|
Previous
to the Achaemenid era, Iranians Iranians have been keeping
Persian Gulf
region as safe and peaceful place as possible. The safety
of Persian Gulf was a vital matter to merchants during
ancient times. It was so important that they preferred
crossing the Persian Gulf even if they had to spend more
days on the water to keep safe from pirates and deliver
their goods safe and sound to the destination.
“From the Achaemenid dynastic era, shipping existed in
the Persian Gulf which was a bridge between the west and
east. At that time the Imperial Road extended from Susa to
the Asia Minor and from Susa to the Persian Gulf. The road
was 2650 kilometres,” said Ardeshir Khodadadian,
professor of ancient history in Beheshti University,
Tehran, about the Persian Gulf safety.
According to Khodadadian, Darius the Great charged
Eskilaks to cross the distance between the Persian Gulf
and the Indian Ocean to the African Sea to provide the map
of the Persian Gulf. At that time it was supposed that
King Darius wanted the map for his campaigns but later on
it was revealed that he wanted the maps mainly for the use
of merchants and businessmen. The maps were created help
form a guardian force in the Persian Gulf, a force today
known as coast guards to establish peace and safety in the
region.
After Darius the Great, most of the nations of the world
were hoping to take control of the Persian Gulf.
A Greek admiral of Alexander (4th century BCE Macedonian
warlord) came to the Persian Gulf with his navy and joined
the occupying forces. In his itinerary, the admiral
described Persian Gulf as a beautiful place. Businessmen
at that time believed that not only Persian Gulf waters
were calm and peaceful but also the region too was a safe
area for transferring their goods.
“It is not just today’s western governments, want to
take control over the Persian Gulf, but from the ancient
times and the Achaemenid era, the Greek had an eye on the
Persian Gulf,” says Khodadadian.
Greeks were determined to transfer their goods from east
through the Imperial Road to their own country. They sent
their goods from the Imperial Road to the shores of the
Persian Gulf to ship them then to Greece.
Considering the name of Persian Gulf, Khodadadian
explained that there exist a lot of evidence and documents
in this respect from Greece before the Achaemenid dynasty,
in which the name of the Persian Gulf can be seen. Sargon
the first, the Assyrian king said, “I want to capture
Mesopotamia from north to south and wet my bloody sword in
the waters of the Persian Gulf.”
This university professor believes that the attempt by
some opportunists to change the Persian Gulf name is
absolutely groundless based on the historical evidence.
The name has been registered in the history of the world
as the Persian Gulf and could not be changed, he asserted.
Source:
CHN
|
