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This episode’s guest is Dr. Moran Zaga, a geographer, Middle East scholar, and expert on the Gulf states from the University of Haifa. The conversation covers the history of the Strait of Hormuz, its geopolitical importance through the ages, and the powers that have shaped the region to this day.
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Geography before Middle East studies
Dr. Zaga begins by explaining why she defines herself first as a geographer and only then as a Middle East scholar. According to her, her main discipline is geography, and she examines how space, territory, borders, and trade and migration routes have influenced history. Culture and historical development are tools for understanding the space, and vice versa. She claims that the map provides many answers that are hard to find in historical texts. She emphasizes that a map is always a political document, since every decision, such as whom to include or exclude, or what to call a place (for example, the Persian Gulf or the Arabian Gulf), is a political decision.
The historical importance of the strait
According to Dr. Zaga, the Strait of Hormuz has always been a major commercial crossroads through which trade between East and West passed. The strait is named after the island of Hormuz, which was one of the richest places in the world from the 11th to the 13th centuries. Traders there dealt in textiles, spices, gold, and especially pearls. She explains that the pearl industry was the region’s “ancient oil.” The shallow, warm water conditions on the Arabian side of the Gulf created an ideal environment for pearl cultivation, and pearl diving was the main source of income for the region’s tribes for centuries.
The strait’s strategic importance has attracted many powers throughout history. After the local Kingdom of Hormuz, the Portuguese took control of the area, followed by the Safavid Empire, the Omanis, the Qawasim tribe from the Arabian side, and finally the British.
The rise and fall of Julfar (Ras Al Khaimah)
Dr. Zaga notes that on ancient Muslim maps from the ninth and tenth centuries, familiar names like Hormuz and Musandam (the Omani peninsula) appear. Another important name was Julfar, which was a port city on the Arabian side, opposite Hormuz. Julfar is in fact modern-day Ras Al Khaimah, the northernmost emirate of the United Arab Emirates.
She explains that in the past, Julfar was the regional capital and the most important place in the northern part of the Arabian Gulf. Dubai and Abu Dhabi did not appear on maps at all until the 18th century. The Qawasim tribe, whose capital was Julfar, possessed the largest navy in the region after the fall of the Portuguese. Their power allowed them to expand, to chip away at territories loyal to the Sultan of Oman, and even to take control of parts of the Persian coast. This expansion is the historical reason why the Musandam Peninsula is today an Omani exclave, with no territorial contiguity with Oman.
Julfar’s fall came in 1820, when the British destroyed the Qawasim’s fleet. The British called the Qawasim’s collection of taxes from passing ships “piracy,” while the Qawasim saw it as their legitimate source of livelihood. The destruction of the fleet broke the power of the Al Qasimi family, and today their emirates, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah, are considered weaker within the UAE.
Borders, tribes, and enclaves
Boris Gorelik asks about the situation of the tribes currently split between the UAE and Oman. Dr. Zaga replies that the border between the countries is a controlled international border with passport checks, unlike in the past. However, she notes a unique case of an enclave within an enclave called Madha-Nahwa, an area where the border is open and passage is free, based on the understanding that there is no point in conducting a full border procedure for a single settlement.
The Gulf states’ response to Iranian aggression
Towards the end of the episode, Boris Gorelik asks about recent Iranian attacks and the moderate response of the Gulf states, which appears to be a sign of weakness. Dr. Zaga explains that there was no united Gulf coalition against Iran. Saudi Arabia, as the region’s leader, was afraid of opening another front against the Houthis in Yemen. Qatar did not cooperate, and there was general disappointment with the United States’ defense capabilities. She adds that Israel’s involvement in the conflict was a complicating factor, as countries like Saudi Arabia did not want to be publicly identified with an Israeli action, unlike the UAE, which preferred security cooperation.
The original episode, in Hebrew: מצר הורמוז לפני הנפט