Why do Iranians still call themselves Persian?
LureBozorg · Iranians do not call themselves Persian in the Persian language. Iranians call themselves Irani and if they are part of a minority group by that name as well (Azari, Lur, Kurd, Qashqaii, Balochi, Torkman, etc.) If you mean Parsi, which is the word for Persian in the Persian language, that is also not used as a ethnic label in Iran. Unless you happen to be from the Pars region in Southern Iran. The equivalent of Iranians calling themselves Parsi in the Persian language would be if Americans called themselves English after the name of the language. Persian is an English word based off the Greek word Persis used to describe the language, culture, and empire of ancient Iran and its surrounding areas. This is because Cyrus the Great, the 1st Iranic emperor, was born in the region of Pars in southern Iran. Therefore he called himself Parsa meaning Persian. He would come to also refer to his entire kingdom as Parsa at times, with his intention being t...