Persian is the English name for the language known as Farsi by its speakers, which usually is called also by the names of Dari, Farsi, Parsi or Parsi-Dari, can be classified linguistically as a continuation of Middle Persian, the official religious and literary language of Sassanian Iran, itself a continuation of Old Persian, the language of the Achaemenids. It is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and to some extent in Iraq and Bahrain, and has a status of official language in the first three countries under different names. Persian/Dari is a pluricentric language and its grammar is similar to that of many contemporary European languages. The Persian language has been a medium for literary and scientific contributions to the eastern half of the Islamic world. The Middle East is a melting pot of language, culture, and tradition. The dialects spoken and the alphabets used in the region for thousands of years eventually gave way to a common language and! alphabet that were influenced by the Muslims when they conquered and converted the region. Over 130 million people speak it, with well over 61 million native speakers of the language and along with 7000 years history. Use in the Indian subcontinent: For five centuries prior to the British colonization, Persian was widely used as a second language in the Indian subcontinent. It took prominence as the language of culture and education in several Muslim courts in South Asia and became the sole "official
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