| Persian Gulf | |
 | |
| Area type | Gulf |
|---|---|
| Surface | 233,000 km² |
Persian Gulf is located in Middle East.
To know
Persian Gulf was the term used in English for centuries, but it is sometimes also called the "Arabian Gulf", especially in Arab countries.
The strait at its mouth is lo Strait of Hormuz, an area of strategic importance in various conflicts. The main interests concern the control of the huge oil reserves and the sea routes for their transport.
Geographical notes
The Persian Gulf is located in the Middle East between theIran and the Arabian Peninsula and it is an extension of the Indian Ocean.
The entire east coast of the Gulf is in Iran, formerly known as Persia, and described in the article Southern coast of Iran.
The west coast is shared by a number of countries. L'Saudi Arabia takes up most of it and is described in the article Al-Sharqiyya. The other countries, listed from north to south, are:
Flora and fauna
The natural environment is rich in coral reefs.
Background
In classical antiquity the Persian Gulf was crossed by the fleet carrying the troops of Alexander the Great.
During the Seleucid era the region was subject to Persian-Hellenistic influence. The Romans arrived on the gulf in the 2nd century AD. with the emperor Trajan, who descended the Tigris river to the sea. In the Islamic era the Persian Gulf experienced a phase of great development during the Abbasid Caliphate, which developed the port of Basra. The region then experienced a phase of decline due to the revolt of the African slaves of the plantations of Southern Mesopotamia (Revolt of the Zanj) in the eighth century AD. and for the religious revolt of the Carmates in the ninth century.
In the 16th century, i Portuguese, who in 1515 took Hormuz (where they remained until 1622), in 1521 they conquered Bahrain and in 1529 attacked Basra. This led to the Ottoman Empire, then already master of theEgypt, of the Syria and Western Arabia, to extend its dominion also to the Gulf. In the time of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Turks took Basra in 1538 and then descended further south along the west coast of Arabia. In the 18th century, the Dutch of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), followed later by the British of the Company English of the East Indies. At that same time there was also the first wave of expansion of the Wahabi faith that reached the coast with the conversion of the Qatar and the Qawasim of Ras Al Khaymah.
From here the attacks on ships sailing in the Gulf and the coast of the current ones started United Arab Emirates it then became known as the Pirate Coast. The Pirate Coast was "pacified" in 1820 by a British naval expedition that imposed a truce treaty on all local sheikhs and the region has since become known as the Truce Coast. After the opening of the Suez Canal, the Ottoman Empire tried to implement its formal sovereignty on the southern coast of the Gulf at the hands of Midht Pasha and the British reacted by extending their Protectorate to the various sheikhs. During the First World War the gulf remained under British rule in the war effort against the Turkey. In the postwar period, oil was discovered in various countries, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait. After the Second World War, the Sheikhs gradually moved towards full independence from British control.
Territories and tourist destinations
Urban centers
The most important cities overlooking the gulf are:
- Abadan - City ofIran.
- Abu Dhabi - Capital of the United Arab Emirates.
- Al Ahmadi - City of Kuwait.
- Doha - Capital of Qatar.
- Manama - Capital of Bahrain.
- Ras Tannura - City ofSaudi Arabia.
How to get
How to get around
What see
What to do
Shopping
Where to eat
Where stay
Safety
How to keep in touch
Around
Other projects
Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Persian Gulf
Commons contains images or other files on Persian Gulf
Wikiquote contains quotes from or about Persian Gulf
