Al Tiz

Tiz was the chief port of medieval Makran, set in a narrow valley beside the bay of Chabahar. The bay offered shelter to ships sailing between India and the Persian Gulf, while the old town was protected on its landward side by hills and a great wall. In the tenth century the geographer al-Muqaddasi described a flourishing port with palm trees, fine hostels and a beautiful mosque.

Medieval writers counted Tiz among the principal centres of Makran. Its position allowed goods arriving by sea to pass towards the Iranian interior, and it prospered under the Seljuks of Kerman. Portuguese naval power eventually reached this coast: in 1581 a Portuguese force destroyed the port. The neighbouring village retained the name of Tiz, while the ruins of the older trading town lay near the anchorage of Chabahar.