خلیج فارس Persian Gulf

The name of the “Persian Sea/Gulf” is deeply rooted not only in Iranian geographical tradition but also in credible historical and geographical sources worldwide. This name first appeared in ancient texts in forms such as Sinus Persicus (in Latin sources), Mare Persicum, and “Bahr al-Fars” in Arabic texts. Ancient Greek historians and geographers such as Herodotus, Strabo, and Ptolemy also referred to this body of water as Persikos Kólpos.

The continuity of this name in maps and official texts has remained uninterrupted from antiquity through the 20th century. The United Nations, in its official documents and collections of historical maps, has consistently used the term “Persian Gulf,” and in 1994 declared the use of any alternative designation to be against international geographic standards.