IRAN AND THE WORLD IN THE SAFAVID AGE
Abstracts

Marcinkowski, Dr. M. Christoph, Intl. Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization, Kuala Lumpur, The Safavid Presence in the Indian Ocean: A Reappraisal of the SHIP OF SULAIMAN, a Seventeenth Century Travel Account to Siam

The present paper advocates an interdisciplinary approach with regard to research on Safavid-Siamese contacts.  The Ship of Sulaiman (Safineh-yi Sulaimani), a Persian account of an embassy, sent by the Safavid Shah Sulaiman (r. 1666-94) to the Court of Siam (Thailand) in 1685, written by its secretary Muhammad Rabi' b. Muhammad Ibrahim, is an outstanding document for the historical and cultural presence of Iran in the eastern Indian Ocean region.  The work was translated for the first time into English about 30 years ago by John O'Kane.  However, an interpretation from the perspective of Iranian and Southeast Asian studies is still lacking.  The paper will epitomize several studies so far carried out by the author and other scholars, as well as re-emphasize the main features and significance of this momentous document by directing attention also to the role of the Iranian community at the then Siamese capital of Ayutthaya.

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