Regional map showing the word Bahr Fars, ("Persian Gulf") in Arabic, from the 9th century text Al-aqalim by the great geographer Istakhri.

Since 1960s there is a dispute over the name of the Persian Gulf, namely, whether in the Arabic language it should be called Persian Gulf or using the old name of the Red sea i.e. the "Arabian Gulf". Download high resolution version (550x601, 259 KB)9th century map showing Khuzestan. ... Download high resolution version (550x601, 259 KB)9th century map showing Khuzestan. ... A map by Istakhri from the text Al-aqalim. ... Regional map showing the word Bahr Fars, (Persian Gulf) in Arabic, from the 9th century text Al-aqalim by the great geographer Istakhri. ... Conshelf II in the Red Sea (Sudan) Location of the Red Sea The Red Sea (Arabic البحر الأحمر Baḥr al-Aḥmar, al-Baḥru l-’Aḥmar; Hebrew ים סוף Yam Suf; Tigrigna ቀይሕ ባሕሪ QeyH baHri) is a gulf or basin of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ...

In possibly every map printed before 1960 and in most modern international treaties, documents and maps this body of water is known by the name "Persian Gulf", reflecting traditional usage since the Greek geographers Strabo and Ptolemy and the geopolitical realities of the time with a powerful Persian Empire (= Iran) comprising the whole northern coastline and a scattering of local emirates on the Arabian coast. But by the 1960s and with the rise of Arab nationalism, some Arab countries, including the ones bordering the Persian Gulf, invented and started the new term "الخليج العربي" (al-Khaleej al-Arabee; Arab Gulf or Arabian Gulf) (which in older times reffered to the Red Sea) to refer to this waterway. This coupled with the decreasing influence of Iran on the political and economic priorities of the English speaking Western World led to increasing acceptance, in regional politics and the mostly petroleum-related business, of the new alternative naming convention "Arabian Gulf". Strabo (squinty) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. ... Claudius Ptolemaeus, given contemporary German styling, in a 16th century engraved book frontispiece Claudius Ptolemaeus (Greek: Κλαύδιος Πτολεμαῖος; c. ... The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... Generally speaking, an emirate (Arabic imarah, plural imarat) is a territory that is administered by an emir, although in Arabic the term can be generalized to mean any province of a country that is administered by a member of the ruling class. ... The 1960s, or The Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... Arab nationalism refers to a common nationalist ideology in wider Arab world. ... Conshelf II in the Red Sea (Sudan) Location of the Red Sea The Red Sea (Arabic البحر الأحمر Baḥr al-Aḥmar, al-Baḥru l-’Aḥmar; Hebrew ים סוף Yam Suf; Tigrigna ቀይሕ ባሕሪ QeyH baHri) is a gulf or basin of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ... Nodding donkey pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario, 2001 Petroleum (from Latin petra – rock and oleum – oil), crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold, is a thick, dark brown or greenish flammable liquid, which exists in the upper strata of some areas of the Earths crust. ...

Until the end of the 19th century, "Arabian Gulf" has been used to refer to what is now known as the Red Sea. This usage was adopted into Europeans maps from, among others, Strabo and Ptolemy who called the Red Sea, Sinus Arabicus (Arabian Gulf). Both of these Greek geographers reserved "Persian Gulf" to refer to the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. In early Islamic era, Muslim geographers did the same, calling the body "بحر فریس" (Bahr Farees; Persian Sea) or "خلیج فریس" (Khalij Faris; Persian Gulf). Later, most European maps from the early Modern Times onwards used similar terms (Sinus Persicus, Persischer Golf, Golfo di Persia and the like different languages) when referring to the Persian Gulf, possibly taking the name from the Islamic sources. For a short while in the 17th century, the term "Gulf of Basra" was also being used, which made a reference to the town of Basra (Iraq), an important trading port of the time. Conshelf II in the Red Sea (Sudan) Location of the Red Sea The Red Sea (Arabic البحر الأحمر Baḥr al-Aḥmar, al-Baḥru l-’Aḥmar; Hebrew ים סוף Yam Suf; Tigrigna ቀይሕ ባሕሪ QeyH baHri) is a gulf or basin of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... Location of Basra Basra (also spelled BaÅŸrah or Basara; historically sometimes written Busra, Busrah, and the early form Bassorah; Arabic: , Al-Basrah) is the second largest city of Iraq with an estimated population of c. ...

The matter remains very contentious, in particular as the competing naming conventions are supported by respective governments, in internal literature, but also in dealings with other states and international organizations. Some parties try avoiding discussion by using terms like "The Gulf" or the "Arabo-Persian Gulf". After the Iranian Revolution of 1979 some people within Islamic groups suggested the use of "Islamic Gulf" (the originator of the term is not known, while some people suggest that prominent figures of the early years of the Islamic Republic including Ruhollah Khomeini, Mehdi Bazargan, and Sadegh Khalkhali may have supported the idea), but the idea was quickly abandoned after Iran was invaded by its predominately Muslim neighbor, Iraq. Possibly the most famous person who has used the term "Islamic Gulf" recently has been Osama bin Laden, who used the term as late as 1996. Protestors take to the street in support of Ayatollah Khomeini. ... 1979 is a common year starting on Monday. ... An Islamic republic is a state under a particular theocratic form of government advocated by some Muslim religious leaders in the Middle East and Africa. ... Ayatollah Khomeini founded the first modern Islamic republic Ayatollah Seyyed Ruhollah Khomeini (آیت‌الله روح‌الله خمینی in Persian) (May 17, 1900 – June 3, 1989) was an Iranian Shia Muslim cleric and the political and spiritual leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. ... Mehdi Bazargan Mehdi Bazargan (مهدی بازرگان In Persian) (September, 1907? - January 20, 1995) (also spelled Mahdi Bazargan) was head of Irans interim government, virtually Irans first prime minister after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. ... Ayatollah Sadegh Khalkhali (صادق خلخالی in Persian) (1927? - November 26, 2003) was a hardline Shia cleric of the early years of the Islamic Republic of Iran. ... Osama bin Laden Usāmah bin Muhammad bin `Awad bin Lādin (born July 30 or March 10, 1957) (Arabic: ), commonly known as Osama bin Laden (Arabic: ), is usually considered to be the leader of al-Qaeda, a Sunni Islamist terrorist network that has been involved in attacks against civilians... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

The United Nations on many occasions has requested that only "Persian Gulf" be used as the standard geographical designation for that body of water. Most recently, the UN secretariat has issued two editorial directives in 1994 and 1999 affirming the position of this organization on this matter. The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization established in 1945 and now made up of 191 states. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

In the United States, "Persian Gulf" has been the label sanctioned for U.S. government use since a decision by the State Department's Board of Geographical Names in 1917. This decision is still valid [1]. In recent years, due to increased cooperation with Arab states of the Persian Gulf, various branches of the U.S. armed forces have issued directives to their members to use the "Arabian Gulf" when operating in the area (Persian Gulf is still used in official publications and websites), partially to follow local conventions, or simply to follow local laws that ban the use of Persian Gulf, e.g. in the United Arab Emirates. Also for similar reasons, branches of American universities in the region have also dropped references to "Persian Gulf" in their teaching materials. The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. ... The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a US Federal body whose purpose is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the Federal Government. ... 1917 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Persian Gulf States, also called the Gulf States (which may cause a confusion with the Gulf States of the United States, which are those along the Gulf of Mexico), are the countries in Southwest Asia or the Middle East which border the Persian Gulf. ... The armed forces of the United States of America consist of the United States Army United States Navy United States Air Force United States Marine Corps United States Coast Guard Note: The United States Coast Guard has both military and law enforcement functions. ...

In 2004, the National Geographic Society published a new edition of its National Geographic Atlas of the World using the term "Arabian Gulf" as an alternative name (in smaller type and in parentheses) for "Persian Gulf". This resulted in heavy protests by many Persians (Iranians), most specially the Internet user community, which led to the Iranian government acting on the issue and banning the distribution of the society's publications in Iran. A few people have considered this a partial reflection of anti-Arab racism, that considers Arabs a historical oppressor of Persians in the early years of the spread of Islam (for an example, see [2]). On December 30, 2004, the society reversed its decision and published an Atlas Update, removing the parenthetical reference and adding a note: "Historically and most commonly known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is referred to by some as the Arabian Gulf." It also removed the alternative Arabic names for certain islands and/or replaced them with Persian ones [3] (see also National Geographic Society). 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Flag of the National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society was founded in the USA on January 27, 1888, by 33 men interested in organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. ... For other meanings of Atlas, see Atlas (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Persians, a nationality and an ethnic group. ... An African-American drinks out of a water cooler designated for use by colored patrons in 1939 at a streetcar terminal in Oklahoma City. ... For other uses, see Arab (disambiguation). ... The Suleiman Mosque (Süleymaniye Camii) in Istanbul was built on the order of sultan Suleiman the Magnificent by the great Ottoman architect Sinan in 1557 The History of Islam is the history of the Islamic faith and the Islamic world it shaped. ... December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 1 day remaining. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Flag of the National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society was founded in the USA on January 27, 1888, by 33 men interested in organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. ...

Some atlases and media outlets for disputed reasons have taken to referring to "The Gulf" without any adjectival qualification, omiting its historical adjective Persian. This (mis)usage is followed by The Times Atlas of the World.

See also

• Dispute over the name of the Sea of Japan

A Map of Quan-Tong or Lyau-Tong Province and the Kingdom of Kau-li or Corea, T. Kitchin, London, 1753, reprinted 1780; it shows the Sea of Korea. London 1815. ...

External Link

• THE PERSIAN SEA (GULF) IN THE AVESTÂ, PAHLAVI TEXTS & THE SHÂHNÂMEH
• CAIS at SOAS