Huwala
Encyclopedia
The Huwala (Arabic: الهولة) meaning "Those that have changed or moved". Originally the "Huwala" word is Arabic, but since Persian does not contain the pharyngeal fricative "ح" present in Arabic, it pronounced it Huwala. Huwala are the descendants of Sunni Arabs who moved from the Arabian Peninsula to Iran, when it was ruled by Arabs, and the word is also mistakenly used to call Sunni Persians who migrated from Persia, or Iran
to the Arabian peninsula. The Huwala are much different from the Sunni Persians who also have migrated from their "Original" Homeland "Persia" to Arabia. Except that the two ethnicity share the same Islamic Sunni faith. The Huwala were groups of Sunni Arabs who migrated from the Eastern coast of the Arabian peninsula
and Oman
in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to the Iranian side of the Persian Gulf
.
Some other Arabs left the Arabian peninsula to Iran for hunting and vacations as well as doing business because of the proximity of the Persian coast. And this journey began since the arrival of Islam
in Persia. It may be suggested that they were heading for Iran for some religious intentions, such as teaching the Qur'an
and the Sunni faith, while other argue they moved there to have a better life from the desert, however those facts are unclear.
Of the Arabs that were moving to Iran, some actually turned to be businessmen while some had a better life and settled in Iran for decades, others were left there since the arrival of Islam and the victory over the Persian Empire. They went to live in some Persian ports like Bandar Lengeh
and Bandar Charak
, both of them were ports in the south east coast of Iran, in the Hormozgan Province
, indeed those Arabs there were Persianized as some may suggest since those ports were consisting of mix races, hence many of them had huge influence from the Persian culture and Language.
However after some Persians sought moving from Iran to the Arabian peninsula due to many different reasosn such as job opportunities and Pearl Diving as well as business, many Persians both Shia and Sunni moved to the GCC countries at the time, but the confusing issue was the true identity of the Sunni Persians and Huwala. However both of them were favored by the Arab rulers of the Arabian peninsula since they had the same Sunni faith, but obviously the most one whom were favored were the original Huwala Arabs themselves.
coastal regions during the Tea trade from the 17th through the 19th century. For example, in a dated record about the arrival of the Al-Khalifa tribe in Bahrain
, it states that the city of Manama
was under the control of “the Bani Huwala” (a general term used in the Arabic memoir or a coalition of tribes instead of one or another). The "Bani Huwala" then surrendered the city to the Al-Khalifa family in 1783. The strongest evidence of Huwala presence in the Bahrain was that the Al Jaboor who are the tribe with the most power and written history of the Huwalas, were ruling the Shia population of Bahrain when they were finally defeated by the Portuguese in 1521. Though the Sunni Persian empire of the time had aided the tribe to control the island at the time, the Portuguese were able to keep Iranian control away from the country for the while they remained.
The most recent influx of Huwala to the now known as GCC countries is during the 1960s. Iran
under the Shah was strict regarding different ethnic groups and maintained censuses on them. Arabs especially were kept on a close watch. Most of the Arabian tribes were exiled from various ports and villages of Iran. One inviting country was Bahrain
, which had a need for more Sunni Muslims as the country was mainly Shia and was ruled by a Sunni family that came from Saudi Arabia. It was also a country that had a fairly large Huwala community that existed on the island beforehand. Though there was a difference between the variety of people that had come during different times, the term “huwala” began to be used generally for all Sunni Muslims that had connections with Iran, especially after the Iranian Revolution, which brought about anti-shia tensions to the GCC nation states, uniting those that were Sunni. You will mainly hear this term used in Bahrain, though Oman and the UAE has a large number of these families living amongst them.
List of Arabian tribes who lived in some places in Persia:
Other prominent Sunni Persian families in the Arab Gulf states who are usually categorized as Huwala include:
Iran still has some big cities which include Sunni Muslims, else of Bandar Lengeh and Bandar Charak there is Ahvaz
near the Iraqi border and Mashhad
except that the latter two cities didn't have the Huwala whom only travelled to the west coast of Persia, Ahvaz especially had and still has Arabs from Iraq. there are still Sunni mosques in both Bandar Lengeh and Bandar Charak.
The other groups whom arrived to Arabia were original Sunni Persians. Their villages are many and can still be located mostly in the Fars Province as well as Hormozgan Province
. And these locations obviously still has Sunni mosques up until now. In later years Some of the those Sunni Persians left Iran to the GCC countries to work or to make Business
, many of them moved to the GCC countries in the same period when the Arabian Huwala tribes were exiled from Iran, thus creating a confusing issue of how to distinguish between Persians and Arabs, since both had the same faith and Persian Language as well as influence.
Of the reasons Sunni Persians left for the Arabian peninsula, was that most had the anti-religious pressure of Iran's former king Muhammad Reza Shah. The Shah forced everyone to accept his liberal
ideas or what he called it the White Revolution, and he disliked religious people from both faiths.
Under his father, Reza Shah
, women were ordered to lose the scarves. This led many to leave Persia, both Shia and Sunni Persians, not only to the Arabian peninsula, but to other parts of the world too. But because the GCC countries were the nearest point, it was the Persians first choice to leave for. It had also many job opportunities by that time so they could start a new life. One of the famous people to leave Iran in that period too, was Iran's former leader Ruhollah Khomeini
who was opposing the White Revolution
by that time, which meant that both Sunni and Shia Muslims were facing exile due to the Shah's regime.
Until recently, Iran official census still shows such coastal areas as mostly populated by Arabic ethnic people which confirms origins of Huwala that migrated back to Arabia are Arabs since they lived in same areas. This however is useful to distinguish between sunni Persians and Sunni Arabs in Iran.
Many of the other Sunni Persians, or at least most of them, claimed to be Huwala or "originally Arabs" too. The reason was that at the beginning of their arrival to the Persian Gulf countries, they weren't accepted that much, and were to many foreigners, or as what the Arab call them "Ajams" (Arabic: عجم) which means in Arabic a foreigner or whom didn't speak Arabic.
. They speak a dialect of Persian sometimes referred to as Khodmoni. However today, many Huwala families have become "Arabized" such that relatively few of them speak Persian, or even retain a separate identity. Traditionally, the Huwala have practiced the Shafi`i school of jurisprudence when it comes to Islamic rites, in contrast to the Maliki
school practiced by most of the tribal Arabs of the Gulf centres. Mahyawa
is a fish sauce is that is regarded as being an essential item of Huwala cuisine.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
to the Arabian peninsula. The Huwala are much different from the Sunni Persians who also have migrated from their "Original" Homeland "Persia" to Arabia. Except that the two ethnicity share the same Islamic Sunni faith. The Huwala were groups of Sunni Arabs who migrated from the Eastern coast of the Arabian peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
and Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to the Iranian side of the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
.
Terminology and origins
The word Huwala (Arabic: الهولة) or (Arabic: حولة - متحولين ام عرب فارس بشكل عام) also means those who have moved from location to another. However the Huwala naming was meant mainly for the Arabs who lived in parts of current day Iran when those parts were ruled by Arabs. Such parts includes the majority of Iranian islands and portions of the coast all the way from the north to the south excluding cost in Arab sea which mainly constituted of Beluch tribes. Arab ruling of these parts started with Omar bin Al Khatab (second Khalif after Mohammed) commanded for his armies to invade Persia from the sea with help of the Oman navy at that time which was mainly constituted of Azd tribes. Later ruling was carried by an Adnani Arabic tribe of Al Qawasim after taking over the east coast. Al busaeed during handful of year from Al Marazeq state in main Iran land, AlMaean ruling in Qishem island before arrival of Qwasim etc. Arabs are clearly distinguished by their long sequence names of Arabic origin (self, father, grandfather, great grandfather, .......etc., tribe).Some other Arabs left the Arabian peninsula to Iran for hunting and vacations as well as doing business because of the proximity of the Persian coast. And this journey began since the arrival of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
in Persia. It may be suggested that they were heading for Iran for some religious intentions, such as teaching the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
and the Sunni faith, while other argue they moved there to have a better life from the desert, however those facts are unclear.
Of the Arabs that were moving to Iran, some actually turned to be businessmen while some had a better life and settled in Iran for decades, others were left there since the arrival of Islam and the victory over the Persian Empire. They went to live in some Persian ports like Bandar Lengeh
Bandar Lengeh
Bandar Lengeh is a harbor city in, and capital of Bandar-Lengeh County, in Hormozgan province of Iran on the coast of the Persian Gulf. The harbor is 280 km from Lar, 192 km from Bandar Abbas, and 420 km from Bushehr. The weather in Bandar Lengeh is hot and humid, typical of coastal...
and Bandar Charak
Bandar Charak
Bandar Charak is a coastal city in and the capital of Shibkaveh District, in Bandar-Lengeh County, Hormozgan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 2,958, in 609 families.- References :...
, both of them were ports in the south east coast of Iran, in the Hormozgan Province
Hormozgan Province
Hormozgan Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the south of the country, facing Oman. Its area is , and its provincial capital is Bandar Abbas...
, indeed those Arabs there were Persianized as some may suggest since those ports were consisting of mix races, hence many of them had huge influence from the Persian culture and Language.
However after some Persians sought moving from Iran to the Arabian peninsula due to many different reasosn such as job opportunities and Pearl Diving as well as business, many Persians both Shia and Sunni moved to the GCC countries at the time, but the confusing issue was the true identity of the Sunni Persians and Huwala. However both of them were favored by the Arab rulers of the Arabian peninsula since they had the same Sunni faith, but obviously the most one whom were favored were the original Huwala Arabs themselves.
Huwala Tribes
The original Huwala tribes that left Arabia to Iran were mainly from the Bani Tamim, Bani Malek, Bani Aubaidel, Al Manaser, Al Haram, Al- Nesor, Bani Bushor and Al Marazeeq tribes. Many of these tribes had moved to the now known as GCCCooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf , also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council , is a political and economic union of the Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf and constituting the Arabian Peninsula, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates...
coastal regions during the Tea trade from the 17th through the 19th century. For example, in a dated record about the arrival of the Al-Khalifa tribe in Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, it states that the city of Manama
Manama
Manama is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 155,000 people.Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very diverse population...
was under the control of “the Bani Huwala” (a general term used in the Arabic memoir or a coalition of tribes instead of one or another). The "Bani Huwala" then surrendered the city to the Al-Khalifa family in 1783. The strongest evidence of Huwala presence in the Bahrain was that the Al Jaboor who are the tribe with the most power and written history of the Huwalas, were ruling the Shia population of Bahrain when they were finally defeated by the Portuguese in 1521. Though the Sunni Persian empire of the time had aided the tribe to control the island at the time, the Portuguese were able to keep Iranian control away from the country for the while they remained.
The most recent influx of Huwala to the now known as GCC countries is during the 1960s. Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
under the Shah was strict regarding different ethnic groups and maintained censuses on them. Arabs especially were kept on a close watch. Most of the Arabian tribes were exiled from various ports and villages of Iran. One inviting country was Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, which had a need for more Sunni Muslims as the country was mainly Shia and was ruled by a Sunni family that came from Saudi Arabia. It was also a country that had a fairly large Huwala community that existed on the island beforehand. Though there was a difference between the variety of people that had come during different times, the term “huwala” began to be used generally for all Sunni Muslims that had connections with Iran, especially after the Iranian Revolution, which brought about anti-shia tensions to the GCC nation states, uniting those that were Sunni. You will mainly hear this term used in Bahrain, though Oman and the UAE has a large number of these families living amongst them.
List of Arabian tribes who lived in some places in Persia:
- Al Ali
- Al S'aie Family.
- Al 'Abadela tribe.
- Al Hamad tribe.
- Al Jaboor tribe. Parts of this tribe became known as Al Nassour Tribe. They originated in Saudi Arabia and then went on to rule Bahrain before moving to Persia. In Persia, the Al Nassour became the ruling family of Kangaan in the province of BushehrBushehrBushehr Bushehr lies in a vast plain running along the coastal region on the Persian Gulf coast of southwestern Iran. It is the chief seaport of the country and the administrative centre of its province. Its location is about south of Tehran. The local climate is hot and humid.The city...
; however, after the Islamic revolution they moved to and are currently living in Abu-Dhabi, UAE. Their last Sheikh was Sheikh Soleiman Bin Hatam Al-Nassour, grandson of Shaikh Jabbara (Ruler of Bahrain - Please See External Links Below). They have had and still hold close ties with the current Bahraini ruling family too. - Al Matareesh tribe.
- Al 'Abadi tribe.
- Al Haram tribe.
- Al Ansari tribe (some of them are original Arabs while the other are Persians).
- Al Ka'abi tribe (Khuzestan of Iran).
- Al MarzooqiAL marzooqiThe Al Marzooqi family descends from the Al Bu sultan section of the a highly respected and authoritative tribal federation that was the dominant power throughout most of what is now....
tribe (Independent state on the shore). - Al Bosaidi Tribe (ruled Qishm Island for short periods when it was acquired from Al Qawasims).
- Al Mora tribe (Morah Island).
- Al Bosmait (Bandar LengehBandar LengehBandar Lengeh is a harbor city in, and capital of Bandar-Lengeh County, in Hormozgan province of Iran on the coast of the Persian Gulf. The harbor is 280 km from Lar, 192 km from Bandar Abbas, and 420 km from Bushehr. The weather in Bandar Lengeh is hot and humid, typical of coastal...
). - Al Jaber family
- Al Jaidah Family
- Al Hermi Family
Other prominent Sunni Persian families in the Arab Gulf states who are usually categorized as Huwala include:
- Kooheji family from KohejKohejKohej is a village in the Hormozgān Province of Iran. The Kooheji business family conglomerate of Bahrain and the Arab Gulf states originally hail from this village....
- Janahi family from JenahJenahJenah is a city in and the capital of Jenah District, in Bastak County, Hormozgan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 5,636, in 1,322 families.Jenah's inhabitants speak janahi, a dialect of Persian.- References :...
- KanooKanooKanoo is the family name of an Arab business family, controlling the Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo Group. The family is based in Bahrain, and has wings in several Persian Gulf countries controlling the family's business interests.-History:...
family - Khonji family of KhonjKhonjKhonj is a city in and the capital of Khonj County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 19,347, in 3,353 families. It is located at an altitude of ....
- Bastaki family of BastakBastakBastak is a city in and the capital of Bastak County, Hormozgan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 8,376, in 1,765 families....
- Al Awadhi family of EvazEvazEvaz is a city in and the capital of Evaz District, in Larestan County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 14,315, in 3,297 families....
- Abbasi family (see also House of Al KhanHouse of Al KhanThe House of Al Khan can also be written al-khan. The Sons of Al Khan of Bahrain and Ad Dammam in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia...
) - Al Moayyed family (namesake of the Almoayyed TowerAlmoayyed TowerAlmoayyed Tower , is commercial skyscraper located in the Seef neighborhood of Bahraini capital Manama. The tower is regular four-sided structure, with a height of . Almoayyed consists mostly of office and business complexes. It was a tallest tower in Bahrain until the Bahrain Financial Harbour,...
and a branch of the KanooKanooKanoo is the family name of an Arab business family, controlling the Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo Group. The family is based in Bahrain, and has wings in several Persian Gulf countries controlling the family's business interests.-History:...
family) - Zainal family
- Foolath family
- Galadari family of Galadar
- Al Khaja family
- Bucheeri family (Some members of this family in BahrainBahrain' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
use Al Hammadi as a surname)
Ethnicity confusion with Persians
Ironically, some people still think that all of the Sunni Persians in Iran are from Arabian descent, thanks to the arrival of the Huwala and Sunni Persians to Arabia and their claims to be Arabs, of which is wrong.Iran still has some big cities which include Sunni Muslims, else of Bandar Lengeh and Bandar Charak there is Ahvaz
Ahvaz
-History:For a more comprehensive historical treatment of the area, see the history section of Khūzestān Province.-Ancient history:Ahvaz is the anagram of "Avaz" and "Avaja" which appear in Darius's epigraph...
near the Iraqi border and Mashhad
Mashhad
Mashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its...
except that the latter two cities didn't have the Huwala whom only travelled to the west coast of Persia, Ahvaz especially had and still has Arabs from Iraq. there are still Sunni mosques in both Bandar Lengeh and Bandar Charak.
The other groups whom arrived to Arabia were original Sunni Persians. Their villages are many and can still be located mostly in the Fars Province as well as Hormozgan Province
Hormozgan Province
Hormozgan Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the south of the country, facing Oman. Its area is , and its provincial capital is Bandar Abbas...
. And these locations obviously still has Sunni mosques up until now. In later years Some of the those Sunni Persians left Iran to the GCC countries to work or to make Business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
, many of them moved to the GCC countries in the same period when the Arabian Huwala tribes were exiled from Iran, thus creating a confusing issue of how to distinguish between Persians and Arabs, since both had the same faith and Persian Language as well as influence.
Of the reasons Sunni Persians left for the Arabian peninsula, was that most had the anti-religious pressure of Iran's former king Muhammad Reza Shah. The Shah forced everyone to accept his liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
ideas or what he called it the White Revolution, and he disliked religious people from both faiths.
Under his father, Reza Shah
Reza Shah
Rezā Shāh, also known as Rezā Shāh Pahlavi and Rezā Shāh Kabir , , was the Shah of the Imperial State of Iran from December 15, 1925, until he was forced to abdicate by the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran on September 16, 1941.In 1925, Reza Shah overthrew Ahmad Shah Qajar, the last Shah of the Qajar...
, women were ordered to lose the scarves. This led many to leave Persia, both Shia and Sunni Persians, not only to the Arabian peninsula, but to other parts of the world too. But because the GCC countries were the nearest point, it was the Persians first choice to leave for. It had also many job opportunities by that time so they could start a new life. One of the famous people to leave Iran in that period too, was Iran's former leader Ruhollah Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini
Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini was an Iranian religious leader and politician, and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran...
who was opposing the White Revolution
White Revolution
The White Revolution was a far-reaching series of reforms in Iran launched in 1963 by the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Mohammad Reza Shah’s reform program was built especially to strengthen those classes that supported the traditional system...
by that time, which meant that both Sunni and Shia Muslims were facing exile due to the Shah's regime.
Until recently, Iran official census still shows such coastal areas as mostly populated by Arabic ethnic people which confirms origins of Huwala that migrated back to Arabia are Arabs since they lived in same areas. This however is useful to distinguish between sunni Persians and Sunni Arabs in Iran.
Many of the other Sunni Persians, or at least most of them, claimed to be Huwala or "originally Arabs" too. The reason was that at the beginning of their arrival to the Persian Gulf countries, they weren't accepted that much, and were to many foreigners, or as what the Arab call them "Ajams" (Arabic: عجم) which means in Arabic a foreigner or whom didn't speak Arabic.
Culture
Most of the Huwala families lived in the urban centres of the Gulf states and established themselves as trading business families, making use of their networks across the Gulf. In the Bahraini city of Manama, many settled in the neighbourhood of AwadhiyaAwadhiya
Awadhiya is a neighborhood of Manama, the capital city of Bahrain. It lies roughly between Ras Rumman and Hoora, while the Manama Souq lies to Awadhiya's west. The neighborhood was originally settled by merchants of Iranian Huwala origin, especially from Ahvaz and Bastak. Today the area is a busy...
. They speak a dialect of Persian sometimes referred to as Khodmoni. However today, many Huwala families have become "Arabized" such that relatively few of them speak Persian, or even retain a separate identity. Traditionally, the Huwala have practiced the Shafi`i school of jurisprudence when it comes to Islamic rites, in contrast to the Maliki
Maliki
The ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
school practiced by most of the tribal Arabs of the Gulf centres. Mahyawa
Mahyawa
-History:It is originally from the southern coastal regions of Iran, but has become a popular food item in the Persian Gulf Arab states, brought by the migration of the Persian Huwala and Ajam communities to the region. It is typically served on top of khubz .It is usually sold at Iranian bread...
is a fish sauce is that is regarded as being an essential item of Huwala cuisine.
See also
- BaharnaBaharnaThe Bahrani are the indigenous Shi'a inhabitants of the archipelago of Bahrain and the oasis of Qatif on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia . The term is sometimes also extended to the Shi'a inhabitants of the al-Hasa oasis. They are all Arabic speaking, and some claim descent from Arab tribes...
- History of BahrainHistory of BahrainBahrain is a island country in the Persian Gulf. Although Bahrain became an independent country in 1971, the history of these islands starts from ancient times...
- Persian peoplePersian peopleThe Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
- History of Arabs in AfghanistanHistory of Arabs in AfghanistanThe history of Arabs in Afghanistan spans over one millennium, from the 7th century Islamic conquest when Arab ghazis arrived with their Islamic mission until recently when others from the Arab world arrived to defend fellow Muslims from the Soviet followed by their liberation by NATO forces...
- Ajam (Bahrain)Ajam (Bahrain)The Iranians in Bahrain or Ajam are a community of Persians in Bahrain. They have traditionally been merchants living in a specific quarters of Manama and Muharraq. They mostly adhere to the Shia sect of Islam, while a very small minority follow the Bahai faith...