H. R. Pashazanous ¹, M. Montazer Zohouri ¹, T. Ahmadi ²

Affiliations
1 University of Tehran, Iran
2 Science and Research Branch of Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Sīrāf was an important port in the Late Sassanid era; yet its highest glory and economic prowess occurred in the first Islamic centuries, especially in the tenth century A.D. Among the significant evidences of glory and prosperity of Sīrāf are the discovered coins ranging from Spanish to Indian and even so far as Chinese. These coins were found in archaeological excavations in Sīrāf. Scientific analyses of these archaeological and numismatic find sand the writings of historians on maritime transportation between Iran and China shed light on the widespread relationship between the two nations in the period that covers the late Sassanid era to the end of the tenth century A.D. Due to significance of the a forementioned coins in clarifying Sīrāf's history and Iran-China relations, therefore, the present article aims to investigate maritime trade between Iran and China via Sīrāf based on the archaeological and numismatic evidence.

Keywords

Siraf, Iran, China, Persian Gulf, Maritime Trade

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