Simon Mattacks
speaker
2,982 appearances
18 recordings
3 series
first heard Dec 2024
last heard yesterday
Simon Mattacks’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 15 in all, peaking in Sep 2026 with 3.
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A Turco-Persian state known as the Kaman Seljuk Sultanate ruled over the region that included the Strait of Hormuz.
This was the era of the Silk Road, a vast trade network that spanned Asia and the Middle East.
Many towns along the route became extremely wealthy and increasingly powerful.
This included Hormuz.
Originally part of the Kingdom of Kerman, it then became a kingdom of its own.
Initially, the capital was located on the southern coast of the strait, but later it was moved to the island of Hormuz, a more strategic location.
The kingdom of Hormuz soon became very prosperous.
Rulers took advantage of an economic opportunity.
As the strait was a maritime crossroads, which many ships were forced to pass through, the kingdom could make a profit.
From around the 11th century, it's thought that a toll was introduced.
Commercial ships that wanted to cross the strait had to pay an annual fee.
This was one of the earliest known attempts to systematically control and profit from trade in the Strait of Hormuz.
From the perspective of powers in the region, the strait was an extremely valuable resource, something to be carefully controlled and exploited.
Later, in other parts of the world, different straits would also be managed with tolls or controls.
For instance, from the 15th century, there was a toll on the use of the strait between modern-day Denmark and Sweden.
In the Turkish Straits, the Ottomans also controlled passage, sometimes imposing fees and restrictions for vessels passing through.
These kinds of systems are largely restricted under modern maritime law.
But for hundreds of years, they were a valuable source of income.
To a large extent, it was the control of trade through the strait that made Hormuz so wealthy.
Around the 13th century, Hormuz would have been a vibrant, cosmopolitan place with all kinds of goods for sale, spices, silk, precious stones.
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