Farsiwan

Farsiwan

Fārsīwān (Persian: فارسیوان‎; or its regional forms: Pārsīwān or Pārsībān; "Persian-speaker") is a designation for Persian-speakers in Afghanistan. Although the term was originally coined with Persian language's lexical root (Pārsībān), the suffix has been transformed into a Pashto form (-wān), and is usually utilized by the Pashtuns in Afghanistan to designate the Persian-speakers.

More specifically, it is used to refer to a distinct group of farmers and urban dwellers who are a subgroup within the Tajik population of Afghanistan. The term excludes the Hazāra and Aymāq tribes who also speak dialects of Persian, but are generally believed to be distinct from the Tajiks. In Afghanistan, the Farsiwan are found predominantly in Herat and Farah provinces. Locally, they are also known as Fārsī (or Pārsī; literally meaning "Persian") and are roughly the same as the Persians of Eastern Iran.