History of the name of the country of Iran (Former Persia in Western countries)

Do you know when our country was called Iran and what was the reason?

Until the beginning of the 20th century, the people of the world called our country with the official title”Persian or Persian” They knew, but during the reign ” King Reza ” that the discussion of returning to ancient Iran and emphasis on pre-Islamic Iran had gained strength, a circle of antiquarian intellectuals such as ” Saeed Nafisi “، ” Mohammad Ali Foroughi ” And ” Seyed Hasan Taghizadeh ” In the first Pahlavi government with direct support ” King Reza ” They had gathered to take measures for this purpose.

” Saeed Nafisi ” One of Reza Khan's close advisers suggested to him that the official name of the country be ” Iran ” To change, this proposal in” November 1313 ” Shamsi took on the color of reality. The note you are reviewing is an article by Shadran ” Saeed Nafisi ” There is information in the newspaper that after the official title ” Iran “, has shared the reasons and historical and cultural justification of this choice with the general public.

Among the Europeans, the word ” Iran ” It was only a geographical term, and in the geography books, the vast plain that includes Iran, Afghanistan and today's Baluchistan was called the Iranian Plateau, and our country was called in French. ” Pres “, In English ” Persia “, in German ” Perzin “, in Italian ” Persia “And in Russian ” he asked ” They used to say and words like these four words were common in other European languages.

The reason was that when the Achaemenid government in the year 550 BC means in 2484 A year ago, Cyrus the Great formed the Achaemenid king and gathered the whole civilized world under his rule, because his fathers were the kings of the land called "Parsa" or "Parsava" and included today's Fars and Khuzestan..

Greek historians also called the Achaemenid state "Persis" based on the same history as the Persian kings They read, and then this word became "Persi" or "Persia" and its various forms through Latin in European languages, and the adjective derived from it is "persan" in French, "Persian" in English, and "Persian" in German. Parzish" and in Italian it became "Persiana" and in Russian it became "Persidsky" and in French it became "Pers" for ancient Iran before Islam. ( Related to the Achaemenid and Sasanian periods ) And they made "Persan" common for Iran after Islam .

Only among the scholars and especially the orientalists of the word ” Iran ” Kingdoms and races were used for all ancient and new sciences and civilizations.

word ” Iran ” It is one of the oldest words ” Aryan race ” brought with him to the circle of civilization. This branch of the white race, which is the creator of human civilization and is called by European scholars ” Indian and European ” Or Nazad ” Hindu and German ” And oh “Indian and Iranian ” And oh ” Hindu and Aryan ” They have read and made a name for themselves since the first day in the world ” The name is Arya ” called and this word in European languages ​​"arin" is adjectival, i.e. attributed to ” Arya ” And ” yes ” It has become common .

This race covers from the banks of the Indus River on one side and to the shores of the Maghreb Sea on the other side, that is, all the inhabitants of the Maghreb and northwestern India, Afghanistan, Turkestan, Iran, a part of Mesopotamia, the Caucasus, Russia, and all of Europe and Asia Minor. Palestine, Syria and all of North and South America has been made its territory over time . Its stories and beliefs have always been connected with each other and the earth has always been the manifestation of its good and evil . In the Avesta, which is the oldest written works of this race, the area that was the first cradle of life and the first home of this race is called "Iran and Vajeh", which means the land. ” I showed her ” And also in Avesta, the word "Abriya" is mentioned for this race . Our fathers have always boasted about being Aryans; As Darius the Great portrayed himself in the inscription ” Persian ” He is a Persian boy and he is proud of it .

At the time when the Achaemenid dynasty brought the whole of Iran under its rule, it is not known what they called the collection of these kingdoms, because in the Achaemenid inscriptions, only the names of the states and different areas of the Achaemenid territory were mentioned, and they did not mention the name of the whole of these kingdoms. . Certainly, at the same time, the name of all these kingdoms should be derived from Aryan, because all the inhabitants of these areas call themselves Aryan, and the word Arya is seen in the noble names of these kingdoms. .

The oldest written document in the world and the old word ” Iran ” It is registered in it; said ” Votes ” He is a famous Greek geographer who lived in the 3rd century BC and his book has been lost ” Strabo ” The famous Greek geographer quoted it and called it "Ariana".. Therefore, at least two thousand and two hundred years ago, this word was common .

Therefore, the oldest name of our country is this word ” Iran ” Bodeh means first, the name ” the area ” that name ” race ” and the name of the country ” Abrian ” have built and then over time ” Abrian ” ،” Iran ” and during the Sassanid period, Ayran, Iran ( to the first fraction and the second remainder ) has changed and in the meantime ” Aran ” ( to the first fraction ) They have also said . As the Sassanid kings put their names on coins and inscriptions ” King of Iran and Aran ” They have written and since the time of Shapur I Sassani, the word has been written on the coins ” Aniran ” It is also seen. Since the ” a thousand ” In the Pahlavi language, open was a sign of negation and division, and Aniran means other than Iran and outside of Iran, and it refers to other kingdoms, the Sassanians intended for other countries. .

In the Sassanid period, the word Iranshahr means the city of Iran ( The land and country of Iran ) It has also been common and Iraq, which was given this name among the kingdoms, was called "Heart of Iranshahr". .

The word Iranshahr has been used by Ferdowsi and other poets . So Iranshahr means the entire kingdom of the Sassanids, as this point was popular until the time of Hamdullah Mustofi Qazvini, the author of Nuzhat al-Qulub, who was in the middle of the 8th century Hijri, i.e., until four hundred years ago, and he defined the borders of Iran as such. :

” From the east of the Indus River and Kabul and across the Nile and Khorezm, from the west of Aran ( Transcaucasia ) to the territory of Rome and Syria from the north of Armenia and Russia and the Qapchag and Darband plains and from the south of the Najd desert on the way to Mecca and the Persian Gulf.”

But the word Iran, which is now common among us and Europeans, and the new word is the same word that was common during the Sassanid era, and has always been common in the period after Islam, and Ferdowsi, Iran, Iranshahr, and Iran have always used the land, and even poets Ghaznavi also mentioned Iranshahr and Iran in his poems and considered the kings of this dynasty as Khosrowan of this land .

After the Europeans, our country in the custom of their language ” Pres ” or they called its counterparts, and the Greek and Roman historians did not abandon this habit, either scientifically or terminologically. Press has been the name of one of its states that we are here ” Fars ” Pronounced mi kneem .

It was right for us to ask all European countries to leave this wrong term and call our country as we have always called it. ” Iran ” and attribute it ” Iranian ” to be called .Thank God that this important action was taken in this auspicious time and this land which was the first homeland of the Aryan race will be called by its historical and ancient name. .In the end, this important work that has been done for the benefit of Iran's history has a place for us to revive the literature of Iran in the midst of the ancient term of the Sassanid period and to write and say the kingdom of Iran as Iranshahr after this.. Because apart from the fact that we have revived the memory of the majesty and glory of the Sassanids and have called the land of Ardeshir Babkan and Anushirvan the name they called themselves, we have used a simple word instead of two compound words..

I hope that this proposal will be approved and accepted in the same office that is the guardian of all the past and future greatness of Iran.”

Tehran 10 December 1313

Saeed Nafisi

Assistance: Parsina

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