section_path: Etymology
section_name: Etymology
paragraph_text: Etymology
  
  The term Iran ' the land of the Aryans ' derives from Middle Persian Ērān, first attested in a 3rd-century inscription at Naqsh-e Rostam, with the accompanying Parthian inscription using Aryān, in reference to the Iranians. Ērān and Aryān are oblique plural forms of gentilic nouns ēr- (Middle Persian) and ary- (Parthian), deriving from Proto-Iranian language *arya- (meaning ' Aryan ', i.e. of the Iranians), recognised as a derivative of Proto-Indo-European language *ar-yo-, meaning ' one who assembles (skilfully) '. According to Iranian mythology, the name comes from Iraj, a legendary king.
  
  Iran was referred to as Persia by the West, due to Greek historians who referred to all of Iran as Persís, meaning 'the land of the Persians '. Persia is the Fars province in southwest Iran, the 4th largest province, also known as Pârs. The Persian Fârs (فارس), derived from the earlier form Pârs (پارس), which is in turn derived from Pârsâ (Old Persian: 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿). Due to Fars' historical importance, Persia originated from this territory through Greek in around 550 BC, and Westerners referred to the entire country as Persia, until 1935, when Reza Shah requested the international community to use its native and original name, Iran; Iranians called their nation Iran since at least 1000 BC. Today, both Iran and Persia are used culturally, while Iran remains mandatory in official use.
  
  The Persian pronunciation of Iran is. Commonwealth English pronunciations of Iran are listed in the Oxford English Dictionary as / ɪ ˈ r ɑː n / and / ɪ ˈ r æ n /, while American English dictionaries provide pronunciations which map to / ɪ ˈ r ɑː n, - ˈ r æ n, aɪ ˈ r æ n /, or / ɪ ˈ r æ n, ɪ ˈ r ɑː n, aɪ ˈ r æ n /. The Cambridge Dictionary lists / ɪ ˈ r ɑː n / as the British pronunciation and / ɪ ˈ r æ n / as the American pronunciation. Voice of America 's pronunciation guide provides / ɪ ˈ r ɑː n /.