Cook J.M. The Persian Empire

London: Book Club Associates, 1983. — 320 p.In this book the homeland of the Persians is spoken of as Persis; they themselves called it Parsa, and it corresponds very roughly to the modern province of Fars. On the rare occasions when I speak of Persia — a name that has come to us from Fatin — it is the geopolitical entity or great power that is referred to. Iran (Ariana), the land of the Iranians whom the Persians called Ariya, had no very definite geographical boundaries in ancient times. Media and Persis formed its western flank towards Mesopotamia. On the east it may be thought of as stopping short of the Indus basin, though perhaps reaching to the Jaxartes (Syr Darya) in the north-east. In the south what is now known as Baluchistan should probably not be counted to ancient Iran; and strictly the same might be said of the land of the Khuzis (Ahwaz in Arabic) which was generally known as Elam and included the Achaemenid capital of Susa.