Silk Trade and Safavid Economic Policy (16th–18th centuries)

1. Safavid dynasty founded, new trade regime

   Jan 1, 1501Labels: Ism l, Safavid state

   • Britannica
   • Iranica

2. Tahmasp I shifts capital to Qazvin

   Jan 1, 1548Labels: Tahmasp I, Qazvin

   • Britannica
   • Iranica

3. Isfahan becomes capital and commercial hub

   Jan 1, 1598Labels: Isfahan, Safavid court

   • Iranica
   • UNESCO

4. Shah Abbas I makes Gilan crown land

   Jan 1, 1599Labels: Shah Abb, Gilan

   • Cambridge
   • Iranica

5. Julfa Armenians resettled; New Julfa grows

   Jan 1, 1605Labels: New Julfa, Julfa Armenians

   • Iranica
   • Met

6. Safavids retake Gulf port later called Bandar Abbas

   Jan 1, 1614Labels: Bandar Abbas, Portuguese expulsion

   • Iranica
   • Columbia

7. Crown monopoly decreed on silk exports

   Jan 1, 1619Labels: Shah Abb, Crown monopoly

   • Iranica
   • Iranica

8. State monopoly structures silk production and export

   Jan 1, 1620Labels: State monopoly, Isfahan workshops

   • Met
   • Met

9. Anglo–Safavid capture of Hormuz opens Gulf trade

   Apr 23, 1622Labels: Hormuz, English East

   • Hormuz
   • Met

10. Treaty of Zuhab stabilizes frontier trade environment

    May 17, 1639Labels: Treaty of, Ottoman Safavid

    • Treaty
    • OUP

11. VOC naval pressure at Bandar Abbas over silk terms

    Jan 1, 1645Labels: VOC, Bandar Abbas

    • AbbasII
    • Iranica

12. VOC and Safavids conclude new silk agreement

    Jan 1, 1652Labels: VOC, Silk agreement

    • AbbasII
    • Met

13. New Julfa prosperity gives way to later pressures

    Jan 1, 1667Labels: New Julfa, Armenian merchants

    • Iranica

14. Battle of Gulnabad accelerates breakdown of trade security

    Mar 8, 1722Labels: Battle of, Hotak advance

    • Gulnabad
    • Iranica

15. Afghan seizure of Isfahan devastates Safavid commercial system

    Oct 1, 1722Labels: Afghan seizure, Isfahan

    • Iranica
    • Iranica