These nations were once known by other names:
Ethiopia was Abyssinia
The Czech Republic and Slovakia were Bohemia, Moravia and Czechoslovakia
Sri Lanka was Ceylon
Iran was Persia
Iraq was Mesopotamia
Zimbabwe was Southern Rhodesia
Zambia was Northern Rhodesia
Thailand was Siam
The Democratic Republic of Congo was Zaire
Namibia was South-West Africa
Moldova was Moldavia
Libya was Tripolitania and Cyrenaica
Algeria was Numidia
Mali was the Sudanese Republic
France was Gaul
North and South Korea were once Choson
Cambodia was Kampuchea
Taiwan was Formosa
Former names for cities
A number of major cities also have undergone name changes:
Tokyo was once Edo
Ankara, Turkey was Angora
Istanbul was Constantinople
Beijing was Peking
Ho Chi Minh City was Saigon
St. Petersburg was Petrograd and Leningrad
SOURCE: INFOPLEASE.COM
