Dedicated to Google for removal of Persian Gulf from Google map
In 550
B.C, the
Achaemenid Empire established the first
Persian Empire in Pars (Persis, or modern
Fars) in the southwestern region of the
Iranian plateau. Consequently in the
Greek sources, the body of water that bordered this province came to be known as the
Persian Gulf.
Considering the historical background of the name Persian Gulf,
Sir Arnold Wilson mentions in a book, published in 1928 that:
" No water channel has been so significant as Persian Gulf to the geologists, archaeologists, geographers, merchants, politicians, excursionists, and scholars whether in past or in present. This water channel which separates the
Iran Plateau from the
Arabia Plate, has enjoyed an
Iranian Identity since at least
2200 years ago. "
No written deed has remained since the era before the Persian Empire, but in the oral history and culture, the
Iranians have called the southern waters: "Jam Sea", "Iran Sea", "
Pars Sea".
During the years: 550 to 330
B.C. coinciding with sovereignty of the first Persian Empire on the
Middle East area, especially the whole part of Persian Gulf and some parts of the
Arabian Peninsula, the name of "Pars Sea" has been widely written in the compiled texts.
The Persian Gulf, in
Southwest Asia, is an extension of the
Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Historically and commonly known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes controversially referred to as the
Arabian Gulf or simply The Gulf by most
Arab states, although neither of the latter two terms is recognized internationally. The name Persian Gulf (
Gulf of Iran) is used by the
International Hydrographic Organization.
In the fifth century B.C.,
Darius the Great of the
Achaemenid dynasty called the Persian Gulf "Draya; tya; haca; parsa: Aitiy", meaning, "The sea which goes from
Persian"[. In this era, some of the Greek writers also called it "Persikonkaitas", meaning the Persian Gulf.
Claudius Ptolemaues, the celebrated Greco-Egyptian mathematician/astronomer in the second century called it "
Persicus Sinus" or Persian Gulf
. In the first century
A.D., Quintus Curticus
Rufus, the
Roman historian, designated it "
Aquarius Persico" -- the
Persian Sea.
Flavius Arrianus, another Greek historian, called it "Persiconkaitas" (Persian Gulf).
During the
Sassanian dynasty and the time of the
Prophet Muhammad and the 4 caliphs, the name invariably used was the "Persian Sea". This was continued by the
Ummayyads and
Abbassids, while during the
Ottomans used either "Persian Gulf" or "Persian Sea".
Among historians, travellers and geographers of the Islamic era, many of them writing in
Arabic from the 9th to the
17th century,
Ibn Khordadbeh,
Ibn al-Faqih,
Ibn Rustah, Sohrab, Ramhormozi,
Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn
Muhammad al-Farisi al
Istakhri,
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Mas'udi, Al-Mutahhar ibn
Tahir al-Maqdisi(d. 966),
Ibn Hawqal, Al-Muqaddasi,
Ibn Khaldun,
Mohammad ibn Najub Bekiran,
Abu Rayhan Biruni,
Muhammad al-Idrisi,
Yaqut al-Hamawi,
Zakariya al-Qazwini, Abu'l-Fida, Al-Dimashqi,
Hamdollah Mostowfi,
Ibn al-Wardi, Al-Nuwayri,
Ibn Batutta,
Katip Çelebi and other sources have used the terms "Bahr-i-Fars", "Daryaye-i-Fars", "Khalij al-'
Ajami" and "Khalij-i Fars" (all of which translate into "Persian Gulf" or "Persian Sea").
Until the
1960s Arab countries used the term "Persian Gulf" as well, however with the rise of
Arab nationalism (Pan-Arabism) in the 1960s, most Arab states started adopting the term "Arabian Gulf" (in Arabic: الخلیج العربي al-ḫalīǧ al-ʻarabi) to refer to the waterway. However, this naming has not found much acceptance outside of the
Arab world, and is not recognized by the
United Nations or any other international organization.
The United Nations Secretariat on many occasions has requested that only "Persian Gulf" be used as the official and standard geographical designation for the body of water. Historically, "Arabian Gulf" has been a term used to indicate the
Red Sea. At the same time, the historical veracity of the usage of "Persian Gulf" can be established from the works of many medieval historians.
At the Twenty-third session of the United Nations in March--April
2006, the name "Persian Gulf" was confirmed again as the legitimate and official term to be used by members of the United Nations.