Editing Parsis (section)

=== Arrival in the Indian subcontinent ===
According to the [[Qissa-i Sanjan]], the only existing account of the early years of Zoroastrian refugees in India composed at least six centuries after their tentative date of arrival, the first group of immigrants originated from [[Greater Khorasan]].{{sfn|Hodivala|1920|p=88}} This historical region of [[Central Asia]] is in part in northeastern Iran, where it constitutes modern [[Khorasan province]], part of western/northern [[Afghanistan]], and in part in three Central-Asian republics namely [[Tajikistan]], [[Turkmenistan]] and [[Uzbekistan]].

According to the ''Qissa'', the immigrants were granted permission to stay by the local ruler, [[Jadi Rana]], on the condition that they adopt the local language ([[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]) and that their women adopt local dress (the ''[[sari]]'').{{sfn|Hodivala|1920|p={{page needed|date=January 2022}}}} The refugees accepted the conditions and founded the settlement of [[Sanjan (Gujarat)|Sanjan]], which is said to have been named after the city of their origin ([[Sanjan (Khorasan)|Sanjan]], near [[Merv]], modern Turkmenistan).{{sfn|Hodivala|1920|p=88}} This first group was followed by a second group from Greater Khorasan within five years of the first, and this time having religious implements with them (the ''alat''). In addition to these ''Khorasani''s or ''Kohistani''s "mountain folk", as the two initial groups are said to have been initially called,{{sfn|Vimadalal|1979|p=2}} at least one other group is said to have come overland from [[Sari, Iran]].{{sfn|Paymaster|1954}}

[[File:IslamicConquestsIroon.png|thumb|upright=1.15|Map of the [[Sasanian Empire]] and its surrounding regions on the eve of the [[Muslim conquest of Persia]]]]
Although the Sanjan group are believed to have been the first permanent settlers, the precise date of their arrival is a matter of conjecture. All estimates are based on the ''Qissa'', which is vague or contradictory with respect to some elapsed periods. Consequently, three possible dates – 716, 765, and 936 – have been proposed as the year of landing, and the disagreement has been the cause of "many an intense battle ... amongst Parsis".{{sfn|Taraporevala|2000}} Since dates are not specifically mentioned in Parsi texts prior to the 18th century, any date of arrival is perforce a matter of speculation. The importance of the ''Qissa'' lies in any case not so much in its reconstruction of events than in its depiction of the Parsis – in the way they have come to view themselves – and in their relationship to the dominant culture. As such, the text plays a crucial role in shaping Parsi identity. But, "even if one comes to the conclusion that the chronicle based on verbal transmission is not more than a legend, it still remains without doubt an extremely informative document for Parsee historiography."{{sfn|Kulke|1978|p=25}}

The Sanjan Zoroastrians were certainly not the first Zoroastrians on the subcontinent.{{Citation needed|date=February 2016}} [[Sindh]] touching [[Balochistan]], the easternmost periphery of the Iranian world, too had once been under coastal administration of the [[Sasanian Empire]] (226-651), which consequently maintained outposts there.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} Even following the loss of [[Sindh]], the Iranians continued to play a major role in the trade links between the east and west.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} The 9th-century Arab historiographer [[Al-Masudi]] briefly notes Zoroastrians with fire temples in al-Hind and in al-Sindh.{{sfn|Stausberg|2002|p=I.374}} There is evidence of individual Parsis residing in Sindh in the tenth and twelfth centuries, but the current modern community is thought to date from British arrival in Sindh.{{sfn|Hinnells|2005|p=199}} Moreover, for the Iranians, the harbours of Gujarat lay on the maritime routes that complemented the overland [[Silk Road]] and there were extensive trade relations between the two regions. The contact between Iranians and Indians was already well established even prior to the [[Common Era]], and both the [[Puranas]] and the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' use the term ''[[Parasika]]s'' to refer to the peoples west of the [[Indus River]].{{sfn|Maneck|1997|p=15}}

"Parsi legends regarding their ancestors' migration to India depict a beleaguered band of religious refugees escaping the new rule post the Muslim conquests in order to preserve their ancient faith."{{sfn|Maneck|1997|p=15}}{{sfn|Paymaster|1954|pp=2–3}}{{sfn|Boyce|2001|p=148}}{{sfn|Lambton|1981|p=205}}{{sfn|Nigosian|1993|p=42}} However, while Parsi settlements definitely arose along the western coast of the Indian subcontinent following the Arab conquest of Iran, it is not possible to state with certainty that these migrations occurred as a result of religious persecution against Zoroastrians. If the "traditional" 8th century date (as deduced from the ''Qissa'') is considered valid, it must be assumed "that the migration began while Zoroastrianism was still the predominant religion in Iran and economic factors predominated the initial decision to migrate."{{sfn|Maneck|1997|p=15}} This would have been particularly the case if – as the ''Qissa'' suggests – the first Parsis originally came from the north-east (i.e. Central Asia) and had previously been dependent on [[Silk Road]] trade.{{sfn|Stausberg|2002|p=I.373}} Even so, in the 17th century, Henry Lord, a [[chaplain]] with the [[East India Company|English East India Company]], noted that the Parsis came to India seeking "[[liberty of conscience]]" but simultaneously arrived as "merchantmen bound for the shores of India, in course of trade and merchandise."