Dr Rowena binti Abdul Razak contributed to Panel Two of Day Two of this 2-day workshop.
This paper examines the maritime connections between Pahang and the Persian Gulf. Since Safavid times, visitors from Persia have been coming to the Malay Archipelago. These connections have taken the form of trade, linguistic exchange and also social integration. The Persianate world is currently under study to include different geographic areas, from Iran through to the Indian Ocean. In my paper, I will reframe the Malay world within this context and look at how Persian culture disseminated and was brought through India, permeating Malay culture and eventually reaching Pahang where it firmly but subtly established itself.
