Hormizd I, Sassanian coinSome of the Saka-Scythian tribes in Central Asia would later move further southeast and invade
the Iranian Plateau, large sections of present-day Afghanistan and finally deep into present day Pakistan
(see Indo-Scythians). Another Iranian tribe related to the Saka-Scythians were the Parni in Central Asia,
and who later become indistinguishable from the Parthians, speakers of a northwest-Iranian language.
Many Iranian tribes, including the Khwarazmians, Massagetae and Sogdians, were assimilated and/or
displaced in Central Asia by the migrations of Turkic tribes emanating out of Xinjiang and Siberia.[82]
The modern Sarikoli in southern Xinjiang and the Ossetians of the Caucasus (mainly South
Ossetia and North Ossetia) are remnants of the various Scythian-derived tribes from the vast far and
wide territory they once dwelled in. The modern Ossetians are the descendants of the Alano-
Sarmatians,[83][84] and their claims are supported by their Northeast Iranian language, while culturally the
Ossetians resemble their North Caucasian neighbors, the Kabardians and Circassians.[80][85] Various
extinct Iranian peoples existed in the eastern Caucasus, including the Azaris, while some Iranian peoples
remain in the region, including the Talysh[86] and the Tats[87] found in Azerbaijan and as far north as the
Russian republic of Dagestan. A remnant of the Sogdians is found in the Yaghnobi-speaking population in
parts of the Zeravshan valley in Tajikistan.
Later developments
The main migration of Turkic peoples occurred between the 6th and 10th centuries, when they spread
across most of Central Asia. The Turkic peoples slowly replaced and assimilated the previous Iranian-
speaking locals, turning the population of Central Asia from largely Iranian, into primarily of East Asian
descent.[88]
Starting with the reign of Omar in 634 AD, Muslim Arabs began a conquest of the Iranian Plateau. The
Arabs conquered the Sassanid Empire of the Persians and seized much of the Byzantine
Empire populated by the Kurds and others. Ultimately, the various Iranian peoples, including the
Persians, Pashtuns, Kurds and Balochis, converted to Islam, while the Alans converted to Christianity,
thus laying the foundation for the fact that the modern-day Ossetians are Christian.[89] The Iranian
peoples would later split along sectarian lines as the Persians adopted the Shi'a sect. As ancient tribes
and identities changed, so did the Iranian peoples, many of whom assimilated foreign cultures and
peoples.[90]
Later, during the 2nd millennium AD, the Iranian peoples would play a prominent role during the age of
Islamic expansion and empire. Saladin, a noted adversary of the Crusaders, was an ethnic Kurd, while
various empires centered in Iran (including the Safavids) re-established a modern dialect of Persian as