The importance of India in the economy of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman during the Sassanid period

Abstract
During the Sassanid period, commercial activities with the Indian subcontinent, especially its coastal areas, were developed through the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. By capturing the key areas, the connection between the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea with the islands and ports of India was facilitated. The Sassanids built camps in the coastal areas of India and gradually Zoroastrian and Nestorian Christian immigrant merchants settled there. The sailors used to travel between the ports and islands of the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea with India, loading and unloading goods. The purpose of this research is to examine the commercial relationship between the northern and southern shores of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman with the Indian subcontinent in the Sassanid period. Relying on the analytical descriptive research method and the library method and based on the study of documentary research, the author is trying to answer the question of how the process of economic links between these two important maritime areas was and what role it played in the mutual prosperity of these areas. In the end, it is concluded that a set of positive factors, including the policy of port city in the Persian Gulf, the formation of a powerful commercial and military fleet, the knowledge of sea routes and the land and sea occupation of the shores of the Indian Ocean by the Sassanids, led to the expansion of the mutual prosperity of commercial centers.
 
1. Introduction
During the Sassanid period, trade activities with the Indian subcontinent, especially its coastal areas, were developed through the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. With the capture of key areas, the connection between the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman with the islands and ports of India was facilitated. The Sassanids built camps in the coastal areas of India and gradually Zoroastrian and Christian Nestorian immigrant merchants settled there. The sailors used to travel between the ports and islands of the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea with India and were engaged in loading and unloading goods (Weishofer, 1377: 240). The purpose of this research is to examine the commercial relationship between the northern and southern shores of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman with the Indian subcontinent in the Sassanid period. The purpose of this review is to better understand the economic developments and its impact on the cultural, artistic and intellectual growth and development in these two regions of the ancient world. This mutual interaction included trade in materials such as silk, spices, precious stones, and other precious goods, and also led to the spread of many inventions, philosophical and religious ideas, and artistic styles. In this way, businessmen played a key role in creating and maintaining these links. We also witness the formation of multicultural trade communities in ports and important stops on the trade route of these two civilizations (Yarshater, 1377: 139). This issue outlines an important part of the purpose of this article and the necessity of writing research. In this article, the author tries to answer the question that what was the importance of India in the economy of the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea during the Sassanid period, and what impact and importance did these relations have on the mutual economic interactions of these regions?
1.1. Research method
Our knowledge of the Sassanid sea trade with the lands outside the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea, especially the Indian subcontinent, is based on archaeological evidence and the limited writings of the authors of this period (Jorfi, 1994: 71). Based on this, the research method is a historical analysis based on the study of first-hand data and especially archaeological findings. As a result, the author has written this research by relying on descriptive analytical research method and library research method and by relying on the study of documentary research.
2. Discussion
From a historical point of view, India and the Indian Ocean have always had a privileged position in the political, economic and military fields of Iran. This process is ancient. With the emergence of political systems in the ancient Mesopotamia and the early civilizations of Iran and then the Aryan states, especially the Sassanids, the role of this strategic area in the economic developments of the world became more apparent. With the formation of the Sassanid Empire, the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea became the focus of Iran's commercial attention. In order to create economic infrastructure, the establishment of new cities and ports or the renovation and improvement of former civilization centers on the coasts and behind the sea coast was accelerated. Of the nine cities attributed to the early Sassanid sultans, five were built around the Persian Gulf (Payne, 2018, p231). In general, the 10 major urban units of the Sassanid period played a prominent role in the trade of the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea with the Indian subcontinent. The construction and renovation of cities led to the prosperity of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. In the development of their maritime trade, the Sassanids had close relations with India and the coastal lands of the Indian Ocean. The Sassanid kings maintained their relations with the Gupta Empire based in Patliputra. The name of Polaksin, the ruler of the Deccan, was known in Iran, and the embassy was exchanged between Iran and India. As a result, the economic relations between the two lands increased. Even with the growth of trade, Persian Gulf merchants were carrying out the task of delivering Indian goods to European ports as intermediaries (Jorfi, 1994: 71). Iranian merchant fleets used to go to the island of Sri Lanka and buy Chinese goods from there. Cosmas Rumi also spoke about the key role of Sri Lanka in the trade of the 6th century AD and the activity of Iranian merchants in the Indian Ocean in the book "Mapping of the Christians" (Topography of the Christians) around 550 AD (Cosmas, 1909: 354). Numerous cultural and artistic documents have been discovered from the business dealings of merchants of the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea during the Sassanid period in India and Ceylon and throughout the subcontinent. Khuzestan was invited for medicine. (Jorfi, 1994: 70). The influence of Sassanid motifs can be seen in Gupta art. On the other hand, Indian symbols such as peacocks, dragons, roosters and spiral reptiles have adorned Sasanian artworks (Chand, 1964:10). Pottery also plays an important role in recognizing the commercial and cultural impact of the Sassanids on India. One of the most important types of pottery related to the Sassanid period on the northern shores of the Persian Gulf, which can also be seen on the coasts of the Indian subcontinent, is the polished red Indian pottery. The second type of pottery related to the Sassanid period, which has an Iranian or Mesopotamia origin, is the torpedo-shaped pottery, which was used from the northern shores of the Persian Gulf to the shores of the Indian subcontinent and was used to transport drinks and liquids in sea trade (Toufigian, 1393: 143).
3. Result
The Sassanid Empire (3rd to 7th century AD) was one of the largest empires of ancient times, which extended from Mesopotamia to India and from Central Asia to the Arabian Peninsula. The prosperity of Iran's maritime trade in the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea reached its peak as a result of the serious and purposeful supervision of the Sassanid kings. In this process, the mainland of India, then Ceylon, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and today's Southwest Asia, were very important. Above all, the Sassanids were connected with India through the shipping of the Persian Gulf. Iran's fleet on the shores of the Indian Ocean played an active role in economic developments and controlled the majority of transactions and supply and demand markets. Iranian ships also loaded from the ports of the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea and passed through the western coasts of India and Ceylon was going to China. The ports of Abla, Hormuz Island and especially Siraf, which had become one of the most important commercial ports of Iran since the end of the Sassanid era, were among the most important areas in trade with the Indian subcontinent. A set of a main highway, the Maritime Silk Road and its branches, while connecting the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman to the world's major economic centers on the coast of the Indian Ocean, facilitated the trade process of Iran during the Sassanid era. When the civilization of Sassanid Iran developed and the aristocratic urban life flourished, the need for goods from the land of India increased. Archaeological discoveries in various regions of the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea, especially in Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, have clearly proven the expansion and superiority of Iran's maritime trade in these periods. The political, economic, and cultural influence of Sassanid Iran in India strengthened and facilitated maritime trade efforts and economic prosperity in the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea regions, and reciprocally in the shores and behind the shores of Great India. A series of cultural findings such as coins, pottery, artistic designs, literature and urban planning have shown the mutual influence of Sassanid Iran and India on each other's economy and cultural and civilizational institutions. With a careful study of history and the remaining evidence, we can come to this conclusion. It was found that Sassanid-India trade relations through the Persian Gulf waterway and the Oman Sea played a vital role in the formation and durability of the mentioned civilizations and had an impact on the world map of economy and culture at that time.
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