## Introduction  
Scholars of slavery use terms such as 'slavery', 'abolition', 'emancipation' and 'diaspora' when describing the impact of population dispersal, socioeconomic conditioning, legal system transformation and changes in status on communities who have been forcibly relocated. It is therefore important to realize that a meaningful application of these terms is possible only if societal variations are explored.  
For a critical analysis of enslaved Africans and their descendants in Iran, we must consider not only the geographical spaces in which unique subnational communities were formed but also the local socioeconomic, cultural, geographical, historical and legal specificities. It is important to note that the term 'African diaspora' is relevant only to the experience of people of African descent who lived in Iran in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Thereafter, these former diasporic communities incorporated subregional and subethnic diversities to such a degree that while some elements of African culture persisted into twenty-first century Iran, there is virtually no historical memory of 'Africanness' among these people. Moreover, as there is little visible connection between black communities within the country, it is misleading to suggest that they identify with or belong to the global African diaspora (and more appropriate, instead, to suggest that every Iranian province has its own unique diaspora). For black Iranians, identifying  
with Africa is not relevant beyond basic physical resemblance and there appears to be a reluctance to do so because of the sense of detachment and alienation it would cause - possibly leading to a loss of Iranian identity. Accordingly, it is more important to study the transformation of the communities of African descent in Iran, historically located along the shores of the Persian Gulf that stretch across the country from south-west to south-east, in the provinces of Khuzestan, Sistan va Baluchistan, Bushehr and Hormozgan.