Persian Armenian merchants in Western Anatolia in the 17th century (Bursa, Manisa, Izmir)

The 16th and 17th centuries were a period of political, economic and social changes for both the European states and the Ottoman Empire. The population growth in the Mediterranean and its surroundings in the 16th century, the necessity of meeting the basic needs of the society, developing production technologies and the search for raw materials enabled this transformation. In this period, the maritime Italian states of the Mediterranean began to leave their strong positions in the commercial field to states such as England, the Netherlands and France. The vast Ottoman geography, which was seen as an important market and raw material supply area, started to attract the attention of these European states who are the founders of today's global capitalist order. Therefore, the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century was a period when the Ottoman Empire became economically integrated with the European world. In particular, the city of Izmir experienced a rapid rise in trade at this stage and became a commercial city where eastern and western goods flowed. Cities such as Manisa and Bursa in its background were affected by this commercial activity in İzmir. While these developments were taking place in the Mediterranean and its surroundings, Iranian Armenian merchants also came to the forefront as an important element of global trade at the beginning of the 17th century. In particular, the Armenian merchants, whom the Safavid ruler Shah Abbas I migrated from Nakhchivan to Isfahan, made the town of New Julfa, which they built, the nodal center of a wide trade network. This trade network extended to China, India, Russia and Western Europe. in this period, Ottoman cities such as Bursa, Manisa and Izmir became the activity areas of Iranian Armenian merchants. The Ottoman Courts in these cities became the main judicial authorities they appealed to in case of need.