Modern Persian is called “Farsi,” the official language of Iran, which is modern Persia. It is also spoken by many inhabitants of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Persian is an Indo-European language, classified in the Indo-Iranian subgroup. As a classic language, Persian has been very important in literature and science in the Eastern portion of the Muslim-predominant areas of the Middle East. Persian influences can be found in most of the Turkic languages spoken in Central Asia and in the languages of South Asia, mainly Urdu.