Hormoz [key], island (1989 est. pop. 2,500), 5 mi (8.1 km) long and 3.5 mi (5.6 km) wide, S Iran, in the Strait of Hormuz (Hormoz), between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Salt and red ocher are produced. The town of Hormoz, originally built on the mainland, was moved (c.1300) to the island after repeated attacks by marauding raiders. The new port prospered and served as a center of trade with India and China. It was attacked by the Portuguese under Alfonso de Albuquerque in 1507 and was captured by them in 1514. Its recapture in 1622 by Shah Abbas I with the aid of an English fleet marked the end of the island's prosperity; the shah abandoned Hormoz for the new mainland port of Bandar Abbas. The town's proximity to the Persian Gulf has lent it strategic importance in the 20th and 21st cent.
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