List of Parsis

This is a list of Parsis with a Wikipedia article. The Parsis constitute one of the two Zoroastrian communities of the Indian subcontinent.

In science and industry

Parsi

Parsi /ˈpɑːrsiː/ (or Parsee) is one of two Zoroastrian communities (the other being Iranis) primarily located in South Asia. According to the Qissa-i Sanjan, Parsis migrated from Greater Iran to Gujarat and Sindh between the 8th and 10th century CE to avoid the persecution of Zoroastrians by Muslim invaders who invaded Iran.

At the time of the Muslim conquest of Persia, the dominant religion of the region (which was ruled by the Sasanian Empire) was Zoroastrianism. Iranians rebelled against Arab invaders for almost 200 years; in Iran this period is now known as the "Two Centuries of Silence" or "Period of Silence". During this time many Iranians who are now called Parsi chose to preserve their religious identity by fleeing from Iran to India.

The word پارسیان (pronounced "Barsian.") "Parsi" in the Persian language literally means Persian. Persian is the official language of modern Iran, which was formerly known as Persia, and the Persian language's endonym is Farsi, an arabization of the word Parsi.