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Siraf (also called Bandar-e Si-raf, Ta-hiri, Taheri, Bandar-i Tahiri) was a legendary ancient Sassanid port
Port

||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|}A port is a facility for receiving ships and transferring cargo. They are usually found at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake....
, destroyed around 970 AD, which was located on the north shore of the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Historically and commonly known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes Persian Gulf naming dispute referred to as the Arabian Gulf by certain Arab countries or simply The Gulf, although nei...
 in what is now the Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
ian province of Bushehr
Bushehr

Bushehr , pop. 165,377 , is a city on the southwestern coast of Iran, on the Persian Gulf. It is the chief seaport of the country and the administrative centre of Bushehr province....
. Its ruins
Ruins

Ruins is a term used to describe the remains of man-made architecture: structures that were once complete but which have fallen into a state of partial or complete disrepair, due to lack of Maintenance, repair and operations or deliberate acts of destruction....
 are approximately 220 km east of Bushire and 380 km west of Bandar Abbas
Bandar Abbas

Bandar Abbas or Bandar-e ?Abbas is a seaport city and capital of Hormozgan Province on the southern coast of Iran , on the Persian Gulf. The city occupies a strategic position on the narrow Straits of Hormuz, and it is the location of the main base of the Iranian Navy....
.






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Indo Sassanid
Siraf (also called Bandar-e Si-raf, Ta-hiri, Taheri, Bandar-i Tahiri) was a legendary ancient Sassanid port
Port

||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|}A port is a facility for receiving ships and transferring cargo. They are usually found at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake....
, destroyed around 970 AD, which was located on the north shore of the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Historically and commonly known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes Persian Gulf naming dispute referred to as the Arabian Gulf by certain Arab countries or simply The Gulf, although nei...
 in what is now the Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
ian province of Bushehr
Bushehr

Bushehr , pop. 165,377 , is a city on the southwestern coast of Iran, on the Persian Gulf. It is the chief seaport of the country and the administrative centre of Bushehr province....
. Its ruins
Ruins

Ruins is a term used to describe the remains of man-made architecture: structures that were once complete but which have fallen into a state of partial or complete disrepair, due to lack of Maintenance, repair and operations or deliberate acts of destruction....
 are approximately 220 km east of Bushire and 380 km west of Bandar Abbas
Bandar Abbas

Bandar Abbas or Bandar-e ?Abbas is a seaport city and capital of Hormozgan Province on the southern coast of Iran , on the Persian Gulf. The city occupies a strategic position on the narrow Straits of Hormuz, and it is the location of the main base of the Iranian Navy....
. Siraf controlled three ports: Bandar-e-Taheri, Bandar-e-Kangan and Bandar-e-Dayer. The Persian Gulf was used as a shipping route
Shipping route

A shipping route is a trade route used by merchant ships.Early routes usually were coastal in nature as navigators had to rely on the coastal landmarks....
 between the Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula

The Arabian Peninsula , Arabia, Arabistan, and the Arabian subcontinent is a peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia. The area is an important part of the Middle East and plays a critically important geopolitics role because of its vast reserves of petroleum and natural gas....
 and India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
 over the Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea

The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui, the north-east point of Somalia, Socotra, Kanyakumari in India, and the western coast of Sri Lanka....
. Small boats, such as dhow
Dhow

A dhow is a traditional Arab Sailing ship with one or more lateen. They are primarily used along the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, India, and East Africa....
s, could also make the long journey by staying close to the coast and keeping land in sight.

History

Framauroships
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
Far East

The Far East is a term current in English language to refer to the countries of East Asia. The term is often expanded to also include Southeast Asia and South Asia, for economic and cultural reasons, for example because Buddhism is common to East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia....
 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
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
 occurred in 185 AD and by the 4th century it was a busy port. However, over time trade route
Trade route

A trade route is a Logistics identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. Allowing Good s to reach distant markets, a single trade route contains long distance Arterial road which may further be connected to several smaller networks of commercial and non commercial transportation....
s shifted to the Red Sea
Red Sea

The Red Sea is a salt water inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb sound and the Gulf of Aden....
 and Siraf was forgotten.

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
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, pieces of stone from India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, and lapis from Afghanistan
Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia....
. Siraf dates back to the Parthia
Parthia

Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, after which the Arsacid Empire is then also known as the 'Parthian Empire'....
n era.

David Whitehouse also found evidence that the earliest mosque
Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. Muslims often refer to the mosque by its Arabic name, masjid, ? . The word "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship, although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller, privately owned mosque and the larger, "collective" mosque ,...
 at Siraf dates to the 9th century and are remains from the Parthian
Parthia

Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, after which the Arsacid Empire is then also known as the 'Parthian Empire'....
 and Sassanid eras. He found ruins of a congregational mosque surrounded by many smaller mosques. There are ruins of the luxurious houses of extremely rich traders whose made their wealth through the port's success. Siraf served an international clientele of merchants including those from South India
South India

South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the Union territories of India of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of area....
 ruled by the Western Chalukyas
Western Chalukyas

The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the Deccan Plateau, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This dynasty is sometimes called the Kalyani Chalukya after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan in Karnataka and alternatively the Later Chalukya from its theoretical relationship to the sixth century Chal...
 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.

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.

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