AFSHAR TRIBES

The origins of the Afshar are traceable to a clan of the Turkic Oghuz or Ghuz tribes who, at the beginning of the 12th century, left the plains of Qibchaq in Turkestan and entered Persia. They now inhabit various areas of Iran (Persia) as seen by the shaded areas on the map above. The various historical dispersions of the Afshar within Persia has resulted in the preservation of their customs and traditions in some areas, whilst seeing them absorbed into different tribes in others. The Afshar of Kerman are the most important concentration of Afshar tribal peoples, having migrated to this area around 1510 and their weavings are undoubtedly the most varied of all the Persian tribes.