Persian words and phrases

Nowruz (, , ) is New Year's Day on the Iranian calendars, including the currently used Solar Hijri calendar. Historically, it has been observed by Iranian peoples, but is now celebrated by many Persianate cultures worldwide. It is a festival based on the Northern Hemisphere spring equinox, and thus usually coincides with a date between 19 March and 22 March on the Gregorian calendar.

thumb|upright|right|Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who ruled Iran from 1941 to 1979, was the last king to hold the title of shah before the Iranian monarchy was abolished by the [[Iranian Revolution.]]

highest deity and creator deity of Zoroastrianism

Naan () is a leavened, oven-baked or tawa-fried flatbread, that can also be baked in a tandoor. It is characterised by a light and fluffy texture and golden-brown spots from the baking process. Naan is used in many cuisines worldwide.

thumb|upright=1.3|The Grand Bazaar, Istanbul|Grand Bazaar in [[Istanbul, Turkey]] A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets that have doors on each end and served as a city's central marketplace.

thumb|300px|Alvin J. Johnson's map of Hindostan or British India, 1864

thumb|The Izadkhast Caravanserai|Izadkhast caravanserai (early 17th century), [[Fars province, Iran]]

The is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing . It is currently set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. The diamond originated in the Kollur mine in present day Andhra Pradesh, India. According to the colonial administrator Theo Metcalfe, there is "very meagre and imperfect" evidence of the early history of the Koh-i-Noor before the 1740s. There is no record of its original weight, but the earliest attested weight is 186 old carats (191 metric carats or 38.2 g). The first verifiable record of the diamond comes from a history by Muhammad Kazim Marvi of the 174

thumb|Girls planting trees in [[Mashhad on Arbor Day wearing chador]]

Padishah (; ) is a superlative sovereign title of Persian origin.

necropolis in Fars Province, Iranian national heritage site

archaeological site in Sistan and Baluchistan Province, Iran

thumb|330px|Multiple iwans and tiled domes of the 16th-century Persian-style Po-i-Kalyan#Mir-i Arab Madrassah|Mir-i-Arab madrasa, [[Bukhara, Uzbekistan]] An iwan (, also ivan or ivān/īvān; ) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called '''''', a Persian term for a portal projecting from the facade of a building, usually decorated with calligraphy bands, glazed tilework, and geometric designs. Since the definition allows for some interpretation, the overall forms and characteristics can vary greatly

river in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan

thumb|Rendition of the Faravahar, as imagined since the Median kingdom|Median Kingdom thumb|Relief depicting the Faravahar in the city of [[Persepolis, which served as the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire]]

Mazdak (, , also known as Mazdak Bamdadan; died c. 524 or 528) was an Iranian mobad (priest) and social reformer who rose to prominence during the reign of the Sasanian emperor Kavadh I. He instituted a religious and social movement known as Mazdakism, which preached a dualistic cosmology and social welfare programs, including the communal ownership of property and, controversially, women (interpreted by some scholars as a reaction against the harem system).

city in Golestan Province, Iran

The dutar (also dotar; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a traditional Iranian long-necked two-stringed lute found in Iran and Central Asia.

thumb|Two shatranj players in a detail from a Persian miniature painting of Bayasanghori Shahname made in 1430

structure used by Zoroastrians to dispose of their dead

handmade carpet from Iran

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thumb|right|1814 map of Persia during the Qajar dynasty, with [[scale bars in the bottom left corner for both British Statute Miles and "Persian Farsangs or Parasangs"]]

Daf (), also known as dâyere and riq, is an Iranian frame drum musical instrument, also used in popular and classical music in Persian-influenced South and Central Asia, such as in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkey many regions of Georgia, Armenia, Pakistan as well as in parts of India and Russian polar regions. It is also popular among Balkans, Caucasians, Bukharan Jews, Kurds, and Macedonians.

thumb|right|A traditional Kyrgyz Epic of Manas|manaschi performing part of the epic poem (dastan) at a yurt camp in [[Karakol]] Dastan () is an ornate form of oral history, an epic, from Central Asia, Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

palace in Isfahan, Iranian national heritage site

thumb |A Fat'h Ali Shah Qajar firman in Shekaste Nastaliq script, January 1831

fire jumping festival, celebrated in Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan

thumb|Audience in the Diwan-i-Khas granted to the French ambassador, the vicomte d'Andrezel by Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Sultan Ahmed III, 10 October 1724, in a contemporary painting by Jean-Baptiste van Mour.

Gundeshapur or Gondishapur or Jundishapur (, Weh-Andiōk-Ŝābuhr; ; ) was the intellectual centre of the Sasanian Empire founded by the Sasanian emperor Shapur I. Gundeshapur was home to a teaching hospital and had a library and an ancient higher-learning institution, the Academy of Gondishapur, which was the first and oldest university in human history. It has been identified with extensive ruins south of Jandi Shapur, a village 14 km southeast of Dezful, along the road to Shushtar in Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran.

thumb|An askari with an assegai at [[AFB Waterkloof, Pretoria, South Africa, January 1943.]] An askari or ascari (from Somali, Swahili, and Arabic , , meaning 'soldier' or 'military', also 'police' in Somali) was a local soldier serving in the armies of the European colonial powers in Africa, particularly in the African Great Lakes, Northeast Africa and Central Africa. The word is used in this sense in English, as well as in German, Italian, Urdu, and Portuguese. In French, the word is used only in reference to native troops outside the French colonial empire. The designation is still in occas

thumb|right|Georgian nobleman Constantine Gelovani wearing a chokha with military [[shoulder marks]] A chokha, also known as a cherkeska in Russian, is a woolen coat with a high neck that is part of the traditional male dress of the peoples of the Caucasus, as well as Terek and Kuban Cossacks of the former Russian Empire, who subsequently adopted it from the Native peoples of the Caucasus.

thumb|Prime Minister of Iran|Sardar-I-Azam, Prince [[Abdol Majid Mirza of Qajar Persia .]] right|thumb|Pakistani President Ayub Khan (general)|Ayub Khan and First Lady [[Jacqueline Kennedy with the prized gelding "Sardar".]] right|thumb|List of Ottoman Grand Viziers|Grand Vizier [[Ahmet Tevfik Pasha, the last Ottoman Serdar-ı Azam.]] right|thumb|Serdar (Ottoman rank)|Serdar [[Janko Vukotić of the Principality and Kingdom of Montenegro.]]

Mehregan () or Jashn-e Mehr ( Mithra Festival) is an Iranian festival celebrated to honor the Zarathustrian yazata Mithra (), which is responsible for friendship, affection and love.

rank of a high nobleman or prince

A parī or peri is a supernatural entity originating from Persian tales and distributed into wider Asian folklore. The parīs are often described as winged creatures of immense beauty who are structured in societies similar to that of humans. Unlike jinn, the parīs usually feature in tales involving supernatural elements.

Doab () is a term used in South Asia for the tract of land lying between two confluent rivers. It is similar to an interfluve. In the Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, R. S. McGregor refers to its Persian origin in defining it as do-āb (, literally "two [bodies of] water") "a region lying between and reaching to the confluence of two rivers." As per J. S. Grewal, a doab is "the inter-fluvial area between any two rivers".

ancient arch bridge-dam in Shushtar, Iran

thumb|upright=0.6|Syrian shamshir from the Royal Armoury, Stockholm A shamshir () is a type of Iranian sword with a radical curve. The name is derived from the Persian word shamshīr, which is made of two words sham ("fang") and shir ("lion"). The curved "scimitar" sword family includes the shamshir, kilij, talwar, pulwar, and nimcha.

thumb|right|300px|Yakhchāl of Moayedi, Iran A yakhchāl (; yakh meaning 'ice' and chāl meaning 'pit') is an ancient type of ice house, which also made ice. They are primarily found in the Dasht-e Lut and Dasht-e-Kavir deserts, whose climates range from cold (BWk) to hot (BWh) desert regions.

Khawaja () is an honorific title used across the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, particularly towards Sufi teachers.

Ustad, ustadh, ustaz or ustadz (abbreviated as Ust., Ut. or Ud.; from Persian ustād) is an honorific title used in West Asia, North Africa, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is used in various languages, including Persian, Arabic (as ’ustāḏ), Azerbaijani, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Dhivehi, Punjabi, Pashto, Turkish, Kazakh, Uzbek, Indonesian, Malay and Kurdish.

Shahmaran is a mythical creature, half-woman and half-snake, originating in Indo-Iranian and Turkic folklores.

Marzbān, or Marzpān (Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭫𐭱𐭰𐭠𐭭𐭯 transliteration: mrzwpn, derived from Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭫𐭱 marz "border, boundary" and the Middle Persian suffix: 𐭡𐭭𐭯 -pān "guardian"; Modern Persian: Marzbān) were a class of margraves, warden of the marches, and by extension military commanders, in charge of border provinces of the Parthian Empire (247 BC–224 AD) and mostly Sasanian Empire (224–651 AD) of Iran.

thumb|The pharaoh Djoser's ka statue peers out through the hole in his serdab, ready to receive the soul of the deceased and any offerings presented to it. A serdab (), which became a loanword in Arabic for 'cellar', is an ancient Egyptian tomb structure that served as a chamber for the ka statue of a deceased individual. Used during the Old Kingdom, the serdab was a sealed chamber with a small slit or hole to allow the soul of the deceased to move about freely. These holes also let in the smells of the offerings presented to the statue.

genre of Persian food, made with egg as a binder and another ingredient

Khoresh () or khoresht () is a Persian word that refers to Iranian stews, usually slow-cooked and served with rice. Khoresh comes in many varieties, often named after their main ingredients. The word is a substantive of the verb khordan (), "to eat", and literally means "meal".

thumb|Depiction of farang as a stone guard at Wat Pho in [[Bangkok; circa 1824–1851]]

Diwan is a term originally used in Persian, Arabic, and Turkish with derivatives in other Asian and European languages such as diwaan, dewan, etc. (see etymology sections at Divan, Diwan (poetry) and Dewan). These terms may refer to:

thumb|Cover of Seyahatname by Evliya Çelebi, 1895 edition

Sufi master or spiritual guide

legendary royal standard of Persia

thumb|right|200px|Imperial arms of Shahbanu Farah of Iran thumb|1972 portrait of Farah Pahlavi, describing her as Shahbanu Farah Shahbanu () was a title for empress regnant or empress consort in Persian and other Iranian languages. The title was specifically used by Farah Pahlavi (a.k.a. Farah Diba), the wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last reigning Shah of Iran (Persia).

Armenian language term for an administrative territorial entity

thumb|368x368px|Modern reconstruction of a late Sassanian era "Spahbed" or Military Commander

exonym of the indigenous pre-Islamic inhabitants of Anatolia

Ganjnameh () is located 12 km southwest of Hamadan (ancient Ecbatana) in western Iran, at an altitude of meters across Mount Alvand. The site is home to two trilingual Achaemenid royal inscriptions. The inscription on the upper left was created on the order of Achaemenid King Darius the Great (522–486 BC) and the one on the right by his son King Xerxes the Great (486–465 BC).

In traditional Persian architecture, a howz () is a centrally positioned symmetrical axis pool. If in a traditional house or private courtyard, it is used for bathing, aesthetics or both. If in a sahn of a mosque, it is used for performing ablutions. A howz is usually around deep. It may be used as a "theatre" for people to sit on all sides of the pool while others entertain.

thumb|The Tomb of Salim Chishti at [[Fatehpur Sikri, India was built in 1581 during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar.]]

Iranian holiday