> The word ērān is first attested in the titles of Ardašīr I (q.v.), founder of the Sasanian dynasty.
> The combination *aryānām xšaθra- is nowhere found in the Old Persian inscriptions of the Achaemenians. In the later Yašts there is only mention of airiiå and anairiiå daiŋhāuuō “Aryan” and (unspecified) “Non-Aryan lands.” Thus the term Ērānšahr was evidently an invention of the Sasanians.
If the name "Iran" dates back to the 3rd century AD, and the name "Persia" dates back to the 5th century BC, it doesn't make sense to claim that "'Persia' is merely a province of Iran".
Cyrus The Great (r. ca. 558-530 B.C.E.). Judging from a variety of evidence, such as some Medians holding important positions under Cyrus, the representation of the Medians in the Persepolis reliefs, and the Medians constituting the most important element in the Achaemenid Empire next to the Persians, it appears that the defeat of Astyages by Cyrus marked a transition from one power to another rather than the total annihilation of one by the other. In fact, Cyrus mixed Medians and Persians in his army as a prelude to his unification of the entire Iranian population and others under his banner.
And it should be further noted that Kurosh'e Kabir (Cyrus the Great) was half Median and half Persian. (His mother was Mede.) Both are Iranian tribes.
And further note that as a Persian I have no interest in diminishing the decisive and leading role of Persians in the historic context of the Iranian civilization.
Modern usage of the name "Persia" to refer to Iran by certain elements of the Anglospehere is in my opinion a malicious imperialist construct. We reject it just as we reject the absurdly denuded "Gulf".
> The word ērān is first attested in the titles of Ardašīr I (q.v.), founder of the Sasanian dynasty.
> The combination *aryānām xšaθra- is nowhere found in the Old Persian inscriptions of the Achaemenians. In the later Yašts there is only mention of airiiå and anairiiå daiŋhāuuō “Aryan” and (unspecified) “Non-Aryan lands.” Thus the term Ērānšahr was evidently an invention of the Sasanians.
If the name "Iran" dates back to the 3rd century AD, and the name "Persia" dates back to the 5th century BC, it doesn't make sense to claim that "'Persia' is merely a province of Iran".