Brian Ulrich Informed Comment
During the past seven months, the world has seen the significance of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial chokepoint not only for oil, but natural gas, fertilizer, food for the Gulf states, and other industrial materials. That strait actually takes its name from a city and kingdom which once dominated the strait and the trade between the Persian Gulf and wider Indian Ocean. The history of that Kingdom of Hormuz can help us understand elements of what is happening now and what may come next.
A port called Harmozeia was known to the Greeks in the days of Alexander the Great. In the early Islamic centuries, from the conquests of the 600’s and with increasing mentions after 1000, the port city of Hormuz at or near modern Minab, the same place where on the first day of the current war, the United States struck a girls’ elementary school, killing 120 students and dozens of others.
During the 1200s, Hormuz was frequently threatened by Central Asian nomads who entered Iran as part of the Mongol conquests led by the successors of Genghis Khan. Because of this, around 1300, the ruler of Hormuz moved the city to the island which bears the name “Hormuz” today. This island location gave it a wide natural moat which protected it from political turmoil on the mainland.
Also during the 1200s, Hormuz began taking territory along the coast of what is now Oman. Today, negotiating passage through the Strait can involve passing through Omani rather than Iranian waters. Hormuz, however, came to control both sides, with a significant second city at Qalhat, today an archaeological site outside of the modern Omani port of Sur. This allowed it to monopolize passage between the Persian Gulf and the rest of the Indian Ocean world.
At its height, Hormuz had a population of 50,000, and was known as a wealthy trade emporium with merchants from throughout much of the Eastern Hemisphere and any product one might desire. It maintained its dominance with its navy, and sought to restrict ship-building materials to potential rivals.
Brian Ulrich. The Medieval Persian Gulf. Arc Humanities Press 2024. Click here to buy.
In 1498, the Portuguese entered the Indian Ocean, and in 1515 seized control of Hormuz, though leaving its ruling dynasty in place. The Portuguese ambition was to control all Indian Ocean trade by controlling all the choke points, of which Hormuz was one. They ruled the island until 1622 until a Persian ruler named Shah Abbas both lured and pressured the British East India Company into being his navy in taking the island. Shah Abbas then developed a fishing village into the port of Bandar Abbas, literally “Port of Abbas,” on the main near Hormuz and west of Minab, as the emporium of the strait. Hormuz, however, continued to have an important fortress, and in 1718, Oman tried and failed to capture it as part of seeking to control Gulf trade. Today the island has only a few thousand inhabitants.
What can the history of the city of Hormuz teach us about control of the Strait of Hormuz today?
Juan Cole’s Informed Comment delivers independent, expert analysis of war, the Middle East, climate change, and U.S. foreign policy. Help sustain this work
Editor’s Note: At a moment when the once vaunted model of responsible journalism is overwhelmingly the play thing of self-serving billionaires and their corporate scribes, alternatives of integrity are desperately needed, and ScheerPost is one of them. Please support our independent journalism by contributing to our online donation platform, Network for Good, or send a check to our new PO Box. We can’t thank you enough, and promise to keep bringing you this kind of vital news.
You can also make a donation to our PayPal or subscribe to our Patreon.