Latest / The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
New Julfa: Armenia's Global Merchant Empire
In 1604, Shah Abbas I of Safavid Iran forcibly relocated tens of thousands of Armenians from the town of Julfa on the Arax River to a new suburb of Isfahan. Within decades, that community—New Julfa—became the engine of a global trading network stretching from London to Manila. This episode explores how the deportees turned catastrophe into opportunity, weaving a commercial web that handled much of the silk trade between Persia and Europe. We talk about the famous Vank Cathedral with its stunning frescoes, the Armenian merchants who financed the Shah's wars, and the slow decline as…
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