User talk:Esowteric/Archives/2009/January

Doris Lessing: Persia/Iran

You have left a message for me saying:

"However, if you look at the dates, you'll find that at that time, the country was still Persia. Not until March 21, 1935, was Iran officially accepted as the new name."

-- http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:85.133.202.19&redirect=no

Being an Iranian native, and educated, and well aware of my country's history I have never read or heard that Iran "accepted" it's "new" name. Who exactly gave Iran the this "new" name? And in what way was Iran compelled to "accept" it?

Iran has been called Iran by its people for over two millennia. Persia, actually a hyponym, was the name European people used for Iran for a long time. Reza Shah Pahlavi requested in 1935 that Iran be called in official documents by the same name its natives call it. So there's no conflict whatsoever about the names Persia and Iran. The exact same entity that used to be called Persia by _Europeans_ came to be known by its true name.

Mind you, as an Iranian I find it insulting when Iran and Persia are used as if there is a historical discontinuity at the point Persia came to be called Iran in European paperwork. Additionally, I believe that such usage is politically loaded and deliberately anti-Iranian because it aims at creating two distinct historical entities which the uninformed may not be able to connect readily. It would take a Wikipedia article of its own to explain to the casual reader of the article on Ms. Doris Lessing that by demanding to be called by its native name Iran did _not_ undergo a transformation of cultural identity.

Refer to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_naming_dispute —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.133.202.19 (talk) 13:10, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

Okay, thanks. Have reverted my own reversion. Cheers, EricT (talk) 18:26, 19 January 2009 (UTC).

Thanks for your attention and diligence. And good luck. 85.133.202.19 (talk) 14:19, 20 January 2009 (UTC)