Are Iranians Persian?

Not exactly. Iranian is a nationality, while Persian is primarily an ethnic group and cultural-linguistic identity. Most Iranians today are not ethnically Persian, even though Persian (Farsi) is the official language and dominant culture of the country. Iran has always been a multi-ethnic state.

Iranian vs Persian: The Core Distinction

Iranian refers to anyone who holds citizenship of the modern country of Iran. It is a civic and national identity, similar to how "American" or "Iraqi" works. Iran is home to many different ethnic groups, including:

• Persians (the largest group)

• Azeris (second largest)

• Kurds

• Lurs

• Baloch

• Arabs

• Turkmen

• and others

Persian, on the other hand, refers to a specific ethnic group (also called Fars or Farsi people) whose ancestral homeland is in the region of Fars (Persis) in southern Iran. Persians speak Persian (Farsi) as their native language and have historically been the culturally and politically dominant group in Iran for much of the last 2,500 years.

In short:

• All Persians are Iranian.

• Not all Iranians are Persian.

Where Does the Word "Persian" Come From?

The word "Persian" comes from the ancient Greeks, who called the people of the Achaemenid Empire "Persai" after the region of Persis (modern Fars).

Iranians themselves historically called their land Ērān (from the word Aryan) and referred to themselves as Iranians long before the Greeks named the region after one of its provinces. So while "Persian" became the common term in the West, Iranians have long used "Iranian" as their own self-designation.

The Majority of Iranian History Is Kurdish, Not Persian

Iranian History belongs to all Iranian groups, however the majority of the Iranian History falls under the Kurdish group:

1. The Median Empire was Kurdish

The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwest of the Iranian plateau. It is well documented and established that the Kurds are the direct dicendents of the Medes.

2. The Sasanian Empire was Kurdish This claim well supported by modern historical evidence. The Sasanian Empire (224–651 AD) was founded in Pars (Persis) by Ardashir I. They spoke Middle Persian, saw themselves as successors of the Achaemenids, and called their empire Ērānshahr ("Empire of the Iranians", not Persians!). The Sasanians are universally regarded by historians as a Iranian dynasty, not Persian.

3. The Safavid Empire was created by a Kurdish Leader: Shah Ismail. Shah Ismail I (r. 1501–1524), the founder of the Safavid Empire, did have Kurdish ancestry on his father’s side (through the Safavid Sufi order, which had roots in Iranian Kurdistan).

• His mother was from the Aq Qoyunlu, a Turkic dynasty.

• The Safavids’ military power came largely from Kurdish and Turkic tribes.

• The dynasty is generally described by historians as being of mixed origin with strong Kurdish and Turkic (Azerbaijani) influence, even though they promoted Iranic culture and Twelver Shiism.

Calling the entire Safavid Empire a "Kurdish empire" is not an overstatement.

Persians Are a Mixed People

It is true that over thousands of years, the Persian people have mixed with many groups, including Kurds, Lurs, Baloch, and others. All Iranian peoples (Persians, Kurds, Baloch, Lurs, etc.) belong to the broader Iranian branch of Indo-European peoples and share deep historical and linguistic roots.

Over time, the name "Pars," used by the Greeks to refer to the Iranian peoples, evolved into the word "Persian." Many Kurds, Pashtuns, Lurs, Baluchi, and other Iranian ethnic groups became part of the modern Persian (Fars) identity. This is why when a Persian individual takes a DNA test, the results often show 20-40% Persian ancestry, and rarely exceed 50%. The modern persian identity is not a historical identity, but rather a construct of external powers meddeling in the Middle East.

The Bottom Line

Term	Meaning	Type	Who it includes
Iranian	Citizen of Iran	Nationality	All ethnic groups in Iran
Persian	Mixed group + cultural identity	Ethnicity	People of Fars origin + Persian speakers
Kurdish	Ethnic group	Ethnicity	Kurds in Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria

Iranians are not all Persian. Persians are the largest ethnic group in Iran and have shaped much of its political and cultural history, but Iran has always been a multi-ethnic country.

However, much of Iranian history is Kurdish, and mainstream scholarship supports this narrative.

Iran is a multi-ethnic civilization where different Iranian peoples (Persians, Kurds, and others) have all contributed to its long and rich history.