The Nomenclature of the Persian Gulf

H. Malmirian
(Direclor, National Geographical Organization, Iran)

The geographers have observed some principles in denominating territories

and seas, to the effect that tribal and ethnic names of each region are
applied fOT their territories , and as such, the names of most rivers reflect
their colors and the names of most mountains are designated because of their
similarities with the other objects or phenomena
As to denomination of the seas, this principle is more vigrous]y foUowed
and nearly all seas around the world are named after the countries and regions
situating on their v icinity such as Indian Ocean, Gulf of Mexico , China Sea,
North Sea, etc. These are some instances of this type of nomenclature.
The ancient Persians, the principal settlers of the southern part of the
Islamic Republic of Iran, before any other Aryan ethnic group established
relationship with the west and for this reason, the Greeks for the first time
referred to the sea situated in the South of I.R. of Iran as "The Persian
Gulf ".
Hence , we clearly see in this denomination that the element of nationality
or ethnicity and the Persian or Arabic language factor had no effect. On the
contrary, it was merely a reflection of linguistic reality propounded by the
. great scholars of that time and used in the whole perioos of past.
In this ankle, by relying on the valid historical documents , I will try
to present a comprehensive but concise review in connection with the
nomenclature of the Persian Gulf in B.C. and A.D. periods as well as the
Islamic periods.
According to the well - preserved documments of many historions, before
the establishment of the Persian State (6th century B.C'), ethnic groups
including the Dravidians, Semites and pro- Elamites were the initial settlers
of the areas along Makran , Bandir and the head of the Persian Gulf
respectively)) . The Dravidians were the aborig ines, the Semites were
comprised of Assyrians, Babylonians, Arabs, Phoenicians, Hebrews and

1) Sir Arnold T. Wilson, "The Persian Gulf', (London 1928), P. 25.

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 Moabites
(descendents of Moab tribe who lived in the East of Dead Sea), the
pro- Elamites were the Elamites who had migrated to the Iranian Plateau, Syria
and Egypt earlier than 4000BC.2)
Ethnic groups such as the Elamites, the Semites . Akkadians, and
Babylonians were the early inhabitants nhabitants on the coast of Persian Gulf
and their main task of livelihoOO was seafaring. Therefore, in order to
obtain the oldest maps of the Persian Gulf we must search into the history of
these ethnic groups and make a thorough study of their antiquities.
But since in that period of history , man still knew nothing of the
spherici ty of the earth and essentially had no knowledge of plotting a map
with a relative correctness, the seafaring was very simple and limited only
to the coastal waters.
Therefore, the seafarers navigated on their personal experiences and these
; experiences of repeated seagoings resulted in using the maps that were fixed
in their minds.
In view of above - mentioned accounts. searching into the ancient hi story
of mankind we are unable to find a correct map of the Persian Gulf that
could meet the s tandard of today's modem maps. On the whole, even though
we have Quite access to the maps left from the ancient periods but most of
these maps shown theorical aspects and drawn without cons idering the true
geometry of the earth. Here, I bring to your attention some of these authentic "

maps penned by the greatest, most famous scholars of the ancient times dating
as far hack as the 4th century E.G.

The Early Historical Period

Before migration of Aryans to We Persian Plateau and establishing their

domination. Assyrian in their inscriptions called this sea "Nar Marratu"meaning
"bitter ri ver'" and this is the Persian Gulf's most ancient name3).
1) According to the archaeological founding s, the Babylonians in their world
map, the most ancient existing map recorded upon the order of a Babylonian's
king on a baked clay tablet in the sixth century B.C (fig.noI). depicts the
known world of their time. They thought the earth as flat and round surrounded

2) ibid .. pp. 26,29,33.

3) Atlas Historique L'antiqiite Cart n, Presses Universitaire. Paris. 1955.

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by the salty and bitter waters. In this map, the entire known area of the world
in those days was limited to Babylon, Assyria and the lands surrounding them.
The Euphrates flows between these two realms southward to the Persian Gulf.
Hence, we could conclude that the Babylonian had very limited geographical
perception of the surrounding earth beyond their living areas.
2) Homere, in his World Map, in ninth century Be (fig.no2), in accordance
with prevailing hypotheses of that period, thought the earth as flat and round
surrounded by huge waters. In this map, the boundaries of the East -lI_
Mediterranean, Greece. Asian Minor Peninsula and Phoenician coastal areas were
depicted roughly correct.
3)Akkadian called the Persian Gulf "Tamtu Spalitu " meaning the lower sea
versus "Tamtu Elenitu" meaning the upper sea, which was used for the
' ..
Mediterranean4).
4) A world map drawn .by Herodotus (5th century B.C) , the famous t
historian, has survived, which divides the world in two main portions, namely ~
Asia and Europe, and upon which the Red Sea is called Arabian Gulf,
•
precluding any confusion with the Persian Gulf.
This map depicts the today' s recognized world better than the previous
•
1
maps. The Mediterranean, its North and South coasts as well as Arabian
Peninsula and a part of west Asian were crudely drawn . In this map, the two
rivers of Tigris and Euphrates and the Persian Gulf were depicted incorrectly
with a little accuratian.
Some Greek writers, inter alios, Herodotus in the fifth century BC, called all
the seas in the Southwest of Asia, including the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Gulf
of Aden and the Red Sea, en masse, "he Erythra Thalassa or the Erythraen
Sea" or "Mare Erythraen"5) in Latin language. As to the origin of the name,
some have suggested that it refers to the red clays in those seas, which is
doubtful. Others believed it was the name of the son of a Greek notable, or a
Persian prince which.is again unverifiable. We may also mention here that for
some unknown reasons Chau-ju- klia, a medieval Chinese writer, has called. the

4) First appears on a tablet of Sargon of Akkad (2872 E.C). See Sir Arnold
Wilson "The Persian Gulf" (Oxford: 1928), The "Gulf is specifically named
in the historical text of Lugal Zagesi; king of Uruk (2340-2316 B.C,) where
it is said that then from the Lower Sea by the Tigris and Euphrates, as far
as the Upper Sea (the god Enlil] provided him with clear routes," C. Edmund
Bosworth, "The Nomenclature of The Persian Gulf' in the Persian Gulf States":
A General Survey, G. Ed.Alvin ]. Cottrel, (Baltimore: 1980), P.xviti.
5) Herdotus iv, 40

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 Persian Gulf the "Green Sea"6).

f.
i1 The Second Period

This era starts with the establishment of Achaemenians, who created a

strong navy and merchant shipping for Persia.

5) In the fifth century Be, Darius the Great of the Achaemenian Dynasty
called the Persian Gulf "Draya: tya: haca parsa: Aitiy" , meaning, "The sea
which goes from Persia.''7)
6) In the second century AD, another Greek historian "Flavius Arrianus" in
his famous book "Anabasis"8) pertaining to "Military Adventure of Alexander in
IS India", recounting the seafaring of Nearchus, the Alexander's Macedonian
y admiral, who. upon his king 's orders, sailed from lndia, via the delta of the
f, Indus. through the Gulf of Oman and the Persian GUlf. reaching the entry of
Euphrates , has called the Persian Gulf "Persiconkaitas" - literally meaning
,s "Persia n Gulf".
7) Strabo. the renown Greek geographerlhistorian (64163 B.C - after 23AD)
"
'0 whose erudition brought him considerable fame, compiled an opus in 67 volumes
coveting the geography of world of his time. Making great use of his time 's
fables and the accounts left behind by Herodotus and others , he drafted a
til world map on which the lands were represented as a large island located amid
If unbounded oceans , from which the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf derived.
!II In his works, using repeatedly the term of the Persian Gulf, he particularly
e, emphasised that the Arabs geographically situated between Arabian Gulf (Red
is Sea) and the Persian Gulf.J).
a 8) Claudiu s Ptolemaeus, the celebrated. Greco - Egyptian mathematician!
)f astronomer in the second centwy in hi s book of geography written in the Latin
1e language, repeatedly called this sea "Persicus Sinus" meaning Persian Gulf.
T his tenn in the Latin book are often called HSinus Persicus" lO) and in the

6) Edmund C. Bosworth,op.cit. p. X Ul.

7) Roland G.Kent, ~Old Persian Texts" journal tor Near Eastern Studies, vou.
Oct.1942,no.4,p.419.
8) Arriani, Anabasis et India etc., (Paris, 1005).
9) Geographie de Strabo, traduction du green Francais, (Paris, 1805), Deuxieme
livre. pp.357-362.
10) Sunbury, op,cit.votIl Map of the World, p.578 . A1 so~ see geog raphy of

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I'I

geographical book of Latin, "Mare Persicus" meanmg Pars Sea ...... Persian Gulf.
His main work is the Almagest in which the Ptolemaic system, based on
a geocentric view of the universe, is expounded. He was the first to compile an
atlas of the earth, including 36 maps of various regions, as well as a world map
and a comprehensive index. On several of his maps, the waterway between the
southern shores of Iran and the Arabian Peninsula is unambiguously given as
the Persian Gulf.
9) In the first centry AD, another Greek historian, Quintus Curticus Rufus
called "Aquarius Persico " meaning Persian Seall).
10) Another Greek historian Flavius Arraianus, called it "Persiconkaitas"
meaning Persian Gulf12l ,
11) Strabo. another great historian/geographer in the fifth century AD, used
the same denomination 13l .
12) This Latin tenn of "Sinus Persicus" is translated into other living
languages of the world and nations using this Iranian Sea in their languages as
Persian Gulf. As it is called "Gulf Persique" in French, "Persian Gulf" in
English, "Persisher Golf" in German, "Golfo Persico" in Italian. "Persidskiziiv" In

Russian. "Perusha Wan" in Japanese. It is clearly conspicuous that in all of

these denominations the name of "Pars" is being retained 14l .
J3) During the Sas sanian Dynasty . the Gulf was invariably called "the
Persian Sea" . Darius the Achaemenian, also known as Darius the great,
conquered Egypt some five centuries before the Christian era, and had a canal
dug between the Red Sea and the Nile. which may be considered the
predecessor of the Suez CanaL On the hieroglyphic stele Darius ordered to be
erected beside this canal, following a brief history of the work, it is referred to
as "the sea coming from Pars." Considering other illusions in the text make it
clear that reference is being made to the Persian Gulf.

Claudius Ptolemaeus translated by Edward L.Stevenson; Sir Arnold Wilson,

op.cit.,p.43.
II) Histoire d' Alexandre Ie Grand par Quinte Curre, tranduction en Frencais,
Tom 11 (Paris, 1834), P.l84.
12) Flavius Anianus, "History of Alexandndre and India "with an English
translation by E. Lliff Robinson <London: 1949), The Loeb Classical Library
vol.lI,oo.414- 417.
13) The Geography of Strabo "English translation by H.C Hamilton and W.Falconer
(London: 1857). vol.lIl.p. 87.
J4) 5aied Nafi si. NThe Persian Gulf in the texts of Greek, Latin and Arabic
language, Iranian Foreign Ministry Press, vol. 8.snd year.

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 After the Arabian conQuest of Iran, for eight centuries the Persian Gulf
11 was called "Bahr Farsi" meaning Pers ian Sea.
II This was the tenn used during the time of the Prophet Mohammad (S.A.)
and the four Eminent Guided Caliphs, which constitutes a "sunna".
The designation of "Pers ian Gulf" was also used during Umayyads and the
is Abbassids 1S).
The Ottoman repeatedly called it "Pers ian Gulf' or "'Persian Sea".
1S I) An overall glance upon the sources pertaining to the original
nomenclature of the Persian Gulf shows that a number of these are ancient
s" documents, mostly written in Latin or Greek and the remainder, which comprise
a far greater nwnber and wider geographic and historic scope , are the works
of Muslim scientists, compiled in Persian or Arabic and occasioally available in
the Conn of translations in French, English, Gennan. Spani sh etc. These works
1Il either logically follows, or are based upon the studies of Greek scholars or are
!IS the outcome of original research and are penned in accordance with Islamic
in geographical traditions.
in It is essential to bear in mind that, in Is lamic culture. geography constituted
of a deep - rooted science highly revered by scientists. This respect derives ITom
the esteem in which Islam itself holds cultural achievements, as we)) as the
tradition of the Prophet's emigration (hijrah), which besto wed particular
01, importance upon geography.
Therefore. the leading historians / geographers. both Arab and Persian, who
""he wrote mostly in Arabic from 9th to the 17th century AD have used the term
be "Bahr Farsi" or "Khalij Pars" for the Persian Gulf. The most notable among
to them are:
,it 1) Abu Bakr Shahab al - Din Alunad ibn Mohammad ibn Ishaq Hamadani ,
known as Ibn - Faqih, wrote in his book geography "al Boldan" in 279 AH:
"know that the "Persian Sea" and Indian Sea (meaning Indian Ocean) in the
view of continuity are both one Sea: 16)
2) Abu Ali Ahmad ibn Omar ibn Rasteh , wrote in his book of Taqvim al -
Boldan under title of al Alaq al-Naffssiya.
in Esfahan in the years of 290 Ali:
;-,
"From Indian Sea a gulf is protruded towards the territory of the Persia,
which is called the Persian Gulf and between the Red Gulf and the Persian Gulf

15) Given the Sunna, one may Question the permissibility of any change in the "Persian
Gulf' as it would constitute an innovation or BOO'a which is Haram.
16) The abridged "al- Soldan" Leyden 1885, P.8.

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situated the territories of Hejaz and Yarnan and other arbic landsJ7}. I
3) Iranian geographer , Sohrab, in the 9th century AD wrote in his book of
"Ajayeb al - Aqalim al - Saba ila Nehayate al - Mara:"
"The Persian Sea is a great sea situated in the south."IBl
-.•
4) Abu al - Qassim Obaidollah ibn khordabeh Khorassani, (died in the year
of 300 A.H') wrote in his renown book under the title of AI- Massalek wa I
al- Mamalek, about the the rivers flowing into the Persian Gulf19l.
"Some of these reivers running towards Basra and some towards Mozar (a
city located between Waset and Basra) and hence all of them flow into the
Persian Sea.
5) Nakhoda Bozorg ibn Shahriyar Ramhonnozi in hi s book of "Ajayeb a1 -
Hind" wrote in the year of 342 AH.:
"The wonderlul things about the Persian Sea is that the people seeing them
during the nights. 'When the roaring waves collide with one another and crush
together violently , blazing fires leapt from them and the people travelling on
the board of a ship think that they are flowing on the Sea of ftre."ZO)
6) Abu Ishaq Ibrahim Mohammad al - Farsi al - Istakhri, from the people
of Istakhr - e~ Pars, known as al-Karkhi (died in 346 A.H.) , wrote in his book
"Massalek al - Mamaiek " which is based on the book Suvar al - Aqalim of
Abu 2aid al - Balkhi:
"The Persian Sea, which includes the most of its areas, joins the regions of
Arabs and other Islamic lands, having depicted it, we will enumerate its whole
areas , and beginning from Oolzom Sea (Red Sea) , the coast of which in the
East extends to Ayyaleh.21l Hence, to the areas of Arabian Sea up to Abadan,
cutting the width of Euphrates extends to the coast of Mahruban 22 ) and from
there to Ganaveh 23) and Sira(24) and afterward extending to the coasts of
Hormoz and beyond Kerman to Dabil25l and Multan26), which is the coast to

17) al-AlaQ al-Naffssiya, vol.VIl ed: De Aj. Goeje , Leyden 1891, P.B4.
18) Ajayeb al- AQlim ai- Saba iJa ai- Mara. (Vienne, 1929), P.S9.
19) AI-Massalek ai-Mamaiek," Leyden edition: 1989 , p.233.
20) "Ajayeb aI - Hind ed: M. Davis, Leyden 1886, p. 41.
21) "Ayyaleh" was a city on the coast of Qolzom Sea (Red Sea).
22) ~ Mahruban " was a city on the coast of Persian Sea situated between
"Abadan" and "Siraf' (source, Morasad a1 -Ettela').
23) "Jennabeh" a small city on the shores of Persian Sea and like "Ganaveh"
port is a division of the Dashtestan, district of Bushr.
24) "Siraf" , was a city on the shore of Persian Sea, locating on the Southern
part of Shiraz . and presently a division of "Kengan" (source: Fars Nameh
Fasaie),

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 Indus river,Z'l)
f 8) Abu aJ - Hassan Ali ibn aJ-Hussin ibn Ali Massudi (died in the year of
346 AH.) , a renown historian, in his books of "Muruj al - Dhahab " and
"Ma' aden aI - juhar WTote:
r "Frome this sea, which IS the Indian or "Jeyshi" Sea" another gulf is
• brunching forth , which is called "Persian Sea" and extending to the cities of
"Abeleh"28) and "Khashabat" and Abadan ... and this gulf is a triangular shape29l
, 9) Massudi , in his another book, al- Tanbiyah wa al - Eshraf" written in the
, year 345 AH., wrote:
"Many people , who delineated the areas of Iraq, have said that its limit
from the East is an island, known as "Mayan Rudan", joins the Persian Sea,
and from the areas of Bahman Ardeshir", lacated at the back of "Basra", is near
1 the Sea."")
1 10) Ibn aI - Mottahar aI - Maqadasi aI - Taher ibn al Mottahar in his
1 historical book titled "Al - BoI' wa aI - Tarikh" in the 355 AH. , wrote about
the rivers running into the Persian Gulf.
, "all these rive.-s join Tigris and after passing "Abeleh " and "'Abadan", flow
I into the Persian Gulf'.3D
f 11> Abu Reyhan Mohammad ibn Ahmad al- Biruni aJ - Kharazmi (died in the
year of 44 A.H.) in his book of " aJ - Tafhim Beavaele Sana'at al - Tanjim,
f which is written in the Persian language , used names of Persian Sea and
Persian Gulf. 32 l
, 12) Abu Reyhan in his another renown book, "Qanun Massudi" writes:

25) "Dabil" , a locality near Yamameh and in some sayings, situated between
I
Yamameh and Yaman (source" Morasad al- Ettela') Apparantly. it must be "Dabul", a
f H
port on the coast of "Konkan in the Indian Sea, a district of "Pishavar State".
)
Bachelet: Dictionare General de Biographie et d'Hi stoire (Pans,l889).
26) Multan, a city of "Panjab State", Eight Kilometer distance from the bank of
Chinab river.
27) "MassaJek aJ - MamaJek" ed: De. M.l. Goeje , Leyden 1927, P.28.
28) Abeleh a city. located on the bank of, in the com er of a gulf on which
situated "Basra", (Source Marasad a1 - ettela').
29) "Munti aI - Dahab," English lranslation by Aloys Sprenger. yoU. (London: 1841 ),
P.259."
NMuruj al - Dahab": Barbien Duminar (Paris: 1861) vol.l.p.238.
30) AI-Tanbiyah wa al-Eshraf (Bagdad, 1938), p. 35.
31 ) "al-BoI ' wa aJ-Tarikh" (Paris 1907), Tom lV, p. 58.
32) H al - Tafhim Beavaele Sana'at al-Tanjim ed: laUal ai-Din Aomai (Tehran
H

1318 Hijri Solar Year), p. 167, also "Qanun Massudi", (Hcydarabad:

1955), vol. n, p. 566.

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 "Abadan is situated at the mouth of "Khashabat" in Tigris delta and its
extension is towards the Persian Sea."
•
13) Abn al- Qassim Mohammad ibn Hawqal in his book of "Surat al - Arz"
(367 AHJ in the connection with the Persian Gulf writes Istakhri's recounting
with a little change and like him called it Persian Sea."33)
14) In the book of "hodud al - ' A1am men al - Mashraq ila al-Maqrab ,
which is the oldest geographical book written in the Persian language (372
AH-l, we read:
"The Persian Gulf entends from the Persia to the area of Indus river with a
narrowing width."34)
15) Shams ai-Din Abu Abdallah Mohammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abu Bakr
(Sharni Maqadassi) in his book, "Ahsan al - Taqassim fi Ma'refat al - Aqalim",
written in the year of 375 A.H.. designated this sea Like the others "Persian
Sea"':l5)
16) "Mohammad ibn Najub Bekiran" in his book "Jahan Nameh" , written in
Persian in the third century A.H. , and recently printed in Russia, wrote:
"Kerman Sea joins Makran Sea and Kish island , known for its pearls,
situated on this sea, and passing Kennan sea, you reach "Persian Sea" and the
lenght of this sea extends from the areas of Oman to the vicinity of Sandib and it
on the Southern part of this lies Zanzibar. And this Sea and the Sea of Oman, ..t
the both are one Sea OOcause the land of Pars lies in the North and Oman state ..
situating in the south of i1. 36)
17) Ibn Balkhi in his book, "Fars Narneh", written about 500 A.H. writes:
"The Persian Sea is a part of a greater Sea called "Blue Sea or the
Circumambient Sea. Each parts of this long sea situated on different regions,
hence, the inhabitants called it after their own regions, like Persian Sea, Oman 1!
Sea, this is why this long Sea is called Persian Sea. ott
IS) Sharaf aJ-Zaman Taber Marvazi in his book. "Tabaye al- Hayvan", l:
written in the year of 514 A.H. , nominated this, "Kahj aJ - Farsi" , meanmg
"
33) "The OrientaJ Geography of "Ebn Hawkal", Translated by Sir William
Ouseley (London: 1800) p.62; "Surat aJ- Arz."(Leyden 1938), vol. 1, pA2. Ebn
HawQaI was an Arabian traveler in the tenth century.
34) "Hodud al - 'Alam", from Tomanski 's copy, printed in Leninegrade . recourse by
Sayyed lalla! al - Din Tehrani (Tehran. 1312). P.&'
35) "Ahsan aJ-Taqassim fi Ma' refat a1-AqaHm" 00: De A.J. Goeje. (Leydan 1906), P.l7.
36) "lahan Nameh", Quoted by M.}.Mashkour in an article entitled "Nam-e-Khalij-e
Fars" in the Proceeding of the"Seminar on "Khaiij - e -Fars" Tehran 1964), voLJP.44.
Bekiran lived in the eleventh century AD. Also "jahan Name, recourse by Peshchafski, p.19.

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Persian Gulf.37 )
19) Abu Abdallah Moharrunad ibn Moharrunad ibn Abdallah ibn Edris (al -
Sharif al - Edrissi)3Bl. in his book. "Nuzhat al - MoshtaQ fi Ekhtraq al - Afaq"
wrote:
"A tributary of China Sea is a green gulf designated as Darya~e-Pars and
AbeUeh. The entrance of this gulf extends from south to a slightly North, in
such way that it will pass the Eastern regions of Sind, Makran, Kennan and
Pars up to Abelleh where is Abadan and that point is the end of this sea" .39)
20) Shahb al-Din Abu Abdallah Yaqut ibn Abdallah Hamawi Rumi (died in
805 A.H.) wrote in his well - known geographical encyclopedia "Mo'jam al -
Buldan)":
"The Persian Sea (Darya-e-Pars) is a tributary of the greater sea of India
and its name. as Harnzeh Esfahani wrote, is in Parsi "through Kamsir" and its
limit extends from Tyyaz, Makran region to Abadan and Abadan is the mouth
of Tigris and this river flows into the Farsi Sea. The coasts of this sea extends
from the the south of Oater"ll Oman. Shehtd 41 l and Merbat42l and Hazrmut and
Aden.
On the coasts of Persian Sea from Abadan situated one of renown cities is
Mahruban. "Harnzeh writes that this sea hereafter in the Persian language
designated "through European Route" and that is a gulf from the Persian Sea
extending from the south to the North, and hence passing the vicinity of
Ahelleh.""l
21) Abu Abdallah Zakariya ibn Mohammad ibn Mahmud Oazvini (died m
the year of 682 A.H.l in his book "Athar al-Belad" wrote:

37) "Tabaye al- Hayvan". Quoted by Mashkoor, ibid. , p. 44.

Also, Abwab fi aI- 'Ayn wa aI-Tarak Montakhabeh min Ketab Tabaye aI-Hayvan,
recourse by: Minureslti (London; 1942), p. 16.
38) ~Geographj d'Edrisi "Arab de I'traduti en Francais par p. Amedee JauJert (Recueil
des Voyages et des Memoires Publiees par la Societe de Geographie), (Paris: 1840), voL5.
vand VI.
39) "Nazhat aI - MoshtaQ aJ-Afaq." (Rome: 187&), p .Q.
40) Meaning the Qater peninsula situated on the Eastern coast of the Arabian
Peninsula", with its capital, Doheh. "Geography of the Arabian Peninsula, " written by
Omar Reza Kehameh. p.448.
40 Shehred , a city on the shore of Indian Sea and the capital of Mehr region in the
Southeast of Jazireh al- Arab."Geography of the Arabian Peninsula", p.431.
42) Merbat, a city between Oman and Hazermut, it was a ~rt in the past, and now
ruined. "Geography of the Arabian Peninsula," p.434.
43) "Mo'jam aJ-Buldan," (Caire: 1900), vol. 2. p. 68.

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 "Pars is a weJl - know region extending from the East to Kennan, and from SUI
the west to Khuzestan, from the North to the desert of Kharasan and from the
South to Sea nominated the Darya- ye- Pars44l. Persian Sea." m·;-
22) He also wrote in the book, "Ajayeb al-Maqluqat wa Qarayeb
al-Mojudat":
"From the Sea of India. two great gulfs are protruded that one 15 the (13;
Persian Sea and the other "Qolzom Sea" and added: tho
"The Persian Sea is a tributary of a greater Indian Sea and it is its biggest
tributaries , and this sea is full of affluences and benefits."45)
23) Abu al- Fed Emad aI-Din Ismail ibn Ali Amir Homat (cUed in the yeat
of 732 A.H.) wrote in the "Taqwim al - Buldan":
"The Persian Sea (Darya-ye-Fars ) is a tributary of Indian Sea and situated "G
between Oman and Makran and Makran' s port is called Tez46l and this part is aft
at the mouth of Persian Sea, hereafter, this sea extending along the coasts of Se
Oman and passing through the North up to Abadan and thereafter, from Abadao
to Mahruban and hence to Syniz47l, then extending southward to Ganaveh and .1bI
the shore of Sea which is the region of Pars, hence extending Eastward to Qa
Honnoz and from the south and East joins i Kennan."48)
24) Shams al - Din Abu Abdallah Mohammad ibn abu Taleb al-Ansari an
al-Dameshqi al - Sufi (died in WA.H.) in hi s book "Nokhbat al - Dahr fi Ajayeb
ai- Bar wa al- Bahr," repeatedly called this sea, Bahr Fars or Bahr aJ Farsi or
Persian Gulf.49)
25) Shahb al-Din Ahmad ibn Abd al - Wahab ibn Mohammad al-Nobari (died No
in the year of 735 A.H.J in his book, "Nehaya! al-Edab fi Fonoon al-Arab" Pe
wrote: o~'
" But the Persian Gulf is a triangular shape like the sail of a ship, one of
its sides extending from the direction of Makran ' s Tez and Kennan region to
Honnoz and the regions of Pars, Siraf and Mahruban and ending to Abadan and In,

turning to al- Khat( 50), on the shore of Oman5 )). and the other side on the

44) Ather al-Belad (Gutingen: 1848), I). 104.

II E
45) The same book, p. 114. F
46) Tez, a city on the shore of Makran (Yaqut. vol. 11), this place is now called Tis and 51!
situated on the North of Chabahar. 5<l
47) Syniz a city on the coast of Fars near Ganaveh.
48) "Taqwin aJ - Bulan", Geographic d' Aboulf de traduite del ' Arab par M. Reinaud, 2
•
5:J
vols. (Paris: 1848), vol, I, p. 23. If
49) Nakhbat al-Dahr" , Quoted by Mij - MoshkoUT ol.cit.,p.45 Also, "Nokhba a1 - Ddaht", 541
(Lipzig, 1923), index. 5Ii
50) "Al-khatt' meaning the shore of Qatif and AQir and Qater and is a part of old 56i

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surface of sea extends Tez of Makran to Ra 's ai - Khaymeh."52)
26) Hamadallah ibn Abu Bakr Mostowfi Qazvini (died in the year 740 AH.)
in his book, "Nuzhat al Qulub ", written in Presian language , writes:
In thi s book, calling this gulf Bahr Farsi, adds:
"The islands, extending from Sind to Oman m the Persian sea
(Bahr- e- Fars) are considered parts of Pars regions and the biggest islands 10

the view of population and affluences , are IGsh and Bahrain."S3)

27) Abu Hafs Zein al-Din Omar ibn Mozafar, known Ibn Alwardi (died In
the year of 740) in his book titling "Khatida la- Ajayeb wa Khatida aI-
Qarayeb" writes:
"A chapter about the Persian , its island and wonders and that Sea is called
"Green Sea" and is a tributary of a great Indian Sea. The Persian Gulf is full of
affluences and benefits , always calm and safe and comparing it with the other
Seas, it is relatively less exciting. 54)
28) Sharar ai - Din abu Abdallah Mohannnad ibn Abdallah Tanji known as
Ibn BatUIa (died in the year of m A.H.l in his book, "Tohfe aI-Nezar fi
Qarayeb aI - Emsar wa Ajayeb aI-Asfar" writes:
"The n • in the gulf outside of the Persian Sea, we boarded on a ship and
anived in Abadan."55),
29) Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Ahmad aI-Qolqoshandi (died in the year of 821 AH')
in his book, Sobh aI-Ashi fi Ketab aI-Ensha." Writes"
"But the Persian Sea a tributry of Indian Sea and its extremity from the
North extends to the coast of Kerman and once again turn to the original
Persian Gulf and extending towards the North continue until it reaches the city
of Hormoz."56J.
30) Mustafa ibn Abdallah Kateb Qostantini Known as Haji Caliph (died in
the year of 1087 AH.) in books, "Kashf aI Zanoon" and "jahan Nema" written
in the Turkish language about the geography of the world, writes:
"Darya Pars" is called "Persicus Sinus" meaning Persian Gulf because in the

Bahrain situated between Basre and Oman. (Yaqut and Geography the Arabian
Peninsula, p.263- 265).
50 This region is today one of the seven Shikhdoms of United Arab Emirates.
52) "Nehayat al- Edab fi Fonoon ai-Arab", (Cairo: Daml ai- Arab," (Cairo: Darul
al-Ketab, 1993) , voU,p.244.
53) ~Nuzhat al Qulub 00: Muhammad Dabir SiyaQi, , (Tehran: 1336, Hijir Solar Year),
H

P.l54.
54) HKharida ai-Ajayeb", (Cairo, 1303), vol,I,P.91,P.94.
55) The travels of Ibn Batutah, (Egypt;1322), voI.2.p.l39.
56) "Sobh aJ Ashi" (Cairo-Dalrul ai-Ketab, in 14 vol.from 1913 to 1920), p.241.
I

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East of it situated Pars regIOn and this Sea also is called "Mare Persicus"
meaning Persian Gulf.57)
31) Shams ai - Din Mohammad Sami In the books of Qamus al- 'AlamSSI and
Qamus Turky59) used the tenn of Khalij Basra for Bahr Farsi or Persian Gulf.
Of course, his intention for using the term "Basra Gulf' was a small part of
Persian Sea which was situated near Basra city. In thi s regards, occasionally
tenns of "Bushre port or Bushr Sea " used for the Persian Gulf.
32) In the encyclopedia of aI- Bostani, vol.?, ed: 1883, under the word of
Gulf, we see al - Kalij al 'Ajam and al Khalij ai-Arabi. The first term meamng
the Persian Gulf and the other designating Red Sea (Bahr Ahmed.
These were some instances of historical and geopgraphicai evidences
relating the name of the Persian Gulf. Now, let' s see, where is the real
"Arabian Gulf' - Khalij-e-Arabi ."
33) Romans used the term "Sinus Arabicus meaning "Khalij- e - Arabi" or
H
,

"Arabian Gulf', but in the ancient historical and geographical recordings this
t

term meant exclusively "Red Sea" situated between "Suez Canal" and
"Bab-el-Mandeb" and as the sands of its shores are red , Greeks called it
"Erythra", and in the Latin language ,"Mare Rubrun", the both meaning Red Sea
and it was also called Qolzom.
34) Hecataeus of Miletus (549- 478 B.C') . one of the Greek scholars, known
as the father of geography. drawn a world map on which the ocean encircle the
lands. In various sources, this map is found in two, circualr and ellipticaJ, rms.
It clearly shows the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Gulf (Red Sea).60J
35) A wor ld map drawn by Herodotus (484 ?-430/420 ? B.c.). the famous
historian, has survived, which divides the world in two main portions, namely
Asia and Europe, and upon which the Red Sea is called Arabian Gulf,
precluding any confusion with the Persian Gulf.61 )
36) The World Map of Ereatos thenes of Cyrene (Z/6- 194 B.C.), the famous
geographer and great scholar of the antiquity, who, for a while , directed. the
Library of Alexandria . He created numerous works and set forth important
theories concerning the evolution of geography and astronomy, Among his
contemporaries were such scientists as Archiemedes, Aristarchu s of Samos and
Ptolemus. One of his significant achievements was the utilization of longitudes

57) Kalab ChaJbi, "Jahan Nerna" , (Istanbul, 1145), 0.78.

58} Istanbul, 1306 '
59) Istanbul. 1317
60) AI-Doctor Ahmad Suseh, al - Iraq fi al-Khavarat al-Qadimeh,p.?
61) Histoire d' Herodote , traduction de Pierre Saliat . (Paris, 1864),

-}OO -
 and latitudes in locating geographic sites. He has expressed. many theories on
the fann . the motion and the location of , ~e earth, And in all of his works ,
both the Persian Gulf and the • Arabian Gulf (Red Sea) are distinctly named.62)
'57) Strabo, ranking among the greatest geographers, studying in the school
of Rome and Alexandria . and then traveling far and wide, compiled an opus in
fi7 volumes covering the geography of the world of his time. In his world Map,
the land is a large island located. amid unbounded oceans, designating the
f Persian Gulf, he, too, calling Red Sea as "The Arabian Gulf"63)
1 38) Ptolemy (Claudius Plolemaeus), the famous astronomer, mathematician
and geographer, during 2nd century AD., compiled an atlas of the earth,
s including 36 maps of various regions , as well as a world map and a
1 comprehensive index. On Several of his maps, giving the waterway between
the southern shores of Iran and the Arabian Peninsula unambiguously as the
r Persian Gulf, he called Red Sea in Latin as Arabicus Sinus" meaning the
I

Arabian Gulf.64)
j 39) In the book of'Hodud a- ' Alam men aI - Mashraq ila aI - Maqreb" written
t m 372 A.H. Red Sea explicity is called "Khalij - e - Arabi: meaning the
a "Arabian Gulf:
"Another gulf joins this • extending to the North as far as Egypt region and
1 hence, becoming so narrow that its width will be one mile, it is called "Khalij -
, e - Qolzom"65)
40) Haj Caliph (1067 AR) in his book "Jahan Nema" written in the Turkish
language , recounts:
s "But "Bahr- e- Qolzom," because of its situation in the East of the Arabian
Peninsula, is the Sea of Mekkeh, is called Sinus Arabicus and also
,., "Bahr- e-Hamer", in the ancient books, meaning "Mare Burum" and "Mare
Rusu".

t Conclusion
s
j 1) As far as history and other pieces of evidence can provide confumation.
s and judging by the oldest graphic recordings 1eft behind by various peopJe

62) AI- Iraq fi al- Khavarat a1 Qadimeh , p.Q.

63) Geographie de strabon (Paris, 1805), pp.357- 362.
64) Bunbury : A history of Ancient Geography, (New-York) , vol.II,P.78 (Map of the
World According to Ptolemy).
65) "Hodud aI-' Alam" . (edTehran),P,8.

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whose crudely executed document have survived to the present day, the
waterway on the southern shores of Iran has ever been referred to as the
Persian Gulf. The ancient documments recorded by the greatest powers of the
antiquity or famous ancient cartographer, and are accredited with the community
of Present-day geographers. Whithout exception, they show that the southern
waters of the Islamic Republic of [ran, from 2500 years have inVariably been
referred to as the Persian Gulf or Bahr- e- Pars meaning Persian Gulf.
Designating "Arabian GuJf', dates back even before "Persian Gulf. but it
exclusively referred to the Red Sea (or Oolzom Sea).
2) The Greeks were the first ones who used both names for these two
seas, i.e. the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. So, the factor of the Persian or Arabic
.1
languages absolutely played no role in this nomination.
3) An overall glance upon the source pertaining to the origins of the name
.I
of the Persian Gulf shows that a number of these are ancient documments,
mostly written in Latin or Greek and that the remainder are the work of
Muslim scientists and geographers, compiled in Persian or Arabic and
occasionally available in the form of translations in French. English, German,
ets. These works either logically follow or are based upon the studies of Greek
scholars or are the outcome of original research and are penned in accordance
with the Islamlc geographical traditions. A brief search show that they
unanimously refferred to "Darya-ye- Pars" as Bahr- a) - Fars or Khalij - e- Fars all
meaning Persian Gulf.
4) Since the fifth centUIY Be, the geographical designation of the landlocked
Sea of the Persian Gulf has remained unchanged and from the dawn of history
up to the present - day, the term Persian Gulf" has established itself in the
living languages of the world and all nations are using this tenn in their own
languages.

......
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