Arya was the ethnonym used by Iranians during the pre-Islamic history of Iran. In contrast to cognates of Arya used by the Vedic people and Iranic steppe nomads, the term is commonly translated using
Achaemenid Empire period relief showing a Median soldier standing behind a Persian soldier
Close up of the Behistun inscription by Darius the Great.
Ariana according to Eratosthenes shown in yellow.
Persia with part of the Ottoman Empire, 1872
Turya or Turanian is the ethnonym of a group mentioned in the Avesta, i.e., the collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism. In those texts, the Turyas closely interact with the Aryas, i.e. the early
Illustration from the Shahnameh depicting the murder of Iraj by his brothers Sarm and Tur.
Bahram Gur Fights the Horned Wolf, folio from the Great Ilkhanid Shahnama
IRAN Miniatur by UNESCO 1957