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HORMUZ (Hurmuz, Ormuz, Ormus)

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Originally appearing in Volume V13, Page 695 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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HORMUZ (Hurmuz, Ormuz, Ormus) , a famous See also:city on the shores of the See also:Persian Gulf, which occupied more than one position in the course of See also:history, and has now See also:long practically ceased to exist. The earliest mention of the name occurs in the voyage of See also:Nearchus (325 B.c.). When that See also:admiral beached his See also:fleet at the mouth of the See also:river Anamis on the See also:shore of Harmozia, a See also:coast See also:district of Carmania, he found the See also:country to be kindly, See also:rich in every product except the See also:olive. The Anamis appears to be the river now known as the Minab, discharging into the Persian Gulf near the entrance of the latter. The name Hormuz is derived by some from that of the Persian See also:god Hormuzd (See also:Ormazd), but it is more likely that the See also:original See also:etymology was connected with khurma, " a date "; for the meaning of Moghistan the See also:modern name of the territory Harmozia is " the region of date-palms." The See also:foundation of the city of Hormuz in this territory is ascribed by one Persian writer to the See also:Sassanian See also:Ardashir Babegan (c. 230 A.D.). But it must have existed at an earlier date, for See also:Ptolemy takes See also:note of "Apµovi-a rats (vi. 8). Hormuz is mentioned by See also:Idrisi, who wrote c. 1150, under the See also:title of Hormuz-al-sahiliah, " Hormuz of the shore " (to distinguish it from inland cities of the same name then existing), as a large and well-built city, the See also:chief mart of Kirman. Siraf and See also:Kish (Kais), farther up the gulf, had preceded it as ports of See also:trade with See also:India, but in the r3th See also:century Hormuz had become the chief seat of this See also:traffic. It was at this See also:time the seat also of a See also:petty See also:dynasty of See also:kings, of which there is a history by one of their number (Turan Shah); an abstract of it is given by the Jesuit Teixeira.

According to this history the founder of the dynasty was Shah Mohammed Dirhem-Kub (" the Drachma-coiner "), an Arab chief who crossed the gulf and established himself here. The date is not given, but it must have been before i too A.D., as Ruknuddin Mahmud, who succeeded in 1246, was the twelfth of the See also:

line. These princes appear to have been at times in dependence necessarily on the atabegs of See also:Fars and on the princes of Kirman. About the See also:year 1300 Hormuz was so severely and repeatedly harassed by raids of Tatar horsemen that the See also:king and his See also:people abandoned their city on the mainland and transferred themselves to the See also:island of Jerun (Organa of Nearchus), about 12 M. westward and 4 M. from the nearest shore. The site of the See also:continental or See also:ancient Hormuz was first traced in modern times by See also:Colonel (See also:Sir See also:Lewis) Pelly when See also:resident at See also:Bushire. It stands in the See also:present district of Minab, several See also:miles from the See also:sea, and on a See also:creek which communicates with the Minab river, but is partially silted up and not now accessible for vessels. There remain traces of a long See also:wharf and extensive ruins. The new city occupied a triangular See also:plain forming the See also:northern See also:part of the island, the See also:southern See also:wall, as its remains still show, being about 2 M. in extent from See also:east to See also:west. A suburb with a wharf or See also:pier, called Turan Bagh (See also:garden of Turan) after one of the kings, a name now corrupted to Trumpak, stood about 3 M. from the See also:town to the See also:south-east. See also:Odoric gives the earliest See also:notice we have of the new city (c. 1320). He calls it Ormes, a city strongly fortified and abounding in costly wares, situated on an island 5 m. distant from the See also:main, having no trees and no fresh See also:water, unhealthy and (as all See also:evidence confirms) incredibly hot.

Some years later it was visited more than once by See also:

Ibn Batuta, who seems to speak of the old city as likewise still See also:standing. The new Hormuz, called also Jerun (i.e. still retaining the original name of the island), was a See also:great and See also:fine city rising out of the sea, and serving as a mart for all the products of India, which were distributed hence over all See also:Persia. The hills on the island were of See also:rock-See also:salt, from which vases and pedestals for lamps were carved. Near the See also:gate of the chief See also:mosque stood an enormous See also:skull, apparently that of a sperm-See also:whale. The king at this time was Kutbuddin Tahamtan, and the traveller gives a curious description of him, seated on the See also:throne, in patched and dirty raiment, holding a See also:rosary of enormous pearls, procured from the Bahrein See also:fisheries, which at one time or another belonged, with other islands in the gulf and on the See also:Oman shores from See also:Ras-el-had (C. Rosalgat of the Portuguese) on the ocean See also:round to Julfar on the gulf, to the princes of Hormuz. Abdurazzak, the See also:envoy of Shah Rukh on his. way to the See also:Hindu See also:court of See also:Vijayanagar, was in Hormuz in 1442, and speaks of it as a mart which had no equal, frequented by the merchants of all the countries of See also:Asia, among which he enumerates See also:China, See also:Java, See also:Bengal, See also:Tenasserim, Shahr-i-nao (i.e. See also:Siam) and the Maldives. See also:Nikitin, the See also:Russian (c. 1470), gives a similar See also:account; he calls it " a vast See also:emporium of all the See also:world." In See also:September 1507 the king of Hormuz, after for some time See also:hearing of the terrible foe who was carrying See also:fire and See also:sword along the shores of See also:Arabia, saw the See also:squadron of See also:Alphonso d'See also:Albuquerque appear before his city, an See also:appearance speedily followed by extravagant demands, by refusal of these from the ministers of the See also:young king, and by deeds of matchless daring and See also:cruelty on the part of the Portuguese, which speedily See also:broke down resistance. The king acknowledged himself tributary to See also:Portugal, and gave leave to the Portuguese to build a See also:castle, which was at once commenced on the northern part of the island, commanding the city and the anchorage on both sides. But the mutinous conduct and See also:desertion of several of Albuquerque's captains compelled him suddenly to abandon the enterprise; and it was not till 1514, after the great See also:leader had captured See also:Goa and Malacca, and had for five years been See also:viceroy, that he returned to Hormuz (or Ormuz, as the Portuguese called it), and without encountering resistance to a name now so terrible, laid his grasp again on the island and completed his castle.

For more than a century Hormuz remained practically in the dominions of Portugal, though the hereditary See also:

prince, paying from his revenues a See also:tribute to Portugal (in lieu of which eventually the latter took the whole of the customs collections), continued to be the See also:instrument of See also:government. The position of things during the Portuguese See also:rule may be understood from the description of Cesare de' See also:Federici, a Venetian See also:merchant who was at Hormuz about 1565. After speaking of the great trade in spices, drugs, See also:silk and silk stuffs, and pearls of Bahrein, and in horses for export to India, he says the king was a See also:Moor (i.e. See also:Mahommedan), chosen by and subordinate to the Portuguese. " At the See also:election of the king I was there and saw the ceremonies that they use . . . The old king being dead, the See also:captain of the Portugals chooseth another of the See also:blood-royal, and makes this election in the castle with great ceremony. And when he is elected the captain sweareth him to be true ... to the K. of Portugal as his See also:lord and See also:governor, and then he giveth him the See also:sceptre See also:regal. After this ... with great pomp ... he is brought into the royal See also:palace in the city. The king keeps a See also:good See also:train and hath sufficient revenues, ... because the captain of the castle doth maintain and defend his right . . . he is honoured as a king, yet he cannot ride abroad with his train, without the consent of the captain first had " (in See also:Hakluyt).' In See also:Barros, Dec. II. See also:book x. c.

7, there is a curious detail of the See also:

revenue and See also:expenditure of the See also:kingdom of Ormuz, which would seem to exhibit the former as not more than £See also:ioo,000. The rise of the See also:English trade and factories in the See also:Indian See also:locke in vol. viii., See also:Pell in vol. xxxiv.; See also:Fraser, Narrative of a See also:Journey seas in the beginning of the 17th century led to See also:constant jealousies and broils with the Portuguese, and the successful efforts of the English See also:company to open traffic with Persia especially embittered their rivals, to whom the See also:possession of Hormuz had long given a See also:monopoly of that trade. The See also:officers of Shah Abbas, who looked with a covetous and resentful See also:eye on the Portuguese occupation of such a position, were strongly desirous of the aid of English See also:ships in attacking Hormuz. During 1620 and 1621 the ships of Portugal and of the English company had more than once come to See also:action in the Indian seas, and in See also:November of the latter year the See also:council at See also:Surat had resolved on what was practically maritime See also:war with the Portuguese See also:flag. There was hardly a step between this and the decision come to in the following See also:month to join with " the See also:duke of See also:Shiraz " (See also:Imam See also:Kali See also:Khan, the governor of Fars) in the desired expedition against Hormuz. There was some pretext of being forced into the See also:alliance by a Persian See also:threat to See also:lay See also:embargo on the English goods at Jashk; but this seems to have been only brought forward by the English agents when, at a later date, their proceedings were called in question. The English crews were at first unwilling to take part in what they justly said was " no merchandizing business, nor were they engaged for the like," but they were persuaded, and five English vessels aided, first, in the attack of See also:Kishm, where (at the east end of the large island so called) the Portuguese had lately built a fort,' and afterwards in that of Hormuz itself. The latter See also:siege was opened on the 18th of See also:February 1622, and continued to the 1st of May, when the Portuguese, after a gallant See also:defence of ten See also:weeks, surrendered. It is to be recollected that Portugal was at this time subject to the See also:crown of See also:Spain, with which See also:England was at See also:peace; indeed, it was but a year later that the prince of See also:Wales went on his wooing See also:adventure to the See also:Spanish court. The irritation there was naturally great, though it is surprising how little came of it. The company were supposed (apparently without foundation) to have profited largely by the Hormuz See also:booty; and both the duke of See also:Buckingham and the king claimed to be " sweetened," as the See also:record phrases it, from this supposed treasure. The former certainly received a large bribe (f,io,000).

The conclusion of the transaction with the king was formerly considered doubtful; but entries in the See also:

calendar of East India papers seem to show that See also:James received an equal sum.2 Hormuz never recovered from this See also:blow. The Persians transferred their establishments to Gombroon on the mainland, about 12 M. to the See also:north-west, which the king had lately set up as a royal See also:port under the name of Bander Abbasi. The English stipulations for aid had embraced an equal See also:division of the customs duties. This division was apparently recognized by the Persians as applying to the new Bander, and, though the trade with Persia was constantly decaying and See also:precarious, the company held to their factory at Gombroon for the See also:sake of this claim to revenue, which of course was most irregularly paid. In 1683–1684 the amount of See also:debt due to the company in Persia, including their proportion of customs duties, was reckoned at a million See also:sterling. As See also:late as 1690–1691 their right seems to have been admitted, and a See also:payment of 3495 sequins was received by them on this account. The factory at Gombroon lingered on till 1759, when it was seized by two See also:French ships of war under See also:Comte d'See also:Estaing. It was re-established, but at the time of See also:Niebuhr's visit to the gulf a few years later no See also:European remained. Niebuhr mentions that in his time (c. 1765) Mulla 'See also:Ali Shah, formerly admiral of See also:Nadir Shah, was established on the island of Hormuz and part of Kishm as an See also:independent chief. into See also:Khorasan (1825; See also:Constable and Stiffe, Persian Gulf See also:Pilot See also Barros, Asia; Commentaries of Albuquerque, trans. by See also:Birch (Hak. Society); Relaciones de Pedro Teixeira (See also:Antwerp, 161o) ; Narratives in Hakluyt's Collection (reprint in 1809, vol. ii.) and in See also:Purchas's Pilgrims, vol. ii.; Pietro See also:delta See also:Valle, Persia, lett. xii.-xvii.; Calendar of E.

I. Papers, by Sainsbury, vol. iii.; See also:

Ritter, Erdkunde, xii.; Jour. See also:Roy. Geog. See also:Soc., Kempthorne in vol. v., See also:White- ' The attack on Kishm was notable in that one of the two English-men killed there was the great navigator See also:Baffin. 2 Colonial See also:Series, E. Indies, by Sainsbury, vol: iii. passim, especially see pp. 296 and 329. (1864); See also:Bruce, See also:Annals of the E. I. Company, &c. (181o).

(H. Y.) The island has a circumference of 16 m. and its longest See also:

axis See also:measures 4 m. The See also:village is in 27° 6' N., 56° 29' E. The Portuguese fort still stands, but is sadly out of repair and much of its western wall has been undermined and washed away by the action of the sea. It is a bastioned fort with orillons and loopholed casemates under the ramparts and was separated from the town by a deep See also:moat, now silted up, cut E.-W. across the See also:isthmus and crossed by a See also:bridge. It has three cisterns for See also:collecting rainwater; two are 17-18 ft. deep, have a capacity of about 60,00o gallons and are covered by arched See also:roofs supported on six See also:stone pillars. The third cistern is smaller and has no roof. Five rusty old See also:iron guns are lying prone on the roof; six others on the strand before the village are used for fastening boats, another serves as a socket for a flagstaff before the representative of the government. The island is under the See also:jurisdiction of the governor of the Persian Gulf ports who resides t Bushire. Of the old city hardly anything stands except a See also:minaret, 70 ft. high, with a winding See also:staircase inside and much worn away at the See also:base, part of a former mosque used by the Portuguese as a lighthouse, but the traces of buildings, massive See also:foundations constructed of stone quarried in the hills on the island, of many cisterns (some say 300), &c., are numerous and extensive. The modern See also:settlement, situated south of the fort on the eastern shore, has a See also:population of about loco during the cool See also:season, but less in the hot season, when many people go over to See also:Millais on the mainland to the east. Most of the people live in huts constructed of the branches and leaves of the date See also:palm.

They own about sixty small sailing vessels trading to See also:

Muscat and other ports and also do some See also:pearl-fishing. At Turan Bagh on the east coast 4 m. S.E. of the fort are some considerable ruins, See also:irrigation canals, an extensive See also:burial ground and some huts occupied by a few families who cultivate a small garden on a See also:terrace supported by old retaining walls. On a See also:hill near the shore 11 m. S.E. of the fort is the ruin of a small See also:chapel called " See also:Santa See also:Lucia" on an old See also:map in See also:Astley's Collection of Voyages, and on the See also:summit of a salt hill 1 m. south of the fort are the remains of another chapel called " N.S. de la Pena " on the same map, and a " Monastery " in a See also:sketch of Hormuz made by See also:David See also:Davies, a See also:mate on See also:board the East India Company's See also:ship " See also:Discovery " in 1627. With the exception of the northern part, where the old city stood, and the little patch at Turan Bagh, the island is covered with reddish See also:brown hills with See also:sharp serrated ridges composed of See also:gypsum, rock-salt and See also:clay. These hills, which do not exceed 300 ft. in height, are broken through in four places by conical, whitish peaks of volcanic rocks (See also:green-stone, See also:trachyte) ; the highest of these peaks with an See also:altitude of 690 ft. is situated almost in the centre of the island. The island has extensive beds of red ochre in which nodules of very pure hematite are often found. The ochre, here called gzlek, has been an important See also:article of export for centuries3 and great quantities of it are exported at the present time to England (in 1906–1907, 10,000 tons; See also:local See also:price 27s. the ton). The See also:climate of Hormuz, although hot, is, according to medical experts, the best in the Persian Gulf. See also:Rain falls in See also:January, February and See also:March, and the See also:annual rainfall is said to be about the same as that of Bushire, 12 to 13 in. Capt.

A. W. Stiffe in Geogr. Mag. (See also:

April 1874) ; See also:William See also:Foster in Geogr. See also:Journal (Aug. 1894); writer's notes taken on island. (A.H.-S.,).

End of Article: HORMUZ (Hurmuz, Ormuz, Ormus)

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