Persia-Siam connection clarified
Re: "A Persian night in Old Siam", May 15.
In your article you say, “In 1602, Sheikh Ahmad Qumi and his brother … settled down in Ayutthaya to conduct trade.” How did you arrive at this date?
Sheikh Ahmad arrived in Ayutthaya at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries, but the exact date has never been determined, and he never had the suffix Qumi. According to our family history, he and his younger brother Muhammad Said came to Ayutthaya from a town called Guni.
When I was permanent secretary for foreign affairs (2001-2004), I discussed this matter with the then-ambassador of Iran, telling him that, according to my reading, Guni should be in the Mazandaran/Astarabad area south of the Caspian Sea. He kindly reported to Tehran and not long afterwards sent me photographs of such a town in the area I had pointed out.
I write to remind the Iranian Embassy and to inform your readers of this matter, which is important to my family history and to Thai-Iranian relations.
Tej Bunnag
Bangkok
