An arm of the Arabian Sea between the Arabian Peninsula and southwest Iran. It has been an important trade route since ancient times and gained added strategic significance after the discovery of oil in the Gulf States in the 1930s.
| Dictionary: Persian Gulf |
An arm of the Arabian Sea between the Arabian Peninsula and southwest Iran. It has been an important trade route since ancient times and gained added strategic significance after the discovery of oil in the Gulf States in the 1930s.
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Physical Geography
The Persian Gulf is mostly shallow and has many islands, of which Bahrain is the largest. The gulf is bordered by Oman and the United Arab Emirates to the south, to the west by Qatar and Saudi Arabia, to the north by Kuwait and Iraq, and along the entire east coast by Iran. It was generally thought that the gulf had previously extended farther north and that sediment dropped by the Tigris, Euphrates, Karun, and Karkheh rivers filled the northern part of the gulf to create a great delta. But geologic investigations now indicate that the coastline has not moved and that the marshlands of the delta represent a sinking of the earth's crust as the Arabian land block pushes under Iran. The gulf waters have very slow currents and limited tidal range.
History
The Persian Gulf was an important transportation route in antiquity but declined with the fall of Mesopotamia. In succeeding centuries control of the region was contested by Arabs, Persians, Turks, and Western Europeans. In 1853, Britain and the Arab sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf signed the Perpetual Maritime Truce, formalizing the temporary truces of 1820 and 1835. The sheikhs agreed to stop harassing British shipping in the Arabian Sea and to recognize Britain as the dominant power in the gulf. These sheikhdoms thus became known as the Trucial States. An international agreement among the major powers in 1907 placed the gulf in the British sphere of influence.
Although oil was discovered in the gulf in 1908, it was not until the 1930s, when major finds were made, that keen international interest in the region revived. Since World War II the gulf oil fields, among the most productive in the world, have been extensively developed, and modern port facilities have been constructed. Nearly 50% of the world's total oil reserves are estimated to be found in the Persian Gulf. It is also a large fishing source and was once the chief center of the pearling industry. In the late 1960s, following British military withdrawal from the area, the United States and the USSR sought to fill the vacuum. In 1971 the first U.S. military installation in the gulf was established at Bahrain.
The long-standing Arab-Persian conflict in the gulf, combined with the desire of neighboring states for control of large oil reserves, has led to international boundary disputes. Iraq and Iran argued over navigation rights on the Shatt al Arab, through which Iran's main ports and most productive oil fields are reached. Iran and the sheikhdom of Ras al-Khaima contested ownership of the oil-rich islands of Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunb at the entrance to the gulf. Iranian forces occupied these islands in Dec., 1971, infuriating Iraq. The much-contested rights over the Shatt al Arab led Iran and Iraq into an 8-year war in the 1980s (see Iran-Iraq War). In 1984 American and other foreign oil tankers in the gulf were attacked by both Iran and Iraq. The security of Persian Gulf countries was threatened throughout this war.
When Iraq invaded Kuwait in Aug., 1990, the Persian Gulf was once again a background for conflict. International coalition ground forces were stationed in Saudi Arabia and neighboring gulf countries in the Persian Gulf War (1991). Before Iraq was expelled from Kuwait in Feb., 1991, Iraqi soldiers set fire to over 500 Kuwaiti oil wells and dumped millions of barrels of oil into the Persian Gulf, causing an environmental crisis and threatening desalination plants throughout the area. The area again was the scene of warfare in 2003 when U.S. and British forces invaded Iraq. The Persian Gulf's vast oil reserves make the area a continuing source of international tension.
| Geography: Persian Gulf |
Arm of the Indian Ocean between Arabia and Iran.
| Wikipedia: Persian Gulf |
| Persian Gulf | |
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| Location | Southwest Asia |
| Ocean type | Gulf |
| Primary sources | Sea of Oman |
| Basin countries | Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Oman (exclave of Musandam) |
| Max length | 989 km (615 mi) |
| Max width | 56 km (35 mi) (min) |
| Surface area | 251,000 km2 (97,000 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 50 m (160 ft) |
| Max depth | 90 m (300 ft) |
The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.[1] Historically and commonly known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes controversially referred to as the Arabian Gulf by most Arab states[2] or simply The Gulf, although neither of the latter two terms is recognized internationally.
The Persian Gulf was a focus of the 1980-1988 Iraq-Iran War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers. In 1991, the Persian Gulf again was the background for the Gulf War, when Iraq invaded Kuwait and was subsequently pushed back, though this conflict was conducted primarily on land, rather than in Persian Gulf waters.
The Persian Gulf has many good fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters, but its ecology has come under pressure from industrialization, and in particular, petroleum spillages during the recent wars in the region.
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This inland sea of some 251,000 km² is connected to the Gulf of Oman in the east by the Strait of Hormuz; and its western end is marked by the major river delta of the Shatt al-Arab, which carries the waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris. Its length is 989 kilometres, with Iran covering most of the northern coast and Saudi Arabia most of the southern coast. The Persian gulf is about 56 kilometres wide at its narrowest, in the Strait of Hormuz. The waters are overall very shallow, with a maximum depth of 90 metres and an average depth of 50 metres.
Countries with a coastline on the Persian Gulf are (clockwise, from the north): Iran, Oman (exclave of Musandam), United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar on a peninsula off the Saudi coast, Bahrain on an island, Kuwait and Iraq in the northwest. Various small islands lie within the Persian Gulf, some of which are subject to territorial disputes by the states of the region.
The Persian Gulf and its coastal areas are the world's largest single source of crude oil and related industries dominate the region. Al-Safaniya, the world's largest offshore oilfield, is located in the Persian Gulf. Large gas finds have also been made with Qatar and Iran sharing a giant field across the territorial median line (North Field in the Qatari sector; South Pars Field in the Iranian sector). Using this gas, Qatar has built up a substantial liquified natural gas (LNG) and petrochemical industry.
The oil-rich countries (excluding Iraq) that have a coastline on the Persian Gulf are referred to as the Persian Gulf States. Iraq's egress to the gulf is narrow and easily blockaded consisting of the marshy river delta of the Shatt al-Arab, which carries the waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris Rivers, where the left (East) bank is held by Iran.
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.[3]
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.[1] | ” |
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.[1]
In the travel account of Pythagoras, several chapters are related to description of his travels accompanied by Darius the Great, to Susa and Persepolis, and the area is described. From among the writings of others in the same period, there is the inscription and engraving of Darius the great, installed at junction of waters of Arabian Gulf (Ahmar Sea = Red sea) and Nile river and Rome river (current Mediterranean) which belongs to the 5th century BC where, Darius, the king of Achaemenid Empire has named the Persian Gulf Water Channel: Pars Sea.[1]
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”[4]. In this era, some of the Greek writers also called it “Persikonkaitas,” meaning the Persian Gulf. Claudius Ptolemaues, the celeberated Greco-Egyptian mathematician/astronomer in the second century called it “Persicus Sinus” or Persian Gulf[5]. In the first century A.D., Quintus Curticus Rufus, the Roman historian, designated it “Aquarius Persico” – the Persian Sea[6]. Flavius Arrianus, another Greek historian, called it “Persiconkaitas” (Persian Gulf)[7]. During the Sassanian dynasty and the time of the Prophet Muhammad and the 4 caliphs, the name invariably used was the “Persian Sea”[8]. This was continued by the Ummayyads and Abbassids[9], while during the Ottomans used either “Persian Gulf” or “Persian Sea”, however occasionally they called it “Khalij of Basra” or “Basra Kurfuzi”, meaning the Gulf of Basra[9]. Among historians, travellers and geographers of the Islamic era, many of them writing in Arabic from the 9th to the 17th century, Ibn Khordadbeh[10], Ibn al-Faqih[11], Ibn Rustah[12], Sohrab[13], Ramhormozi[14], Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Farisi al Istakhri[15], Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Mas'udi[16], Al-Mutahhar ibn Tahir al-Maqdisi(d. 966)[17], Ibn Hawqal[18], Al-Muqaddasi[19], Ibn Khaldun[20],Mohammad ibn Najub Bekiran[21], Abu Rayhan Biruni[22], Muhammad al-Idrisi[23], Yaqut al-Hamawi[24], Zakariya al-Qazwini[25], Abu'l-Fida[26], Al-Dimashqi[27], Hamdollah Mostowfi[28], Ibn al-Wardi[29], Al-Nuwayri[30], Ibn Batutta[31], Katip Çelebi and other sources[32] have used the terms "Bahr-i-Fars", "Daryaye-i-Fars", "Khalij al-'Ajami" and "Khalij-i Fars".
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.[2][33],[34],[35]. However, this naming has not found much acceptance outside of the Arab world, and is not recognized by the United Nations[2][36][37][38] or any other international organization.[2][39] 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.[40] Historically, "Arabian Gulf" has been a term used to indicate the Red Sea.[1][41][42][43][44] At the same time, the historical veracity of the usage of "Persian Gulf" can be established from the works of many medieval historians.[1][45][46][47][48]
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.[49]
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For most of the history of human settlement in the Persian Gulf the southern side was ruled by nomadic tribes. During the end of fourth millennium BC the southern part of the Persian Gulf was dominated by the Dilmun civilization. For a long time the most important settlement on the southern coast of the Persian Gulf was Gerrha. In the second century the Lakhum tribe, who lived in Yemen, migrated north and founded the Lakhmid Kingdom along the southern coast. During the 7th century the Sassanid Empire conquered the whole of the Persian Gulf.
Between 625 BC and 226 AD the northern side was dominated by the Median, Achaemenid, Seleucid and Parthian empires. After the fall of the Parthian Empire, the Sassanid empire ruled the northern half and at times the southern half of the Persian Gulf. the Persian Gulf, along with the Silk Road was very important to trade in the Sassanid empire. Siraf was an ancient Sassanid port that was located on the north shore of the Persian Gulf in what is now the Iranian province of Bushehr.
Portuguese expansion into the Indian Ocean in the early sixteenth century following Vasco da Gama's voyages of exploration saw them battle the Ottomans up the coast of the Persian Gulf. In 1521, a Portuguese force led by commander Antonio Correia invaded Bahrain to take control of the wealth created by its pearl industry. IIn April 29 of 1602, Shāh Abbās, the Persian emperor of Safavid Persian Empire expelled the Portuguese from Bahrain.[50][50], and that date is commemorated as National Persian Gulf day in Iran[51]. With the support of the British fleet, in 1622 'Abbās took the island of Hormuz from the Portuguese: much of the trade was diverted to the town of Bandar 'Abbās which he had taken from the Portuguese in 1615 and had named after himself. The Persian Gulf was therefore opened by Persians to a flourishing commerce with Portuguese, Dutch, French, Spanish and British merchants, which were granted particular privileges.
From 1763 until 1971, the British Empire maintained varying degrees of political control over some Persian Gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates (originally called the "Trucial Coast States"[citation needed]) and at various times Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar through the British Residency of the Persian Gulf.
The United Kingdom maintains a high profile in the region; in 2006, over 1 million Britons visited Dubai alone.[52]
Mangroves in the Persian Gulf, which are thought to require tidal flow and a combination of fresh and salt water, are nurseries for crabs, small fish and insects - and the birds that eat them.[53]
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| Translations: Persian Gulf |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - Den persiske bugt
Français (French)
n. - Golfe Persique
Deutsch (German)
n. - Persischer Golf
Português (Portuguese)
n. - Golfo Pérsico
Español (Spanish)
n. - Golfo Pérsico
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
波斯湾
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 波斯灣
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - המפרץ הפרסי
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