New Julfa
Encyclopedia
Isfahan (city)
Isfahan , historically also rendered in English as Ispahan, Sepahan or Hispahan, is the capital of Isfahan Province in Iran, located about 340 km south of Tehran. It has a population of 1,583,609, Iran's third largest city after Tehran and Mashhad...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, located along the south bank of the river Zayandeh River.
In 1606 it was established as an Armenian quarter by edict of Shah Abbas I
Abbas I of Persia
Shāh ‘Abbās the Great was Shah of Iran, and generally considered the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son of Shah Mohammad....
, the influential shah from the Safavid dynasty
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
. Over 150,000 Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
were moved there from Julfa (also known as Jugha or Djugha) in Nakhichevan
Nakhichevan
The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is a landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan. The region covers 5,363 km² and borders Armenia to the east and north, Iran to the south and west, and Turkey to the northwest...
. Iranian accounts state that the Armenians came to Persia fleeing the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
's persecution (see this article on Iranian churches); European and Armenian accounts state that the population was moved by force in 1604 and their hometown destroyed by Shah Abbas( Baghdiantz, Herzig, in Kévonian). All accounts agree that, as the residents of Julfa were famous for their silk trade (Kévonian, Baghdiantz, Herzig), Shah Abbas treated the population well and hoped that their settlement in Isfahan would be beneficial to Persia.
In 1947 the famous historian Fernand Braudel wrote that the Armenians had a network that stretched from Amsterdam to Manila in the Philippines. Many scholars in Armenia have done pioneering work on this network in the 60's , 70's and 80's, Levon Khachikian and Sushanik Khachikian have edited and published several New Julfan account books. Over the next few centuries, New Julfa became the hub of "one of the greatest trade networks of the early modern era" (Aslanian 2008: 128), with outposts as far east as Canton
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
, Surabaya
Surabaya
Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...
, and Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
(Bhattacharya) and as far west as Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, with a few merchants traveling across the Atlantic or Pacific oceans to Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
or Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
.
New Julfa's also controlled many of the Armenian trading families and their churches in India, families that were originally from Julfa (Baghdiantz, Chaudhuri, see also Mesrop Seth) Hughli was a main settlement in Bengal (Chaudhuri). Some scholars argue that Surat, Bengal and Hughli were independent nodes and that the central control of New Julfa was not as important to their thriving Indian Ocean trade (Bhattacharya). Many New Julfan Armenians later settled in Manila, Hong kong and also in Australia. Their networks and have been studied based on Armenian sources (Baghdiantz, Kévonian, Khachikian).
New Julfa is still an Armenian-populated area with an Armenian school and at least twelve churches, including Vank Cathedral
Vank Cathedral
Holy Savior Cathedral , also known as Vank Cathedral and The Church of the Saintly Sisters, is a cathedral in Isfahan, Iran. Vank means "cathedral" in the Armenian language.-History:...
, the Church of Bethlehem at Nazar Avenue, Saint Mary church at Julfa Square and the Yerevan church in the Yerevan parish. Armenians in New Julfa observe Iranian law with regard to clothing, but otherwise retain a distinct Armenian language, identity and culture (Ghougassian). The policy of the Safavids was very tolerant towards the Armenians as compared to other minorities (Gregorian).
Popular with young people in Esfahan, it is experiencing considerable growth compared to other districts.
Kalantars
- Safar, son of Khachik (1605 - 1618)
- Nazar, son of Khachik (1618 - 1636)
- Safaraz, son of Nazar (1636 - 1656)
- Haykaz, son of Nazar (1656 - 1660)
- Astuacadur Miritenc (1660 - 1671)
- Agha Piri (1671 - 1673) (converted to Islam)
- Ebraham (1673 - 1683) (converted to Islam)
- Awetis (1683 - 1687) (converted to Islam)
- Lukas (1687 - 1691) (converted to Islam)
- Awet (1691 - 1692) (converted to Islam)
- Lukas (1692 - 1703)
- Awet (1703 - 1705) (converted to Islam)
- Yarutun, son of Grigor (1705 - 1707)
- Estafnsus Muzabeken, son of Agha Piri (1707 - 1708) (converted to Islam)
- Zakaria, son of Kirakas (1708 - 1719) (converted to Islam)
- Khachik (1719 - 1722) (he was killed by the Afghanis)
- Markar, son of Baghdasarikhorian (1722 - 1727)
- Ohannes (1727)
See also
- New Julfa Armenian CemeteryNew Julfa Armenian CemeteryNew Julfa Armenian Cemetery is a historical cemetery near New Julfa Armenian quarter of Isfahan, Iran.-International Interments:Among those interred here are:* William Bell - British factor of East India Company in Isfahan...
- Armenians in IranArmenians in IranIranian-Armenians , sometimes called Persian-Armenians, are Iranian citizens of Armenian origin. Their number is about 100,000. However, recent estimates put the numbers between 40,000-80,000 due to emigration. They mostly live in Tehran and Jolfa district, Isfahan...
- Religious Minorities in Iran
- Christians in Iran