The role of Makoran's ways in the relations between Iran and India in the first Islamic centuries

The relations between Iran and India have been ups and downs during history. In the periods of history that took place in Iran or India, the relations between Iran and India became wider, and each of these two areas of civilization was affected by developments in the important events of each other. With the arrival of Islam in Iran during the first Islamic centuries, Iran experienced a great deal of change. These changes gradually became influential in Iran-India relations during this period. Considering that an important part of the communication path between Iran and India's civilizations passed through Makkoran past history, by studying the ways of Makkoran in the first Islamic centuries and the role of these ways in the relations between Iran and India, The quality of Iran-India relations will become clearer in this period.  The roads of the water and land have played a very important role in the political, military, economic, commercial, religious, scientific and cultural traditions of civilizations throughout history. The two civilizations of Iran and India in the neighborhood have been linked to each other since ancient times, and a significant portion of the communication paths of these two civilizations passed through the Makkoran land. In the past, Makkoran included as a geographical, political and administrative unit a vast area of ​​droughts and shores of southeastern Iran. Although the vast territory of Makkoran had desperate and deserts, the roads of this state flourished in the early Islamic centuries, with numerous regional and transregional applications Had Creation and development of roads of Makkoran in the first Islamic centuries, despite the almost unfavorable climate of Makkoran in those days, is questionable and feasible. Hence, the most important question written in relation to the geographical location of the Makkoran in the first Islamic centuries is what was the role of Makkoran in the various relations between Iran and India at that time? The purpose of this article is to explain the role of the Makkoran roads in various aspects of Iran-India relations regarding political, military, commercial, religious and cultural issues in the first Islamic centuries. Investigating the regional and trans-regional role of the geographical location and the ways of Makkoran in history, it explains the historical experiences of Iranians in this field. Since the development of international southeast Iran is currently under way along the coast of Makkoran, the historical experiences of Iranians in this field can be used.

The data from this research were collected from library resources including: Historical resources and especially geographic resources of the Islamic first centuries. Then, the collected data and information have been analyzed in a historical way. In addition, the writer closely observes the regions of Makkoran and is surrounded by natural, climatic, communicative, and other characteristics of this land, the Makkoran communication paths in the resources of the first Islamic centuries have been thoroughly investigated in comparison with the characteristics of this region.
 

Several factors have contributed to the importance of the Makkoran seaways and the Makkoran roads. One of these factors is the presence of widespread beaches with proper natural features, according to the conditions of that period. The location of the historic Tis harbor on the coasts of Makkoran as the natural boundary of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean (Ibn Rasta, 2001: 99) was one of the most important points in the geographical position of Makkoran at that time. The second factor that contributed to the development of Makkoran's paths was that the Makkoran were between the two civilizations of Iran and India, and the path of communication between these two civilizations passed through this land (Shafar, 1998: 137). The roads of Makkoran in the early Islamic centuries flourished both in the sea and in the lands.  The political and military function of Makkoran's paths in the relationship between Iran and India was in the first place. The most important political and military role of the trans-regional Makkoran routes in the period mentioned was that Makkoran was the base for Muslim Arabs to invade India (Forouzani, 2012: 181). Another use of the Makkoran roads in the relations between Iran and India was the economic and commercial role of these paths. In terms of international trade, the Makkoran Roads were interconnected between Iran and India, and it seems that part of the road to the spice road crossed the land. The naval roads also linked Persian Gulf ports with Indian ports and even China (Sirafi, 2002: 13). Bosworth believes that in order to supply the raw materials of Neyshabur's textiles, which at that time was one of the most important industries of the Islamic world, Indian cotton was transmitted through the southern tropics of Iran and Makkoran to Neyshabur (Bosworth, 1983: 152). Although the way of identifying, constructing and maintaining roads from the earliest times was more of a political, military and economic purpose, along with roads in areas Other issues including cultural, religious, scientific, etc. were also used. After the Muslim Arab conquests in Sind spread and gradually the people moved there and Islamic settlements settled there, the people of this country also visited Hajj and studied the religion from the paths of Makkoran to Hejaz and Religious and scientific centers of the Islamic world were traveling (Kofi, 2005: 89). Another application of Makkoran's roads in the first Islamic centuries was the migration of some Zoroastrians from Iran to India. In the course of Islamic Islamism in the early Islamic centuries, some of the true Zoroastrian believers who refused to convert to Islam, migrated to other places in Iran or India (Balazori, 1988: 378).

The roads of Makkoran in the early Islamic centuries are modestly near the roads that connect the cities of Makkoran to each other and its periphery. In each historical period, with regard to how Makkoran's administration, the relationship between the Makkoran rulers and the central states of Iran, and the relations between Iran and India, the Makoran's ways, in addition to domestic applications, play a regional and international role. In the first centuries of Islam, the political, military, religious, and economic relations of the caliphate centers with the Sindh area led to the prosperity of Makkoran's landed paths. Also, the extensive trade links between the Persian Gulf ports, such as Basra and Sriraf, with the ports of India and China and the Red Sea countries, added the importance of the Makkoran coast, and the Makkoran's maritime routes at that time were very important in the economic and commercial spheres. The history of Makkoran has shown that as long as the human and natural barriers of Makkoran roads are minimized by special measures, the Makkoran roads are the best route for many relations between Iran and India, and even other coastal states of the Persian Gulf, the Oman Sea and the Indian Ocean. It was In the first centuries of Islam, the security and logistical arrangements in the field of sea and land were used and the ways of Makkoran Played a role in various dimensions of military, political, economic, commercial, religious, cultural, etc. in relations between Iran and India.