Persia was a western name for Iran. Was that the only reason it was renamed Iran?

Answer 1

Iran is an ancient country, and has gone under a lot of different names during its long and glourious history.

Modern Iran is the last small (its a huge country) but none the less, a small remaining part of the huge ancient Aryian empire.

During the second millennia B.C., successive Indo-European (Aryan) invaders broke through into the Iranian plateau, either from the Caucasus, or through Central Asia. Those who settled in Iran were divided into tribes that were distinguished from each other by their different dialects. The most famous of these tribes were the Persians (Parsa), and the Medes (Mada).

The Persians eventually settled in the province of Fars and in the Bakhtiari Mountains, while the Medes occupied the Hamedan plain. The Medes, were fierce warriors and skilled horse breeders, and at first were organised as independent tribes; however, this changed under the tribal chief, Deioces. The Median capital was established at Ecbatana or "Place of Assembly", modern Hamedan. Under the rule of Cyaxares (633-584 B.C.), the Medes put an end to centuries of war against the Assyrians. Their capture of Niniva in 612 B.C. finally brought down the Assyrian Empire. For more than half a century after the fall of Niniva, the Medes ruled over a vast empire with borders stretching from Afghanistan to Turkey.

Thus the country has always been known to its own people as Iran (land of the Aryans), although for centuries it was referred to as Persia (Pars or Fars) a small province of southern Iran. The Europeans, mainly due to the writings of Greek historians adopted this name.

In 1935 the Government specified that it should be called Iran; however, in 1949 they allowed both names to be used.

Answer 2

No Persia is not western, Iran is what is left of the persian empire. It was renamed Iran for islamic reasons.

Answer 3

No, Iran is its original name for its inhabitants. Always have been.
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http://www.crystalinks.com/iran.html
By its people, Iran or Persia has been called Aryanam since ancient times and Iran/Eranshahr since the Sassanian period. "Aryanam" is the ancient version of "Iran" and the old genitive plural meaning (land) of the Aryans. The term Persia is the name used for this country by European countries since the Persian Empire of the Achaemenids in the 6th century BC.

Answer 4

Iran was the Persian name

Answer 5

in fact persia(pars) refered to those who spoke farsi and lived in iran so many years ago .as time went by a group of people emigranted to iran , they called ariya .after that this country was named iran.

Answer 6

Yes, it's the third world inferiority complex at it again.
Do Germans insist on their country being called Deutschland? Or do Brits mind because their capital is Londres to the French?