Let us fast-forward the history of Armenia to about 1600. At that time the country, again because of its strategic location (1) was fought over, now by the Turkish Empire under the Ottomans and the Persian Empire under the Safavids. In 1604 Shah Abbas I pursued a scorched earth campaign against the Ottomans. Early in the invasion, the old Armenian town of Julfa was taken. When a large Ottoman army approached, the order for withdrawal was given but in their retreat Armenian towns and farms were completely destroyed. The population of Julfa was ordered to leave their homes. 150,000 Armenians survived the traumatic relocation to Persia. Only ruins remained in their home town. The residents of Julfa were famous for their silk trade. Shah Abbas treated the silk merchants well. He hoped their presence would be beneficial for Persia[3] and assigned them a quarter in his new capital Isfahan, which was named New Julfa. The Armenian merchants of New Julfa soon played a critical role in the silk trade, both within the country and abroad. They developed an international commercial network stretching far outside Persia. The network in Europe comprised Venice, Livorno, Marseille, Amsterdam and London. In Asia, several establishments were established in India. From there, the network spread out as far as Canton and Manila. Archives in Venice, London and the Vatican provide a fascinating picture of how communications were maintained by couriers and the way Armenian agents informed each other about markets and shipments.

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