XVII-XVIII centuries Georgian merchants in Safian Iran (according to the inscriptions on Georgian and Georgian-Armenian tombstones preserved at Armenian Church in Ispahan)

Abstract

As it is known, Georgian-Persian relations revived in the period of Safavid Iran, more specifically, in the XVII-XVIII centuries. Of particular interest is the Georgian-Persian trade-economic relationship of that time. Tbilisi – the capital of the Kingdom of Kartli, as one of the trading centers and transit cities of the Transcaucasia, was economically particularly associated with the Iranian cities. The trade route from Tbilisi to Persia went to Kazakhstan-Ganja and Lore-Bambak. The first place in the close trade-economic relationship with the Kingdom of Kartli had exactly the Safavid Iran, from where precious fabrics, silk, salt, alum, leather, etc. were brought to Kartli. In its turn, the Kingdom of Kartli was supplying Iran with raw silk. In addition, wool and cotton fabrics were exported from Kartli. Various Georgian wines were also exported from Tbilisi to Armenia, Midia and Ispahan to meet the needs of the Persian Shah. Georgian and foreign sources provide rich material on how active the relationship was between that time Kartl-Kakheti Kingdom and Safi an Iran. A group of Georgian and Georgian-Armenian epigraphic monuments preserved at Armenian churches in Isfahan adds even more specificity to this rich source of knowledge, which provide a very valuable and unbiased information about Georgian merchants operating in Safi an Iran. In the seventies of the last century, to the tomb stones were drawn attention and were published by the famous Iranist – Magali Todua. The scientist in his work presents the epitaph of 22 gravestones. After Magali Todua, one part of these inscriptions was studied by historian Devi Katsitadze from the historical-source criticism point of view. In the present work we have made some adjustments to the texts of the less studied or unexplored part of the tombstones, and based on it we have studied them from the historical-source criticism point of view. On the ground of the historical-source-based analysis of the inscriptions, we have precisely determined the chronology of the activities of one part of the Georgian merchants in Safavid Iran. In addition, on the basis of the comparison of the epitaphs of the tombs and the data of Georgian historical documents, we found out their relationship to the royal court of Kartli and their important role in Georgian-Persian relations. According to the study of one of the tombstone inscriptions, we found that a well-known historian of the seventeenth century – Parsadan Gorgijanidze, besides son David, mentioned in his work, had also a daughter, who was married to Zurab, the son of Papua Tutunisshvili from Gori. Our findings up to date have been completely unknown to the scientific community.