Persian Iraq

Persian Iraq, also uncommonly spelled Persian Irak[1] (Persian: عراقِ عجم Erāq-e Ajam or عراق عجمی Erāq-e Ajami; Arabic: عراق العجم ʿIrāq al-ʿAjam or العراق العجمي al-ʿIrāq al-ʿAjamī, literally, "Ajami Iraq"), is a historical region of the western parts of Iran.

Map of Persian Iraq and its surroundings

The region, originally known as Media in pre-Islamic times, became known as Jibal ("mountain, hill") by early Islamic geographers, due its mountainous layout. The name was progressively abandoned during the Seljuk era in the 11th-12th centuries, and was called ʿIrāq-i ʿAjam(ī) ("Persian Iraq") to distinguish it from ʿIrāq-i ʿArab(ī) ("Arab Iraq") in Mesopotamia.[2]

According to the medieval historian and geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi, this course started taking place when the Seljuk sultans ruled both Iraq proper and Jibal, thus being addressed "sultan al-Iraq". However, the city of Hamadan in Jibal eventually became their capital, thus resulting in the region becoming known as Iraq, with the word Ajami ("Persian") being added.[3] Following the Mongol invasion of Iran in the 13th-century, the name Jibal had become completely outdated. In the following century, the geographer Hamdallah Mustawfi was unaware of the name Jibal, and only knew it as 'Iraq-i Ajami'. It was regarded by him as sardsīr ("cold zone").[3]

Later, until the beginning of the 20th century, the term Iraq in Iran was used to refer to a much smaller region south of Saveh and west of Qom. This region was centered on Soltanabad, which was renamed later as Arak.[4]

References
  1. Chisholm 1911, p. 740.
  2. Lockhart 1965, p. 534.
  3. Bosworth 1998, p. 538.
  4. de Planhol 1986, pp. 247–248.

Sources
  • Bosworth, C. E. (1998). "ʿERĀQ-E ʿAJAM(Ī)". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume VIII/5: English IV–Eršād al-zerāʿa. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 538. ISBN 978-1-56859-054-7.
  • Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Irak" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 14 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 740.
  • de Planhol, X. (1986). "ARĀK". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 3. pp. 247–248.
  • Lockhart, L. (1965). "D̲j̲ibāl". In Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Volume II: C–G (2nd ed.). Leiden: E. J. Brill. p. 534. OCLC 495469475.
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