Portuguese–Safavid wars
1507–1728 series of wars between the Portuguese and Safavid empires
The Portuguese–Safavid wars or Persian-Portuguese wars (Persian: جنگهای ایران و پرتغال) were a series of conflicts between the Portuguese Empire and Safavid Iran from 1507 to 1728. The Portuguese were supported by the Kingdom of Hormuz, their vassal, while the Safavids had the help of the Kingdom of England.
During this era, Portugal established its rule for about more than a century in Hormuz and more than 80 years in Bahrain, capturing some other islands and ports such as Qeshm and Bandar Abbas. The conflict came to an end when the Persian shah Abbas I (r. 1588–1629), conquered Portuguese Bahrain, forcing them to war in the Persian Gulf.
In September 1507, the Portuguese Afonso de Albuquerque landed on the Hormuz. Portugal occupied Hormuz from 1515 to 1622. As a vassal of the Portuguese state, the Kingdom of Hormuz jointly participated in the 1521 invasion of Bahrain that ended Jabrid rule over the islands in the Persian Gulf.
After the Portuguese made several abortive attempts to seize control of Basra, the pasha asked for protection against the Safavid ruler Abbas I, from then on Portuguese stayed in the city and region as traders with a factory and as protector allied army. Later in 1622 the Safavid conquered Hormuz with the help of the English, and tried to expel the Portuguese from the rest of the Persian Gulf, with the exception of the Gulf of Oman. The Portuguese were for the next decades as allies of Afrasiyab, the pasha of Basra, against the Safavids who failed several times to conquer the city of Basra.
“Portuguese–Safavid wars” enters the record as 1507–1728 series of wars between the Portuguese and Safavid empires. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Portuguese, Safavid and wars can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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