فصلنامه تاریخ روابط خارجی
پیاپی 72 (پاییز 1396)

Al-Hirah was an ancient city is Mesopotamia the ruins of which are located in the south of Kufa (Najaf). In terms of historical geography this city was located to the north of Arabian peninsula along the western borders of the Sassanid empire and was the major confluence of Iranian, Arab, Greek and Roman cultures. Toward to final centuries of the ancient world Al-Hirahenjoyed strong military, booming economy and significant political stability, a situation that threw it in stark relief from other Arab lands. Thanks to an enduring government and sustained administration, the city had managed to cultivate deep ties with its neighbors and exert a decisive influence upon political, economic and cultural developments of the region. The current article has undertaken to study the quality of relations, specifically those related to the Sassanid Empire. Descriptive-Analytical method based on library research has been used to carry out this study.

The weak Bahmani Empire (748-933 A.H) plunged into division and inner conflict which led to the emergence of five ruling partie: AdilShahi, QutbShahi, EmadShahi, and BaridShahi. Among the three Shiadyansties of India the Adilshahi was the first to declare the Twelver Shia Islam as its official religion shortly after gaining political independence. This turn put them in opposition to other coalitions, including Shia rules, already in formation in the south of India. As Shia gained official status under YusifAdil Shah, this nascent empire found a powerful common ground with the Safavid Empire which led it to cultivate close ties with the Safavids. However, power grabs and divisions in the south of India and the presence of Portuguese colonial forces who supported the Hindu Vijayanagara rulers in the region, caused the weakness and final demise of Adilshahis under the ever increasing power the the Mongol Dynasty in India.

Since ancient times world major waterways have drawn the attention of various rulers who have attempted to conquer them as a means to establishing relations with neighboring lands. One of these strategic regions is the Persian Gulf that has always drawn the attention of regional and extra-regional governments. During the Safavid Empire the region attracted even more attention. In this era, apart from the world powers and their quests for domination in the Persian Gulf, local powers sought to spread their influence and exert control over the coasts and ports of the Persian Gulf and expand trade in this area. It was under the Safavids that rivalry between world and local powers erupted. Among local powers was the Omani Arabs who, being aware of Safavid internal weakness and at the same time as the Safavid approached their end, sought to dominate the ports, coastlines and trade in the region. Omani Arab’s increasing power and influence in the Persian Gulf region not only diminished commercial activities, but also brought about the demise of the Safavid maritime trade by disrupting trade routes from south to Isfahan and affecting Iranian trade with its neighbors to the north and north-east.

The role of the Persian Gulf in international relations has catapulted it into the limelight of extra-regional powers’ attention. The influence exerted by these powers in the region since the 16th century has been the result of its growing importance for trade which, later on, turned into political and military relevance. As a result of a significant increase in the number of foreigners travelling to Iran during the Qajar dynasty, their travel accounts contributed to a growth in travel literature. Studying these travel literatures became an important endeavor in understanding the position and relevance of the Persian Gulf. What this article has undertaken to study is quantitative and qualitative assessment of 47 travelogues’ approach whose authors had travelled to Iran some time during 1211-1345 A.H to Iran and their travelogues have been translated into Farsi. The current research objective is to evaluate the degree and quality of focus of these travelogues on the Persian Gulf, and how these 47 travelogues have addressed issues related to the Persian Gulf.

Iran foreign relations under the Qajar dynasty constitutes a controversial debate of this era. Within the framework of the Great Game Iran was included, for the first time, in international politics. Consequently, Qajar’s fragile, though constructive, foreign action on micro and macro levels was heavily influenced by the Great Game. On a micro level, Qajar’s relations with Afghanistan within the framework of Russo-British Great Game could be studied. Due to the geopolitical significance of Iran for the Great Game and the constant challenge to the Qajars that came from Afghanistan, the current article has been informed by Games Theory and utilized descriptive-analytical method to find answer to the question as to what extent did the Russo-British rivalry within the framework of the Great Game contribute to the fragility of Qajar-Afghan relations during 1794-1856? Research hypothesis states that one of the main reasons for the fragility and strenuous relations between the Qajar dynasty and Afghanistan was the conspiracy and machinations, threats and pressures on the part of Britain and Russia in the format of the Great Game. The facts that corroborate such claim are: 1) Russo-British political, security and economic rivalries in Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia; 2) Russo-Iranian Wars; 3) Political pacts signed between Iran and Qajar rulers against their Afghan counterparts; 4) The role of Britain in Iran-Afghanistan wars, and 5) The political independence of Afghanistan from Iran.

Jimmy Carter assumed office in late 1977. The new democratic administration pursued a double policy vis-à-vis the Iranian regime until its collapse; ranging from a decrease in military export to Iran and stressing the implementation of Human Rights policies to following up on the politically stalemated Pahlavi regime’s dealing with the revolutionaries and providing support for the transitional government. The current article seeks performs a content analysis as a means to studying the foreign policy approach of the United States towards the course of the Islamic Revolution. Despite persuasion and even political pressure on the part of the United States on Iran to implement Human Rights policies in late 1078, the US kept appearances and supported the Iranian regime, however, as the situation worsened the United States called for a nationalist government to take hold; a move that was a psychological blow to the morale of the Shah and the ruling elite.