Why didn't Iran retain the more appropriate historical name Persia?

 Persia is not actually our historical name. The last two Shahs of Iran were cultural nationalists who wanted to restore our ancient heritage. The word Persia comes from "Persis" or "Parsa," a Greek word meaning "land of the Persians." Persis was also the name of an ancient province.

Iran is our historical name, derived from the word "Eran" in ancient Parsik, also known as Middle Persian. The earliest use of the word "Iran" is found at Naqsh-e Rostam, an archaeological site in Persepolis, the ancient capital of the Achaemenid Empire. Four great kings of the Achaemenid Empire are also buried there. Here we find some of the earliest uses of the words "Iran," "Aryan," and "Iranian."

Now, there are words that were used specifically before "Iran". For example, "Aryanam", whose use is recorded in the "Avesta", a collection of ancient Zoroastrian religious texts in the Avestan language.

The word Persia, however, gradually gained acceptance and was widely used by the international community well into the last century. In 1935, Reza Shah officially changed the name back to "Iran" and asked the world to use "Iran" from then on. Surprisingly, this sparked a fierce controversy, and the law was repealed. But most modern states have called us Iran ever since.

What are some rare historical photos you wouldn't believe exist?

 Here is the list.

Some may be funny, some may be wierd, but remember it. You won't see them often.

• Probably the most important point in world's history.

11th December, 1941. Hitler declares war on U.S.

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• Italian dicatator Benito Mussolini killed by Italian partisans & people in Loreto square, Milan, while he was trying to move to Switzerland, in 1945.

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• WW1 reconnaissance pigeon, 1915.

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• Here's a beautiful lady. Any guesses?

Queen Elizabeth 2 giving her first televised Christmas address, 1957.

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• The last public execution in the United States.

On this friday, Aug 14, 1936 picture, Rainy Bethea is photographed for his execution in Owensboro, Kentucky.

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• Real braveheart. Smiling while being shot.

A Russian spy being shot in Finland in 1939.

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• Some creative artwork. Or war work?

Women painting propaganda posters for the war, 1942.

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• Beautiful memories of a great legend.

Charlie Chaplin rolling on the floor laughing on the set of Limelight.

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• Is he a joker? Nope. A psychopath. Nope.

He's Pablo Picasso (1957)

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• It's space time now. But not so adventurous.

The remains of astronaut Vladimir Komarov, a man who fell from space, 1967.

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• Just imagine the count of people killed in holocaust.

Wedding rings of holocaust victims.

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• Where's the body?

The Statue of Liberty's head at Paris world's fair, 1878.

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• Thug life.

Fidel Castro and Nikita Khrushchev drinking wine from a drinking horn in the Soviet Republic of Georgia, 1963.

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• Hitler doing some labour work.

Adolf Hitler breaking some ground on his ambitious project to link all major German cities with highways (September 1933)

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• Messy work. But great it was.

Albert Einstein's desk photographed a day after his death.

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That's it for now. Will add some more soon.

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Edit 1:

• Phew!! That's hell lot of destruction.

The shells from an allied creeping bombardment on German lines, 1916.

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• Painting of Eiffel tower, 1923

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• Melted & damaged mannequins after a fire at Madame Tussauds' Wax Museum, 1930.

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• Totally unexpected.

Norway celebrates the first ever banana arriving in the country.

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• Hitler in disguise.

Images from US intelligence agencies of how Hitler could have disguised himself, 1944.

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Edit: Here are some more pics.

This photo gives an idea of the great size of Titanic's propellers.

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The glasses wornby John Lennon when he was assasinated, in 1980.

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Christ, The Redeemer, being constructed.

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A man sweeping the hyper-inflated banknotes away from the streets after the introduction of new Hungarian forint in Aug, 1946, in Hungary.

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Construction of the Berlin wall in 1961.

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A German army dog from the first WW, wearing a hat and a pair of glasses and carrying a pair of binoculars.

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Image source: Rare Historical Photos ,historical photography , some more random Instagram pages.

Edit : Adding some pictures of India-pak partition during 1947.

Deciding the Ind-pak partition.

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Refugee camps in Pakistan were filled, burdening the already weakening economy.

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The aftermath.

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Refugees in queue for water- New Delhi, 1947

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Jinnah's last press conference in India before leaving for Pakistan,1947.

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Indian flag hoisting by Nehru at Red Fort in 1947.

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The first cabinet of independent India.

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Gandhi visits muslim refugees at Purana Quila , New Delhi, as they prepare to depart to Pakistan in 1947.

Source: Pinterest

What are some mind blowing historical facts that shocked you?

 Japanese women blackened their teeth using iron and vinegar. Blackening of teeth indicated a married status of a woman. Before entering her husband’s house, the wife went around seven relatives who gave her iron-containing paint, and then a procedure called “first blackening” began.

Photo: Ohaguro (ohaguro, 御 歯 黒, 鉄 浆) is a Japanese fashion and practice of blackining teeth.

In the 14-15th centuries ohaguro was generally seen among adults. Though in the 16-17th centuries when daughters of military commanders were around 9 years old, they would blacken their teeth as a marking of their maturity age to prepare for political marriage of convince. The practice of blackening teeth was a practice among wealthy families and concerned only girls entering adulthood, which at that time began about 9 years old.

Later okhaguro spread among the men of the court aristocracy. This Japanese tradition was borrowed from Korea and existed from ancient times until the beginning of the 20th century. .

Samurai despised this style, but among the representatives of the house of Tyra, it was customary to follow such a rite. At some point, blackening teeth became fashionable for both genders, and finally became widespread among non-noble women. The tradition remained until the Edo era, when all married women shaved their eyebrows and painted their teeth.

Different Reasons for Ohaguro:

1. It was also done to preserve the teeth into old age, as it prevents tooth decay similar to the mechanism of modern dental sealants.
2. It was seen as a sign of maturity, beauty, and of civilization.
3. A common belief is that blackened teeth differentiated humans from animals.
4. Teeth blackening is often done in conjunction with traditions of teeth filing and evulsion, as well as other body modification customs like tattoos.
5. It is said that military commanders who were struck in the head on the battlefield and who did not want to be ugly would wear average women's make-up and would blacken their teeth. These faces imitated the Noh masks of women and young boys.
6. Its importance was expressed by such a proverb - "Since black always remains black without changing, so will the relationship between husband and wife." Blackened teeth showed that the wife swore eternal allegiance to her husband.

Photo: An Akha woman from Myanmar with blackened teeth

The European Attitude

Teeth blackening and filing were regarded with fascination and disapproval by early European explorers and colonists. The practice survives in some isolated ethnic groups in Southeast Asia and Oceania, but has mostly disappeared after the introduction of Western beauty standards during the colonial era.

Many Westerners, including Engelbert Kaempfer, Philipp Franz von Siebold, and Rutherford Alcock, who visited Edo-era Japan, described ohaguro as an abhorrent custom which disfigured women. Alcock conjectured that the purpose of it is chastity by making the women intentionally unattractive to prevent potential extra-marital relationship.

However, Japanese social scientist Kyouji Watanabe disagrees with this theory. Based on the fact that Japanese girls were allowed a large degree of both social and sexual liberty until the time of Ohaguro when they assume the responsibility of wife and mother, Watanabe thinks that it is a social ritual by which both society and a girl herself confirm the determination of matured women.[

History

1. The case of ohaguro was recorded in the book "The Tale of Genji" in the 11th century
2. Traces of blackened teeth can be seen in the buried bones and haniwa (250 to 538 CE) from the Kofun period.
3. Shōsōin, a treasure house connected to Tōdai-ji in Nara, holds the teachings brought to Japan by Jianzhen in 753.

During the Edo period in the 18-19th centuries, due to the smell and labor required for the coloring process, tradition gradually began to recede into the past. Although married women, unmarried women over 18, prostitutes and geisha still blackened their teeth. In rural areas, the ceremony was performed only during special celebrations, such as Matsuri (holidays), weddings or funerals.

On February 5, 1870, the Japanese government banned ohaguro and the tradition gradually became obsolete. After the Meiji period, it temporarily spread, but it almost entirely died out in the Taishō period (ending in 1927). In contemporary times, the only places where ohaguro can be seen is in plays, hanamachi (geisha districts), some festivals, and movies.

The word "ohaguro" was a Japanese aristocratic term. There is an alternate reading for ohaguro, 鉄漿 kane (literally 'iron drink'). At the old Imperial palace in Kyoto, it was called fushimizu (五倍子水). Among the civilians, such words as kanetsuke (鉄漿付け), tsukegane (つけがね) and hagurome (歯黒め) were used.

The practice of blackening teeth continues among many minority groups in China, Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia. It is mainly prevalent in older women, though the practice is still carried on by some younger women. Sometimes artificial teeth are used to achieve blackened teeth. Further west, teeth blackening has been documented as far as Madagascar and medieval Russia

Source:

Zumbroich, Thomas J. (2015). "The missī-stained finger-tip of the fair': A cultural history of teeth and gum blackening in South Asia".