Persia is the historical name for the region that is now mostly the modern country of Iran, located in West Asia (often called the Middle East).

Quick Scoop

  • Modern location:
    • Persia today is essentially Iran , a country in West Asia.
* Iran lies between the Middle East and Central/South Asia, with coasts on the Caspian Sea to the north and the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman to the south.
  • Neighbors and region:
    • Iran borders Iraq and Turkey to the west, Armenia and Azerbaijan to the northwest, Turkmenistan to the northeast, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, and is framed by the Caspian Sea in the north and the Persian Gulf/Gulf of Oman in the south.
* This puts historical Persia at a crossroads between Europe, the Arab world, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.
  • Historical Persia vs. Iran:
    • “Persia” originally referred to a region called Pars (or Fars) in southern Iran, the heartland of the ancient Persian Empire.
* In 1935, the Iranian government requested foreign countries to use the name **Iran** instead of Persia in official contexts, though both names are still used culturally and historically.

In short, if you’re asking “where is Persia?” on a modern map, you’re looking at Iran in West Asia.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.