Thick attractive rugs made by
Armenians in Iran. These rugs are related to
Sarouk rugs but are made with sturdy single
wefted construction.
How Armenians got to Lilihan
In the sixteenth century Persia was a divided
region between various powers. For much of
the 16th the Ottoman empire controlled Persia
either militarily or as a vassal state and the
eastern border fluctuated by the wars with the
Timurids, Uzbeks, Turkmen, and Mughals. Finally
in the closing years of the century Abbas Safavi
called Abbas the Great finally slipped the bounds
of Turkish control and established what we know
as modern Persia. One of the keys to his
foreign and domestic policy involved moving ethic
groups around like Chess pieces on a board. The
Safavi were a Turkmen IL when they started. This
led to continuing political instability with the
aymaqs (tribes) acting as independent nation
states to the detriment of the Safavi monarchy.
The way Abbas solved this problem was a 3 fold
effort.
A. Break up the most
troublesome aymaqs. The Afshar who were a
particularly troublesome aymaq were spilt up into
many areas including many who were sent to
Kerman.
B. Replace the problematic
Turkomen with troops drawn primarily from groups
loyal to the Monarchy rather than a tribe, Troops
were drawn from the Caucasus, and the Kurds who
were loyal and open to using muskets.
C, Pay for the effort by moving
the Armenians into the interior of the country
and helping them in business. The classical
carpets of Isphahan were Armenian and the leading
traders were Armenian. One innovation was grants
to Armenian Merchants that in effect made them
partners with the crown.
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