The prosperity of Armenian merchants as exporters of Iran’s silk fueled commissions of magnificent churches, chapels and mansions in 17th-century New Julfa, an urban extension of the Safavid capital at Isfahan, Iran. Armenian merchant wealth also supported scriptoria and workshops producing finely illustrated manuscripts and luxury goods to be enjoyed locally and exported via diplomatic and economic channels. This talk examines the phenomenal investment in art and architecture as an expression of the social aspirations and devotional life of New Julfa’s affluent mercantile families.

An East of Byzantium lecture. EAST OF BYZANTIUM is a partnership between the Arthur H. Dadian and Ara Oztemel Chair of Armenian Art at Tufts University and the Mary Jaharis Center that explores the cultures of the eastern frontier of the Byzantine empire in the late antique and medieval periods.