What it means
ارتش (artesh) means army or military force. The word is Persian in origin, tracing back to Middle Persian artēshtâr, meaning warrior or soldier, which derives from Old Iranian roots relating to armed service and the warrior class. Language reformers revived and standardized ارتش in the twentieth century as a native Persian alternative to Arabic-origin military terms. In Iran today, ارتش refers specifically to the conventional armed forces: the ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران (Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran), as distinct from the سپاه (sepâh), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. A related word is نظامی (nezâmi), meaning military as an adjective or a military person.
How to use it
- او در ارتش خدمت میکند. (u dar artesh khedmat mikonad.) “He serves in the army.”
- ارتش در مرز مستقر شد. (artesh dar marz mostaqar shod.) “The army was deployed at the border.”
- پدرم افسر ارتش بود. (pedaram afsar-e artesh bud.) “My father was an army officer.”
- ارتش در عملیات نجات شرکت کرد. (artesh dar amaliyât-e nejât sherkat kard.) “The army took part in the rescue operation.”
Cultural note
Iran maintains two separate armed forces: the ارتش (conventional army, navy, and air force) and the سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps). The ارتش predates the 1979 revolution and was retained after it, though its role was partly balanced by the newly created سپاه. Understanding this distinction is important when reading Persian news about Iranian military affairs, as the two organizations have different chains of command and different roles inside and outside the country.