Old Persian
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Old Persian is one of two directly attested Old Iranian languages and is the ancestor of Middle Persian. Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native speakers as ariya. Old Persian is
Close-up of the Behistun inscription
An Old Persian inscription in Persepolis
Arya (Iran)
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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