2025 Volume 60 Pages 53-63
During the early modern period, Armenians became increasingly engaged in commercial activities on a global scale. Notably, Armenian merchants from New Julfa, a quarter for Armenians located on the outskirts of Isfahan, the capital of the Safavid dynasty, achieved a high level of renown. These merchants were active in numerous regions, extending from Europe to India and Southeast Asia. Conventional research has focused exclusively on the merchants from New Julfa, while the commercial activities of other Armenians have received comparatively little attention.
This study will examine the activities of non-Julfan merchants based on a diary of a merchant from Agulis, a city in the Armenian Highlands. The study reveals that merchants from Agulis placed a higher value on their hometown connections and membership to the Armenian Church; furthermore, they were not active in eastern regions such as Iran, but focused their efforts predominantly in western areas such as Anatolia, Izmir and Istanbul, and even Europe. It is also evident that the merchants derived substantial profits from the procurement of silk, a special product of the Caucasus, and Persian goods and commodities, particularly in Tabriz, and occasionally in Isfahan. These goods were subsequently traded in prominent Anatolian cities within the Ottoman Empire.
