Power Shifts - The Revenge of Geography,’ by Robert D. Kaplan

And Iran “has often been less a state than an amorphous, multinational empire.” The suffix “istan” is Persian for “place,” meaning that the “stans” of Central Asia — Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the rest — reflect a map drawn in Tehran.  'The Revenge of Geography,' by Robert D. Kaplan - NYTimes