Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf from space
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
Max width	56 km (min)
Surface area	251,000km2
Average depth	50 m
Max depth	90 m

The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia (largely overlapping with the Middle East) is the southwestern portion of Asia. An ocean (from Greek, ''Okeanos'' (Oceanus) is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the Hydrosphere. The Gulf of Oman or Gulf of Makran ( Arabic: الخليج عمان transliterated: khalīj ʿumān( Urdu / Persian: خليج مکران A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. The State of Kuwait ( دولة الكويت IPA [dawlatt̪ alkuwajt̪]) is a sovereign Arab Emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA ( المملكة العربية السعودية, al-Mamlaka al-ʻArabiyya as-Suʻūdiyya) or Suudi Qatar ( قطر; ˈqɑtˁɑr local pronunciation giṭar officially the State of Qatar (Arabic دولة قطر transliterated The Kingdom of Bahrain (in مملكة البحرين,, literally Kingdom of the Two Seas) is an Island country in the Persian Gulf Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman ( Arabic: سلطنة عُمان) is an Arab Country in Southwest Asia on the southeast The Musandam (مسندم Peninsula is an Exclave of Oman, separated from the rest of the country by the United Arab Emirates. Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia (largely overlapping with the Middle East) is the southwestern portion of Asia. The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's Oceanic divisions covering about 20% of the water on the Earth 's surface For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. The Arabian Peninsula (in Arabic: شبه الجزيرة العربية šibh al-jazīra al-ʻarabīya or جزيرة العرب jazīrat al-ʻarab) ^[1]

The Persian Gulf was the focus of the Iraq-Iran War that lasted from 1980 to 1988, with each side attacking the other's oil tankers. Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) History The technology of oil transportation has evolved alongside the oil industry In 1991, the Persian Gulf again was the background for what was called the Persian Gulf War or the "Gulf War" when Iraq invaded Kuwait and was subsequently pushed back, despite the fact that this conflict was primarily a land conflict. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics.

The natural environment of the Persian Gulf is very rich with good fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters, but its ecology has become increasingly under pressure from the heavy industrialisation and in particular the repeated major petroleum spillages associated with recent wars fought in the region. Coral reefs are Aragonite structures produced by living organisms found in marine waters with little to no nutrients in the water Pinctada is a Genus of pearl oysters. These are saltwater clams marine Bivalve Molluscs of the Genus Pinctada Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit

Geography

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. The Gulf of Oman or Gulf of Makran ( Arabic: الخليج عمان transliterated: khalīj ʿumān( Urdu / Persian: خليج مکران Navigation Ships moving through the Strait follow a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS which separates inbound from outbound traffic to reduce the risk of collision A delta is a Landform where the mouth of a River flows into an Ocean, Sea, Estuary, Lake or another river The Euphrates ( ( Arabic: ar نهر الفرات; Turkish: tr Fırat Syriac: syr ܦܪܬ; Hebrew: he פרת The Tigris is the eastern member of the two great Rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of southeastern Its length is 989 kilometres, separating mainly Iran from Saudi Arabia with the shortest divide of about 56 kilometres in the Strait of Hormuz. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA ( المملكة العربية السعودية, al-Mamlaka al-ʻArabiyya as-Suʻūdiyya) or Suudi The waters are overall very shallow and have 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. Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman ( Arabic: سلطنة عُمان) is an Arab Country in Southwest Asia on the southeast The Musandam (مسندم Peninsula is an Exclave of Oman, separated from the rest of the country by the United Arab Emirates. Qatar ( قطر; ˈqɑtˁɑr local pronunciation giṭar officially the State of Qatar (Arabic دولة قطر transliterated A peninsula is a piece of land that is nearly surrounded by Water but connected to Mainland via an Isthmus. The Kingdom of Bahrain (in مملكة البحرين,, literally Kingdom of the Two Seas) is an Island country in the Persian Gulf The State of Kuwait ( دولة الكويت IPA [dawlatt̪ alkuwajt̪]) is a sovereign Arab Emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. Various small islands lie within the Persian Gulf, some of which are subject to territorial disputes by the states of the region. Bahrain Amwaj Islands Bahrain Island Hawar Islands Jidda Island Muharraq This article deals with Territorial disputes between States of in and around the Persian Gulf in Southwestern Asia.

Oil and gas

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. An oil field is a region with an abundance of Oil wells extracting Petroleum (crude oil from below ground 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. Not to be confused with Natural Gas Liquids (NGL Liquefied natural gas or LNG is Natural gas (primarily Methane, CH4

The oil-rich countries (excluding Iraq) that have a coastline on the Persian Gulf are referred to as the Persian Gulf States. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. The Arab states of the Persian Gulf are made of the kingdoms of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the 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. The Euphrates ( ( Arabic: ar نهر الفرات; Turkish: tr Fırat Syriac: syr ܦܪܬ; Hebrew: he פרת The Tigris is the eastern member of the two great Rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of southeastern

Etymology

Map of the Persian Gulf. The Gulf of Oman leads to the Arabian Sea. The Gulf of Oman or Gulf of Makran ( Arabic: الخليج عمان transliterated: khalīj ʿumān( Urdu / Persian: خليج مکران The Arabian Sea ( Arabic: بحر العرب transliterated: Baḥr al-'Arab Sanskrit: सिन्धु सागर transliterated: Detail from larger map of the Middle East.

In 330 B. C, the Achaemenid dynasty established the first Persian Empire in Pars (Persis, or modern Fars) in the southwestern region of the Iranian plateau. The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of Consequently in the Greek sources, the body of water that bordered this province came to be known as the Persian Gulf. ^[2]

Considering the historical background of the name Persian Gulf, Sir Arnold Wilson mentions in a book, published in 1928 that:

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 Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia The Arabian Peninsula (in Arabic: شبه الجزيرة العربية šibh al-jazīra al-ʻarabīya or جزيرة العرب jazīrat al-ʻarab) ^[4]

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. Darius I the Great (c 549 BC&ndash486 BC 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 Dārayavahuš: "Possessing goodness" Having ascended to power amidst controversy and bloodshed Susa ( Biblical שושן ( Shushan) also Greek: Σοῦσα Transliterated as Sousa; Latin Susa) Persepolis ( Old Persian: Pārsa, Modern Persian: تخت جمشید/پارسه Takht-e Jamshid or Chehel Minar) was the ceremonial 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. ^[5]

Naming dispute

A historical map is altered to erase the word "Persian" from the Persian Gulf in a Dubai museum, United Arab Emirates. Saeed Al Maktoum House is a historical building and former residential quarters of Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, former ruler of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates

Main article: Persian Gulf naming dispute

Since the 1960s with the rise of Arab nationalism (Pan-Arabism), starting with Gamal Abdel Nasser's Arab Republic of Egypt, some Arab countries, including the ones bordering the Persian Gulf, have adopted the term "Arabian Gulf" (in Arabic: الخلیج العربي al-khalīj al-ʿarabī) to refer to the waterway. The name of the body of water separating the Arabian Peninsula from Iran has been disputed by some Arab countries since the 1960s Pan-Arabism is a movement for Unification among the peoples and countries of the Arab World, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gamal Abdel Nasser (جمال عبد الناصر Gamāl ‘Abd an-Nāṣir; - January 15 1918 September 28 1970) was the second President This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language ^[6] This is controversial and not commonly used outside of the Arab world, nor is it recognized by the United Nations^[7][8][9] and other international organizations. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The United Nations on many occasions has requested that only "Persian Gulf" be used as the official and standard geographical designation for the body of water. ^[10] "Arabian Gulf" is also an ancient name for the Red Sea. The Red Sea is a Salt water Inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ^[11] Hecataeus (472 to 509 B. C. ) can be stated where Persian Gulf and Arabian Gulf (Red Sea) have been clearly shown. The Red Sea is a Salt water Inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. Also a map has remained from Herodotus, the great Greek historian (425-484 B. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash C. ) which introduces Red Sea as the Arabian Gulf. ^[12]

In the world map of Diseark (285-347 B. C. ) too, Persian Gulf and Arabian Gulf have been clearly distinct. At the same time, many maps and deeds prepared up to the 8th century by the historians such as Arrian^[13] Hecataeus, Herodotus, Hiparek, Claudius Batlamious, Krats Malous,…… and in the Islamic period, Khwārizmī, Abou Yousef Eshagh Kandi, Ibn Khordadbeh, Batani (Harrani), Mas'udi, Balkhi, Estakhri, Ibn Houghal, Aboureyhan Birouni and others, mention that there is a wide sea at south of Iran named “Pars Sea”, “Pars Gulf”, “Fars Sea”, “Fars Gulf”, “Bahre Fars”, “Sinus Persicus” and “Mare Persicum” and so on. For others with this name see Arrianus (disambiguation. Lucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon' (ca Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash Abu'l Qasim Ubaid'Allah ibn Khordadbeh ( Persian: fa ابوالقاسم عبیدالله ابن خردادبه) (c TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn íbn Ali al-Mas'udi (transl) (born c This article is about the scientist For the poet see Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi. In a book, named “Persilus Aryateria”, the Greek traveller of the 1st century A. D. has called the Red Sea as Arabian gulf; the Indian ocean has been named Aryateria Sea; the waters at Oman Coast is called Pars Sea; Barbarus region (between Oman and Yemen coast are called belonging to Pars, and the Gulf located at south side of Iran is named: Persian Gulf. By describing the water body, the life of Persians living at both sides have also been confirmed. ^[14]

Most recently, at the Twenty-third session of United Nation in March-April 2006, the name "Persian Gulf" was confirmed again as the legitimate and the official term to be used by members of United Nation. ^[15]

History

Colonial era

See also: British Residency of the Persian Gulf

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") and at various times Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar through the British Residency of the Persian Gulf. From 1763 until 1971 the United Kingdom maintained varying degrees of political control over some Persian Gulf states including the United Arab Emirates (originally called The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. From 1763 until 1971 the United Kingdom maintained varying degrees of political control over some Persian Gulf states including the United Arab Emirates (originally called

The United Kingdom maintains a high profile in the region; in 2006, over 1 million Britons visited Dubai alone. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Dubai (in دبيّ,) is one of the seven emirates and most populous city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE ^[16]

See also

• Cradle of civilization
• Deluge (prehistoric)
• Gulf of Aden

References

External links

• Persian Gulf Studies website
• The Persian Gulf, Information, history and resources of the Persian Gulf
• The Portuguese in the Arabian peninsula and in the Persian Gulf
• Persian Gulf Region
• Publication of Historical Maps of the Persian Gulf in Tehran
• Persian Gulf maps
• Factsheet on the Legal and Historical Usage of the "Persian Gulf" - ISG MIT
• The Persian Gulf: The Politics of Geographic Renaming
• UN GEGN – Historical, Geographical and Legal Validity of the Name: Persian Gulf