History of Persian Language

Linguists believe that the languages of the world today are divided into three parts:

First – a syllable section: (a syllable) and these types of languages ​​are called root languages.
Because the words of these languages ​​are just a root, syllables are not added to the beginning or the end. Chinese, Anami, and Siamese are considered to belong to this category. In’s languages, the number of words is limited, as they say, the Chinese do not have to go back and forth to express their thoughts, or to understand their meaning by changing the tone and melody of the word. .

Second – Attached languages ​​section: These languages ​​are not a syllable. What in the words of this language is added to the main root when deriving syllables. But the root of adding syllables never changes. And it does not touch, and whatever is added to it is added to its end. People who speak their language include:

1 – Ural and Altai people who are a branch of the yellow race. Like the Mongols, Tatars, Turks, Donghuz, Finns, Samoids, and most of the inhabitants of Siberia and the Qabchaq plain
2 – Japanese people and Koreans
3 – Dravidians and Basques of the Indian people
4 – Between America ‌
5 – The people of Nubia (southern Egypt in Africa) are the people of Hutta Tutta, the infidel and black people of Africa.
6 – Australian people

Third – Connected languages ​​section: In these languages, syllables are added to the root and material of words, but not only to the end of the root, but also to the end and the beginning of each other. Another is that the root of the word changes as it increases. It is as if the root has been welded and bonded to what has been added to it. Unlike the attached language, which because the root does not change, the syllables that are added to the root are as if they were attached to the root and not joined to it.

Linked Languages:
A. Semitic languages ​​such as Hebrew, Arabic and Aramaic, which were later called Syriac, and in the Old Testament the Phoenician, Babylonian and Assyrian languages, and the language of the “Qartajneh” people, which were branches of the Phoenicians and the Himara language.

B. The languages ​​of the Indo-European peoples, including: Aryans of India – Aryans of Iran – Greeks – Italians – Men of Celtic (Western European natives) German (German and Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian peoples) – Latvian, Lithuanian and Slavic (Russian and Slavic Eastern Europe and the people of Bulgaria, Serbia and other Balkan Slavs). Linguists believe that the languages ​​of the third part have passed from the stages of the languages ​​of the first and second parts in the past and have reached this level. That is, these languages ​​have evolved independently and reached the stage we are now seeing.

Persian Language
Persian is a language spoken today by most people in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and parts of India, Turkestan, the Caucasus, and Mesopotamia, writing letters and composing poetry.

The history of the Iranian language is clear and up to seven hundred years before Christ, and even before that, we know from other scientific knowledge that in the vast land of Iran, a land from Khorasan (east) to the border of Tibet and the sands of Turkestan, China and To the southeast it joined the Punjab, and from the noon (south) to Sindh and the Persian Gulf and the Sea of ​​Oman, and from the north to the Scythians and Sarmatians (southern Russia today) to the Danube and Greece, and from the west to Syria and the Hejaz and Yemen plains. ; People spoke the language that is the root and origin of our language today.

The Persian prophet Zarathustra says that the Iranians migrated from a land called “Iran Vij” which was specific to the Iranians, due to the severe cold and the appearance of demonic spirits, and entered the land of Iran. Other scientists have found that the Iria tribe originated in their homeland, some to Iran, some to Punjab, and some to Europe, where they worked in agriculture and shepherding. And the language of the people of Iran, India and Europe are all branches from which it has sprung up and again every branch has cut another branch and each branch has fulfilled a different leaf and fruit.

In ethnography, the people of Europe have been divided into eight branches, and their language has been considered a principle in the way it has gone.

We have nothing to do with other languages ​​here, because that science itself is open to other knowledge which it calls linguistics and jurisprudence. We need to know the history of our mother tongue from the day our ancestors came to this land to what it has been and what it has become and what its developments and revolutions have been, so we go back to the oldest languages ​​of Iran.

Material Language
The oldest relic of the life of our ancient ancestors. It is called “Avesta”. Which includes religious poems, religious rulings and historical content that Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh is a diagram. And the historical contents of that book go from “Kiomars” to the time of “Goshtasb Shah”, and the kingdom of Apardate (Pishdadian), Koyan (Kian) and the time of seven gods with the invasion of aliens, such as: Ajidhak (Zahak) and Frasiak Tour (Afrasiab) Explains leaving until the arrival of Zoroaster Sepitman.

In these narrations, it is said everywhere that the field of political, social and literary communication of Iran has never stopped and the language of this country joins the oldest historical or prehistoric languages ​​and “Gathe Zoroaster” is the oldest example of those languages.

But what emerges from the histories of Iran, Rome, the writings of Samg, and other histories of the neighboring peoples, the historical period of Iran does not go beyond the Medes, whom the Greeks call Madi and in Dari, “Mai” and “Mah”. And it is obvious that the language of the Medes or the moon was a language that was no different from the language of the later period, which is the language of the Achaemenid kings, because whenever the language of the Medes, who were a large part of Iranians and the most important Aryan settlers at that time, was different from Achaemenid Persian. . In any case, “Cyrus”, “Darius”, etc. in their inscriptions, which are in three languages, Persian, Assyrian and Elamite, also added material language so that a large part of the people of their country would not fail to understand those manuscripts.

Hence, it is certain that its material language was the language of ancient Persian or close to it and an accent of that language. And it begins with the names of the kings of the Medes, such as “Farawart”, “Khashtarit”, “Furvartish”, “Huvashkhashtra”, “Astyak – Aji Dahak”, “Arti Sess – Arte Yas – Arte Kas A”. “Espada”, which is Sepad and Sepah, is also known as one of these two languages.

Herodotus mentions the nanny of Cyrus I as saying that his name was “Supaco”, then mentions that “Sepaco” in the material language is called the female dog, and it is known that the dog’s name was “Sepak”. And (wow) the end of this word is the letter of femininity. That this word still remains in the word Banoo and in Pesro, Dadu, Dokhtro and Kako as a diminution or out of compassion and compassion, one of the men of that time was also called (Sepaka) which is the male word of Sepako.

Some scholars believe that the goth of Zoroaster is in material language. Also, some believe that Kurdish, which is one of the branches of the Iranian language, is one of the remnants of the Med language. For example, since to this day no stone or pottery inscription has been found from the Medes, it is not possible to say much about that language unless something is discovered from now on. And more knowledge of this language will open the face of human information.

Avesta and Zand
Another language is Avesta. The Avesta is originally “opestak” meaning solid and solid foundation. It is an allusion to the verses of the courts and the Shari’a and it is similar to the adjective. In “Tarikh Tabari” and other earlier historians, “Abstaq” and “Afstaq” have been recorded. And in the Dari language, “Ousta – Osta – Osta – Vost – Ost” is seen in disagreement and is mentioned everywhere with the word “Zand”. The last cuff of “Opstak”, which is like the cuff of “Danak” and “Tavanak”, is omitted in Dari, and the correct pronunciation of this word should be “Opesta”, but in imitation of the poets who have necessarily abbreviated this word, we use that word. ” We read “Osta”.

But the word Zand comes from Azanti “Azanti” and means report and translation, and Zand means Pahlavi books in which the Avesta was first translated into the language, and Pazand stands for “Pat Zand”, which is combined with the prefix “Pat”. It means to re-report or translate and translate Zand into pure Dari language.

Pazand are the manuscripts that have translated Zand into Avestan script and into Dari Persian language, and therefore the later ones call Avestan script Pazand script.

Part of the Avesta consisted of an ode (hymns) to a syllable poem in praise of Ormazd and other Aryan gods (Amshaspantan) who had a subordinate or manifestation to Ormazd and the one great God. And there are references in expressing the foundation of creation and the existence of Kiomars and cows, the first “Iodaz” and the killing of cows and Kiomers by Ahrman and the discovery of Kiomers seeds under the soil in the form of two plants whose names are (Mehri and Mehryani – male and male). – Malhi and Malhaniyeh – Mish and Mishaneh – according to different narrations). And historians consider it to be of the genus “rhubarb” and apparently they mean the famous “plant seal”. And also has contents in the kingdom of Houshang (Hooshang), Tahmourth, Jamshid, Zahak (Dragon), Fereydoun, Salm, Tour, Iraj, Manouchehr, Kiqbad, Kaus, Siavakhsh, Kaykhosrow, Afrasiab, Lohrasb, Goshtasb, Zarathustra, Zarathustra family, collective Other Turanian and Iranian ministers and families, as well as orads, prayers, supplications, religious rulings, scattered instructions in religious rites and terms, and the like. And it is clear that this book is not the work of one person or parts of the Avesta were written later and it is said that “Gathe” is the oldest part of the Avesta and other parts are not as old.

Here is a description of the collection of Avesta from various narrations and Pahlavi documents:
It is said that the Old Avesta had 815 seasons. Divided into 21 verses or books, and in the Sassanid era, after compiling the Avesta, 348 chapters were obtained from it, which were also divided into 21 verses. And the scholars have estimated the 21 Sassanid dynasties to be 345,700 words. And of these, today 83,000 words exist in the current Avesta and the rest have been plundered.

There is a narration in the books of tradition, including Dinkret. And in the letter of “Tensor” to Shah Mazandaran, it is also mentioned. And the Arab historian Mas’udi and a number of other Islamic historians have also quoted that “Alexander” wrote the Avesta after the conquest of “Istkhr” on twelve thousand cow skins; He translated and translated its scientific material from medicine, astronomy and philosophy into Greek and sent it to Greece and burn the book yourself.

And Dinkert, which is one of the ancient books of Pahlavi, says: “دارای دارایان هَماک اَپستاک و زندچی گون زرتوهشت هَچ اَوْهر مزد پَتْ گرپت ونپشتک دوپچین یَوکْ پَتْ گنچی شپیکان (شسپیکان- ن.ل) یِوک پَتْ دِچْوی نَپَشْت داشتن پرمود”.

In the book “The Camels of Iran” he says: «اَنیک زرتشت دین آورد از فرمان و شتاسپ شه هزار و دوست فَرْکَرْت پَتْ دین دیپوریه پت تختکیهاء زرین کرت و نپشت و پت گنچ هان اتهش نیهاذ و انیک کجستک سکندر سوهت و اندر او دریاپ فکند دینکرتی هپت خذایان.»

It means: “The other has a son, all of whom keep Avesta and Zand as Zoroaster accepted and wrote from Jupiter, in two copies, one said to Ganj Shaygan and one to Dejanpasht, (another narration) one thousand two hundred ovens (chapter) with this secretary He installed it on the golden boards and wrote it down and set fire to its treasure. “So the accursed Alexander Dinkret burned the seven gods and threw them into the sea.”

It is said that the first person to reunite the Avesta after the accursed Alexander and revive the ancient religion of Mazdisna was the Parthian “Valakhsh”. (51-78 BC) Valakhsh is what we call “Blash”. Among the Parthians, the five emperors are known by this name, says Dar Mustar, that the one who rounded the Avesta must have been the first Valakhsh, because he was a religious man. And some have thought that this is the third emperor who ruled from (148 to 191 BC).

After the Parthian conquest, Ardeshir Babakan, the founder of the Sassanid government, established the politics and kingdom of Iran on religion. And combined religion and state and the religion of Zoroaster, which is often strongly suspected that the Parthians had the same religion; The official ritual of Iran. And he did it wisely to others. Because that period was considered a period of the strength of religion and the beginning of the influence of religiosity due to the strengthening of Christianity in Iran and Rome, as it was seen later that it appeared from Mani and then Mazdak appeared and it was not long before Prophet Mohammad (ص) appeared.

Another reason for Ardeshir’s religious bigotry was that his fathers and ancestors were, according to the princes and leaders of the Zoroastrian religion. “Papak” who, according to his father and according to his father, was Ardeshir’s mother; He was one of the local rulers of Persia and one of the great ones who were the remnants of the rulers and kings of the “Parthians” of Persia. The Persian kings of Persia, the first of whom is “Bagh-e-Kurt” and then (Bagh-e-Dat) and the last of which is “Papak”, all ruled in Persia and part of India, and struck coins and stamped on their coins. The fire temple and the flag (four-cornered flag), which may be the flag of Kavian, have been seen, and the king is standing in front of the fire temple with “Panam”, which is a special cover of worship.

These kings were puppets of the Parthians. From the time of Alexander and the caliphs of Alexander, they were appointed as religious leaders and little by little as monarchs. Their coins show this aspect well. He himself tried to establish the foundation of religion and brought religion and government together. And he ordered his minister (Tensor) Herpdan Herpad to collect the scattered Avesta and call himself a god-worshiper and a god of race.

During the reign of “Shahpour”, the son of Ardeshir and his successors also paid full attention to the collection of Avesta and the preparation of jurisprudence and other Zoroastrian rulings and worships. And in support of that religion, he worked with prejudice. Among them, Mani Pir Fedik, a great Iranian speaker and reformer, appeared in the era of Shapur I and invited Shahpour to the trust of religious freedom that existed and was established in Iran before the Sassanids. Shapur treated him in the old way and Mani wrote one of his books called Shapur and named it “Shahpo Hargan”. But in the time of Bahram, the son of Hormoz, he was killed against the will of Zoroaster and against the religious principles that were common in Iran.

In short, a part of Avesta was obtained during the time of Shapur I and in the time of Shapur II, “Azar Pazmar Sepandan” who was a great cleric and orator and some Arab historians have called him Zarathustra II and the incident of pouring molten copper on the chest of Zoroaster is attributed To him. He brought the small Avesta and it seems that they got all the Avesta or claimed that the whole Avesta has been seized. And another scientist known as “Arta Viraf” in the dream world, traveled to heaven and hell and found other rules that are mentioned in the book “Arta Viraf Namak”. Also, Avesta interpretations became popular in Pahlavi language from now on.

In the ninth and second centuries AH, the author of Dinkret, which is an interpretation of the Avesta and the most important books of jurisprudence, worship and mercenary rules; Avesta says that it has 21 generations, and mentions their names and divides the total of 21 generations into the so-called Pahlavi language into three parts as follows:

A. Gasanic

B. Hatak Mansrik

C- Datic

Gasanik means the part of “Gathe” which is a religious hymn attributed to Zarathustra himself and its contents are the praise of Ahura Mazda and the level of prayers and supplications.

Hatek Mansrik is a mixture of moral content and religious laws and rulings.

Datik is jurisprudence and rules and customs and transactions.

But after this date (ie after the third century AH) it is not known when the Avesta was tampered with again and part of it disappeared. What we have left of this book today is five parts or five parts and is known by this name:

1- Yasna – of which Gath is a part, and its meaning is praise.
2- Visparaz – which is also an appendage of Yasna and in worship and its meaning is “all the leaders and leaders”.
3- Vandaydaz – which was originally Vandiudat, meaning prayers and deeds against the court and the devils.
4- Yasht – which is used in the historical part of Avesta, which is also from the word Yasna and means worship and praise.
5. Avesta subdivision – means a short Avesta or brief Avesta issues and wisdom, and it includes daily, monthly, annual worship, feasts, celebrations, Zoroastrianism, wrestling, marriage etiquette, wedding, mourning, etc.

1- North and East Pahlavi language and script; Which is specific to the people of Azerbaijan and Khorasan Haliyeh (Neishabour-Mashhad-Sarakhs-Gorgan-rural-equator-Herat-Merv) and it is called Parthian or Parthian side and some Chaldean side and is the correct term (North Pahlavi).

2- It is south and southwest. Which differs from the North Pahlavi both in terms of dialect and script, and the Sassanid inscriptions and Pahlavi books that remain are in this dialect. And except for the book “The Assyrian Tree”, which contains words from the North Pahlavi, there is no document from the North Pahlavi except for the inscriptions and brief papers that were mentioned. However, the northern dialect did not disappear and many words and verbs remained in the southern dialect.

Regarding the Pahlavi name, we mentioned that this word is the same as the word “Parthavi”. The letter (r) to (lam) and the letter (e) to (e) have been turned into a rule and a letter and have become “Pahlavi”. So, according to the rule of the heart of the words that are current in all languages, as they say, lock, lock, price, wealth, eyes and eyes, this word has also been turned into “Pahlavi”.

This word was at the beginning of the name of a brave tribe who drove the Greeks out of Iran in (250 BC) out of Khorasan and became extinct in (226 BC) – and called them Pahlavan to A and Nun, Pahlavi and Pahlavi, And the center of their rule was Rey, Isfahan, Hamedan, Mah Nahavand, Zanjan and in the words of Azerbaijan, which after Islam was called the Pahlavi state. In the Islamic era, the eloquent Persian language was called the hero of the language and the hero of the language. And they took Pahlavi as a greyhound, not as a Dari language. And the song that was sung in the song “Fahlaviat” was also called Pahlavi and Pahlavani; Pahlavi Sahma and Pahlavi tone and Pahlavi Golbang refer to Fahlaviat.

Massoud Saad says:
Listen and listen well to the song of Khniagaran to Pahlavani Sama to Khosravani Tariq

Khwaja says:
The nightingale sings to Pahlavi Golbang on the horn of the cypress, taking a lesson from the spiritual authorities

A poet says:
His tone is me and the verse next to the wound of the river and Khosravi’s song

* Sources and references are available in the editorial office of Artmag.