The name of this land, recognised as a sub-continent in its own right, demonstrates how these outside influences and complexities affected this country. Essentially, the name India was derived from the Old Persian word for the Indus River. Originally, there were seven main tributaries that ran through north-west India, making up one main river. For this reason, this part of the subcontinent was called Sapta-Sindhu, which meant land of seven rivers. Sindhu generally refers to a body of water (like a river, lake or ocean), and the local inhabitants would refer to the river by this name.
When the Old Persian travellers arrived in this area, they were no doubt fascinated by the topographical and geographical features of this beautiful land. When they translated Sindhu into their own tongue, the s became an h in line with
Vintage map of India from the 19th century.
Map from 1879 Iranian Sanskrit. So, the river and the land it characterised became known as Hindu.
, a Persian name for China popularized in Europe by the account of the 13th-century explorer Marco Polo. The first recorded use in English dates from 1555. The Persian word is, in turn, derived from the Sanskrit word Cīna (चीन
