Visual Historian of Iranian Cities – Bandar Abbas

The oldest record of Bandar Abbas is during the reign of Darius the Great (between 586 and 522 B.C.) When Alexander took over the Persian Empire, Bandar Abbas was known as Hormirzad.

Bandar Abbas up to the 16th century, used to be called Gamrūn to the Persians. In the 16th century European navigators called it Bamdel Gombruc (that is, Bandar Gümrük, or “Customhouse Port”). In 1614, Comorão was taken by Abbās the Great from Portugual and was renamed Bandar-e Abbās, or “Port of Abbās”.

From 1740 onward, control of the town was sold to various Arab rulers, and from late 18 century on it was ruled by Muscat (now a governorate of Oman). In 1868, Bandar Abbas reverted to Persian rule. From 1980 the plan for developing the city as a major Iranian port began and the population grew from 17,000 to almost half a million people.