New Julfa, Isfahan Province, Iran

🇮🇷 New Julfa 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), Nakhichavan in the early 17th century, it is still one of the oldest and largest Armenian quarters in the world.

History New Julfa was established in 1606 as an Armenian quarter by the edict of Abbas the Great, sultan of the Safavid dynasty. Over 150,000 Armenians were forcibly moved there from Old Julfa (also known as Jugha or Juła). Iranian sources state that the Armenians came to Iran fleeing the Ottoman Empire's persecution. Nevertheless, historical records indicate that the residents of Julfa were treated well by Shah Abbas in the hopes that their resettlement in Isfahan would be beneficial to Iran due to their knowledge of the silk trade.

Since its foundation, New Julfa was administered by the Lazaryan noble family which moved to Russia after Nader Shah's death in 1747. One of its members, Ivan Lazarev, became a court banker to Catherine the Great and was made an Imperial Count in 1788. His brother established the Lazarev Institute in Moscow.

In 1947, the historian Fernand Braudel wrote that the Armenians had a trade 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", with outposts as far east as Canton, Surabaya, and Manila, 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.

A significant majority of Armenian trading families were based in New Julfa. Due to their dispersal, many families that were originally from the older city of Julfa created a main settlement in Bengal expanding the trade network based in New Julfa. However, 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. Many New Julfan Armenians later settled in Manila, Hong Kong, and also in Australia. Their networks have been studied based on Armenian sources. Some also settled in Singapore, where Armenians from New Julfa became the mainstay of the Armenian community in the country. Most were traders, but perhaps better known were the Sarkies (Ter Woskanian) brothers who founded Singapore's Raffles Hotel in 1887.

New Julfa is still an Armenian-populated area with an Armenian school and sixteen churches, including the Holy Savior Cathedral. Armenians in New Julfa observe Iranian law with regard to clothing, but retain a distinct Armenian language, identity, cuisine, and culture which is protected by the Iranian government.

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

Churches Armenian Apostolic • Holy Savior Cathedral (Surp Amenaprgich, commonly known as the Vank) – 1655 • Saint Jacob Church (Surp Hakop Mdzbena Hayrapet) – 1607 • Saint George Church (Surp Gevork) – 1611 • Holy Mother of God Church (Surp Asdvadzadzin) – 1613 • Saint Stephen Church (Surp Stepanos Nakhavga) – 1614 • Saint John the Baptist Church (Surp Hovannes Mgrditch) – 1621 • Saint Catherine Convent (Surp Katarine) – 1623 • Holy Bethlehem Church (Surp Betłehem) – 1628 • Saint Nicholas Church (Surp Nikołayos Hayrapet) – 1630 • Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church (Surp Grigor Lusavoritch) – 1633 • Saint Sarkis Church (Surp Sarkis) – 1659 • Saint Minas Church (Surp Minas) – 1659 • Saint Nerses Church (Surp Nerses Medz) – 1666; Roman Catholic • Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary (Dominicans) – 1681/1705; Protestant • Saint Paul Church – 1875 • Seventh-day Adventist – 1957 • Assemblies of God – 1965.

Museums • The museum of Khachatur Kesaratsi, in the compound of the Holy Savior Cathedral.

Schools • Samian (1831–1853) • Katarinyan (1858–now) • Azgayin Kntronakan (1880–now) • Gevorg Kananyan (1905–now).