TEHRAN – People could be introduced to cultural heritage through art treasures, the deputy tourism minister has said.

Using art as a medium for introducing cultural heritage to people is effective and important, IRNA quoted Ali Darabi as saying on Friday.

People who work in cinema and other artistic fields could contribute to the promotion of cultural heritage if they were made aware of the capabilities of Iran’s cultural heritage, the official added.

In order for the country’s cultural heritage to be discussed and promoted, it must be done through the media, he mentioned.

“The efforts of these great men and women in this field helped us learn about our history of seven thousand years,” he noted.

Ancient Iran, also known as Persia, historic region of southwestern Asia that is only roughly coterminous with modern Iran. The term Persia was used for centuries, chiefly in the West, to designate those regions where the Persian language and culture predominated, but it more correctly refers to a region of southern Iran formerly known as Persis, alternatively as Pars or Parsa, modern Fars.

Parsa was the name of an Indo-European nomadic people who migrated into the region about 1000 BC. The first mention of Parsa occurs in the annals of Shalmanesar II, an Assyrian king, in 844 BC.

During the rule of the Persian Achaemenian dynasty (559–330 BC), the ancient Greeks first encountered the inhabitants of Persis on the Iranian plateau, when the Achaemenids —natives of Persis— were expanding their political sphere. The Achaemenids were the dominant dynasty during Greek history until the time of Alexander the Great, and the use of the name Persia was gradually extended by the Greeks and other peoples to apply to the whole Iranian plateau.

ABU/AM