Linguistic evidence suggests that the Croats/Hrvati originated from northwestern Iran and spoke a language related to Iranian.
By the time the Croats appear in historical documents, they are a Slavic nation.
During the Avar expansion into the Balkans peninsula, the Croats moved into what is Croatia today (in the 6th and 7th centuries).
Byzantine emperor Porfirogennetos claimed that Croats/Hrvati came from the country called Bijela Hrvatska/White Croatia, which was situated in the north, between Moravians (modern Czech) and Mazowians (modern eastern Poland).
The Croats/Hrvati were also among the most significant tribes in central-western Ukraine during the 9th and 10th centuries, as evidenced by other historical sources ("Poviest vremenih let" - History of far-gone years, written by Nestor from Kyiv in the 11/12th century). Therefore, Croats/Hrvati were developed as Slavic-speaking people in Ukraine.
The name "Hrvati" is believed to have roots in a non-Slavic heritage. Established linguists, from Max Vasmer to Ranko Matasović, agree that the term "Hrvati" is etymologically derived from a branch of Iranian languages. Originally, Hurvatu was the word used to describe a guard, keeper, or watchman in the old Iranian language.
Additionally, two stone tablets containing the classical Greek alphabet, dating to around 200 AD, were found in the ancient city of Tanais (south Russia). As well as the names of some citizens, the tablets also list the name of King Sauromat. Other names include Horouathos, Horoathos, which is somewhat similar to the Croatian national name Hrvat/Horvat.
On the map of central ancient Iran is the area called “Harauvatis”.
Basically, it seems that some Sarmatian groups (Sarmatians are people originally from Iran) migrated to the west, to Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic...
About 17,000 people declared themselves Hrvati in Ukraine during the 19th century.
While the Persian-Sarmatian connection isn't strong, it is interesting when considering the origin of the word "Croat/Hrvat." All in all, Croats are Slavics who migrated to their present homeland mostly from modern-day Southern Poland around the 6th and 7th centuries.
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