Both Persia and Iran are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, Iran is the name used officially in political contexts.The name Iran is a cognate of Aryan, and means "Land of the Aryans". read more
Modern Persian is classified as a continuation of Middle Persian, the official religious and literary language of the Sasanian Empire, itself a continuation of Old Persian, which was spoken by the time of the Achaemenid Empire. read more