Iran - The Ancient Name of Iran
The ancient people who lived in Iran were called Persians in the west
By N.S. Gill, About.com Guide
Cyrus the Great (580-529 B.C.), the first Achaemenid king, joined two Iranian tribes, Medes and Persians, when he formed what is known in the west as the Persian Empire. The people of the area, now known as Iranians, were then called Aryanam, the genitive plural of a word meaning land of the Aryans. These words are cognate with Iran.
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