![]() | |
Regions with significant populations | |
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![]() | 57,264[1][2] |
![]() | 3,630[3][a] |
![]() | 2,348[4] |
Languages | |
Gujarati, Hindi–Urdu, English (Indian dialect or Pakistani dialect), Avestan (liturgical) | |
Religion | |
Zoroastrianism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Iranis |
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Zoroastrianism |
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The Parsis or Parsees (/ˈpɑːrsi/) are a Zoroastrian ethno-religious community in the Indian subcontinent.[5] They are descended from Persians who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab conquest of Iran in the 7th century, when Zoroastrians were persecuted by the early Muslims.[6][7] Representing the eldest of the Indian subcontinent's two Zoroastrian communities, the Parsi people are culturally, linguistically, and socially distinct from the Iranis, whose Zoroastrian ancestors migrated to British-ruled India from Qajar-era Iran. The word Parsi is derived from the Persian language, and literally translates to Persian (پارسی, Pārsi).[8]
According to the 16th-century Parsi epic Qissa-i Sanjan, the immigration of Zoroastrian Persians to the Indian subcontinent from Greater Iran continued between the 8th century and the 10th century. The earliest of these migrants settled among the Hindus of present-day Gujarat after being granted refuge by Jadi Rana, the king of Sanjan.[9][10][11][12]
Zoroastrianism had served as Iran's state religion since at least the time of the Achaemenid Empire. However, the conquest of the Sasanian Empire by the Rashidun Caliphate marked the beginning of the Islamisation of Iran, which prompted much of the Zoroastrian-majority population to either convert to Islam or flee,[13] though a number of Iranian figures stayed in active revolt against the Rashidun army and the later Islamic caliphates for almost 200 years after the collapse of the Sasanian Empire.[14] Nevertheless, Zoroastrianism continued to decline, and most Iranians had become Muslims by the 10th century, shifting the concentration of the religion's followers away from the Iranian plateau for the first time in recorded history.
The Gujarati-speaking Parsi community accounts for the oldest sustained presence of Zoroastrianism in India, and is legally differentiated from the Dari-speaking Irani community on the basis of the era of their migration to the country.[15] Despite this legal distinction, the terms "Parsi" and "Zoroastrian" are commonly utilised interchangeably to denote both communities, which make up the world's largest Zoroastrian population. Notably, no substantial differences exist between Parsi and Irani religious principles, convictions, and customs.[16][17]
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