Parsis

High school (ages 12+)
People & Society

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/parsis

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the ethnic and religious group?Parsis are a Zoroastrian ethnic community
2. What is the geographic origin of ancestors?Persia (modern-day Iran)
3. Who are the Parsis and why did they leave Persia?The Parsis are a group of people who moved from Persia to India many centuries ago. They left because they were being forced to change their religion or face persecution after the Arab-Islamic conquests. They wanted to keep their Zoroastrian faith safe.
4. How did the Parsis travel to India and where did they first settle?They sailed across the sea from Persia to the Indian subcontinent between the 7th and 10th centuries. They first arrived in a town called Sanjan in Gujarat, where a friendly king gave them a place to live.

Zoroastrianism: An ancient Iranian religion founded by Zoroaster, characterized by monotheism (belief in Ahura Mazda) and an emphasis on ethical dualism.
Sasanian Empire: The last Persian empire before the rise of Islam, during which Zoroastrianism was a prominent state religion.
Arab-Islamic Conquests: The military expansion of the early Islamic caliphates that led to the subjugation of the Sasanian Empire and the spread of Islam.
Diaspora: The dispersion or spread of people from their original homeland to other parts of the world.