historical region corresponding to modern Fars province, Iran
Encyclopedia Britannica
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Persia | Definition, Location, Map, & Facts | Britannica
July 20, 1998 - Persia, historic region of southwestern Asia associated with the area that is now modern Iran. The term Persia was used for centuries and originated from a region of southern Iran formerly known as Persis, alternatively as Pārs or Parsa, modern ...
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Persians
Persians - Wikipedia
June 8, 2026 - Persians, or Persian people, are an Iranian ethnic group indigenous to the Iranian plateau in West Asia that comprise the majority of the population of modern-day Iran. They have a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language.
Videos
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The ENTIRE History of PERSIA | Persia Invented the Modern World?
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THE ORIGIN OF PERSIANS (MODERN-DAY IRANIANS) ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE!
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From ancient Persia to the modern Iranian regime, the story remains ...
HISTORY
history.com › home › articles › persian or iranian? here’s how they differ | history
Persian or Iranian? Here’s How They Differ | HISTORY
March 20, 2026 - The modern shift from Persia to Iran came in 1935, when the ruler Reza Shah Pahlavi formally asked foreign governments to adopt the name Iran in place of Persia in official international use.
Far Horizons
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When was Persia renamed “Iran”…and Why? | Far Horizons
March 4, 2024 - The formal adoption of “Iran” in 1935 by Reza Shah Pahlavi marked a significant turning point, symbolizing a deliberate reconnection with the nation’s ancient past and a step toward modern nation-statehood. This change, far from a mere alteration of nomenclature, was a manifestation of Iran’s efforts to redefine its identity, distancing itself from colonial legacies and orientalist perspectives. Reza Shah’s decree, issued on the Persian New Year, was a declaration of cultural sovereignty, aiming to revive the glory of Iran’s imperial past while navigating the path towards modernization.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/askhistorians › is iran the same country as persia ? it has always been iran locally but persia abroad? right?
r/AskHistorians on Reddit: Is Iran the same country as Persia ? It has always been Iran locally but Persia abroad? Right?
April 20, 2023 - Depending on context, Persia can refer to either the major political power of Iran as a whole or the specific geographic region that was home to the Ancient Persian people. The exact political borders shifted over time, but this is still true today. The modern Iranian province of
Reddit
reddit.com › r/nostupidquestions › is iran really the current day persia with a different name?
r/NoStupidQuestions on Reddit: Is Iran really the current day Persia with a different name?
June 8, 2026 -
Isn't that kind of huge like these guys come from royalty like a huge legacy.
Its just to me that other countries from that time when Persia was famous and making history are now gone or fallen yet they are still here
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Iran
Iran - Wikipedia
2 hours ago - Innovations in literature, philosophy, ... the Persian language. This era was followed by Seljuk and Khwarazmian rule, Mongol conquests and the Timurid Renaissance from the 11th to 14th centuries. In the 16th century, the native Safavid dynasty re-established a unified Iranian state with Twelver Shia Islam as the official religion, laying the framework for the modern state of ...
Fair Observer
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What Do You Know About Iran, Formerly Persia? - Fair Observer
August 11, 2023 - Iran, aka Persia, is one of the oldest civilizations, formed one of the first empires in the world and contributed immensely to human progress. Under the mullahs, Iran has become a formidable regional power again.
History Hit
historyhit.com › home › articles › 20th century
When Did Persia Become Iran and Why? | History Hit
The rest of the world paid Persia new attention, and the British were the first to capitalise on the discovery, setting up the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in 1909, which took total control of Iran’s oil industry. Iran’s oil and petroleum industry have remained at the heart of internal and external politics ever since: the influence of Western powers in Iran helped lead a backlash in the formal of cultural ‘cleansing’ and conservatism, and the formal establishment of Iran as an Islamic Republic. For many modern day Iranians, including the diaspora, the issue comes with wider connotations.
Getty
getty.edu › art › exhibitions › persia › explore.html
Persia: Ancient Iran and the Classical World
Ancient Iran, historically known as Persia, was the dominant nation of western Asia for over twelve centuries, with three successive native dynasties—the Achaemenid, the Parthian, and the Sasanian—controlling an empire of unprecedented size ...
Homework.Study.com
homework.study.com › explanation › what-modern-day-country-is-persia.html
What modern day country is Persia? | Homework.Study.com
Persia is the modern day country of Iran. The official language of Iran is Farsi, but it is still sometimes called Persian.
Encyclopedia Britannica
britannica.com › geography & travel › geographic regions
Ancient Iran | History, Map, Cities, Religion, Art, Language, & Facts | Britannica
June 12, 2026 - Ancient Iran, historic region of southwestern Asia that is only roughly coterminous with modern Iran. The term Persia was used for centuries, chiefly in the West, to designate those regions where Persian language and culture predominated, but ...
Tours of Iran
toursofiran.com › home › travel tips › where is persia now?
Where is Persia Now?
November 13, 2025 - From the Achaemenids to the Sassanids, Persia shaped world history through its culture, administration, and respect for diversity. Modern Iran still carries the spirit and pride of this ancient civilization.
TAP Persia
tappersia.com › home › iran › where is persia?
Where Is Persia? | TAPPersia
The historical land of Persia in southwest Asia is connected to the current country of Iran. The term Persia has been in use for many years and comes from an area of southern Iran once known as Persis, also known as Pārs or Parsa, and currently ...
Published September 19, 2025
ThoughtCo
thoughtco.com › is-it-iranian-or-persian-3555178
Understanding the Differing Meanings of Iranian and Persian
July 26, 2024 - Generally, Persia today refers to Iran because the country formed over the center of the ancient Persian empire and the majority of its original citizens inhabited that land. Modern Iran is comprised of a large number of different ethnic and ...
Ucsb
persian.religion.ucsb.edu › home › maps
Maps – Persian Languages and Literature at UCSB
At its greatest extent, the empire ... Northern Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Oman, China, and UAE · In 1935, the name of the country was changed from Persia to Iran to signify the Aryan race of its population as “Iran” is a cognate of “Aryan” & derived from ...
Maps of World
mapsofworld.com › answers › where is persia?
Where is Persia?
June 25, 2024 - Persia is not a country today. It is the old name for what we now call Iran. For many centuries, “Persia” was used to describe this region and its people. So, even though it is not a country now, it refers to the same area as modern-day Iran.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/askhistorians › difference between iran and persia?
r/AskHistorians on Reddit: Difference between Iran and Persia?
June 6, 2023 -
So i'm Iranian myself, and from what I understood, Iranians never really called their country Persia. The name for Persia came from the Province of Parsa which is now called Pars / Fars in New Persian. Greeks used the word Persia to describe Iran as a whole and it stuck for most countries until Reza Shah (king of Iran) requested people call it Iran not Persia.
But on a Achaemenid description at Persepolis, Darius says this:
King Darius: This country Persia which Ahuramazda gave to me is a good country, full of good horses, full of good men. By the favor of Ahuramazda and of me, king Darius, this country fears no other country.
Is he referring to the Province only? Why is he calling it a country? or is he saying this to refer to his empire as a whole?
https://www.livius.org/sources/content/achaemenid-royal-inscriptions/dpd/
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I think my answer linked by u/Pyr1t3_Radio more or less overs the distinction between "Iran" and "Persia," but I do want to address the inscription you referenced. Partly because DPd is a pretty obscure example to run across that I think is actually from a very interesting set of royal inscriptions, and partly because your confusion on the use of "country" runs up against pet peeve of mine. As I explained more in that other thread, Parsa / Persia only refers to the specific province. If you go a bit further down into the sub comments there, you'll also find one where I mention that the Achaemenids apparently did not have a singular name for their whole territory, instead preferring to list all of the major lands and peoples under their control. This was often framed as "these are the countries which I seized outside of Persia..." followed by a list of specific locations. You can also find examples of the Achaemenids drawing a distinction between Persian and Aryan (meaning Iranian in an ethno-linguistic sense), in the phrase "I am [king's name and titles], an Achaemenid, a Persian, son of a Persian, an Aryan, having Aryan lineage." Persian is used to specify relation to the province while Aryan indicates a broader identity. You can see both of these phrases used in inscription DNa . As for the question about calling it a country, hopefully the use of "countries" in that stock phrase above provides some additional context. It is an unintentionally confusing translation choice in modern English. The Old Persian word is dahyu (plural dahyunam), which can also be translated as just "land" or "place." In this context, "country" is using a more general meaning of "an area or region" rather than what you seem to be thinking of: "a specific sovereign state." Both are perfectly valid definitions, but "an area or region" is actually the older meaning of the word, which originated in the medieval Latin phrase contra terra, meaning "the land across." In modern English, we tend to use "country," "state," "nation," and "nation-state," more or less interchangeably. However, especially when looking at older documents or older translations of documents, these words all have different original meanings. While a country can refer to any given region, "nation" was originally used more like "ethnicity" (the same is true for the word "race"). A good example of this in an Achaemenid context is The Gate of All Nations at Persepolis, which is called the duvarthim visadahyum in Old Persian, duvarthim meaning "gate," visa meaning "all," and dahyum being a possessive form of dahyunam, more accurately meaning "lands." Compare that to the common use of "nations" in Biblical translations such as "And He will judge between the nations" in Isaiah 2:4, where the original Hebrew word is goyim, which refers to non-Jewish peoples rather than places or polities. This original use of "nation" is the reason for the term "nation-state," which seems oxymoronic in modern usage but originally specified a "state" (the earliest of these words to originally refer to a sovereign polity English) dedicated to one specific "nation" (as in ethnicity). All of that said, looking at DPd is especially interesting to me because it's part of a fairly unique set of inscriptions in Achaemenid history. Along with DPe, f, and g, this inscription is carved into the southern wall of the Persepolis terrace containing the main royal palace. It's a very odd placement because in that position they would have been all but invisible. They are high above, and behind, the small cluster of additional palaces and public buildings called Persepolis South. When Darius the Great initially comissioned these inscriptions, they would have been visible to workers ascending a sort of back stair case onto terrace for construction, but not to the literate nobles and their attendance ascending the main entrance on the western side. Despite this, these inscriptions are also some of the only examples that explicitly address someone, presumably future kings, with DPe saying King Darius [says]: If you think, "I fear no one else," then protect the Persians. Because when the Persians are protected, their happiness will remain unbroken, and the favor of Ahuramazda will come down upon the royal house." The explicit focus on Persia and the Persian people in these inscriptions is almost unique. Similar phrases are used in other inscriptions to call on Ahura Mazda to protect the whole empire or the royal family, but rarely Persia specifically. Equally strange is DPd's focus on protecting Persia "...from invaders, from famine, and from the Lie!" Achaemenid inscriptions (and ancient royal inscriptions in general) typically avoid even suggesting that hardship could befall the ruling province directly unless something had happened recently. Invaders is especially odd, as Parsa was nestled deep in the heart of imperial territory. On top of that, Achaemenid inscriptions are often trilingual, with the same message repeated in Old Persian, Babylonian Akkadian, and Elamite. However, while DPf and g are similar texts in Elamite and Akkadian, they are not the same message. They're not even the same text as one another. DPf focuses on the construction of Persepolis in Elamite, and DPg describes the extent of the Empire in Akkadian. Unlike most inscriptions of that sort, DPg only highlights Persia and Media by name, reducing the rest of the empire to "other dahyunam" and geographic descriptions. It's a set of four inscriptions, directed at three separate audiences, each with their own distinct message, which is utterly unique in the Achaemenid corpus on its own and only more so with the odd focus on discussing threats to Parsa itself to the Old Persian-literate audience.
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You may be interested in this recent answer by u/Trevor_Culley on the different origins of the names "Iran" and "Persia".
OrientTrips
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Where Is Persia? Exploring The Heart Of Ancient Iran
January 29, 2026 - This question is key to grasping the full scope of its significance. Today, Persia is synonymous with modern Iran, but its story spans a vast plateau, weaving together rugged landscapes, ancient traditions, and a resilient identity.
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World Population Review
worldpopulationreview.com › country-rankings › persian-countries
Persian Heritage Countries 2026
1 day ago - However, in a cultural and linguistic ... language has three main modern dialects: Iranian Persian, also known as Farsi; Afghan/Eastern Persian, also known as Dari; and Tajik Persian/Tajiki....