Mark Gagnon

And let me just say, they were not the best naval power because Christos, as you'll remember, the Battle of Selemis, Xerxes sends his, his navy out there to go battle the Greeks.

Some call it Salamis, but yeah.

Salamis, and they lose.

And what was the, the Greek triremes, those little fast little boats were able to just like move around and they murked all the Persians.

We're the best.

Anyway, the Persians weren't the strongest navy, but they did have, obviously, naval influence.

And because of their geography, that strait basically fell within their jurisdiction.

So for centuries, that strait was a vital link for ancient trade networks.

Now, obviously, it wasn't oil at the time, but it was spices, textiles, precious metals, all that stuff that was basically the lifeblood of the known world's trade.

Now, control of the strait was more a consequence of their regional dominance than like an active military priority.

But that would change as the waterways' commercial importance would grow over time.

So the trading settlement that would eventually give the strait its name started on the mainland near the town of Minab around the 10th century AD.

Over time, likely due to raids and instability on the mainland, the kingdom...

migrated to Hormuz Island, which was, as we said before, kind of like the small barren island, but it was extremely mineral rich, and it was right in the middle of the strait.

So by the medieval period, it had grown into one of the wealthiest ports in the region.

The kingdom of Hormuz, as it was called, flourished from the 13th to the 16th century, and it was...

you know, a small but extremely wealthy trading state that controlled commerce passing through the area.

And at various points, basically operated as a vassal of the Persian Empire at the time.

And it paid tribute in exchange for autonomy over its, you know, trade routes.

Marco Polo reportedly described it as a major trading hub when he passed through it in the late 1200s.