Persia has long been used by the West to describe the nation of Iran, its people, and its ancient empires. It derives from the ancient Greek name for Iran's maritime province, called Fars in the modern Persian language, Pars in Middle Persian and Parsa in Old Persian.

The Persians are descendents of the Aryan (Indo-Iranian) tribes that began migrating from Central Asia into what is now Iran in the second millennium BC.

The ancient Persians from the province of Pars became the rulers of a large empire under the Achaemenid dynasty (Hakhamanesheeyan) in the sixth century BC, reuniting with the tribes and other provinces of the ancient Iranian plateau and forming the Persian Empire.

Inscription of Dareios' pray for Iran in Persian cuneiform (bottom of the image):

"I wish God will prevent this country from enemies, drought and lies. "

(Download Persian cuneiform font zip file) [Special thanks to Reinhold Kainhofer]

Inscription of Dareios' pray for Iran in Persian

The Persian language is one of the world's oldest languages still in use today, and is known to have one of the most powerful literary traditions, with formidable Persian poets like Molavi, Hafez, Ferdowsi, Khayyam, Attar, Saadi, Nezami, Roudaki.

The Persian civilization spawned two major religions: Zoroastrianism, Manichaeanism. Most Persians in Iran are Shia Muslims, while smaller communities of Shia Sufis, Sunni Muslims, Zoroastrians, Christians, and Jews.

The artistic heritage of Persia is actually quite eclectic and includes major contributions from both east and west. Persian art borrowed heavily from the indigenous Elamite civilization and Mesopotamia and later from Hellenism. In addition, due to Persia's somewhat central location, it has served as a fusion point between eastern and western arts and architecture as Greco-Roman influence was often fused with ideas and techniques from India and China.

The music of Persia goes back to the days of Barbod in the royal Sassanid courts, and even earlier. As it evolved, a distinct eastern Mediterranean style emerged as Persian folk music is often quite similar to the music of modern Iran's neighbors.

From the humble brick to the windmill, Persians have strived to create a better world by mixing creativity with art. Persian culture can be defined through its literary tradition, social customs, religions (both past and present), distinctive foods, and foreign influences that have merged with local traditions.

Science and technology in Iran, like the country itself, has a long history. Persia was a Cradle of Science in earlier times. Iranians contributed significantly to the current understanding of nature, medicine, mathematics, and philosophy. To name a few, Persians founded algebra, invented wind-power machine and discovered alcohol.