Name of Iran their country "Arya", "Iran", "Iranshahr", "Iranzamin" (Land of Iran), "Aryānām" (the equivalent of "Iran" in the proto-Iranian language) or its equivalents. The term "Arya" has been used by the Iranian people, as well as by the rulers and emperors of Iran, from the time of the Avesta. Evidently from the time of the Sassanids (226–651 CE) Iranians have called it "Iran", meaning "the land of Aryans" and "Iranshahr". In Middle Persian sources, the name "Arya" and "Iran" is used for the pre-Sassanid Iranian empires as well as the Sassanid empire. As an example, the use of the name "Iran" for
Simple past past tense is often used when describing a sequence of past events). Contrast these examples with those given at . Note also that for past actions that occurred "before" the relevant past time frame, the past perfect is used. Various compound constructions exist for denoting past habitual action. The sentence "When I was young, I played football every Saturday" might alternatively be phrased using "used to" ("... I used to play ...") or using "would" ("... I would play..."). The simple past also has some uses in which it does not refer to a past time. These are generally in