 thumb|right|200px|the central makran range in pakistan. makran () (pronounced [mÃ¦k'rÉËn]) is a semi-desert coastal strip in the south of sindh and balochistan, in pakistan and iran, along the coast of the persian gulf and the gulf of oman. the name makran derives from maka, borne by an overlapping satrapy of the achaemenid empire. another, older derivation is from the makar, or sea dragon, after the humpback whales or whale sharks that abound in the north arabian sea. ==achaemenid era== the word maka later became makran as it is common in closely related ancient avestan and old persian languages to use "an" and "ran" at the end of plurals. thumb|right|220px|alt=baloch and alexander's empire|the achaemenid empire at its greatest extent, including the region of maka maka was an important early eastern satrapy of cyrus the great, founder of the achaemenid empire. makra corresponds to modern day bahrain, qatar, and united arab emirates, plus the northern half of oman as well as balochistan and the sindh province of pakistan. the babylonians had also made voyages using maka to communicate with india. after cyrus' death, darius i of persia succeeded his throne. according to greek historian herodotus, darius wanted to know more about asia. he wished to know where the "indus (which is the only river save one that produces crocodiles) emptied itself into the sea". after personally leading his elite forces, whose ranks were restricted to those with persian, mede or elamite ancestry, to fight the invading scythians, he led another conquest towards south asia,{{cite web|url=http
Arabian_Sea Geography_of_Balochistan,_Pakistan Geography_of_Sindh Gulf_of_Oman Historical_regions_of_Iran History_of_Balochistan History_of_Sindh Landforms_of_Pakistan Landforms_of_Qatar Regions_of_Pakistan