The adjective Persian refers to what is linked to Persia, a region that today belongs to Iran.
Persian is an adjective that is used to name someone or something that is originally from Persia . This nation, for its part, was in the area of the Middle East that currently belongs to Iran .
The term Persian, therefore, can be used to name the empire and the ancient culture that developed in the aforementioned region, or even the Iranian people. Persian is also the name of the language spoken in Iran , Afghanistan and other Asian regions.
For example: “In these lands, the Persians fought countless battles” , “Yesterday I visited an exhibition of Persian art that fascinated me” , “I learned to say some words in Persian during my last trip to Asia” .
Uses of the Persian adjective
A Persian rug , on the other hand, is one that reproduces the characteristics of the rugs made by the Persians in ancient times. These textile elements were born as protection against low temperatures and, over time , began to become true artistic objects that stood out for their designs and colors: “The palace staircase was covered by a beautiful Persian carpet.”
Commercial establishments made up of several stalls that offer a wide variety of products are known as Persian markets : “This looks like a Persian market: you can buy everything from food to electronic products.”
Persian cats , likewise, are felines with a flattened face whose coat can display different colors. This breed , as its name indicates, is native to Persia and arrived in the Western world in the first decades of the 17th century : “When I was a child, I had a Persian cat as a pet.”
The Persian cat is characterized by a flattened face.
A culture of great importance
The Persian Empire played a determining role in all aspects of the development of its civilization, such as its agriculture, its trade and its education. Imperial art, for example, was a concept that referred to the obligation to reflect in any artistic manifestation the interests and beliefs of the authorities of the Empire ; One of its main characteristics was that it combined various cultural expressions of the inhabitants of the Zagros Mountains area.
Although Persian imperial art was a reflection of the diverse features of the peoples dominated by the Empire, it had to follow a series of indications and submit to certain restrictions that kept it away from a spontaneous and free manifestation, characteristics that are generally associated with art. .
The Persian people had a way of seeing and interpreting the world that included elements of the territorial conquests of Persia that took place after the reign of Cyrus II the Great and his descendants, within which were Greece , Babylon and Egypt .
Regarding its religion , it had its origin in the preachings of Zarathustra , the prophet who founded Mazdeism, a religion that has Ahura Mazda as the deity who created everything and representative of good, opposed to Angra Mainyu , a destructive and evil figure. The Avesta was the sacred book of this religion, which revolved around the existence of these antagonistic characters. Zarathustra is believed to have preached in part of Iran and Central Asia during the 6th century BC. C. , at which time the Persians adopted their doctrine.
The Persian language
The Persian language spoken in the Achaemenid period , which spans between 600 and 300 BC. C. , it is called Old Persian . It is the language that precedes Middle Persian ; It has grammatical structures and archaisms typical of ancient Iranian.
Most of the inscriptions in Old Persian are found in a series of royal seals and clay tablets that have been found in Egypt, Iran, Turkey and Iraq , with the Behistun inscription being one of the most important.