New Julfa

New Julfa
Նոր Ջուղա

Courtyard of the Holy Savior Cathedral, and the Museum of Khachatur Kesaratsi
Coordinates: 32°38′11″N 51°39′21″E / 32.6363°N 51.6557°E / 32.6363; 51.6557
Country Iran
City Isfahan
Counties Isfahan County
Province Isfahan Province
Settled early 17th century

New Julfa (Persian: Now Jolfā – نو جلفا‎‎, جلفای نو – Jolfā ye Now; Armenian: Նոր Ջուղա, Nor Jugha) is the Armenian quarter of Isfahan, Iran, located along the south bank of the Zayande River.

Established and named after the older city of Julfa (Jugha), Nakhichevan in the early 17th century, it is still one of the oldest and largest Armenian quarters in the world.

History

Map of New Julfa (drawing based planimetry)

New Julfa was established in 1606 as an Armenian quarter by edict of Shah Abbas I from the Safavid dynasty. Over 150,000 Armenians were moved there from the older Julfa (also known as Jugha or Juła) in Nakhichevan. Iranian sources state that the Armenians came to Iran fleeing the Ottoman Empire's persecution. All history accounts agree that, as the residents of Julfa were famous for their silk trade, Shah Abbas treated the population well and hoped that their resettlement in Isfahan would be beneficial to Iran.[1][2]

In 1947, the famous historian Fernand Braudel wrote that the Armenians had a network that stretched from Amsterdam to Manila in the Philippines. Many scholars in Armenia have done pioneering work on this network in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Levon Khachikian and Sushanik Khachikian have edited and published several New Julfan account books. Over the next few centuries, New Julfa became the hub of "one of the greatest trade networks of the early modern era,"[3] with outposts as far east as Canton, Surabaya, and Manila,[4] and as far west as Cadiz, London, and Amsterdam, with a few merchants traveling across the Atlantic or Pacific oceans to Acapulco or Mexico City.

The Holy Savior Cathedral in the 1930s

Many Armenian trading families were born in New Julfa. Families that were originally from the older city of Julfa[2][1][5] created a main settlement in Bengal.[1] Some scholars argue that Surat, Bengal and Hughli were independent nodes and that the central control of New Julfa was not as important to their thriving Indian Ocean trade.[4] Many New Julfan Armenians later settled in Manila, Hong Kong, and also in Australia. Their networks have been studied based on Armenian sources.[1][2] Not forgetting Singapore, where Armenians from New Julfa became the mainstay of the community. Most were traders, but perhaps better known were the Sarkies (Ter Woskanian) brothers who founded Singapore's iconic Raffles Hotel in 1887.

Christmas shop in New Julfa

New Julfa is still an Armenian-populated area with an Armenian school and sixteen churches, including the Holy Savior Cathedral, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Armenians in New Julfa observe Iranian law with regard to clothing, but retain a distinct Armenian language, identity, cuisine, and culture.[6]

According to David Petrosyan of the Institute for Central Asian and Caucasian Studies, New Julfa had between 10,000-12,000 Armenian inhabitants in 1998.[7] As of today, it is still one of the largest ethnic Armenian quarters in the world.

Popular with young people in Isfahan, it is experiencing considerable growth compared to other districts of the city.

Sites

Churches

Holy Savior Cathedral, New Julfa
Ceiling of the Holy Savior Cathedral
Ceiling of the Holy Bethlehem Church

Armenian Apostolic

Roman Catholic

Protestant

Seventh-day Adventist

Assemblies of God

Notable people

Statue of Khachatur Kesaratsi, founder of the first publishing house in Iran, at the entrance of the Museum of Khachatur Kesaratsi, in front of the Holy Savior Cathedral, New Julfa

Gallery

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Sushil Chaudhuri and Kéram Kévonian eds., Les Arméniens dans le commerce asiatique au début de l’ere moderne [Armenians in Asian trade in the Early Modern Era], (Paris, 2007).
  2. 1 2 3 Baghdiantz McCabe, Ina The Shah’s Silk for Europe’s Silver: The Eurasian Silk trade of the Julfan Armenians in Safavid Iran and India (1590–1750). University of Pennsylvania Series, Scholar’s Press, 1999.
  3. ↑ Sebouh Aslanian. "The Salt in a Merchant's Letter": The Culture of Julfan Correspondence in the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean. Journal of World History 19 (2008): 127-188
  4. 1 2 Bhattacharya, Bhaswatti “Making Money at the Blessed Place of Manilla: Armenians in the Madras- Manila Trade in the Eighteenth Century.” Journal of Global History, (2008),3, 1-20.
  5. ↑ Mesrob Jacob Seth, an Armenian historian
  6. ↑ Vasgen Ghougassian The Emergence of the Diocese of New Julfa in the Seventeenth Century, Atlanta, University of Pennsylvania Series), 1998.
  7. ↑ Petrosyan, David (1998). Армянская община в Иране (in Russian). Institute for Central Asian and Caucasian Studies. ...еще 10-12 тысяч - в Исфагане (армяне называют его Новой Джугой)...

External links

See also

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Coordinates: 32°38′10.79″N 51°39′20.55″E / 32.6363306°N 51.6557083°E / 32.6363306; 51.6557083

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