Page 19 - The Pirate Coast (By Sir Charles Belgrave)

influence spread to Egypt, whose Fatimid Caliph they acknow-
• ledged. In 928, a Carmathian army took Mecca, and after a
savage slaughter they removed the sacred black stone from the
Caaba, and set it up in Hasa, the Carmathian capital, where it
remained for twenty years. When the power of the Carmathians
waned, the Arabian peninsula was left in a state of anarchy, with
the tribes fighting against each other. Little is known about the
Arab coast of the Gulf from this time, until the first Europeans
made their appearance there.
I11 mediaeval times the city of Hormuz 011 the Persian coast
became the emporium of the Gulf trade, superseding the position
previously held by Kais, another port on the Persian coast. Hor­
muz was founded in the 3rd century by Ardeshir, the first of the
Sasanian Kings of Persia, whose dynasty reigned till the conquest
of Persia by the followers of Mohammed. The town was origin­
ally situated on the Persian coast opposite the island where it was
later moved for defensive reasons.
In 1271, Marco Polo, that famous Venetian traveller, visited
Hormuz. This was a few years before the city was transferred to
the island of Jerun, which then acquired the name of Hormuz.
He describes the opulence of the place, the trade in horses, and
‘the finest asses in the world’ which were famous in Balirain many
centuries later. He saw ships bringing rich cargoes of spices,
pearls, cloth of silver and gold, and elephants’ teeth from India
and the Far East. He had a poor opinion of the ships which had
no metal in their construction, the planks being bound together
with cord made from coconut fibre. The local wine, manufac­
tured from fomented dates and spices, did not please him, nor did
he care for the diet of the people, which in spite of their wealth,
seems to have consisted mainly of dates, salt fish, onions and
lemons. Like all travellers who stayed at Hormuz, he complained
of the intense heat and the scorching wind which blew during
June and July. This is surprising, for the ‘bara’ wind which blows
in June higher up the Gulf is regarded as a cool wind. Marco
Polo mentioned the custom that if a merchant died without heirs,
the King took his property; another custom, referred to by a later
writer, was the ‘droit de seigneur’ exercised by the King of
Hormuz.
Hormuz was ruled by Arab princes from the beginning of the
10th century until 1262, when it came under Persian domination,
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