By: Mir M.Hosseini
By decree of Reza Shah Pahlavi, the name of Persia was changed to the name by which that country's natives have always known it, Iran. In reality Persia is only a southern province. Although foreigners have called our land Persia, local residents have always called it Iran. The Shah's decision with respect to the diplomatic corps, acted from the national and patriotic motives that inspire his new nationalist policy.
There are some other examples: Japan is Nippon, Germany is Deutschland, Egypt is Mesr, Greece is Hellas, and Finland is Suomi according to natives. This decree indeed was a decision to eliminate further confusion.