BENDER-ABBASI, a town of Persia in the province of Kirman, on the northern shore of the Persian Gulf, in 27' 13' N. lat. and 56' 7' E. long., about 12 miles N.W. of the island of Ormuz. It is surrounded with walls, but the houses are of a very poor description. The old Dutch factory is still standing, and serves as the occasional residence of the Imam of Mascat, to whose domain the town belongs. There is a comparatively small trade in the export of tobacco and fruits and the import of cotton-cloth and pottery. The port is shallow and inconvenient ; and it is evident that changes of the coast line by silting up and denudation have considerably altered the character of the place since the time when, under the name of Gombrcon, it ranked as one of the first seaports of Persia. In 1612 the Portuguese had established Fort Komoran here, but it was destroyed in 1614, and they were expelled by Shah Abbas I. The English, however, were permitted to build a factory, and about 1620 the Dutch obtained the same privilege. On the capture of the island of Ormuz in 1622 by the English and Persians, a large portion of its trade was diverted to the town, which derived its name of BenderAbbasi, or Harbour of Abbas, from the shah. During the rest of the 17th century the traffic was very great, all the neighbouring nationalities and merchants from the principal countries of Europe frequenting its markets ; but in the 18th century this prosperity declined, and most of the trade was removed to Bushire. In 1759 the English factory was destroyed by the French ; and though it was afterwards re-established, it has long been abandoned. The ruins of the factory and other buildings lie to the west of the present town. Population about 9000.