نشریه مطالعات خلیج فارس
سال چهارم شماره 4 (پیاپی 16، بهار 1398)

Conducting archeological studies is the first step towards learning about the history of the presence of human beings in a small or large geographical area. Archeological excavations are usually conducted for general and salvage purposes and benefit from questionnaires. The sampling process is often times performed following the random, systematic, and general or intensive survey methods. Accordingly, the first season of the exploration and investigation of Abu Musa Island was done in autumn 2002. Previously, other archeological groups had made great efforts in order to achieve the same purpose, but they failed. The intensive survey of this island was conducted in a little more than one third of its area. In fact, because of failing to receive the required permit from the government and military organs, the researchers could not visit the two Lesser and Greater Tunbs islands. Therefore, it was not possible to carry out a complete archeological study of Abu Musa Island, which limited the surveyed site to specific spots. Through studying more than one third of the area of Abu Musa Island, the archeological group managed to identify and document eight archeological findings including seven sites and a building belonging to the second Pahlavi king, which, given the small size of the studied area, are quite noteworthy. To clarify the geographical location of the studied areas, it is necessary to emphasize that some large areas in the north, center (because of the location of the airport), and south (known as the Arab-residence district) of the island were not explored, and the identified sites are only limited to some small areas in the center, west, and east of the island. The results of initial studies indicate that the found samples include some pottery of the type belonging to the pseudo-prehistoric period, as suggested by the Ilkhanid period, until the Safavid era and, perhaps, Qajar periods; some blue and white Safavid and Qajar Chinese and faience pottery; some torpedo jars related to the late Sassanid period and early Islamic period, and some pottery similar to those of the first millennium (BC). Therefore, the suggested chronology of this island based on the conducted survey studies will be in the time interval given above, which highlights the necessity of further research in this regard more than ever before.

Buzurg Ibn Shahriyar of Ramhormuz (299-399 AH), the Iranian sailor of the third and fourth centuries (AH), owes his fame regarding his bravery and voyages to the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean to the collection of narratives from the voyages of sailors, tradesmen, and others from the third century onwards. Through a creative narration of such stories, Buzurg provides a real, clear, accurate, and, at the same time, imaginative account of the presence and superiority of Iranians, particularly Sirafi, sailors during the third and fourth centuries in the Persian Gulf, the sea of Oman, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the waters surrounding China. The present paper, following the method of historical survey, concludes that Buzurg Ibn Shahriyar of Ramhormuz and his Ajaib al-Hindhave Iranian roots.

The book of Islands and International Politics in the Persian Gulfdiscusses the problem of three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf from a strategic point of view for the first time. All the books and papers which have been written about this problem or the claims of the sheikhs of the southern regions of the Persian Gulf in this regard mainly deal with the related legal dimensions and discussions. Through reviewing the 150-year old history of the rivalry between England (as an ex-superpower) and Iran (as the only or the most important independent regional power during the whole 150-year period), the book concludes that, in order to expand and maintain its dominance over the Persian Gulf and protect the borderlines leading to its possessions in Asia, England believed that it had to limit and harness the power of Iran in the region and invade its territories. Accordingly, the benefits of England, as a colonial power, prompted its political figures in London and Mumbai (formerly called Bombay) to try, in different ways and under different pretexts for decades, to bring some parts of Iran (including its islands, ports, and coasts of the Persian Gulf) under their control mainly for the use of their navy. In this way, the British would be able to protect their colonial benefits against Iran, as a regional powerful Force, and some other rival colonial powers. Unfortunately, the same British policy and, sometimes, certain legal documents which were forged to advance their interests in the Persian Gulf and in many other regions of the world continue to function as the main reasons behind some conflicts among different countries.

Hossein-Qoli Khan Nezam al-Saltaneh Mafi was one of the well-known political and cultural figures of the Qajar period. He was born during the reign of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar and spent his young adolescence and adolescence during the reign of Muhammad Shah and his old age during the periods of Nasir al-Din Shah and Muzaffar al-Din Shah. He held important positions, from minister to prime minister, during his life time. He advocated progress and was among the strict opponents of despotism and penetration of colonial powers into the country. Accordingly, as the ruler of the southern regions of Iran, he stood against some British agents such as Sir Percy Sykes and the Company of Lynch Brothers and opposed the British Empire’s claim as to Iran’s lack of sovereignty over the three islands of Lesser and Greater Tunbs and Abu Musa. At the same time, through imposing some commercial and customs regulations in the Persian Gulf, he did not allow them to achieve their political-social purposes and, thus, his relationship with the British deteriorated. The main purpose of this study was to explore the character and activities of Hossein Qoli Khan Nezam al-Saltaneh as a ruler and as the head of tax and customs affairs in the governing structure of the Qajar Court and the political, social, and cultural development of the Persian Gulf. This study was qualitative in nature and was conducted following a descriptive- interpretive method. The required data, whichwereinitially collected from library sources, particularly the memoirs and documents of Hossein Qoli Khan Nezam al-Saltaneh, were later organized, evaluated, and interpretedaccurately. The findings of the study indicate that, as a political ruler and activist, Nezam al-Saltaneh played a significantly influential role in the history of the changes in the Persian Gulf and the fight against the British colonial policies in the southern states of Iran. Moreover, he exercised great influence over the consolidation of the fundamental principles and elements of Iranian identity and the stabilization of the central government and national solidarity. On the other hand, his political and economic activities resulted in the development and progress of the region and the burgeoning of business there. Through explaining and interpreting such factors, this paper is intended to portray a real picture of the social-political of life in Iran during an important historical period.

The present paper investigates the cybernetic system of the Persian Gulf and the possibilities for Iran to play a significant role in determining the future of security measures and considerations in the Persian Gulf. Therefore, after explaining the theory of cybernetics in regional studies as the conceptual framework of the conducted research, the author compares the Hegemonic security system of the Persian Gulf with this theory. Next, through revealing the defects of this system, he analyzes its dynamic imbalance and, in this way, argues that the cybernetic system is located in one of the fuzzy locations of this region. The author believes that the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has appeared in the present fuzzy location of the cybernetic control system of the Persian Gulf, can exploit the benefits of the existing conditions to its advantage through using the unknown absorbents model and change its status from a controlled subsystem to the status of both controller and controlled subsystem.

Location, soil, water, natural resources, environmental conditions, and geographical space, which are among the objective and tangible elements comprising power, challenge governments and nations and prompt geopoliticians to provide new solutions to old problems. Here, the structure of international order has always promoted great competition among different countries and functioned as a playground for the realization of the demands and benefits of the governments which are familiar with the principles of the game in the field of international politics. However, since the gathering of opposite benefits sometimes leads to crisis, conflicts and wars appear to be common phenomena in the domain of international relationships. The conditions and changes in this domain and their effects on the relationships among the countries in the Persian Gulf region, the geopolitical and anthropological characteristics of the region, the colonialist interferences in the affairs of the countries there, and the like indicate that the geopolitics of the Persian Gulf has resulted in the development of the present dominating political structure. What makes today’s political atmosphere of the Persian Gulf different from that in the past is the development of some conflicts rooted in political imbalance and their transfer to areas outside this region. Nevertheless, in the Middle East and in the Persian Gulf, there is a kind of backwardness dominating the existing relationships. The outcomes of this backwardness clearly manifest the presence of the elements of the period of cold war and even new colonialism. In this regard, reference can be made to the rule of military powers and dominance of authoritarianism in the region. Hence, given the geopolitical role of the Persian Gulf, the existence of large oil and gas reserves in the region, and the presence of the true face of colonial powers there, the countries of the region are moving towards a kind of growth and dynamism in order to secure their national benefits, to a large extent, and promote regionalism, to a smaller extent. The present study was conducted following a descriptive-analytic method. In doing so, the author benefited from library sources, internet websites, and some related tables and figures in order to collect the required data. Here, the author aims to provide an appropriate response to the question of whether the geopolitical features of the Persian Gulf have resulted in the backwardness of the coastal countries there. The findings indicate that the political behavior of these countries and the interactions among them, which are influenced by the geography and geopolitics of this waterway, have played significant roles in the divergence of interests in the region. The main purpose of this study was to develop a theoretical-analytic framework in order to explain the ways the geopolitics of the Persian Gulf affects the relationships between the countries on its coasts.