Little is known about the Arab migrants who settled on the Iranian coast between Bushehr and Lengeh in the late 1500s. They were a disparate group of small tribes of sailors, traders, fishermen, pearl divers, and cultivators. Although they were all referred to as the Bani Hula, they were not a uniform group. In fact, they were each other’s fiercest competitors for access to the pearl banks. This frequently led to bloody and murderous encounters and feuds.[read more>>]

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Links with the Hinterland focuses on two related themes: the importance of what goes on in a port city’s hinterland, and, the importance of a safe and secure road that connects a port city to its markets.[read more>>]

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Bandar Abbas, once a small fishing village, became the gateway port for Iran after Shah Abbas defeated the Portuguese in 1622. However, with the fall of the Safavids and the withdrawal of the British East India Company in 1759 the port went into decline; by 1793 Bandar Abbas was under the direct control of Oman.[read more>>]

A small, sleepy port in the Persian Gulf, Bandar-e Lengeh has had a varied and checkered history since its launch onto the historical scene around 1750. In those days the tribal people of the region felt at home on both sides of the Gulf and often went to wherever they thought would offer them a better life.[read more>>]

A small, sleepy port in the Persian Gulf, Bandar-e Lengeh has had a varied and checkered history since its launch onto the historical scene around 1750. In those days the tribal people of the region felt at home on both sides of the Gulf and often went to wherever they thought would offer them a better life.[read more>>]

By any measure, Nader Shah—founder of the Afsharid Dynasty—ranks as a towering figure in Iranian history. Rising from the humblest of origins, he became a military commander of genius, restored an embattled Persia to imperial greatness, and proceeded to wield the power of the throne with a ruthlessness that approached derangement. Yet much about the man and his tumultuous times remains obscure.[read more>>]