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Hormozgān is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. It is in the south of the country, facing Oman. Its area is [1], and its provincial capital is Bandar Abbas. The province has 14 islands located in the Persian Gulf, and of coastline. The province has eleven major cities, namely: Bandar Abbas, Bandar Lengeh, HajiAbbad, Minab, Qeshm, Jask, Bastak, Bandar Khamir, Parsian(Gavbandi), roudan and Abumusa. The province also has 21 counties (or districts), 69 municipalities, and 2046 villages. In 2007, the population of the province was at almost 1.5 million. History
Although Hormozgan is known to have had settlements during the Achaemenid era and when Nearchus passed through this region, recorded history of the main port of Hormozgan ("Bandar-e Hormoz") begins with Ardashir I of Persia of the Sassanid empire. The province is said to have been particularly prosperous between 241 BC and 211 BC, but is said to have grown even further in trade and commercial significance after the arrival of the Islamic era. Marco Polo visited the port of Bandar Abbas in 1272 and 1293, and reported widespread trading in Persian jewelry, the ivory and silk of IndoChina, and pearls from Bahrain in the Bazaars in the port of Hormuz. In 1497, European colonialists landed in the region for the first time, headed by Vasco da Gama. In 1506, the Portuguese, led by Afonso de Albuquerque invaded the area with 7 warships, under the pretext of protecting their interests from Egypt and Venice. The port of Hormuz was at this time considered a strategic port for commercial interests in the Persian Gulf. Ismail I who was trying to counter the Ottoman Empire to the west, was unable to save the port from the Portuguese, until Shah Abbas I was finally able to drive them out of the Persian Gulf with the aid of the British. The name of Bandar Abbas comes directly from the name of Shah Abbas I. The British, meanwhile were competing for influence in the region with Dutch colonialists who finally invaded Qeshm island and dispatched warships to Bandar Abbas during the final years of Shah Abbas' reign. The Persian government was unable to defend itself against this attack. However, with the souring of British and Dutch relations, military tensions further grew in the region. The Dutch finally resorted to moving their base up to Kharg Island. The Amir of Kharg, Mir Mahna, was however able to defeat the Dutch forces at Kharg, leaving the British firmly in charge of the entire region. Soon Britain took control over the entire Persian Gulf via the interests of British East India Company. The British adopted a policy of encouraging local autonomy throughout the Persian Gulf so as to prevent any possible formidable unified force from threatening their establishments in the Persian Gulf. The strategic importance of the Persian Gulf further increased after World War I with the discovery of oil in the region. Research Tips
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