Persian Gulf is a crescent-shape groove which has demonstrated the encroachment of the Indian Ocean waters (Makrân Sea, also known as Gulf of Oman) in an span of 900 km long and 240 km wide in the inferior folds of southern Zagros mountains. The Persian Gulf and its neighboring countries constitute almost one ninth of the 44 million square km span of the Asian continent. The Persian Gulf has been a valuable waterway since the beginning of history and as the venue of the collision of great civilizations of the ancient east, it has a background of several millenniums. Since centuries ago, the Ilamites used the Port of Boushehr and the Kharg Island for dwelling, shipping and ruling over the coasts of the Persian Gulf as well as transaction with the West Indies and the Nile Valley. In the Latin American geography books the Persian Gulf has been referred to as More Persicum or the Sea of Pars.
The Latin term "Sinus Persicus" is equivalent to "Persischer Golf" in German, "Golf Persique", in French, "Golfo Persico" in Italian, that all mean "Persian Gulf".
Prior to the stationing of the Aryan Iranians on Iran's Plateau, the Assyrians named the sea in their inscriptions as the "bitter sea" and this is the oldest name that was used for the Persian Gulf.
An inscription of Darius found in the Suez Canal, used a phrase with a mention of river Pars which points to the same Persian Gulf.
The Greek historian Herodotus in his book -History of Herodotus, 440 BCE- has repeatedly referred to the Red Sea as the "Arab Gulf".
Straben, the Greek historian of the second half of the first century BCE and the first half of the first century AD wrote: Arabs are living between the Arabian Gulf and the Persian Gulf.
Ptolemy, another renowned Greek geographer of the 2nd century has referred to the Red Sea as the "Arabicus Sinus", i.e. the Arabian Gulf. In the book `the world boundaries from the East to the West' which was written in the 4th century Hegira, the Red Sea was dubbed as the Arabian Gulf.
Today, the most common Arabic works refer to the sea in south Iran as the "Persian Gulf", including the world famous Arabic encyclopaedia `Al-Monjad' which is the most reliable source in this respect.
There are undeniable legal evidences and documents in confirmation of the genuineness of the term Persian Gulf. From 1507 to 1560 in all the agreements that Portuguese, Spanish, British, Dutch, French and Germans concluded with the Iranian government or in any other political event everywhere there is a mention of the name Persian Gulf.
Even in agreements with the participation of Arabs there is a mention of "Al-Khalij al-Farsi" in the Arabic texts and "Persian Gulf" in English texts, such as the document for the independence of Kuwait which was signed between the emir of Kuwait and representatives of the British government in the Persian Gulf.
The document, which was signed on June 19, 1961 by Abdullah As-Salem As-Sabah, has been registered in the Secretariat of the United Nations according to article 102 of the U.N. Charter and can be invoked at any U.N. office.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the name "Persian Gulf" has been used in geography and history books with less reference to the "Fars Sea". Such a change has suggested the idea that the "Fars Sea" had been an old name substituted by a new term "Persian Gulf".
The beginning of 1930s was a turning point in the history of efforts for changing the name of Persian Gulf when Sir Charles Bellgrave, the British diplomatic envoy in Bahrain opened a file for the change in the name of the Persian Gulf and proposed the issue to the British Foreign Office. Even before the response of the British Foreign Office he used the fake name (in an attempt to retake Bahrain, the Tonbs, Abu Mosa, Sirri, Qeshm, Hengam and other islands belonging to Iran and to disclose and thwart the plot of disintegration of Khozestan).
Besides all the disputes that have been made over the name of the Persian Gulf, the United Nations with its 22 Arab member countries has on two occasions officially declared the unalterable name of the sea between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula as the Persian Gulf. The first announcement was made through the document UNAD, 311/Qen on March 5, 1971 and the second was UNLA 45.8.2 (C) on August 10, 1984. Moreover, the annual U.N. conference for coordination on the geographical names has emphatically repeated the name "Persian Gulf" each year.
Although using the "Arabian Gulf" instead of the "Persian Gulf" has no basis and will not be accepted in any culture or language, however, it will not diminish our responsibility in expressing the reality and eliminating ambiguities as the main and oldest inhabitants of the region.
Historical situation of Greater and Lesser Tonbs, Abu Mosa
"The Greater Tonb Island is limited from north to Qeshm Island, from west to the Lesser Tonb, from south to Abu Mosa and Raas al-Khaima and from east to Oman. The island is called the Greater Tonb, Gap Tunb, Tonb-e Mar, Greater Tonb-e Mar, etc...".
In the Islamic era up to the recent centuries the Greater Tonb Island was part of the states of Fars, Kerman, Mokran and Hormozgan.
In 1884 it was part of the Persian Gulf ports.
In 1949 together with 29 other islands it was a village under the district of Lengeh.
In 1951, it was part of the village Mazdouqi in Lengeh district of the city of Lar.
In 1954, it was a village in Abu Mosa district of Bandar Lengeh port city.
In 1958, Abu Mosa and Great Tonb districts jointed together and formed a large district with Kish Island as its center.
In 1976, it became part of the city of Kish.
In 1982, it became part of the city of Abu Musa.
In 1991, the Great Tonb Island was part of the Tonb district of the city of Bu Mosa.
The Greater Tonb Island due to its far distance from the Strait of Hormoz has no strategic importance by itself. However, given Iran's strategic situation, it is considered an important link in the defensive line of Iran in the Strait of Hormoz.
The Lesser Tonb Island is neighboring the city of Lengeh in the north, Abu Mosa Island in the south, the Greater Tonb Island in the east and Faroo and Faroogan islands in the west. The island is rectangular in shape.
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