Persian people originally come from the Iranian Plateau, specifically from the region known historically as Persis or Fars in modern-day Iran. They are an Indo-European ethnic group who settled in this area around 1000 BCE. The Persians formed a unified culture and eventually established the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BCE, which became the largest empire of its time. Today, most Persians live in Iran, but there are also communities in India (Parsis) and Persian-speaking groups in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and parts of Central Asia. The Persian identity is strongly tied to the Persian language and cultural heritage.