From the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean: The Global Trade Networks of Armenia, Sebouh David Aslanian (hardcover)

Drawing on a rich trove of documents, Prof. Sebouh Aslanian’s groundbreaking study explores the emergence and growth of a remarkable global trade network operated by Armenian silk merchants from New Julfa, Isfahan, a small outpost in the Persian Empire. These merchants operated a network of commercial settlements that stretched from London and Amsterdam to Manila and Acapulco. The New Julfan Armenians were the only Eurasian community that was able to operate simultaneously and successfully in all the major empires of the early modern world without the benefits of an imperial network and state that accompanied and facilitated European mercantile expansion during the same period.

This book brings to light for the first time the trans-imperial cosmopolitan world of the New Julfans, exploring the effects of long distance trade on the organization of community life, the ethos of trust and cooperation that existed among merchants, and the importance of information networks and communication in the operation of early modern mercantile communities.