CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Bandar Abbas

city in Hormozgan Province, Iran

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 9, 2026
Entity authorityQ154814
Source-derived summary

Bandar Abbas (Persian: بندرعباس, pronounced [bænˌdæɹʔæbˈbɒːs] ) is a port city in the Central District of Bandar Abbas County, Hormozgan Province, Iran serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. Bandar Abbas is a port on the southern coast of the country, on the Persian Gulf.

The city occupies a strategic position on the narrow Strait of Hormuz (just across from Musandam Governorate, Oman). It is the location of the main base and headquarters of the Iranian Navy.

Etymology

Bandar Abbas has always been a port, and as such its various names have all reflected this function. The most common name over time was Gamrūn, with various spellings. In Henry Yule's dictionary of Anglo-Indian jargon two etymologies are given; the first derived from gümrük, "customhouse" (from Late Greek kommerkion, from Latin commercium, "commerce"). The second, which Yule found much more convincing, comes from Persian kamrūn, "shrimp" (in Portuguese: camarão, similar to the former Portuguese name). Its current name derives from that of Abbas the Great (r. 1588–1629) paired with bandar – "port", meaning "Port of Abbas".

History

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).

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Bandar Abbas” as city in Hormozgan Province, Iran. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Bandar, Abbas and city.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1588, 1629—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Bandar, Abbas and city providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Bandar Abbas”, the useful work is to connect “city in Hormozgan Province, Iran” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q154814. VIAF identifies the subject as 315527391. The Library of Congress control number is n90709636. Authority coordinates are 27.186, 56.281. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1588 and 1629.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Bandar Abbas”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Bandar Abbas primary sources, Bandar Abbas archive and Bandar research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Bandar Abbas”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Bandar Abbas” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.