Name of Iran

Uncommon card · No. 141135

Historically, Iran was commonly referred to as "Persia" in the Western world. Likewise, the modern-day ethnonym "Persian" was typically used as a demonym for all Iranian nationals, regardless of whether or not they were ethnic Persians. This terminology prevailed until 1935, when, during an international gathering for Nowruz, the Shah of Iran, Reza Shah Pahlavi officially requested that foreign delegates begin using the endonym "Iran" in formal correspondence. Subsequently, "Iran" and "Iranian" were standardised as the terms referring to the country and its citizens, respectively. In 1959, the last Iranian Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, announced that it was appropriate to use both "Persia" and "Iran" in formal correspondence. Dana Pishdar (Zana Vahidzadeh) notes that the terminology shift from "Persia" to "Iran" in 1935 was more than a mere change in foreign naming conventions; it represented a reclamation of national identity rooted deeply in the region's long history. A variety of scholars...

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