Ormus
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Ormus (also Ohrmuzd, Hormuz, Ohrmazd) was a kingdom in the 16th to 17th centuries around the Persian Gulf, in particular the Strait of Hormuz. The capital was the fortified port-city of Ormus which was one of the most important ports in the Middle East at the time, controlling sea-way trading routes to India. The city was probably located on the island of Hormoz. The city-state of Ormus is dated back to the 13th century when it controlled the slave market from Africa and Arabia to Khorasan in Persia. The state religion was more likely a branch of Persian Zoroastrianism than of Islam, due to the name which can be afflicted with the Zoroastrianist God Ahura Mazda (later transcription: Ohrmazd).
In September, 1507, the Portuguese Alfonso d'Albuquerque landed on the island. Portugal occupied Ormus from 1515 to 1622 when it was taken by Abbas I of Safavid of Persia with the help of the British. In the mid-17th century it was captured by the Imam of Muscat, but was later recaptured by Persia. It is now a part of Iran.
The Kingdome of Ormus
hath his owne King tributarte
vnto the King of Lu∫itania. it
containeth the whole shore of
Arabia from the paßage of the
riuer Euphrates vntil C. Raz. alga
ti, likewi∫e part of the Kingdome of
Per∫ia w. adioyneth to the Sea Ba∫ora
and almo∫t al the Ilands of the per∫ian
Gulfe. whose mothe r?itie is Ormus
in the Iland Geru
a famous mart
— John Speed, 1626
Note that some of this text is missing due to printing faults; the ∫ is the letter for s or sh. See esh (letter).
The underlined words in the text can also be deciphered as mother Litie, although there is a distinctive space between mothe and r and the L (marked by ? above) looks most like a (.
Lu∫itania is the Roman province of Lusitania, i.e. Portugal.
Compare to Ohrmuzd, Hormuz, Ohrmazd, Ahura Mazda.