The name “Persia”
The name “Persia” is often used to describe Iran or many of its ancient empires. The word is thought to come from, persis, the Greek name for Iran. For the most part this name was used mostly by the west.
On March 21 1935 the shah of Iran asked the international community to refer to the country by its native name. There was some controversy over this and in 1959 the Shah announced that the names “Persia” and “Iran” could be used interchangeably. However, Iran is the name now generally preferred to refer to the country.
The weaving style referred to as persian is often a floral or curvilinear style that uses many arching and graceful curves. This style originated largely in Iran (Persia) and many rugs produced there still use this style.