persia

noun ! Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. More about persia at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

1. An empire in southern Asia created by Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BC and destroyed by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC.
2. A theocratic Islamic republic in the Middle East in western Asia; Iran was the core of the ancient empire that was known as Persia until 1935; rich in oil.