Historicity of Persian Gulf
Date: 5/20/2014 9:56:54 AM
Historicity of Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf is a geographical name rooted in ancient history, a leading archeologist said. The statement was made at a recent two-day international workshop on ’The Persian Gulf in Prehistory and History’ held at Durham University in northern England Legitimate Name “From my perspective, the geographical term for that body of water is the Persian Gulf,“ Professor Robin Cunningham, head of the Department of Archeology at Durham University , added. “Unfortunately, politicians do not pay much attention to details as they should and make clumsy mistakes,“ Cunningham said in reference to recent attempts to misrepresent the waterway. Even British Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently referred to it as “the Gulf of Arabia “ in a speech at the UK Low-Carbon Economy Summit held in London before the Durham conference. Asked by IRNA, Professor Maurizio Tosi of Italy , who has more than 40 years of experience in the study of archeology in the Persian Gulf , also had no doubts about the legitimate name. “There is no question about the name; it is Khalij-e Fars ( Persian Gulf ). It was translated by Romans from the Latin word “Sinus Persicus“ which means the Persian Gulf ,“ he said.
“Nobody disputes that it’s Khalij-e Fars and the name belongs to Fars and hence to Iran .“
Tosi also suggested that Iran should open a court case at the international court and take legal action against those fabricating the name of the Persian Gulf . The international workshop, organized in collaboration with Iran ’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization and the British Institute of Persian Studies, was one of the first of its kind to involve archeologists and academics from all over the world. Science Not Politics Barbara Cerasetti from the Italian Bologna University distanced herself from attempts to alter the name, saying that the study of archeology is a “science, not politics“. “Once a geographical name such as Persian Gulf is firmly rooted in culture and history, this should not be changed artificially,“ said one of her university colleagues, Pierfrancesco Callieri. “Archeologists as men of humanities must fight against war,“ Callieri, who is an expert of Iranian archeology, said. “Cultural links are the best weapon against conflicts,“ he added in reference to military incursions in the region, namely Iraq and Afghanistan . Professor Holly Pittman from University of Pennsylvania underlined the importance of not changing historical names or geographical terms. “The name Persian Gulf is historical and internationally accepted such as the United Nations, New York Times, etc., and should be used in all references to this important body of water,“ Pittman said. Asked what response should be given in one sentence to those trying to change the historical name of Persian Gulf, renowned American archeologist, Professor Carl Lamberg-Karlovsky of Harvard University , replied: “Don’t do it; it is the Persian Gulf .“
