نشریه مطالعات خلیج فارس
پیاپی 4 (زمستان 1393)

The strategic region of the Persian Gulf which has been introduced as one of the sub-systems of the Southwest Asia is a jewel in the south of Iran located between 16 to 40˚ N latitude and 32 to 57 E longitude. The water area of the Persian Gulf which connects Europe، Asia، and Africa is located in the Persia Gulf region between 24˚ to 30˚ N latitude and 48˚ to 57˚ E longitude. Makran region in the southeast of Iran is located like a pearl between 25˚ to 35˚ N latitude and 58˚ to 70˚ E longitude. The water area of Makran Sea is a part of the Indian Ocean and the only open sea in the southeast of Iran. The significance of this sea lies in its connection to the Indian Ocean. The Persian Gulf is connected to the rest of the world through the Strait of Hormoz and Makran Sea. The collection of the vast waters of the south of Iran which extend from the Red Sea to the coastlines of the Indus River has been called Pars Sea. A part of these waters which extend from the Strait of Hormoz to the west up to Arvandrud Delta and Bahmanshir is called the Persian Gulf. The other part which extends from the Strait of Hormoz to the east up to the delta of the Indus River is called Makran Sea. Therefore، Makran Sea and the Persian Gulf are branches of Pars Sea. In the course of history، several countries and ethnic groups have dominated and ruled the coastal areas of Pars Sea. However، their time is over now، and it is only the Iranian nation which is still standing and guarding its own legacy of sovereignty.

The use of hydraulic energy in its different forms has been common in Iran since long ago. One of the uses of this energy in the past was in the grinding of wheat, barely, rice, etc. in water mills, which were used in different regions of the country. Conducting scientific studies in order to learn more about these ancient mills as a part of Iranians’ past civilization motivated the writers to tackle this issue through reviewing the existing related historical documents and performing library and field studies (in the Persian Gulf region). The findings of this research indicate the perfect familiarity of ancient Iranians (during the Sassanid era) with the potentials of water and the science of hydrology, which resulted in the making of water mills in order to satisfy people’s every day needs. In sum, they demonstrate that during the Sassanid era, Iranians had made great advancement in the fields of technology and hydrology. Moreover, it was observed that, at that time, they followed a common architectural style in the construction of all water mills on the coasts of the Persian Gulf.

From the 17th century onwards، some of the countries with water borders began establishing artificial islands in the water bodies near their coastlines. These islands were usually established for military، defense، and commercial purposes and were used for constructing airports، extracting and producing petroleum and mineral substances or conducting business affairs. During the recent years، some of the countries in the Persian Gulf region have also established some multi-purpose huge artificial islands in the water bodies of their countries in this half-closed sea. Because of the gigantic dimensions of these islands in the sea، their construction will undoubtedly have some destructive and undesirable effects on the region. The southern countries of the Persian Gulf region، such as the United Arab Emirates، Bahrain، and Qatar، have also established several artificial islands in their coastal areas which are unique in terms of size in their own type. However، the important point here is the numerous undesirable biological effects that they have on their geographical area. Given the fact that the Persian Gulf is one of the extremely polluted regions of the world in terms of its environment، and that the petroleum contamination in this Gulf is twice as much as the other seas، the establishment of artificial islands can increase the contamination and destruction of the environment and have some irreparable consequences. One of the negative effects of establishing these islands is the transformation of the external morphology of this region. This paper is intended to explore the environmental، legal، political، and security aspects of artificial islands in the vital waterway of the Persian Gulf. Here، the writers have analyzed and evaluated the related existing proofs and documents following the descriptive-analytic method.

The present paper introduces the Shahugat inscription which was recently discovered near Tabaktal village in Chahan district near Nikshahr in Sistan and Baluchestan Province. This inscription refers to some events which occurred in the early eighth century on the southern coasts of Iran and can be matched with certain incidents which have been recorded in historical sources. The conflicts among the rulers of the southern regions and islands of Iran، such as Shiraz، Hormoz، Kish، and Qeshm، in order to gain control of the roads and commercial benefits not only in the Persian Gulf and Makran Sea regions but also on the coasts of India were one of the reasons for some people seeking shelter in the highlands of Makran and engraving this inscription.

This paper deals with the present hostilities and conflicts in the Persian Gulf (Yemen، on the one hand، and Saudi Arabia and its allies، on the other hand) and their consequences from the view point of the international law. It seems that the common American-Zionist project of creating crisis in the region is a hidden threat against the Islamic Republic of Iran rooted in religious، political، and geopolitical reasons (opposition against Shi’ism and fearing Iran) as well as the geopolitical status of Yemen in the Persian Gulf region. The violation of a number of certain international laws by Saudi Arabia and its allies in Yemen، such as the violation of individuals’ rights in armed conflicts، breach of the prohibition of violating the soil of other countries، committing war crimes against humanity، breach of civil and political rights covenants، and violating the rights of self-determination، as well as passing an anti-Yemen resolution by the Security Council of the United Nations، preventing other countries or even some international organizations، such as Oxfam، to provide assistance to war victims، establishing a no-flight area over a specific region in Yemen and، most importantly، the heedlessness of official international associations and organizations of the violation cases are just some of the proofs that can be used to demonstrate the above claims.

The Strait of Hormoz in the South of Iran is the waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and international waters. Because of the direct or indirect dependence of the countries in the Persian Gulf region and some of the other countries in the world on this Strait with regard to transit، commerce، and energy affairs، and also because of its connecting، military، and political significance in various historical periods، the Strait of Hormoz plays a noteworthy geopolitical and strategic role in the region. Given the place and significance of this international Strait in the process of changes in the world، as well as its roles and functions in economic، political، military، security، and transit areas، the history of the changes in the Strait of Hormoz and its geopolitical and strategic status can be discussed in two ancient (before Islam) and Islamic periods. Moreover، its present strategic role can be analyzed and evaluated in the international relationships in the world. During each of these historical periods، the process of the changes in the Strait of Hormoz had its own particular features، and each of the regional or trans-regional players tried to dominate it in line with their own purposes and strategic thoughts. This paper intends to explore the strategic and geopolitical role of this Strait in the course of history. The findings of this study، which have been collected following the descriptive-analytic method and by using library resources، indicate that the Strait of Hormoz was always the center of competitions among various governments in order to have access to and exploit its various potentials and values during the ancient and Islamic periods. However، the author maintains that its strategic role and importance in international relationships in today’s world are more visible and noteworthy than ever before.

The formation، continuity، life، and external changes in urban structure and its growth and development are influenced by a collection of natural، political، economic، social، cultural، and technological elements and forces. The knowledge of the present status and problems of the city and predicting its future changes relies on the recognition of these elements and forces and the mechanisms of their functions. The preset study was conducted in order to learn about the role of the hydromorphology of the temporary urban rivers and its effects on the formation، development، and spatial structure of Galledar in order to improve and organize them. In this research، by employing the descriptive-analytic method and benefitting from historical studies، library resources and documents، and frequent field observations، the researchers have also examined the role of hydrogeomorphology in stable urban development and removing the resulting problems. Considering the correspondence of the dry river network and the artificial inner city basin with the lines of connection network (streets and alleys، which comprise the main and branching passages of the city)، the findings of this research indicate that the general slope and motion of surface waters are of the same direction with the structure of the network of the city passages towards the north of Galledar (the slope decreases from the south to the north of the city). This has resulted in a purposeful regularity in the body and structure of the city in relation to its surrounding natural environment. Accordingly، given the various cores of the city in different time periods، their separation from each other، and the scattered development of the city، the direct effect of temporary city rivers becomes more visible on the formation، development، and spatial structure of Galledar.