Iran Iran Iran Iran
The term Iran derives directly from Middle Persian Eran, first attested in a 3rd-century inscription at Rustam Relief, with the accompanying Parthian inscription using the term Aryan, in reference to Iranians. The Middle Iranian eran and aryan are oblique plural forms of gentilic er- (Middle Persian) and ary- (Parthian), both deriving from Proto-Iranian *arya- (meaning "Aryan," i.e., "of the Iranians"), argued to descend from Proto-Indo-European *ar-yo-, meaning "skillful assembler." In Iranian languages, the gentilic is attested as a self-identifier included in ancient inscriptions and the literature of Avesta,[a] and remains also in other Iranian ethnic names such as Alans (Ossetic: Ir - Ir) and Iron (Ossetic: Iron - Iron).
What century did terms referencing Iran begin to be recorded? What inscription referenced the term Aryan to Iranians? What other term in the 3rd Century besides Aryan also refer to Iran? What is attested as a self-identifier in Iranian languages?
3rd-century Parthian Eran the gentilic
The term Iran derives directly from Middle Persian Eran, first attested in a 3rd-century inscription at Rustam Relief, with the accompanying Parthian inscription using the term Aryan, in reference to Iranians. The term Iran derives directly from Middle Persian Eran, first attested in a 3rd-century inscription at Rustam Relief, with the accompanying Parthian inscription using the term Aryan, in reference to Iranians. The term Iran derives directly from Middle Persian Eran, first attested in a 3rd-century inscription at Rustam Relief, with the accompanying Parthian inscription using the term Aryan, in reference to Iranians. In Iranian languages, the gentilic is attested as a self-identifier included in ancient inscriptions and the literature of Avesta,[a] and remains also in other Iranian ethnic names such as Alans (Ossetic: Ir - Ir) and Iron (Ossetic: Iron - Iron).
Iran