Persians

In contemporary terminology, historically ethnic Persians from [[Afghanistan]], [[Tajikistan]], and [[Uzbekistan]] are known as ''[[Tajiks]]'', with the former two countries having mutually intelligible Persian varieties called [[Dari]] and [[Tajik language|Tajiki]], respectively; whereas those from the [[Caucasus]] (primarily in the [[Azerbaijan|Republic of Azerbaijan]] and in [[Dagestan|Dagestan, Russia]]), albeit heavily assimilated, are known as ''[[Tat people (Caucasus)|Tats]]''.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/tajik-i-the-ethnonym-origins-and-application |title=TAJIK i. THE ETHNONYM: ORIGINS AND APPLICATION |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |date=20 July 2009 |quote=By mid-Safavid times the usage ''tājik'' for 'Persian(s) of Iran' may be considered a literary affectation, an expression of the traditional rivalry between Men of the Sword and Men of the Pen. Pietro della Valle, writing from Isfahan in 1617, cites only ''Pārsi'' and ''ʿAjami'' as autonyms for the indigenous Persians, and ''Tāt'' and ''raʿiat'' 'peasant(ry), subject(s)' as pejorative heteronyms used by the Qezelbāš (Qizilbāš) Torkmān elite. Perhaps by about 1400, reference to actual Tajiks was directed mostly at Persian-speakers in Afghanistan and Central Asia; (...)}}{{cite book |last1=Ostler |first1=Nicholas |title=The Last Lingua Franca: English Until the Return of Babel |date=2010 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-0141922218 |pages=1–352 |quote=''Tat'' was known to have been used at different times to designate Crimean Goths, Greeks and sedentary peoples generally, but its primary reference came to be the Persians within the Turkic domains. (...) ''Tat'' is nowadays specialized to refer to special groups with Iranian languages in the west of the Caspian Sea.}} Historically, however, the terms ''[[Tajik (word)|Tajik]]'' and ''[[Tat (ethnonym)|Tat]]'' were used synonymously and interchangeably with ''Persian''. Many influential Persian figures like [[Rumi]], [[Rudaki]], [[Avicenna]], [[Abu Moslem-e Khorasani|Abu Muslim]], and [[Sanai]], to name a few, all hailed from outside of Iran's modern borders—to the northeast in Afghanistan and Central Asia.{{cite book |last1=Nava'i |first1=Ali Shir (tr. & ed. Robert Devereaux) |title=Muhakamat al-lughatain |date=1996 |publisher=Leiden: Brill |page=6}}{{cite book |last1=Starr |first1=S. F. |title=Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane |date=2013 |publisher=Princeton University Press}}

In contemporary terminology, historically ethnic Persians from [[Afghanistan]], [[Tajikistan]], and [[Uzbekistan]] are known as ''[[Tajiks]]'', with the former two countries having mutually intelligible Persian varieties called [[Dari]] and [[Tajik language|Tajiki]], respectively; whereas those from the [[Caucasus]] (primarily in the [[Azerbaijan|Republic of Azerbaijan]] and in [[Dagestan|Dagestan, Russia]]), albeit heavily assimilated, are known as ''[[Tat people (Caucasus)|Tats]]''.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/tajik-i-the-ethnonym-origins-and-application |title=TAJIK i. THE ETHNONYM: ORIGINS AND APPLICATION |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |date=20 July 2009 |quote=By mid-Safavid times the usage ''tājik'' for 'Persian(s) of Iran' may be considered a literary affectation, an expression of the traditional rivalry between Men of the Sword and Men of the Pen. Pietro della Valle, writing from Isfahan in 1617, cites only ''Pārsi'' and ''ʿAjami'' as autonyms for the indigenous Persians, and ''Tāt'' and ''raʿiat'' 'peasant(ry), subject(s)' as pejorative heteronyms used by the Qezelbāš (Qizilbāš) Torkmān elite. Perhaps by about 1400, reference to actual Tajiks was directed mostly at Persian-speakers in Afghanistan and Central Asia; (...)}}{{cite book |last1=Ostler |first1=Nicholas |title=The Last Lingua Franca: English Until the Return of Babel |date=2010 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-0141922218 |pages=1–352 |quote=''Tat'' was known to have been used at different times to designate Crimean Goths, Greeks and sedentary peoples generally, but its primary reference came to be the Persians within the Turkic domains. (...) ''Tat'' is nowadays specialized to refer to special groups with Iranian languages in the west of the Caspian Sea.}} Historically, however, the terms ''[[Tajik (word)|Tajik]]'' and ''[[Tat (ethnonym)|Tat]]'' were used synonymously and interchangeably with ''Persian''. Many influential Persian figures like [[Rumi]], [[Rudaki]], [[Avicenna]], [[Abu Moslem-e Khorasani|Abu Muslim]], and [[Sanai]], to name a few, all hailed from outside of Iran's modern borders—to the northeast in Afghanistan and Central Asia.{{cite book |last1=Nava'i |first1=Ali Shir (tr. & ed. Robert Devereaux) |title=Muhakamat al-lughatain |date=1996 |publisher=Leiden: Brill |page=6}}{{cite book |last1=Starr |first1=S. F. |title=Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane |date=2013 |publisher=Princeton University Press}}

Additionally, several ethnic Persian dynasties ruled [[Greater Iran]] from outside of modern-Iran's borders. The [[Samanid Empire]], whose founder [[Saman Khuda]] hailed from [[Balkh]]{{Cite web |title=IRAN ii. IRANIAN HISTORY (2) Islamic period (page 2) |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iran-ii2-islamic-period-page-2/ |access-date=2026-04-12 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}}, ruled much of Greater Iran from [[Bukhara]] (Modern-day Uzbekistan){{Cite web |title=KHORASAN vi. History in the Taherid and Samanid Periods |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/khorasan-vi-history-in-the-taherid-and-samanid-periods/ |access-date=2026-04-12 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}}. The [[Saffarid dynasty|Saffarid]] dynasty governed much of Greater Iran from [[Zaranj]] (Modern-day Afghanistan){{Cite web |title=SAFFARIDS |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/saffarids/ |access-date=2026-04-12 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}}, and the [[Ghurid dynasty|Ghurid]] dynasty ruled parts of Greater Iran from [[Firozkoh]] (Modern-day Afghanistan). The former two dynasties contributed significantly to the restoration of the Persian language and identity{{Cite web |title=PERSIAN LANGUAGE i. Early New Persian |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/persian-language-1-early-new-persian/ |access-date=2026-04-12 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}} following the [[Muslim conquest of Persia|Arab conquest of Persia]].

Additionally, several ethnic Persian dynasties ruled [[Greater Iran]] from outside of modern-Iran's borders. The [[Samanid Empire]], whose founder [[Saman Khuda]] hailed from [[Balkh]]{{Cite web |title=IRAN ii. IRANIAN HISTORY (2) Islamic period (page 2) |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iran-ii2-islamic-period-page-2/ |access-date=2026-04-12 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}}, ruled much of Greater Iran from [[Bukhara]] (Modern-day Uzbekistan){{Cite web |title=KHORASAN vi. History in the Taherid and Samanid Periods |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/khorasan-vi-history-in-the-taherid-and-samanid-periods/ |access-date=2026-04-12 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}}. The [[Saffarid dynasty|Saffarid]] dynasty governed much of Greater Iran from [[Zaranj]] (Modern-day Afghanistan){{Cite web |title=SAFFARIDS |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/saffarids/ |access-date=2026-04-12 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}}, and the [[Ghurid dynasty|Ghurid]] dynasty ruled parts of Greater Iran from [[Firozkoh]] (Modern-day Afghanistan). The former two dynasties contributed significantly to the restoration of the Persian language and identity{{Cite web |title=PERSIAN LANGUAGE i. Early New Persian |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/persian-language-1-early-new-persian/ |access-date=2026-04-12 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}} following the [[Muslim conquest of Persia|Arab conquest of Persia]], with arguably the most important outcome being the [[Samanid Empire|Samanid]] patronage behind the composition of the [[Shahnameh]].

==Ethnonym==

==Ethnonym==