Pre-Islamic history The earliest record of Bandar Abbas is during the reign of
Darius the Great, the King of Kings of the
Achaemenid Empire (between 522 and 486 BC). Darius's commander, Silacus, embarked from Bandar Abbas to
India and the
Red Sea. During
Alexander III of Macedon's conquest of the Achaemenid Empire, Bandar Abbas was known under the name of
Hormirzad.
Portuguese period By the 16th century, Bandar Abbas was known as
Gamrūn to the
Persians. In 1565, a European navigator called it
Bamdel Gombruc (that is,
Bandar Gümrük, or "Customhouse Port"), citing this as the Persian and
Turkish name. Bandar Abbas was conquered by the Portuguese in 1514, and was an important location to protect their commerce in the
Persian Gulf and
India. They named the city Comorão, due to the presence of lobsters and crabs on its shores. In 1614, Comorão was taken by Shah
Abbas the Great from the Portuguese. In 1622, Shah Abbas defeated Portuguese troops in the region with the help of the
English Navy and the Persian commander
Imam Quli Khan; the city was renamed
Bandar-e Abbas ("Port of Abbas"). Backed by the English Navy, Abbas developed the city (known to the English-speaking world as
Gombraun) into a major port. By 1622, the Portuguese and English names had been officially combined to form
Combrù or
Combu, although the inhabitants still called it Bandar-e Abbas. Sir
Thomas Herbert said the official English name was
Gumbrown, but pronounced [gŏmrōōn]. He wrote in 1630 that "some (but I commend them not) write it
Gamrou, others
Gomrow, and othersome
Cummeroon." By the 1670s, the city was known as
Gameroon or
Gumbroon. s in Bandar Abbas in 1704
Dutch and English period In 1625, a combined Anglo-Dutch fleet attacked the Portuguese at Bandar Abbas and took control of the trade posts. Soon, the
Dutch East India Company outcompeted its English counterpart and eventually, from 1654 onwards, was in complete control of the local spice and silk trade, due to multiple English ships being taken, and the
Action of 29 January 1654. The Dutch remained in complete control until 1765.
Omani period Between 1794 and 1868, Bandar Abbas was under the control of the
Sultanate of Oman and Zanzibar through a lease agreement with Persia. The details of the original lease apparently differed between the Arabic and Persian versions. The Omanis controlled the coastal stretch of some 100 miles from
Sadij to
Khamir, and inland about 30 miles, as far as
Shamil. They also controlled the islands of
Hormuz and
Qeshm. In 1823, the Persians attempted to oust the Omanis, but the sultan managed to keep his hold on Bandar through bribery and tribute of the governor of
Shiraz. In 1845–1846, an army under the governor-general of
Fars menaced Bandar to extort tribute, while another army under the governor of
Kerman besieged
Minab. The Omanis threatened to blockade Persia, but the
British resident at Bushir convinced them to back down. The Persians recovered the city in 1854, while the sultan was in Zanzibar. Under British pressure following the
Anglo-Persian War in 1856, Persia renewed Oman's lease on favourable terms. It was clarified that the leased territory belonged to the province of Fars and that the Persian flag would fly over Bandar Abbas. The rental rate was also increased. Under British pressure the agreement was renewed in 1868, but at a higher rate of rent and for a shorter duration. Two months after its renewal, the lease was cancelled by the Persian government, citing a clause which permitted its termination if the sultan of Oman were overthrown.
Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi paid particular attention to Bandar Abbas as a strategic port, and during his time the government invested huge amounts of capital in its infrastructure. Before initial plans to develop it as a major harbour, Bandar Abbas was a small fishing port with approximately 17,000 residents in 1955. By 2001, it had grown into a major city. It has a population of 450,000 (2011 estimate). The death toll was reported to be at least 28, with more than 700 people injured. The planned increase would raise diesel fuel prices from approximately $0.04 to $0.50 per liter. On 21 June, 2025 during the
Iran-Israel War the Israeli air force conducted airstrikes on the port aiming at drone storage sites and a weapons facility. On 31 January 2026, a
strong explosion hit a building in Bandar Abbas, causing major damage. According to unofficial sources, commander
Alireza Tangsiri was the intended target of the incident. ==Naval base and headquarters==