Ethnology of Iranian People       Most Iranians are thought to be of Aryan ancestry, descended from Asiatic peoples who migrated to the area in the first millennium B.C.E. These Aryan groups, who make up the majority of Iran's population today, include Persians, Kurds, Lurs, Baloks, Gilakis and Mazandaranis. Over time, Turks, Mongols and Arabs added to the population. The most substantial minority group in Iran is the Azerbaijanis.Aryan peoples originate from the Indo-European ethnic and linguistic group. They are believed to be the ancestors of the people of present-day Europe, India and Iran. Their language was closely related to the ancient Indian language, Sanskrit, which was derived from the Indo-European family of languages. The official language of Iran today, Persian (also known as Farsi), is also a derivative of the Indo-European linguistic family. Persian and Persian dialects are the major lingua francas of contemporary Iran. In addition, Kurdish, Luri, Balok, Turkish, Arabic and Azeri are also spoken Brief History     Archeological findings have placed knowledge of Iranian prehistory at middle Paleolithic times. The earliest sedentary cultures date from 18,000 to 14,000 years ago. By the sixth millennium B.C.E, a fairly sophisticated agricultural society and proto-urban population had emerged. As a part of the third wave of migration from Europe, Aryan tribes traveled across the Caspian Sea and settled the area of Iran around 1500 B.C.E. After centuries of inhabitation and peaceful co-mingling with the indigenous population, two major civilizations emerged out of these peoples, the Persian and the Medes. By the sixth century B.C.E., the two ancient civilizations were united under Cyrus the Great. Cyrus subverted neighboring kingdoms of Babylonia, Palestine, Syria and Asia Minor and consolidated all the territories into the great Persian Empire. The following dynasty that ensued was called the Achaemenian Dynasty, in deference to Cyrus' respect for his ancestors. The ancient name of the actual territory remained as Persia until 1935 when it was officially changed to Iran.