The Modern Persian word Īrān () derives immediately from Middle Persian Ērān (Pahlavi spelling: &#700;yr&#700;n), first attested in an inscription that accompanies the investiture relief of the first Sassanid king Ardashir I at Naqsh-e Rustam [REF].
The gentilic ēr- and ary- in ērān and aryān derives from Old Iranian *arya-[REF] (Old Persian airya-, Avestan airiia-, etc.), meaning "Aryan",[REF] in the sense of "of the Iranians" [REF].