Rishahr

Article summary

Rishahr ( ) or Rev Ardashir ( ) was a city on the Persian Gulf in medieval Iran and is currently an archaeological site near Bushehr. It may be identical to the Antiochia-in-Persis of the Seleucid period, but was refounded by Ardashir I ( ), the first ruler of the Sasanian Empire. In the Church of the East, it was seat of the metropolitan bishop of the province of Fars from at least 424. The name "Rew-Ardashir" means "Rich is Ardashir". The city is mentioned by many historians, such as Farhang-i Anandraj, Hamdollah Mostowfi's Nuzhat al-Qulub, Majmal al-tawarikh, and Ibn Balkhi's Farsnameh. In particular, some historians such as Yaqut al-Hamawi's Mu'jam Al-Buldan write of the city being centered on a pre-Islamic academic center of higher learning where scholars converged to study medicine as well as Indian and Greek sciences. By 1531, the smuggling of spices had made Rishahr wealthy. The Safavid governor of Rishahr, Shah Ali Soltan, expanded his fleet by constructing new ships and seizing several Bahraini vessels. Shah Ali Soltan had rebelled in April 1534 and began targeting the shipping routes. According to Portuguese records, Shah Ali Soltan was a vassal of the Kingdom of Hormuz, a Portuguese protectorate. Shah Ali Soltan soon reached an agreement with the Portuguese that he would no longer have to pay tribute in return for complying with the king of Hormuz.…

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