The Hispano-Portuguese Empire and Its Contacts with Safavid Persia, the Kingdom of Hormuz and Yarubid Oman from 1489 to 1720


Book Description

Given the important role that the Portuguese played in the Persian Gulf from 1507 to 1720, knowing what is available about their activities in this area is not only of importance to those interested in the history of Portugal, but also of those interested in the history of Bahrein, Iran, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, eastern Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. This bibliography of printed published works therefore contains a full list of primary and secondary sources, not only in Western languages, but also in Persian, Arabic and Turkish. It aims to facilitate the work of scholars and students, but also of the non-specialist, i.e. those among the general public who want to know more about this part of the world during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and about the activities of the Portuguese. Although other bibliographies exist that include the activities of the Portuguese in the Persian Gulf, all are in need of updating, and none are as comprehensive as this bibliography.




Portugal, the Persian Gulf and Safavid Persia


Book Description

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to play a major commercial, military and diplomatic role in the Persian Gulf basin. They first appeared before Hormuz in 1507, established a toll house on the island in 1515, and remained active in the wider region for the next two centuries. This book commemorates the quincentennial of their arrival in the Persian Gulf. Its contributors offer an array of fresh research on their activities on Hormuz and beyond, examining these from a variety of angles, with special attention to the wider context involving the adjacent Safavid, Ottoman and Mughal states. The essays presented here explore the commercial and military activities of the Portuguese, their rivalry with the Ottoman state for naval control in the Gulf, and their interaction with Safavid Persia by way of missionary ventures, diplomacy and travel, but also represent new and exciting research on the historiographical record of their presence in the form of cartography and the discourse about Persia it generated in Portugal.