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Hormuz[Travellers | Cities | Routes | Trade Goods | Themes]
The earliest mention of the name (correctly Hurmuz) is given in Greek as Harmozeia (perhaps "land of date palms" derived from khurma, date), and occurs in the account of the voyage of Alexander's admiral Nearchus, c. 325 BC. He speaks of the place as "rich in every product except the olive". Some five hundred years later, it is mentioned by Ptolemy as Harmuza. According to a history of Hormuz set down by one of its rulers, Turan Shah, an Arab sheikh crossed the Gulf in c. 1000 AD and established himself as ruler. Writing in about 1150 AD, al-Idrisi called it Hurmuz al-sahiliya -- Hormuz of the Shore -- presumably to differentiate it from other cities of the same name inland. He describes it as a "large and well-built city", and as the chief mart for the province of Kirman. At this date, Siraf and Kish (Qays) were more important centres of the trade with India and the East, but by the 13th century Hormuz had largely superseded them. As an entrepôt, the city was stored with vast quantities of valuable goods, as traveler after traveler points out. Especially plentiful were pearls, which were pierced there, as well as gem stones, spices, drugs, incense, silk and horses, for which India had an insatiable demand. It also had a considerable textile industry. All this wealth attracted raiders. In about 1300, Hormuz was repeatedly attacked by Tatar horsemen. The old city was abandoned, and ruler and people moved to the island of Jarun. This island was bleak and inhospitable, with no trees or water, but a large and imposing city grew up there. The water problem was solved by importing it from the mainland -- water thus became a lucrative item of local trade -- and by building a system of vast cisterns. The rulers of New Hormuz, as the island was called, paid dues to the ruling dynasty of Iran to ensure that the caravan routes east and west remained open. Duties were levied on imports: 5% on rice, butter and cotton; 10% on Indian textiles; and 16½% on textiles from Malacca. Bullion and horses seem not to have been taxed. New Hormuz became the main port for the India trade, serving shipping from China, South East Asia, India, Arabia, Zanzibar and the East Coast of Africa, and, increasingly, Europe. The Russian Afanasy Nikitin, there for the horse trade in 1470, calls it "a vast emporium of all the world". In 1507, the Portuguese, expanding with great energy and aggressiveness into the Indian Ocean, and hoping to appropriate the long-established trade networks, took Hormuz. The ruler was forced to pay tribute to the Portuguese, who built a castle there. Trade was resumed as before, and a Venetian merchant, Cesare de' Federici, visiting the city in about 1565, comments on its wealth and gives the usual list of trade goods. From the beginning of the 17th century, the English entered the struggle for the possession of the India trade. In 1622, they allied themselves with Imam Quli Khan, the governor of Fars, to besiege and sack Hormuz. The island never recovered. The Shah set up a royal port at Bander Abbas (earlier known as Gombroon) and such trade as there still was along that coast proceded there. The Portuguese fort still stands, although in ruins, as well as the minaret of one of the mosques and several chapels. There are traces of numerous buildings, but the town has to all intents and purposes disappeared. A tiny population lives there, usually only for only part of the year, often in brastis (huts built of palms), doing a little fishing, pearl diving and trading with Muscat and other cities in the area.
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Hormuz - Braun Ma Huan |
