A Persian rug is a hand-knotted floor covering produced in Iran, the country known historically as Persia. Persian rugs represent one of the oldest continuous weaving traditions in the world, with major production centers including Tabriz, Kashan, Isfahan, Qum, Nain, Kerman, and a network of village and tribal weaving regions across the country.
What distinguishes Persian rugs from other Oriental rugs is the typical use of the asymmetric knot (also called the Persian or Senneh knot), which allows for finer detail and curvilinear floral designs. Most workshop-produced Persian rugs use a cotton foundation with a wool or silk pile, while tribal and village rugs are often woven entirely from wool.
Persian rugs are commonly categorized by their place of origin — a Tabriz rug, a Kashan rug, and an Isfahan rug will each have recognizable design conventions, color palettes, and construction techniques specific to that city or region. Tribal weavings such as Qashqai, Bakhtiari, and Baluch follow different design traditions tied to nomadic and semi-nomadic life.
In the U.S. rug trade, "Persian rug" remains the standard commercial term, even when describing newer production from Iran.