Why Was Ancient Iran Called Persia?

Why Was Ancient Iran Called Persia?

Sogdians on an Achaemenid Persian relief from the Apadana of Persepolis, offering tributary gifts to the Persian king Darius I, 5th century BC. Credit: A.Davey / CC BY 2.0 The country known today as Iran extends from the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean in the south to the border of Turkey and Turkmenistan in the north. The territory of Iran is equivalent to much of the ancient Persian Empire. In the southwest part of Iran was the historic regi…