Siraf
Siraf Location in Iran
Coordinates: 27°39′N 52°20′E / 27.65, 52.333
Country	‎ Iran
Province	Bushehr Province

Sea routes during the Sassanid

Siraf (also called Bandar-e Si-raf, Ta-hiri, Taheri, Bandar-i Tahiri)¹ was a legendary ancient Sassanid port, destroyed around 970 AD,² which was located on the north shore of the Persian Gulf in what is now the Iranian province of Bushehr. Its ruins are approximately 220 km east of Bushire and 380 km west of Bandar Abbas.³ Siraf controlled three ports: Bandar-e-Taheri, Bandar-e-Kangan and Bandar-e-Dayer.⁴ The Persian Gulf was used as a shipping route between the Arabian Peninsula and India over the Arabian Sea. Small boats, such as dhows, could also make the long journey by staying close to the coast and keeping land in sight.⁵

History

Ancient shipping

According to David Whitehouse, one of the first archeologists to excavate the ancient ruins of Siraf, marine trade between the Persian Gulf and Far East lands began to flourish at this port because of the vast expansion of trade in consumer goods and luxury items at the time. The first contact between Siraf and China occurred in 185 AD and by the 4th century it was a busy port. However, over time trade routes shifted to the Red Sea and Siraf was forgotten.⁶

The historical importance of Siraf to ancient trade is only now being realized. Discovered there in past archaeological excavations are ivory objects from east Africa, pieces of stone from India, and lapis from Afghanistan. Siraf dates back to the Parthian era.⁷

David Whitehouse also found evidence that the earliest mosque at Siraf dates to the 9th century and are remains from the Parthian and Sassanid eras. He found ruins of a congregational mosque surrounded by many smaller mosques.⁸ There are ruins of the luxurious houses of extremely rich traders whose made their wealth through the port's success.⁹ Siraf served an international clientele of merchants including those from South India ruled by the Western Chalukyas dynasty who were feasted by wealthy local merchants during business visits. An indicator of the Indian merchants' importance in Siraf comes from records describing dining plates reserved for them.¹⁰

Siraf has not been yet registered on the list of national heritage sites of Iran. This is needed so that it will be preserved and maintained.¹¹ Coordinates: 27°39′N 52°20′E / 27.65, 52.333

Notes

References

• Nilakanta Sastri, K.A. (1955). A History of South India, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002) ISBN 0-19-560686-8.

External links

• The Seas of Sindbad
• Photos of Siraf ruins
• Internation Congress of Siraf Port
• Old World Trade Routes
• The British Museum Siraf project

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