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'Fārsīwān' or 'Pārsīwān' (''"Persian-speakers"''), or simply 'Pārsī' (''"Persians"''), is another term often used for the Tajiks of Afghanistan, but more specifically it is the name given to the Shia sub-group of the Tājik community in Afghanistan. They are found mainly in western parts of the country. An alternative name for the Fārsīwān (as well as for the Tājiks in general) is 'Deḥgān'^[1].
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.
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].
There are at least 900,000 Farsiwans in Afghanistan, mainly in the province of Herat. They are also the main inhabitants of the city of Herāt^[3]. They are also found in large numbers in Kabul, Mazari Sharif, and Ghazni and elsewhere with Shia Tajik populations.
Closely related to the Farsiwan, but often mistakenly regarded as a (separate) ethno-linguistic group, are the Kizilbash of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Contents

See also

References

See also

★ Tajiks

★ Persian people

★ Persian language

★ Demographics of Afghanistan

References

1. M. Longworth Dames/G. Morgenstierne/R. Ghirshman, ''"Afghānistān"'', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition
2. Library of Congress Country Studies - Afghanistan - ''Farsiwan'' (LINK)
3. P. English, ''"Cities In The Middle East"'', e.d. L. Brown, Princeton University, USA 1973