Portuguese–Safavid wars

The Portuguese–Safavid wars were a series of wars between the Portuguese Empire and the Safavid Empire that took place from 1507 to 1725. The Portuguese were also supported by Kingdom of Hormuz, its vassal, and Safavids had the help of the Kingdom of England on the other side.

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 (feitoria) 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.