National Persian Gulf Day with a memory of father of Persian Gulf studies

Ahmad Eqtedari who was known as the Father of Persian Gulf Studies died at the age of 94. His works are mainly in the field of the Persian Gulf and the culture of southern Iran and that is why he was given this title.

10th of Ordibehesht in the Iranian calendar (April 10) is known as the Persian Gulf Day in Iran. It is the anniversary of the expulsion of the Portuguese from the Strait of Hurmuz and the Persian Gulf. April 30 was named as the National Persian Gulf Day in 2005. 

Persian Gulf has been of very great importance through history both regionally and globally. The unique geographic location and the connection of this waterway with the Indian Ocean and the free waters are among the features that have given the Persian Gulf a very significant position in terms of trade and military. In addition, the giant energy reserves and rich mineral resources make it a prominent spot on planet earth.

Master Ahmad Eqtedari, whose name is inseparably linked with the Persian Gulf, is an outstanding figure in the studies related to the region as he conducted broad research on the Persian Gulf and adjacent areas. Thus, it would be appropriate to make a memory of this renowned researcher, who died on April 16 at the age of 94.

Ahmad Eqtedari was born in 1925 in the small town of Gerash, Fars province in southern Iran. He did his elementary and high school in Lar and then he started academic studies in Shiraz. After graduating from law faculty of Tehran University, he taught at high schools in Tehran. In addition to 30 years teaching, he served at a law office for 40 years.

During the period when he chaired the Culture of Southern Ports, he set up 236 schools in Larestan region of Fars province and the southern ports and islands. Administration of the affairs of southern ports and islands was bequeathed to him from his ancestor namely Imam Qoli Khan during the Safavid period.

In 1949, he was elected by the people as the representative of Larestan at the parliament, but he was jailed and replaced by another man.

He had walked all along the coastlines of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman for his research work, and started mapping the entire region from a young age. Famous Iranian novelist, Jalal Al-Ahmad, described Eqtedari and two of his colleagues "Iraj Afshar" and "Manouchehr Sotoodeh" as "Three Musketeers", as they introduced many historical documents and ancient monuments of Iran in collaboration with each other.

The book "Persian Gulf Pearl" has been written on his studies about Iran and the documentary "To Iran I Owe My Eternity" has been made on his life. The Persian Gulf Pearl has been awarded the UNESCO Special Prize in Iran, and has been republished several times. This book covers the Persian Gulf customs, trade and navigation, the name of the Persian Gulf in various texts and maps, the British and Russian interventions in the Persian Gulf, the effects of the Constitutional Revolution on the Persian Gulf, and so on.

A large part of researches in the field of linguistics and the history of Larestan and people of Gerash is the result of the relentless efforts of Ahmad Eqtedrari. The Divan "Sheiday-e Gerashi", the book "Baghestan" and the interpretation "Flower and Leaf" are among the sources that had been corrected for the first time by Eqtedari. The book "Developments of Constitutional Revolution in Larestan and Ports" is one of Eqtedari's most important works that mainly deals with the southern cities and towns of Fars province during the Qajar era.

Ahmed Eqtedari started his studies on the Persian Gulf and its history in 1962. In 1964, Roman Girshman, Russian-born French archaeologist, was reminded by Eqtedari that he had used the Gulf instead of Persian Gulf during a speech at a seminar. This led to Girshman's to apologize the audience and all Iranians for his mistake.

Dr. Ahmad Eqtedari's research trips in the years 1966-1977 on the southern coasts of Iran helped him author and compile books such as "Diyar-e Shahryaran" (Land of Kings) and the preparation of 4,000 photographs of historical monuments which greatly contributes to recognition of the history and culture of the southern regions of Iran and the Persian Gulf coasts.

Eqtedari's works are not limited to a particular field. He has several works in the fields of geography, folklore, linguistics, old Iranian literature, and so on. Ahmad Eqtedari published nearly 40 books and more than 100 scientific articles. He ably corrected and published some neglected poems of the past, translated the works of non-Iranian researchers and published the stories of Masnavi of Mowlana, Manteq at-Tair of Attar and One Thousand and One Nights. Moreover, he conducted scientific research on the dialect, language and culture of different regions of the country.

Eqtedari received an honorary PhD from Tehran University for his studies on the recognition of Iran and introducing it to others.

In the book, "Persian Gulf from Old to Present" he has used two definitions of the "Iranian Adventurous Sea" and "Cradle of Civilization" for the Persian Gulf. He believes that the Persian Gulf is adventurous because it has been the battlefield of military forces through its history. He further maintains that the Persian Gulf has been the birthplace of Elamites and that is why it is referred to as the cradle of civilization.

According to Dr. Eqtedari, a detailed study of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman reveals that even the names of the islands now belonging to Arabia, Kuwait, Oman UAE, Qatar and Bahrain are often rooted in Farsi, such as Yas, Red, Camilo Deraz, Barbar Khoshab, Dara, Tarut and Farsi. He believes that the cause of the disputes between Arabs and Iranians over some islands are British interventions.

Ahmad Eqtedari considered the separation of Bahrain from Iran as a "totally spurious and superficial referendum", and till the end of his life called it an "unpardonable sin of the Shah and the Iranian parliament."

Among the works of Eqtedari in the field of the Persian Gulf are "the Persian Gulf from Old to Present", "Bandar Abbas Port and the Persian Gulf", "Catching Pearls in the Persian Gulf", "History of Muscat, Oman and Bahrain and Their Relations with Iran", "The Story of Iran Shipping". In 2012, Dr. Afshar's Special Endowment Center Prize was awarded to him as Dr. Mahmoud Afshar's Historical and Literary Award for Farsi Language and National Unity of Iran.

The author and researcher, Mohammad Reza Shafiee Kadkani said: "The Persian Gulf is the heart of Iran, and Dr. Ahmad Eqtedari is the heart of the Persian Gulf."

In the book Persian Gulf, published in 1966, Ahmad Eqtedari emphasized the name of the "The Sea of Pars", stating: "In an inscription from Achaemenid Darius in the Suez Strait, the name of this Gulf has been referred to as "the sea that comes from Persia." In the first chapter, he describes the beauty of the Persian Gulf and writes: "At night, the Persian Gulf has a special beauty, the turbulence of the sea, and the collision of radiating waves jump with the moonlit brightness of the birds' color. They will rise and thousands will bounce playfully, and they will emit white light from their body. The expanse of this magnificent sea brightens up like a starry sky that has been surrounded by fire. This perspective urged Ben-Shahriar the great, the Ramhormozi captain from Khuzestan, to bring such a pleasant description of the Persian Gulf in his book."

Regarding the history of the name of Persian Gulf in the Achaemenid and Sassanid inscriptions, Ahmad Eqtedari writes: "This sea, that because of low depth and the existence of ups and downs at the seabed, is better than other seas and joins the Indian Ocean; and engulfs the entire Southwest, South, and Southeast of our country, is called the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea. The name "The Sea of Pars" was given to the Persian Gulf since the Achaemenid era. In an inscription belonging to Darius at the Suez Strait (of Egypt, which had belonged to the kingdom 2400 years ago), this Gulf has been named "The Sea that comes from Persia". During the Sassanid era, the Gulf was also called the Sea of Pars. "

Ahmad Eqtedari also refers to inscriptions on the name of the Persian Gulf, and continues: "There is no document or stone available to recognize the existence of Arabs in the Persian Gulf before the early Sassanid era. During the Ashkanid era, the Iranian white Aryan element was able to expel the native blacks from the coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, pushing them as far as the Island of Serendipity. Perhaps, at the same time, the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula, who were under the blacks' pressure, were receiving the help of Iranians to push the blacks from the Arabian Peninsula to Africa."

Ahmad Eqtedari passed away in Tehran on April 16. The funeral and burial of this outstanding scholar, based on his will, was held in his hometown of Gerash. Ahmad Eqtedari spent his life on broad studies and conducted broad research on the history of Persian Gulf.