The Persian Gulf As Described in Foreign Travel Literature of Qajar Era

The role of the Persian Gulf in international relations has catapulted it into the limelight of extra-regional powers’ attention. The influence exerted by these powers in the region since the 16th century has been the result of its growing importance for trade which, later on, turned into political and military relevance. As a result of a significant increase in the number of foreigners travelling to Iran during the Qajar dynasty, their travel accounts contributed to a growth in travel literature. Studying these travel literatures became an important endeavor in understanding the position and relevance of the Persian Gulf. What this article has undertaken to study is quantitative and qualitative assessment of 47 travelogues’ approach whose authors had travelled to Iran some time during 1211-1345 A.H to Iran and their travelogues have been translated into Farsi. The current research objective is to evaluate the degree and quality of focus of these travelogues on the Persian Gulf, and how these 47 travelogues have addressed issues related to the Persian Gulf.