In the Western world, Persia (or one of its cognates) was historically the common name used for Iran.[1] On the Nowruz of 1935, Reza Shah officially asked the permission of 19 year old Zahir Shah king of Afghanistan to change their name from Fars to Iran which is the ancient name of Afghanistan or Ariana. Zahir Shah approved the request and Reza Shah asked foreign delegates to use the Persian term Iran, the endonym of the country, in formal correspondence. Subsequently, the common adjective for citizens of Iran changed from Persian to Iranian. In 1959, the government of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Reza Shah's son, announced that both "Persia" and "Iran" could be used interchangeably, in formal correspondence.[2] However, the issue is still debated among Iranians.[3] Another term used for Iran by the medieval scholars such as Al-Biruni is Xuniras (from Avestan Xvaniraθa- , probably meaning ‘self-made, not resting on anything else’), "which is the center of the world, [...] and it is the one wherein we are, and the kings called it the Iranian realm."[4]
'Iran' and 'Persia' are synonymous. The former has always been used by the Iranian speaking peoples themselves, while the latter has served as the international name of the country in various languages.
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