Should Persia be called Iran?

[Optimizer]

Someone said that Iran is a more historically correct name for Persia.

Are Iranians and Persians the same people, or do they just happen to come from the same territory?

[Dauphin]

Persia was renamed to Iran in the 1930s.

This was to do with Persia being a "Western" name, Iran being a colloquial name, or something like that.

Same people etc..

[jdd2007]

no. thats like calling rome italy, babylonians iraqis, and zulus south africa

[Hagbart]

The Persians is not the same as the Iranians.

[Purple]

Originally posted by Sagacious Dolphin
Persia was renamed to Iran in the 1930s.

This was to do with Persia being a "Western" name, Iran being a colloquial name, or something like that.

Same people etc..

Our word "Persia" derives from the Old Persian "Parsa." Etymologically related is the name of their language: Farsi, which belongs to the Indo-European language family.

Interestingly, the word "Iran" is related to the word "Aryan."

For Civ purposes, Persia seems like the better choice.

[Fresno]

We've always known them as Persians, Iran is a 20th century name. Because Civ is all about history, Persia is the proper name.

[Gangerolf]

Should Persia be called Iran?

no

[Jethro83]

While I believe that there aren't enough modern civilizations to choose from, I still prefer to call the Persian people Persians rather than Iranians.

[jsw363]

Originally posted by LordAzreal
While I believe that there aren't enough modern civilizations to choose from, I still prefer to call the Persian people Persians rather than Iranians.

I think that most people refer to them as Persians and also the language as Persian, though in the last year more people are referring to it as Farsi.

[DarkCloud]

Iran is a modern name for the nation... It conjures up different images than Persia...

Persia was a far greater nation.

Even if someone makes a case for which is 'correct' the only thing that matters is what people think about when they see the name "persia" or "iran" when people see them, they see 2 distinctly different nations.

[ranskaldan]

For Persians themselves, there is a continuity from Persia to Iran. Basically, the same country with different periods.

Since the Golden Age came when the country was called Persia, I'd say that Persia is fine.

[Optimizer]

You mean like the Vikings and the Norwegians/Swedes/Danes?

A bit off topic:
No people has ever been called "the Vikings". The word "Viking" referred to a person with a certain profession or a lifestyle - a crossover between pirate and merchant.

Are there different values in the names Iran/Persia, like Roma/Gypsy or Inuit/Eskimo?

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by Optimizer
You mean like the Vikings and the Norwegians/Swedes/Danes?

A bit off topic:
No people has ever been called "the Vikings". The word "Viking" referred to a person with a certain profession or a lifestyle - a crossover between pirate and merchant.

Are there different values in the names Iran/Persia, like Roma/Gypsy or Inuit/Eskimo?

As Germany is to Deutschland, so Persia is to Iran; or a more accurate comparison, as Holland is to the Netherlands (can't remember Dutch for Netherlands- Nederland?) so Persia to Iran. It's Persia to the West, chiefly due to Graeco-Roman writers and historians. Persia derives from the province of Fars, where a great many of the Aryan invaders settled in ancient times, the province that gave it's name to the language they spoke (Farsi), and the followers of the religion of Zoroaster (Parsees). The people who live between the bounds of the Caspian and the 'Persian' Gulf call it Iran- basically an old term for Aryan. The struggle between Semitic Arab origin Islam and Aryan heathen Persia is still remembered by the Marsh Arabs in Iraq.

It hasn't always been Persia either- Parthia, the Seleucid Empire, the Empire of the Sassanids, the Ilkhanate, the lands of the Khwarezm Shah, the Safavid Empire- all occupied an area roughly where Iran/Iraq are today. The constant element has been the Iranians.

[Gangerolf]

If we call the Persians Iranians, would we have to call the Babylonians Iraqis?

[Dauphin]

Or the Romans, Italians?