Armenian Merchants in the City of Jolfa and Their Role in the Flourishing of Trade in the Safavid State ( 1588-1629 )
CENTRAL ASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HISTORY, 4 (3):
87-108 (March 2023)DOI: 10.30574/gscbps.2023.23.1.0136
Abstract
The reign of Shah Abbas I (1587-1629) was marked by several changes to the constants on which the Safavid state was based, which made his state a great political, commercial and economic power, although these changes eventually led to the fall of the Safavid state and its exposure to the Afghan occupation in 1722 AD, but The impact left by Shah Abbas the First, his actions and his decisions remains what made him worthy of the title given to him by historians, which is (Abbas the Great). The Shah took it during his reign because the Armenians had made the city of Isfahan In particular, and the Safavid state in general, a huge and prosperous commercial base because of the commercial potential of the Armenians and their intelligence, which they gained through their ancient city of Jolfa, which had a commercial location that made the Armenians natural traders, and the Shah treated the Armenians of Jolfa Aras in the way that made him win their loyalty, as well as the Shah's keenness not to make them feel In exile in the neighborhood that he built for them in Isfahan, which he named after their old city, and made housing there exclusively for Armenians. The Shah was also keen to practice their religious faith freely, and even built a huge church for them to practice their religious rituals, and this was not a strange thing for Shah Abbas The first whose era was characterized by extreme religious tolerance towards religious minorities in Iran.