The Commenda Contract and Early Modern Julfan Armenian Networks across the Indian Ocean

This presentation explores the role of a long-distance partnership contract known as the commenda in the expansion of Armenian merchants from their remote outpost of New Julfa, a mercantile suburb of the Iranian capital of Isfahan, across the Indian Ocean, on the one hand, and the Mediterranean on the other. The presentation examines the legal and commercial role of the commenda in Julfan trade and assesses both the limitations and advantages of the commenda as an institutional mechanism for the circulation of merchants, goods, and credit across the vast Julfan network spanning much of the Indian Ocean world.