Persia-Portugal war is the war which happened between Portuguese Empire and its vassals Kingdom of Ormus from one side, and Safavid Empire with the help of the Kingdom of England between 1507 and 1622. During this era, Portugal established their rule for about eighty years in Ormuz and Bahrain, capturing some other islands and ports such as Qeshm and Bandar Abbas for few years. The conflict came to an end when the Safavid king, Abbas I, conquered the Portuguese territories forcing them to leave the Persian Gulf.
In September 1507, the Portuguese Afonso de Albuquerque landed on the Hormoz. Portugal occupied Ormuz from 1515 to 1622. As vassals of the Portuguese state, the Kingdom of Ormus jointly participated in the 1521 invasion of Bahrain that ended Jabrid rule of the Persian Gulf archipelago.
After the Portuguese made several abortive attempts to seize control of Basra, the Safavid ruler Abbas I conquered Ormus with the help of the English, and expelled the Portuguese from the rest of the Persian Gulf, with the exception of Muscat. The Portuguese returned to the Persian Gulf in the following year as allies of Afrasiyab, the Pasha of Basra, against the Persians.
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The capture of Ormuz was a result of a plan by the king of Portugal, Manuel I, who in 1505 had resolved to thwart Muslim trade in the Indian Ocean by capturing Aden, to block trade through Alexandria; Ormuz, to block trade through Beirut; and Malacca to control trade with China.[1] A fleet under Tristão da Cunha was sent to capture the Muslim fort on Socotra in order to control the entrance to the Red Sea; this was accomplished in 1507. The main part of the fleet then left for India, with a few ships remaining under Albuquerque.[2]
Albuquerque disobeyed orders and left to capture the island of Ormuz.[2] He obtained the submission of the local king to the king of Portugal, as well as the authorisation to build a fort using local labour.[3] He started to build a fort on 27 October 1507, and initially planned to man it with a garrison, but could not hold it because of local resistance and the defection to India of several of his Portuguese captains.[2][3][4]
As vassals of the Portuguese state, the Kingdom of Ormus jointly participated in the 1521 invasion of Bahrain that ended Jabrid rule of the Persian Gulf archipelago. The Jabrid ruler was nominally a vassal of Ormus, but the Jabrid King, Muqrin ibn Zamil had refused to pay the tribute Ormus demanded, prompting the invasion under the command of the Portuguese conqueror, António Correia.[5] In the fighting for Bahrain, most of the combat was carried out by Portuguese troops, while the Ormusi admiral, Reis Xarafo, looked on.[6] The Portuguese ruled Bahrain through a series of Ormusi governors. However, the Sunni Ormusi were not popular with Bahrain's Shia population which suffered religious disadvantages,[7] prompting rebellion. In one case, the Ormusi governor was crucified by rebels,[8] and Portuguese rule came to an end in 1602 after the Ormusi governor, who was a relative of the Ormusi king,[9] started executing members of Bahrain's leading families.[10]
By the order of Abbas I, In 1602, the Iranian army under the command of Imam-Quli Khan, managed to expel the Portuguese from Bahrain.[11]
In 1612, the Portuguese Empire took the city of Gamrūn and transliterated the name to Comorão. Almost two years later (in 1615), Comorão was taken by ‘Abbās the Great after a naval battle with the Portuguese and renamed Bandar-e ‘Abbās, or "Port of ‘Abbās".
In 1622, with the help of four English ships, Abbas retook Hormuz from the Portuguese in the Capture of Ormuz (1622).[12]
| Participants | Individuals | Conflicts | Diplomacy |
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16th century Anthony Jenkinson 17th century Abbas I of Persia 18th century Fat'h-Ali Shah 20th century Morgan Shuster |
Capture of Ormuz (1622) |
Persian embassy to Europe (1599–1602) |