we will finally make sure that the Persians were tall, fair-haired people with blue eyes, and not a people whose appearance is characteristic of the inhabitants of the Middle East region. In addition to meaningful texts, many images have been preserved, which adequately reflect the appearance of an ordinary citizen of the ancient Persian state ( See left:"Head of the Dead Persian", 230 - 220 BC, Terme Museum, Rome; click on the image to enlarge the image).
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When getting acquainted with historical sources, it is also impossible not to notice the fact that the territory of modern Iran began to be settled by migrants from the North somewhere in the 9th millennium BC, and, as it becomes clear, this settlement took place in several stages. It is also striking that at different stages of history the SAME PEOPLE of migrants from the North had different names.
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I will not list them, so as not to confuse the dear reader. The situation is very similar to the story of the so-called " Slavs"when the consanguineous people were artificially brazenly divided into many certain" radimichi", "Vlachs", "Etruscans", "polyan", "Antes", "Germans"etc., gave them different religions in the teeth instead of their Universal Cosmic Worldview based on KNOWLEDGE, and not on FAITH, smashed them, in addition, on " Western", "Eastern", "southern" or even, " white and piebald"in order to expose them as separate tribes or even races hostile to each other, so that we are the modern descendants of those supposedly" tribes"Never found the ends.
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So, for example, it is very painful to see on the pages of history textbooks something like: " Scythians(or Slavs) The Black Sea region was not lucky, because from the south they were constantly threatened by Persian raids..." From everything it is clear that the author of such lines is so zombified by traditional clichés that no matter what scientific degree he has, the benefit of such a historian will be zero. The poor fellow, apparently, never even thought that as " Scythians" (Slavs) and " Persians"from the point of view of genetic science are integral parts of the same people ( look on the left - this is how many of the"Persians" even today, despite the past millennia. These are ordinary Iranian citizens from different strata of modern Iranian society; click on the picture to enlarge the image and clear up your doubts about who the ancient Persians were and what they looked like outwardly).
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In fact, everything happened much easier. Climatic conditions of the last " small"The cold snap pushed the carrier of the haplogroup R1a Slavyanina-Aria from his Arctic ancestral home to the south. He got to Iran mainly using the Ra river basin ( Volga) and the waters of the Caspian Sea, which, by the way, in those days was much larger and occupied the space up to the confluence with the Aral Sea.
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On the way to Iran Slav-Aryan at one of the stages of his journey to the south - ATTENTION, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! - genetically" touched"the carrier of the Russo-Varangian haplogroup I - his brother Slavyanin-Rus, who, as we already know, was the original inhabitant of the European continent, and partially assimilated with him, adding to his markers of the Slav-Aryan also the genetics of the Slav-Rus.
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In turn, Slavyanin-Rus at the same time fully scooped up the Slavic-Aryan genes of refugees from the north. It happened no less than 10,000 years ago in geographic region, where today's Belarus and adjacent territories lie. This is how the genetic composition of Belarusians, northern Ukrainians and Russians of the Smolensk region of Russia was formed, which, unlike the vast majority of other peoples, has retained its primary characteristics to our time and which, by its properties, embodies an elite sample of the genetic core of the white Caucasoid.
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It simply could not be otherwise, since the territory of today's Belarus, Ukraine and the west of Russia was at the time of the Slavic-Aryan exodus from the North the eastern border of the settlement of the Slavs-Rus. Elementary logic suggests that the Slavs-Aryans could not wedge in large numbers into the possessions of the already well-established in Europe Russ, who were at approximately the same level of technological progress as the Aryans. The Aryans needed living space and they found it by going further south.
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However, since the migration of the Slavs-Aryans had to be quite long, in the zone of their direct contact with the Slavs-Rus, which passed just through the land where Belarus, northern Ukraine and Smolensk region Russia, a kind of permanent relationship was formed between these two great peoples. These relations eventually led to the formation of a powerful Russian-Aryan community, which later, spreading throughout North-Central Europe and also forming its outposts in the Apennine Peninsula, the Balkans and the Middle East, finally embodied in a number of famous statehoods of antiquity and the Middle Ages.
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This circumstance is responsible for the presence of haplogroup I among the inhabitants of today's Iran, which, as you know, is far from Europe - the area of ​​​​traditional settlement of the carrier of haplogroup I Slavyanin-Rus. As we already know, artifacts in the territory of the settlement of genetic Slavs are necessarily characterized by the presence of swastika motifs, and Iran is no exception here ( see on the left above - an ornamental chain dated to the 1st millennium BC, found in Iran, Kularaz in the Gilan region).
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It should be noted that Iran is the easternmost point on geographical map, where the presence of the Ruso-Varangian genetics of the Slavs-Rus generally reached. The fact that the ancient Persian was with the current Slavs and, in particular, with the Belarusians, in blood relationship, is confirmed not only by genetics.
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In conclusion, I repeat: if we take a look at the inhabitants of today's Iran, we cannot fail to notice that among them there are many representatives with the most Caucasian appearance. Take a look again and you will once again be convinced that, for example, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mr. appearance rather resembles a Belarusian teacher than a person from the Middle East ( see left above Mr. Larijani).
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To see among modern Iranian citizens a white person from among the indigenous people is not a very difficult matter. In Iran, there are still a lot of not only light-skinned, completely European-looking people, but also real blondes ( right: children from a village in northwestern Iran).