Iran was previously called Persia, what was it known as before it was Persia? Iran was previously called Persia, what was it known as before it was Persia? 4 Answers 0 "The Greeks (who tended earlier to use names related to "Median") began in the fifth century to use adjectives such as Perses, Persica or Persis for Cyrus the Great's empire (a word meaning "country" being understood). Such words were taken from the Old Persian Pārsa - the name of the people whom Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty first ruled (before he inherited or conquered other Persian Kingdoms) and of whom he was one. This tribe gave its name to the region where they lived (the modern day province is called Fars/Pars) but the province in ancient times was larger than its current area. In Latin, the name for the whole empire was Persia. In the later parts of the Bible, where this kingdom is frequently mentioned (Books of Esther, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah), it is called "Paras" (Hebrew פרס), or sometimes "Paras u Madai" (פרס ומדי) i.e.

"Persia and Media"." "The name Persia was the official name of Iran in the Western world before 1935, but the Iranian people inside their ... answerbag.com Persia, Iran, and the Persian Gulf: A Brief History of Names Persia, Iran, and the Persian Gulf: A Brief History of Names By Fouad Kazem A campaign has been recently launched. Many Iranians from all stripes, fascists, monarchists, nationalists, reformists, liberals, even some leftists, and some religious hardliners, whether in Iran or abroad, have been swept up by a nationalistic fervor. And, what, you may ask, is the root cause of this rare moment of unity among Iranians? It is the fact that an atlas published by the National Geographic (in 2004) included in parentheses the words "Arabian Gulf" next to the "Persian Gulf". That is why there is a campaign to convince the world about the name of the "Persian Gulf". It is a fact that by all historical accounts the Persian Gulf has always been called the "Persian Gulf", in most recorded history.

It is also true that in the same region there is the "Sea of Oman", and next to that there is the "Arab Sea". There is no reason to change the name of "Persian Gulf" to the "Arab Gulf", for that would create more confusion. However, should those interested in Iran's progress and democracy focus their time and energy on teaching everyone in the world about the name of a gulf? Would it not be more productive to devote efforts to make the historical connections between Iran, Iranian, Farsi, and Persian? Would it not make more sense to study the basic facts of Persian and world history we can change the present and work towards a better future? At this point, the vast majority of non-Iranians do not even know that Iranian, Farsi, and Persian are synonymous words referring to the same civilization and language. At best they think Persia is a region larger than Iran; at worst they think Persian is a civilization that disappeared along with the Hittites (who used to live in today's Turkey) or Babylonians (who used to live in today's Iraq). They think Farsi is a new dialect remotely related to Persian.

They think Persian is a type of cat, a style of rug, or a flying carpet from somewhere exotic in the East. Basic facts of Persian history need to be clarified, before we focus on teaching people about the name of the Persian Gulf. Even if we succeed in convincing everyone in the world (including every Saudi Sheikh in his Harem) to use the name "Persian Gulf", the connection of that name with Iran will still be problematic in the minds of many. To be clear, in Persian we call the Persian Gulf, Khalije "Fars". Persia's government in 1935 asked the world to stop using the word, "Persian" and use the word "Iranian" instead (1). And yet in English we want it to be called the "Persian Gulf". Why the confusion over the names Persian and Iranian? For the last 2600 years, up to the year 1935, following a naming convention that was started by the ancient Greeks, in all Western languages today's Iran was known as "Persia", a word that was different from the word used in Persian, which was always "Iran". There are many other examples of such naming conventions in the world.

Indians call their country "Bharat", Egyptians call their land "Missr", in Finland they call their country "Suomi", the Japanese call their country "Nihon", and Germans call their country "Deutschland" (2). By the same token, the language of Persia (Iran) has always been internationally known as Persian. The naming conventions for Persia (aka Iran) changed in 1935. The suggestion for the name change from Persia to Iran is said to have come from the Persian ambassador to Germany, who was a Nazi sympathizer. In 1935 Germany was ruled by Hitler. Aryanism was equated by the Nazis as the highest level of human civilization, in an article of faith based on a vulgar Hegelian hyperbola. Apparently the Persian ambassador was persuaded by his Nazi friends that Persia would be better off as an ally of Nazi Germany. Moreover, he became convinced that the country should be called by its Persian name, Iran, in Western languages. This was to signal a new beginning and bring home to the world the new era in Iranian history, one that would emphasize the Aryan aspect of its people. The name Iran is a cognate of the old word Aryan.

The Persian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent out a memo to all foreign embassies in Tehran, requesting that the country be called "Iran." Unfortunately "Iran" sounded alien to non-Iranians, and many failed to recognize its connection with the historic Persia. Some (Westerners) thought that it was perhaps one of the new countries like Kuwait or Jordan carved out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire, or like "Pakistan", carved out of India. Even today many confuse Iran with Iraq. The confusion has been made worse by the usage of the word Farsi, which is the Persian word for Persian, just as "Deutsch" is the German word for German. To make matters worse, for marketing purposes Rumi and other Persian poets are presented by American book publishers as Sufi poets and not as Persian poets (3). It is generally known that Dante was Italian and Shakespeare was British. But most Americans know Rumi as a "Sufi poet" from somewhere in the East, as if Sufi were a nationality.

As the references in a large body of European texts (Examples: texts by Schopenhauer, Nietzche, Hegel, Montesquieu, etc.) indicate, Persian civilization has been very well known in European philosophy and culture for centuries. For today's Persians (Iranians), the name "Iran" refers to a rich and historic civilization. For most non-Iranians, Iran is a country in the Middle East with a more or less Islamic identity, and with no clear connection with the historic "Persia". Let us look at another interesting example: the name of the Caspian Sea. Today in most Middle Eastern languages including Persian and Turkish, the Caspian Sea is called the Sea of the Khazar. The name refers to the Khazar people who inhabited an area extending from the Caucus Mountains to Central Ukraine from the 5th to the 13th century and whose civilization disappeared after successive attacks by the Mongols. The Khazars were a Turkic people who had originated in Central Asia. In the beginning, the Khazars believed in Shamanism, spoke a Turkic language, and were nomads.

Later, the Khazars adopted Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, and settled in cities and towns that they built throughout the north Caucasus and Eastern Ukraine. The Khazars had a tradition of religious tolerance. Kiev, the capital city of modern Ukraine, was largely founded by the Khazars. Kiev is a Turkic name (K�i = riverbank + ev = settlement). The Hungarian-Jewish writer, Arthur Koestler, argued in his carefully researched work, The Thirteenth Tribe (1976) that large portions of the Khazars converted to Judaism. He also documents that the Khazars were forced to migrate to Eastern Europe under attacks from the East by the Mongols in the 13th Century. Through an interesting twist of history, Westerners today refer to the Caspian Sea with the old Latin name for the historic city of Qazvin (in today's Iran), while Persians and Turks refer to it as the Sea of the Khazar, named after a proud civilization that disappeared long ago. Superficial isolated discussions about the name of the Persian Gulf are misplaced. They distract us from more basic problems.

If something is to be done from a naming point of view to promote a better understanding of Persian culture and history, it would be far more sensible to officially change the name of Iran back to Persia, Farsi and Iranian back to Persian, in all Western languages; That can be achieved through a campaign that will educate people about Persian civilization in a clear progressive manner, through a dialogue that will highlight Persia's contributions to the world, without attacking, or claiming superiority over other peoples of the Middle East: the Arabs, the Turks, the Jews, the Armenians, the Kurds.

The Persian rug, the Persian cat, the Persian Empire, the Persia that Alexander the Great was so proud to have defeated, the Persia that the Greek historian, Herodotos, wrote about in his world classic, The Persian Wars, the Persian civilization that Hegel wrote about in his world classic, Philosophy of History, Scheherazade who told stories to the Calif of Baghdad in the tales of A Thousands and One Nights, Ibn-e Sina (aka Avicenna) whose works of medicine were taught in Europe for centuries, Hafez who was admired by Goethe, the great astronomer and poet, Omar Khayyam, Rumi (Mowlana Jalaluddin Rumi) were all Persians, they were from Persia, the same country that has been known in the West as Iran since 1935, through a strange accident of history. In Western Europe, after long periods of warfare and violence (culminating in the savagery of World War II), they finally opted for cooperation among nations and the formation of a European Union. A time may come when the peoples of the Middle East will overcome the existing cultural backwardness and live in harmony and rich cultural exchange with each other.

They will learn to collaborate with each other and not claim superiority over each other. (1) cf. Article by Ehsan Yarshater, professor at Columbia University in New York and editor of the Encyclopedia Iranica. (2) Deutschland, Germany, and Allemagne all refer to the same country in different languages: German, English, and French. (3) Presumably because these publishers believe pointing out Rumi's national origins will dampen the sales efforts. ... Payvand News - 03/25/16 ... -- If Jews are fighting for Israel against the illegal occupation of Sunni Arabs, then shouldn't Parsis, Zoroastrians fight too for reclaiming their country Iran (previously called Persia) from the Shia Muslims? - Quora Quora If Jews are fighting for Israel against the illegal occupation of Sunni Arabs, then shouldn't Parsis, Zoroastrians fight too for reclaiming their country Iran (previously called Persia) from the Shia Muslims? Also, shouldn't India help them reclaiming Iran as US is helping Jews in case of Israel? P.S. - Jews and Parsis are a lot similar to each other. Both of them follow some of the oldest religions.

They have also proved their talents, skills, worth, in various spheres of life time after time. Also both of them suffered religious persecution for a long time, forcefully converted against their will, expelled from their own countries and were forced to take refuge in foreign states. Written Sep 30, 2015 Absolutely not. First of all there is the matter of practicality. Statistics may not be as precise as we'd like, but between the communities of South Asia, Iran, and the wider world there may be upwards of a hundred thousand people. How can this widely dispersed population possibly confront a well-armed middle-income nation of nearly 80 million? Even if Zoroastrians were united behind this goal--a major assumption that needs to be challenged, incidentally--they would face an impossible task. Establishing a Zoroastrian territory in even part of Iran would certainly require foreign military sponsorship, but it's not clear that any major military power--not India, not Russia, not the United States, not Pakistan, not Saudi Arabia--is actually capable of this. Why, as the OP suggests, would India be interested in waging an open-ended war at great cost with a country that it is on good terms with?

This all brings us to the unjust assumption lying at the root of the question: What grounds do these people possibly have to claim that the people actually living in Iran are not Iranians, are not people with a right to their homeland? Yes, Iran was predominantly Zoroastrian until centuries after its 7th century conquest by Arabs, conversions making the country first predominantly Muslim then predominantly Shi'ite Muslim, but so what? Countries change religion all the time. Most of northern Europe only converted to Christianity starting in the 10th and 11th centuries, but very few people would say that a hypothetical surviving pagan Scandinavian population would somehow have a right to the area. What gives Zoroastrians--especially Zoroastrians who have never lived inside of the country--a greater right to Iran than the people actually living there? Written Sep 29, 2015 Jews have a decent amount of support worldwide and a LOT from the US. They have more obvious ties to the land (Bible and Quran confirm it) and are lastly more numberous. And even at the birth of Israel as a nation in 1948 there were millions of Jews in judea, Sumeria and Palestine.

Unlike modern day Iran where I doubt you'd find any mentionable number of Parsis. The remaining few Parsis in the world won't abandon their successful businesses,careers etc to try to take on one of the most militarized hostile nations in the world. Written Oct 10, 2015 This question shows some profound misconceptions. Iran as a name predates the advent of Islam and Sassanians called their domain of influence Iran Shehr. Besides, Arab presence in historical Palestine also predates the advent of Islam. The oldest written text of modern classical Arabic dates back to the 1st century CE and was found in Negev desert in nowadays Israel. Page on arabetics.com Besides the claim of oldest religion is unscientific, nonsensical and has no historical basis. Before the advent of Islam the Arabian (semitic) pantheon included Akkadian gods, this predates both Judaism and Zoroastrianism as organized religions. When muslim Arabs came to Palestine the latter was under Byzantine rule and had a sizable christian Arab population (Ghassanids as a mere example) , that is, Arabs did not take it from the Jews to begin with.

What Arabs did was that they lifted a ban that was imposed on Jews visiting Jerusalem. Hence allowing them to visit the whole of historical Palestine again. In no way there is going to be a Parsi state, for many reasons: one is that as a religion per se, no one would believe that they should put their deads for ravens to eat them in silence tower again. Zoroastrianism teaches good things about being honest and sincere but let us say there are little chances it would recover a majority anywhere. Some may nourish such an ambition but it is a fantasy to say the least. Written Oct 17, 2015 There are major differences between Jews and Parsis. Jews were persecuted till 20th century. Parsis were persecuted if they were in Iran. They faced no discrimination in India. Jews maintained a population in Israel. Parsis not so. The Arabs are different people than Jews. But Iranians are actually descendants of converted followers of Zoroastrianism. Arabs wage a war against Jews when Jews wanted to settle in Israel. Parsis in turn have shown no desire to go back to Iran. They are happy luv by and working in India.

Moreover they face no discrimination due to their association with India. I find no case for Parsis returning to Iran and claiming a separate state for them. The case of India helping them doesn't arise. In my own view, people are entitled to a "homeland" when they are not offered a fair deal by the majority in their homeland. Thus, I believe the Kurds have a right to Kurdistan. Are the non-Muslims like Parsis in Iran getting a fair deal? I assume the Muslim Iranians would say yes, of course, we take good care of them. But what do the non-Muslims say about it? That's important. Even if they are entitled to a homeland, though, asking for all of Iran is a bit much. They have a small population and Iran is a big place. Persian Empire [ushistory.org] 4e. Persian Empire Cyrus managed in relatively no time to establish Persian control over the ancient Near East, Egypt, and parts of India, giving the Greek city-states a run for their money. The Persian Empire was the largest Empire that had ever been established. The Persian Empire spanned from Egypt in the west to Turkey in the north, and through Mesopotamia to the Indus River in the east.

More Information ... Persia is today the country of Iran. By the 5th century B.C.E., it was the largest empire the world had ever seen, surpassing the size of their Assyrian predecessors. Cyrus Is Desirous In 539 B.C.E., King Cyrus decided to expand the boundaries of Persia. He began by conquering Babylon. Unlike Assyrian kings, Cyrus was known for his mercy rather than his cruelty. For example, he allowed the Hebrews, who had been captives in Babylon for over fifty years to return to the holy city of Jerusalem, instead of turning them into slaves. He returned sacred items that were stolen from them and allowed the rebuilding of their capital and the temple. Cyrus also allowed the Hebrews to continue living and worshiping as they chose. The Jewish prophet, Isaiah, called Cyrus "God's shepherd," and said that "God would go before him and level the mountains." The Empty Quarter is the largest area of continuous sand in the world. Cyrus's generosity toward the Jews was not an isolated event. He and his successors employed a policy of adaptation and reconciliation toward all of their new subjects.

They cooperated with local rulers and interfered as little as possible in matters that did not directly relate to their rule. They respected local traditions and even adopted some of their subjects' religious practices for themselves. A Kinder, Gentler Kingdom Rather than destroy local economies for their own selfish gain, the Persians worked to increase trade throughout their kingdom. They standardized weights, developed official coinage, and implemented universal laws. The Persian leaders required cooperation and imposed a 20 percent tax on all agriculture and manufacturing. They also taxed religious institutions, which despite their wealth had previously not been taxed. The Persians themselves paid no taxes. The Persian kings — especially Cyrus and, later, Darius I (522-486 B.C.E.) — developed a model for the administration of a large empire that was copied by others in the future. Laws were carried out fairly and evenly among all of the various subject peoples. The Persians divided their empire into 20 provinces that were managed by governors. In addition, they provided land to feudal lords in exchange for loyalty and guarantees of soldiers for the Persian army. Most of the people in the empire, including average Persians, simply remained struggling farmers or craftspeople.

Cyrus built the foundations of a courier, or mail, system. Darius I built a communication network that connected most of the empire. A 1,600-mile-long royal road was built from Sardis to Susa, one of the administrative capitals. Along this road, were numerous places for lodging, where royal couriers could obtain fresh horses and supplies. A Bedouin man on a camel wears clothing that shields him from the heat of the hot desert sun. Thus Spake Zarathustra The Persians also developed a religion based on monotheism, the belief in one god. It was founded by the prophet Zoroaster, called Zarathustra in old Iranian. Many of his ideas were collected in a series of poems called the Gathas, which became part of the religion's most sacred book, the Avesta. Zoroaster believed that people were training for a future life. He taught that the earthly world was torn by a constant struggle between good and evil. Humans would have to choose between the two in preparation for a final judgment when good would triumph over evil. When this happened, all earthly existence would disappear. The Zoroastrian god, Ahura Mazda, embodied goodness and wisdom.

Some religious scholars believe that Zoroaster's ideas strongly influenced on the development of the Hebrew and Christian religions. Despite the Persians' effective and conciliatory leadership, their empire did not last. Under King Xerxes in 480 B.C.E., the Persians made an attempt to expand their empire into Greece. The Greek city-states cooperated and held off the Persian threat and even succeeded in almost obliterating the Persian navy. When Alexander the Great rose to power in 331 B.C.E., he put an end to Persian dreams of expanding their empire. Only in his early twenties, Alexander had no equal as a military strategist. He swept through the ancient world, conquering all of the Persian Empire. Iran: Maps, History, Geography, Government, Culture, Facts, Guide & Travel/Holidays/Cities Historic Nuclear Deal Goes into Effect Geography Iran, a Middle Eastern country south of the Caspian Sea and north of the Persian Gulf, is three times the size of Arizona. It shares borders with Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

The Elburz Mountains in the north rise to 18,603 ft (5,670 m) at Mount Damavend. From northwest to southeast, the country is crossed by a desert 800 mi (1,287 km) long. Government Iran has been an Islamic theocracy since the Pahlavi monarchy was overthrown on Feb. 11, 1979. History The region now called Iran was occupied by the Medes and the Persians in the 1500s B.C. , until the Persian king Cyrus the Great overthrew the Medes and became ruler of the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire, which reached from the Indus to the Nile at its zenith in 525 B.C. Persia fell to Alexander in 331–330 B.C. and a succession of other rulers: the Seleucids (312–302 B.C. ), the Greek-speaking Parthians (247 B.C. – A.D. 226), the Sasanians (224–c. 640), and the Arab Muslims (in 641).

By the mid-800s Persia had become an international scientific and cultural center. In the 12th century it was invaded by the Mongols. The Safavid dynasty (1501–1722), under whom the dominant religion became Shiite Islam, followed, and was then replaced by the Qajar dynasty (1794–1925). During the Qajar dynasty, the Russians and the British fought for economic control of the area, and during World War I, Iran's neutrality did not stop it from becoming a battlefield for Russian and British troops. A coup in 1921 brought Reza Kahn to power. In 1925, he became shah and changed his name to Reza Shah Pahlavi. He subsequently did much to modernize the country and abolished all foreign extraterritorial rights. Renaming Persia Renaming Persia Persians Are Not Arabs Persians Are Not Arabs we explain the difference Persian New Year Persian New Year Read More Renaming Persia Persia, What’s in a name? The name Persia is actually a Latin derivation used mainly by Westerners to describe the region roughly equivalent to that of present day Iran .

In truth during the rise and fall of the Persian Empire the land was known to its people as 'Aryanam', which is equated to the current “ Iran ” in the proto - Iranian language . During the reign of the Sassanids it became Eran – meaning "land of the Aryans". Aryan: Aryan by definition meant anyone speaking any of the Indo-European languages, including that of the Iranians . Unfortunately, with the rise of Hitler in the 1930’s, "Aryan" came to be associated with the Nazi definition: being of Non-Jewish Caucasian descent, especially the blue eyed, blond haired Nordic races that Hitler himself favored and hoped to make a master race. Iran VS Persia: In fact, in 1935, Dr Hjalmar Schacht, the Nazi Economics minister noted the Aryan origin of the Persians and encouraged the Persian Reza Shah Pahlavi to ask foreign delegates to use the term Iran, "land of Aryans" instead of Persia.

As the New York Times explained at the time, "At the suggestion of the Persian Legation in Berlin, the Tehran government, on the Persian New Year , March 21, 1935, substituted Iran for Persia as the official name of the country. Defenders of the name change, point to its use by the Greek historians citing that "Aryan" means "noble". Many also felt that calling something or someone Persian was dated and somewhat restrictive. There was a need to unify the people of this land under one nation, Iran , thus encompassing the other ethnicities, such as the Kurds or Turks, residing in former Persia . In its decision it was influenced by the Nazi revival of interest in the various Aryan races, cradled in ancient Persia . As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs set forth in its memorandum on the subject, 'Perse,' the French designation of Persia, connoted the weakness and tottering independence of the country in the nineteenth century, when it was the chessboard of European imperialistic rivalry.

conjured up memories of the vigor and splendor of its historic past." Name Change This change however, evoked much opposition and confusion as Persians felt that the term damaged their cultural heritage and aligned them with pro Nazi sentiment. Additionally, all too often Iran was confused with their neighboring Arab state of Iraq, so much that during World War II, Winston Churchill called to enforce continuation of the term of Persia when dealing with political documentation. Even today, in an effort to separate themselves, those opposed to the current government in Iran continue to refer to themselves as Persian . In 1959, the work of Professor Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopedia Iranica, propagated a move to use Persia and Iran interchangeably which was approved by Mohammad Reza Shah. Share : Iran and Persia - Are They the Same? Are They The Same? The Difference Between Persia and Iran Map of Iran and Central Asia The names Iran and Persia are often used interchangeably to mean the same country. Iran is the legal name. Persia , was an ancient kingdom within Iran. Iran came to be known as Persia in the West thanks to classical Greek authors during whose time Persia was the dominant kingdom in Iran.

To call all of Iran 'Persia', would be like calling all of Britain 'England'. The name 'Persia' comes from 'Pers' which is in turn the European version of 'Pars' - an area that is today a province of Iran (see the map at the bottom of this page ). 2,500 years ago, when the present provinces of Iran were kingdoms [at one time Iran (then Airan) consisted of 240 kingdoms*], Pars was known as Parsa, and the kings of Parsa established an empire that came to be known in the West as the Persian Empire - the largest empire the world have ever known to that point. In those days, Parsa was the dominant kingdom of all the Iranian or Aryan kingdoms.

[*Note: According to the Middle Persian (Pahlavi) Kï¿½rnï¿½mak-i Ardeshir-i Pï¿½pakï¿½n / Kï¿½rnï¿½mag-ï¿½ Ardashï¿½r-ï¿½ Babagï¿½n, Book of the Deeds of Ardashir son of Babak / Babag, the Book of Deeds, "there were in the territory of Iran two hundred and forty princes" at the beginning of Parthian rule of Iran/Airan. The dominant kingdom of Iran has at various times been Balkh (Bactria) , Mada (Media) , Parsa (Persia) , Parthava (Parthia) and then Persia again. The king of the dominant kingdom was called king-of-kings (shah-en-shah in modern terms) - an emperor.] Evolution of the Name Iran Iran is a relatively modern contraction of the name Airyana Vaeja (the ancient homeland of the Airya or Aryans ).

Over time, Airyana Vaeja became Airan-Vej, then Eran-Vej or Airan-Vej (the Parthians and Sassanians had a slightly different pronunciation), then Eran or Airan, and finally Iran. Location of Ancient Iran While we do not know the precise location of the originl Aryan homeland, Airyana Vaeja , the Central Asian lands that are today part of Tajikistan , north-eastern Afghanistan , and southern Uzbekistan - all east of the northeast corner of present day Iran - are strong candidates. For a more detailed discussion on the possible location of Airyana Vaeja, please see our page on the Location of the Aryan Homeland, Airyana Vaeja . Map showing Iran and Central Asia and the possible movement of the Persian-Aryans culminating in the formation of Persia Growth of Iran & Formation of Persia Migration of Ancient Iranians & Growth of Greater Iran From Airyana Vaeja the original Aryan homeland (possibly quite small in size and extent), the Aryans migrated to surrounding lands. In doing so, they formed fifteen additional kingdoms listed in the Avesta, the Zoroastrian scriptures, in a book called the Vendidad.

We therefore call these kingdoms the Vendidad Nations . Coincidentally or otherwise, we find that the migrations extended along the Aryan Trade Roads known commonly as the Silk Roads. [ Click here for a map of the sixteen Aryan nations .] Since the Vendidad's list of nations does not include two Aryan kingdoms, Parsa (Pars/Pers/Persia) or Mada (Media), we are left to conclude that these nations had not been formed - at least as autonomous kingdoms or nations in the fashion of the other sixteen lands - at the time the list was assembled. Even Iranian legends such as those contained in the poet Ferdowsi's epic, the Shahnameh or Book of Kings, do not mention Persia or Media during the early legendary phase. Instead, Pars/Persia is mentioned in Shahnameh later in history in connection with the invasion by Alexander. In the early Iranian history phase, the Shahnameh makes first mention of a greater Iranian nation, an empire, during the reign of King Feridoon .

While the Shahnameh does not mention Persia during the reign of King Feridoon, his sons married the daughters of the King of Yemen (we presume this is the same Yemen as the one in the south of the Arabian peninsula) thereby forming an alliance between ancient Iran and Yemen. Feridoon's Iranian Empire stretched from the borders of China to the borders of Europe (say up to Greece), and was large enough for it to be divided and administered by his three sons. Ferdowsi appears to locate Feridoon's capital as being in the southern Caspian coastal region, in or near Sari (in present-day Mazandaran, west of Gorgan, Golestan). Despite its lateral size, Feridoon's ancient Iranian Empire does not appear to have extended its western borders in width to include the later southwest land where Parsa would eventually be located, for we do not find mention in the Shahnameh of lands south of what is today Kurdistan and perhaps Lorestan (Narwan?).

During the reign of the subsequent Kayanian dynasty (Zarathushtra lived during the reign of Kayanian King Vishtasp) which assumed dominance over the Aryan nations, the Shahnameh no longer has the capital of Greater Iran located near Sari, but rather in Balkh (Bactria) , in the north of Afghanistan today. Extent of Iran. Aryana Ancient Airyana Vaeja grew to become a federation of nations that classical Greek historian and geographer Strabo called Aryana/Ariana (Avestan Airyana). Strabo describes the different kingdoms/nations that constituted Aryana describing its borders as stretching from the Indus to Persia-Media - linked, as he noted, by a common language native to the groups (and we might add, trade/commerce and other cultural ties such as religion). In some ways the concept is similar to the umbrella Hellenic nation where when the Greek-speaking people moved or even asserted their independence from one another, they still maintained a sense of shared identity.

Aryana eventually extended from Central Turkey in the west to the Taklamakan Desert in the east, from the mid-Caspian region in the north (the northern borders of the various countries with names ending in -stan) to the Persian Gulf and the western Indus delta in the south. As we had mentioned earlier, this region at one time included 240 kingdoms. The borders of present-day Iran are a greatly contracted version of Aryana engineered mainly by the British and the Russians who successively carved of portions in their expansions of the British and Russian Empires. The British and Russian engineering of Iran's borders followed in the footsteps of the earlier Arab invasion and then Ottoman expansion both of which effectively removed the Tigris-Euphrates basin (Eastern Iraq today) from the Greater Iranian domain. Formation of Persia A ninth century (844) BCE inscription that recorded a successful military expedition by Assyrian King Shalmaneser III (859-824 BCE) in the north-central Zagros ranges south of Lake Urmia (in the northwest corner of today's Iran), states that Shalmaneser exacted tribute from twenty-seven 'kings' or chieftains of Parsua.

Several authors feel that the name Parsua was a precursor to the name Parsa (Persia). From that time on, we find that inscriptions containing the name Parsua, Parsumash / Parsamash or Parsuash gradually located this group(s) further south. Another Assyrian inscription states that Shalmaneser's successor, King Shamsi-Adad (823-810 BCE) destroyed 1,200 towns or settlements in Parsua in the region of present day Kermanshah some three hundred and fifty kilometres south of Lake Urmia. An eight century Assyrian inscription from the time of King Sennacherib (705-681 BCE) tells us that in 690 or 691 BCE the Parsumash and Anzan (Anshan), i.e. Persians allied with the Elamites, attacked the Assyrian city of Halule. The 7th Century BCE Assyrian inscriptions of Sennacherib's grandson, King Ashurbanipal (668 - c.

627 BCE) also mentions the nation of Parsamash or Parsumash which by then was apparently located along the western slopes of the Zagros and Bakhtiyari mountains bordering on Elam and perhaps extending as far south as the region around present-day Masjed-e Soleyman. [The city-state of Susa (today called Shush) was a part of Elam.] Elam is some hundred kilometres south of Kermanshah and is, together with Lorestan, in the mid-western border region of Iran today. Chishpish / Teispes (675-640 BCE) an early king of the Achaemenid dynasty of Persian kings - the first recorded Persian dynasty - as well as subsequent Achaemenian kings including Cyrus, referred to themselves as kings of Anshan. Anshan (Anzan) is said to have been a former Elamite city and state to the southeast of Elam and possibly bordering Pars where the Parsa/Parsi established their eventual homeland.

If the connection between Parsua, Parsumash / Parsamash or Parsuash and Parsa/Pars/Pers/Persia is correct, then we do have what appears to be a south-eastern movement by the Persians some thousand kilometres from Urmia to Pars. If the Persians were indeed migrants, then where was their original home? Greek historian Herodotus (c. 485-420 BCE ) in his Histories notes 7.62: "The Medes had exactly the same equipment as the Persians; and indeed the dress common to both is not so much Persian as Median. They had for commander Tigranes, of the lineage of the Achaemenids. These (the Medes & Persians) were called anciently by all people Aryans." Herodotus (485 - 420 BCE ) says that the Median (and Persian) association as Aryans was already 'ancient' in relation to the mid-first millennium BCE, the time when he lived. The Persian (Parsa/Parsi) kings themselves declare their Arya (Aryan) lineage in their inscriptions.

Today, in the north-western Afghan province of Herat, anciently called Aria (Arya), we find a people called the Parsiban (Parsi-ban could be a derivative of the older Parsa-van, meaning 'people of the Parsa/Parsi'. We are inclined to draw some connections between to two Parsis rather than ascribing this homonym to coincidence. The Persian migration theory is not universally accepted. There are those who believe that the Persians were autochthonous or aboriginal to the region of Pars. If so, the lack of mention of Parsa/Pars in both the Vendidad list of nations and the early Shahnameh, and well as the predominance of pre-Parsa Elamite artefacts in the Pars area beg a reasonable explanation. The Parsua, Parsumash / Parsamash or Parsuash will also need to be re-identified. Persian Rise to Dominance Over the Aryan Nations About 2,500 years ago, the Parsa (Persians) rose to power to became the dominant Aryan kingdom.

Dominance amongst the Aryans groups passed from the Medes to the Parsa (Persians) when the Achaemenian king Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II) established the Persian Empire in the sixth century BCE by bringing the nations within the Aryan Empire ruled by the Medes under overall Persian rule. The dominance of the Aryan federation of nations had passed from Feridoon's dynasty (in Gorgan-Mazandaran, i.e. central-north Aryana) to the Kayanians (in Balkh i.e. mid-eastern Aryana) to the Medes (in north-west Aryana) and now to the Persians (in south-western Aryana). Cyrus then added surrounding non-Aryan countries to his Persian Empire - especially countries to the west of Persia and Media. In this manner, the Persian Empire grew to include lands that extended from the lower Indus valley in the southeast corner, to Central Asia in the northeast, to Babylon in the centre, Egypt and Ethiopia in the southwest, and Asiatic Greece in the northwest. By the time Cyrus had finished putting together the Persian Empire, it had become the largest empire the world had ever known to that point in history.

The Achaemenid Persian Empire came to a close at the hands of Alexander of Macedonia in 330 BCE. A general of Alexander's established the Seleucid Empire which ruled over the previous Persian Empire until the Seleucids were overthrown by the Aryan Parthians in 248 BCE. Dominance of the Iranian (Aryan) nations now passed on the the Parthians . Parthia was a kingdom located in the northeast of present day Iran (around today's Khorasan province). Parthian rule lasted until it was replaced by the Persian Sassanian dynasty in 226 CE. The Persians thus resumed dominance of Iran until they were yet again overthrown - this time by the Arabs. The old noble and great Iran thus died, perhaps forever. It continues to live, however, in many hearts. First Use of the Name Iran As we had noted at the outset of this article, the name of the original Aryan homeland, Airyana Vaeja, evolved into Airan-Vej, then Eran-Vej or Airan-Vej (the Parthians and Sassanians had a slightly different pronunciation), then Eran or Airan, and finally Iran.

Classical Greek geographer Strabo , called the collection - the federation - of nations united by the Aryan language (and we add commerce, culture and religion), Aryana/Ariana (Avestan Airyana - the Aryan nation). That concept of autonomous nations or kingdoms within a greater Iranian nation or empire - and one ruled by a king-of-kings had existed from the earliest times in Aryan history. We find the first use of the modern derivative of Aryana, Eran or Airan, in the rock inscriptions of the Persian Sassanian kings (who ruled from 226 to 651 ACE). These inscription can still be seen at Naqsh-e-Rustam , a historical site containing royal tombs, and some 12 km northwest of the ancient Persian capital city of Persepolis in Pars. In the inscriptions, King Ardeshir I (226-241 ACE) is referred to as king of kings of Eran. This was when the Persian Sassanian dynasty displaced the Parthian Ashkanian kings as the Aryan king-of-kings.

It was usual that when such a coup took place, for the various Aryan nations or kingdoms to assert independence from central authority and for the rebellion to be met with a strong response from the coup leader to consolidate power. Ardeshir's son and successor King Shahpur (241-272 ACE) moved to consolidate dominance as king of kings over the other Aryan /kingdoms nations and to rebuild the Aryan Empire to its former extent under the Achaemenid Persians. His inscriptions refer to Eran and An-eran i.e. Aryan and non-Aryan kingdoms, the latter being nations such as Syria and Cilicia. The words Eran-shahr meaning 'place of the Aryans' was also used by the Sassanians in describing the Iranian nation. These words would evolve to Iran-shahr. Continued Western Use of the name Persia for Iran The West, influenced as it was by Greek and Latin literature, continued to call Eran 'Persia', presumably out of habit or because the rulers of Iran were Persians. That Western tradition continued into the last century until the reign of Iranian king, Reza Shah, founder of the Pahlavi dynasty.

In 1935 CE, Reza Shah asked those countries with whom Iran had diplomatic relations, to stop using the name Persia and to formally refer to his country as Iran. Some Euro-centric map-makers and authors ignored this formal request and continued to use Persia as the name instead of Iran. Iranian Capital Moves to Tehran At this time, Pars (Arabized as Fars - see below), the ancient seat of the Persian Empire, was now a province like any other province within Iran. Pars was no longer the seat of the Iran's capital anyway, since in the years following the Arab invasion of Iran, a 17th century CE Safavid dynasty king made his residence in the north-central Iranian town of Tehran. Later, in 1795 CE, the subsequent Qajar dynasty kings formally made Tehran Iran's capital, a position Tehran has held since then. That move finally brought to an end even a nominal notion of Pars (Persia) being the seat of the greater Iranian government. Local kingdoms ruled by kings eventually became provinces ruled by governors.

Pars and Fars Map of Modern Iran showing Pars / Fars In the 7th century CE, the Arabs conquered Iran and converted the mainly Zoroastrian population to Islam. The Arabs pronounced the name Pars as Fars (because Arabic does not have the 'p' sound) and this version of the name has persisted even after the departure of the Arabs. The more authentic name is Pars and not Fars. In the map of modern Iran at the right, the province of Fars (old Pars or Parsa) can be seen in the bottom-centre or southern Iran. Parsi and Farsi Similarly as with Pars, the word 'Parsi' meaning 'of Pars' or 'Persian' was mispronounced by the Arabs as 'Farsi' [As with the names 'English' or 'German', Parsi can mean the language of Pars, or a person from Pars (it is used as a last name), or for that matter, anything from Pars]. While the words Parsi and Farsi are synonymous, today the Arabized name Farsi is used to mean the Persian language.

The initial wave of Zoroastrian refugees who fled to India after the Arab invasion of Iran, now use of the authentic name 'Parsi' as their ethnic group name. Persian History Total ruling time: 40 years (includes 28 years of Scythian rule) Astyages (Reigned 35 years - About 594 to 559 B.C.) Son of Cyraxares (Her.Hist.1.107) Married Aryenis, daughter of Alyattes (king of Sardis), as part of a peace treaty between Sardis and Media (Her.Hist.1.74) Had a dream about his daughter Mandane. The Magi interpreted it to mean that one of her children would be a world ruler. Afraid for his kingdom, he married her to a Persian of a quiet temper (Her.Hist.1.107) After a second dream, Astyages ordered Harpagus to kill Mandane's child (Her.Hist.1.108) Harpagus, afraid to personally kill a child of the royal family, took it to a herdsman to expose on the mountains.

However, since the herdsman had just lost a child, he switched children and raised the baby. (Her.Hist.1.109-113) When the child was 10 years old, events happened which caused Astyages to discover who he was (Her.Hist.1.114-6) Astyages was pleased that the child was alive, but angry with Harpagus. In verifying Harpagus' actions, Harpagus admitted that he did not directly kill the child, and had not personally confirmed the death. (Her.Hist.1.117-8) To punish Harpagus, Astyages had his son killed and fed to him at a banquet. Harpagus had the presence of mind to not blame the king for acting wrong. (Her.Hist.1.119) The Magi, called in to determine what to do with the child (Cyrus), decided that Astyages' dream had been fulfilled and he had nothing to worry. The child was returned to his parents in Persia.

(Her.Hist.1.120-2) Was a cruel ruler (Her.Hist.1.127, 130) Loss of power - See Cyrus ( rise of the Persians ) Lived out his life in the court of Cyrus (Her.Hist.1.130) Total ruling time: 35 years (Her.Hist.1.130) History of Persia Cyrus - (Reigned 29 years - About 559 to 530 B. C.) Cyrus - Childhood See Astyages ( son of Mandane ) Cyrus - Rise of the Persians To avenge his son's death, Harpagus offered to support Cyrus in a bid for the throne. Method of secretly sending information - hid a letter inside a dead rabbit and disquised the messenger as a hunter. (Her.Hist.1.123-4) Cyrus was in charge of Persian army. To convince them to revolt, he made them spend one day cutting a field of thorn bushes, and the next day relaxing at a banquet. He then asked which one the army preferred.

Since the banquet was obviously better, Cyrus then asked why they remained slaves to the Medes when with a little work they could have luxury . (Her.Hist.1.125-6) Astyages heard of Cyrus' actions and ordered him to appear before him. Cyrus replied that he would be there very quick. Astyages then prepared for war and put Harpagus in charge of the Median army. When Cyrus' army met Harpagus, most of the army merged and proceeded on to attack Astyages. (Her.Hist.1.127) Astyages executed the Magi which had said that Cyrus was not a problem, and then attempted to raise an army. He was defeated and captured by Cyrus. (Her.Hist.1.128-9) Cyrus - Events during reign Defeat of the Lydians (Capital was Sardis, ruled by Croesus) Croesus provoked the situation, within a few years after Cyrus defeated Astyages. He was concerned with the power of Persia (Her.Hist.1.46), he coveted the land, and he was insulted about the treatment of Astyages, to whom he was related.

(Her.Hist.1.73) Croesus entered Cappadocia and faught them. Cyrus raised an army and attached Croesus, but though the initial battle was intense, neither side won. Since Cyrus did not attack the next day, Croesus decided to return to Sardis and be better prepared for war the next year (Her.Hist.1.76). When he arrived home, he disbanded his army (Her.Hist.1.77) Sparta, and the Babylonians had a treaty with Lydia. Labynetus was king of Babylon. (Her.Hist.1.77) Cyrus, suspecting what Croesus would do, followed Croesus so fast that he had no warning, and could not get support from his allies. (Her.Hist.1.79) Lydian warfare: Rode on horseback, with long lances (Her.Hist.1.79). Cyrus disabled the Lydian attack by using camels, which caused the Lydian horses to run in fear.

(Her.Hist.1.80) Lydia was taken by the Persians climbing a steep cliff on one side of Sardis, which the Lydians felt was too difficult a climb for an army to attempt. (Her.Hist.1.84) Croesus was captured and almost executed. When the Persians were plundering Sardis, he came up with a plan to give 1/10 of the money to Cyrus, by pretending that it was going to Zeus. Croesus became an advisor to Cyrus. (Her.Hist.1.89,90) The Lydians later revolted. Croesus, to avoid having Sardis destroyed, advised Cyrus to make the Lydians a nation of shopkeepers and musicians, since this would subdue their warlike attitude. (Her.Hist.1.154-157) Defeat of Ionians and Aeolians After defeat of Lydia, the Ionians and Aeolians sent envoys to Cyrus, but he rejected their terms. They prepared for war, and requested aid from Sparta.

(Her.Hist.1.141) Sparta voted to refuse aid against the Persians, but they did send a ship to observe their activity, and an envoy who ordered the Persians not to attack any Greek city. (Her.Hist.1.152) Cyrus was not impressed with Sparta, but since he wanted to attack Babylon and Egypt, he left one of his generals to conquer the Ionians. (Her.Hist.1.153) Harpagus, the Mede, attacked Phocaea first. This city had become known for their long sea voyages. Harpagus first asked for their surrender. They refused, but then evacuated the city by ship, taking their wealth. They tried to buy an island, and when they were refused, they returned to Phocaea and killed the Persians guarding the empty city. They then left and faught with other nations until they could have a city for themselves. (Her.Hist.1.162-167) Harpagus then went to other cities. One evacuated like the Phocaeans. The rest faught and lost.

(Her.Hist.1.168-170) Harpagus then and attacked the Carians, Caunians, and Lycians. The Carians and Caunians submitted fairly quick, but the Lycians of Xanthus faught well, and when they were driven back to their city they killed their families, burned the city, and then made a suicidal attack on the Persians. (Her.Hist.1.174-176) Defeat of Babylon Cyrus attacked Labynetus (Nabonitus) son of Nitocris. (Her.Hist.1.188) Cyrus split the Gyndes river into a number of streams to cross it (Her.Hist.1.189) Cyrus defeated the Babylonians in combat outside the walls, but then the Babylonians simply retreated behind their walls. Cyrus attempted a seige, but Babylon had food supplies for several years.(Her.Hist.1.190) Cyrus, unable to deal with the walls, stationed his army where the Euphrates entered and left the city under the walls. He then diverted the river, and the army entered under the walls.

If they had been detected, the Babylonians could have easily destroyed them, but they were having a festival and were unaware.(Her.Hist.1.190-1) Persians attack the Massagetae Cyrus wanted the realm of the Massagetae, by theCaspian sea.(Her.Hist.1.200-204) Cyrus had a dream that Darius, son of Hystaspes, (who was 20 years old at the time) was to become the future ruler.(Her.Hist.1.209) Cyrus won an initial victory, then had a major defeat and was killed.(Her.Hist.1.211-214) Cyrus, son of Cambyses (ruled 29 years) (Her.Hist.1.214) Cambyses - (Reigned 7 years, 5 months - About 530 to 523 B.

C.) Cambyses - Events during reign Pretext for war, while Amasis was king of Egypt (Her.Hist.3.1-2) Persians aided by Phanes, a Greek mercenary originally employed by Amasis (Her.Hist.3.3) Persians made an alliance with the Arabs. This was critical, since a land attack of Egypt required methods of obtaining water while crossing a desert. (Her.Hist.3.4-8) Arab's method of forming covenants (Her.Hist.3.7) Amasis died by the time Cambyses attacked (Her.Hist.3.9) Psammenitus, Amasis' son ruled Egypt when Cambyses attacked (Her.Hist.3.9) Mercenaries hired by Psammenitus were upset with Phanes, and so they killed his sons and drank their blood before the battle with the Persians. After a fierce battle, the Egyptians were defeated (Her.Hist.3.11, 13) Libya, Cyrene & Barca paid tribute rather than risk war (Her.Hist.3.13) Cambyses humiliated Psammenitus to test his character, and then relented and allowed him to rule.

He later attempted a rebellion, and when discovered he committed suicide. (Her.Hist.3.14-15) Cambyses desecrated the body of Amasis, in his frustration that Amasis died before Cambyses arrived. (Her.Hist.3.16-17) Cambyses sent his fleet to attack Carthage (Her.Hist.3.18) Cambyses' attempts to capture Ethiopia Initially sent spies to Ethiopia with "gifts" (Her.Hist.3.18) Ethiopians were tall, strong, handsome and lived long (120 years). They had plenty of gold, but little bronze. They ate boiled meat and milk. The dead were enbalmed and placed in clear caskets in their homes. The Ethiopian king recognized that the Persians were spies, and he insulted the power of the Persians. (Her.Hist.3.19-23) Cambyses, in anger, decided to attack but did not plan for supplies in the desert. He turned back before reaching Ethiopia, after his army was resorting to cannibalism to survive.

(Her.Hist.3.25) Cambyses attempt to attack the Ammonians failed due to a sandstorm which destroyed the army (Her.Hist.3.26) Cambyses arrived back in Memphis after his failure against Ethiopia. The Egyptians were rejoicing because their god APIS (a specially marked bull) appeared. Cambyses, thinking that they were rejoicing over his failure, killed the bull. (Her.Hist.3.27-29) Cambyses - Madness of Killed his brother Smerdis because he had a dream that Smerdis would rule the empire (Her.Hist.3.30) Married his sister (against Persian custom) and later killed her in anger (Her.Hist.3.31-32) Cambyses once asked Prexaspes (who was a message carrier) what the people thought of their king. Displeased with the answer that he drank too much, he killed Prexaspes's son (who was a cupbearer) to prove his skill as an archer.

(Her.Hist.3.34-35) Cambyses took 12 leading Persians, who were not charged with crimes worthy of death, and buried them up to their necks (Her.Hist.3.35) Cambyses, displeased with the advice of Croesus, tried to kill him. Cambyses servants hid Croesus rather than killing him, since they thought he might regret the decision later. Cambyses was glad that Croesus remained alive, but he killed those who had refused to do what he commanded (Her.Hist.3.36) Cambyses opened tombs and ridiculed the Egyptian gods in their temples (Her.Hist.3.37) Cambyses - Events leading to his death Cambyses received word in Egypt that "Smerdis" had become the ruler of the Persians. When he realized that he had killed his brother in error, and in his anger at the Magi, he mounted his horse quickly to organize his army to return. His sword accidentally injured him, and after about 20 days, infection caused his death in Agbatana, Syria.

Cambyses, on his death bed, told the Persians that he had killed his brother, but this was not believed at first. (Her.Hist.3.61-66) Cambyses ruled 7 years, 5 months. He died with no descendents (male or female) (Her.Hist.3.66) Smerdis (the Magus) - (Reigned 8 months - 522 B. C.) Patizeithes, a Magi who was in charge of Cambyses house, knew that Cambyses' brother Smerdis had been secretly killed. Since Patizeithes' brother looked like Smerdis (and shared his name), they decided that he should pretend to be Smerdis, son of Cyrus, and issued a proclaimation that all nations and armies should follow Smerdis, rather than Cambyses. (Her.Hist.3.61) The two brothers succeeded, since Cambyses died shortly after hearing about the revolt, and Prexaspes refused to admit that he had killed Cambyses' brother.

(Her.Hist.3.62-66) The two Magi bought the friendship of other nations by repealing the war taxes for three years (Her.Hist.3.67) The Persians began to suspect fraud when Smerdis never left the capital, and refused to have any private audiences with the Persian nobles. (Her.Hist.3.68) Otanes, a Persian noble who's daughter had been a wife of Cambyses, and therefore became a wife of "Smerdis", used his daughter to verify who was king. Initially this was difficult, since the daughter had never met the real Smerdis, and the king seperated all of Cambyses' wives as soon as he became king (since queen Atossa was brother to both Smerdis and Cambyses). However, king Cyrus had cut off the ears of Smerdis the Magi, so Otanes proposed that his daughter check to see if he had ears. This was dangerous, but the daughter waited until it was her turn in rotation to sleep with the king, and then checked his ears when he was asleep.

(Her.Hist.3.68-69) Otanes gathered six other Persians in a conspiracy to murder the Magi (Aspathines, Gobryas, Intaphernes, Gobryas Megabyzus, Aspathines Hydarnes and Darius, son of Hystapes). (Her.Hist.3.70) Otanes wanted to gain more support. Darius urged them to attack the Magi before their plot could be discovered. (Her.Hist.3.71-73) Prexaspes, at a public gathering, admitted that he had killed the brother of Cambyses, and that their king was a fraud. Before the Magi brothers could recover from this, the seven Persians arrived at the court, and were almost admitted to the presence of the king. When guards finally stopped them, they killed the guards and the Magi. (Her.Hist.3.74-78) The Persians responded to the revolt by executing all of the Magi that could be found, since they were insulted that they had been ruled by Magi. This later became the start of a yearly festival called the "Slaughter of the Magi".

(Her.Hist.3.79) Darius, son of Hystapes - (Reigned xx years- 522 to xxx B. C.) Darius - Rise to power Darius was one of the conspirators who murdered the Magi "Smerdis" The 7 conspirators met to decide what form of government to set up. There were several opinions, but most voted for a king. 6 decided to select the king from among themselves. The 7th, Otanes, did not want to rule or be ruled. It was agreed that he would not be allowed to be king, but that he and his descendents would not be bound to follow any decree of whoever became king. (Her.Hist.3.80-83) Method to select the king - the one who's horse neighed first after sunrise. Darius, by the help of his groom, won.

(Her.Hist.3.84-87) Customs of the Medes Customs of the Persians Nature of Persians before they were a world power: Wore leather pants and clothes, ate what a poor soil provided, drank water instead of wine, had no dessert luxuries like figs (Her.Hist.1.71) Wine - Drunk in large quantities. Decisions must be made and confirmed when they are both drunk and sober. (Intellect and Emotion) (Her.Hist.1.133) Display of rank in public: People of equal rank give each other a kiss on the lips. One of slightly lower rank receives a kiss on the cheek. One of much lower rank bows to the one of higher rank. (Her.Hist.1.134) Easily adopt customs from other nations. They dress like the Medes, wear Egyptian breastplates in war, and adopt luxurys and novelties from others (Her.Hist.1.135) Yearly festival - "Slaughter of the Magi" - Honored Darius revold against the Magi. No Magi is allowed to be seen on the day of the festival.

(Her.Hist.3.79) Law and government Conception of ranks in nations: The closest neighbors have the highest esteem. Those further away a lesser, and the furthest away are the least esteemed. Therefore the Persians rule the Medes, the Medes rule the nations at their border, and those nations rule the next layer out, etc. (Her.Hist.1.134). They often allow the children of a rebellious king to assume control in place of the father (Her.Hist.3.15) Judges are specially picked men, and hold the office for life unless convicted of misconduct. They interpret the old laws and resolve all disputes. (Her.Hist.3.31) Persians allowed the king to do anything he wished (Her.Hist.3.31) A cupbearer to the king was a highly honored position in Persia (Her.Hist.3.34) There was a distinction between the law of the land, and the edicts of a king.

All Persians, including the king, were bound to follow the laws of the Persians (Her.Hist.3.31, 83) The king is not allowed to execute a man for a single fault (Her.Hist.1.137) The Persian people were not allowed to execute a slave for a single fault (Her.Hist.1.137) Basic concept in law: Good actions weighed against bad actions, and if the good did not outweigh the bad, the punishment was carried out. (Her.Hist.1.137) Persians believe it is unlawful to talk about something that it is unlawful to do (Her.Hist.1.138) Telling a lie was the most disgraceful thing for a Persian to do, closely followed as being in debt. (Her.Hist.1.139) Family Persian fathers are greatly honored by having large families of sons. However, infant mortality was likely high, for the father was not allowed to see a son until he was 5 year old. The sons were educated from the age of 5 to 20, being taught to ride, use a bow, tell the truth.

(Her.Hist.1.135) After the age of 20, a boy was allowed to go to war (Her.Hist.1.209) Birthdays: Most commonly celebrated day. The one having a birthday celebrates with a fancy meal, with a lot of desserts. (Her.Hist.1.133) Having multiple wives was common, and men often had more concubines than wives. (Her.Hist.1.135) At least the wives were sleep with them in rotation (Her.Hist.3.69) Illegal for a man to marry his sister (Her.Hist.3.31) Religion Have no temples, altars or images of gods. They do climb the highest mountains and offer sacrifices to Zeus. They also worship the sun, moon, earth, fire, water and winds. They also worship Mitra (similiar to Aphrodite). Sacrifices are made by cutting up the animal and boiling the flesh. A Magi then chants a hymn, and the worshipper then takes the meat away to use as he pleases. There is no altar, grain offerings or music.

(Her.Hist.1.131, 132) Fire is viewed as a god (Her.Hist.3.16) Magi Likely a caste in the Persian society Enjoy killing many types of animals (Her.Hist.1.138) A Magi must be present at sacrifices (Her.Hist.1.132) Called to interprete dreams (Her.Hist.1.107-8, 120) Sometimes killed for giving bad advice (Her.Hist.1.128) Burial Customs Males are not buried before they are torn by a dog or bird of prey. (Her.Hist.1.140) After being torn, the body is covered with wax, then buried (Her.Hist.1.140) It is unlawful to burn the dead, since fire is considered a god and they felt it was wrong to give a corpse to a god. (Her.Hist.3.16) Medical practices Leprosy: A Persian with leprosy was not allowed to enter a city or interact with others. Foreigners with the disease were forced to leave the country.

Even animals (birds) with the disease were driven away. (Her.Hist.1.139) Sewage was not dumped in rivers, nor were they used for bathing, because they hold rivers in great honor. (Her.Hist.1.139) Warfare Water for the king during the war was brought from a stream near Susa, boiled, and stored in silver jars. (Her.Hist.1.188) Copyright (c) 1996, 1997 by Bruce J. Butterfield. All Rights Reserved. Iran Chamber Society: When "Persia" became "Iran" Geography of Iran When "Persia" became "Iran" This article is a part of "Persia or Iran" by Professor Ehsan Yarshater, published in Iranian Studies, Vol. XXII, No.1, 1989. In 1935 the Iranian government requested those countries which it had diplomatic relations with, to call Persia "Iran," which is the name of the country in Persian. The suggestion for the change is said to have come from the Iranian ambassador to Germany, who came under the influence of the Nazis.

At the time Germany was in the grip of racial fever and cultivated good relations with nations of "Aryan" blood. It is said that some German friends of the ambassador persuaded him that, as with the advent of Reza Shah, Persia had turned a new leaf in its history and had freed itself from the pernicious influences of Britain and Russia, whose interventions in Persian affairs had practically crippled the country under the Qajars, it was only fitting that the country be called by its own name, "Iran." This would not only signal a new beginning and bring home to the world the new era in Iranian history, but would also signify the Aryan race of its population, as "Iran" is a cognate of "Aryan" and derived from it. The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent out a circular to all foreign embassies in Tehran, requesting that the country thenceforth be called "Iran." Diplomatic courtesy obliged, and by and by the name "Iran" began to appear in official correspondence and news items. At first "Iran" sounded alien (for non-Iranians), and many failed to recognize its connection with Persia.

Some (Westerners) thought that it was perhaps one of the new countries like Iraq and Jordan carved out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire, or a country in Africa or Southeast Asia that had just been granted independence; and not a few confused it with Iraq, itself a recent entity. As time passed and as a number of events, like the Allied invasion of Iran in 1941 and the nationalization of the oil industry under Prime Minster Dr Mohammad Mosaddeq, put the country in the headlines, the name "Iran" became generally accepted, and "Persia" fell into comparative disuse, though more slowly in Britain than in the United States.

Question: Which country was previously called Persia?
Answer: Iran