The Impact of Silk in the Iranian Khandoms of the Caucasus (1747-1828)

Introduction: Since the establishment of the Safavid dynasty in the South Caucasus, after the overthrow of the regional Iranian dynasty of the Shirvanshahs, silk has been a decisive factor in the conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and Iran for control of the Caucasus. After the assassination of Nader Shah, Iranian authority in the region gradually declined, leading to the emergence of numerous khanates. These khanates, largely modeled on Iranian statecraft, successfully survived for at least six decades until the 1810s, when Russia began military intervention in the South of the Caucasus. During this long period of autonomy, silk significantly influenced social, economic, political, and bureaucratic aspects that have not yet been fully explored.
Research question: This article examines the position of silk in the Iranian khanates and how they strengthened their independence among three neighboring powers.
Research hypothesis: Silk and sericulture were key elements in the establishment and survival of the Iranian khanates in the South Caucasus.
Methodology: Using a descriptive approach, this study will depict the geographical distribution of silk production centers, the quantity and value of silk produced, the taxes and duties imposed on silk and the importance of silk in the social structure of the Khanate.
Results and discussion: Geographically, silk production activities were concentrated in the western parts of the Shirvan Khanate, the eastern half, and the southernmost territories of the Shakki Khanate. Ordubad served as another silk production center in the region. Other centers, such as Qubostan Mahal in Shirvan Khandom and Dizakh and Zangzur Mahals in Gharabagh, were of lesser importance for silk production. With 107 silk-producing villages, the total value of production reached 53,893 silver rubles. It is not surprising that silk was the main source of four major taxes in the region: mal-va-zhat, daroughgi, tojih, and sursat. In addition, the high rate of production led to the design of specific taxes based on silk. In the Khanate of Shakki, taxes such as Din-ipiki, Bazarlik, and Dastgahbashi were collected in this way, while in the Khanate of Shirvan, the Sha'rban was imposed. In Nakhjavan, the Kolek tax included silk, and each mulberry tree was subject to a separate tax.
In all khanabads, silk played a vital role in organizing the residential and agricultural landscapes; in some villages, all four components of silk production-mulberry orchards, silk embroidery workshops, silk weaving workshops, and dyeing workshops- existed simultaneously. The silk fields were cultivated by sharecroppers (landless sharecroppers) who received half of the harvest as their salary. Some fabrics were woven in villages such as Mov, Dari, and Kasan, and sometimes the Khan would ask the villagers to hand over silk clothes, tablecloths, or nightgowns as part of their fee. However, the quality of these fabrics could not compete with that of Yazd or Kashan.
In the silk production process, elite women were not simply tax farmers; some of them oversaw their own silk enterprises, such as the silk production centers in the village of Al-Khas in Sedenrud, a district of the Shirvan Khanate. Different Khanates often granted silk-producing villages to their favorite nobles or assigned them to nobles, mirzas, and nokars in exchange for their debts. Finally, the silk harvest season, at the end of September, was an important time in the lives of rural serfs in the Khanates. Silk in the Caucasus functioned as a time-space organizer that, in connection with other aspects of life, strengthened the political, social, and economic life of the region.
Conclusion: The main focus of this article was to provide a broad overview of the importance of silk in the Iranian Khanates based on the available data. In this regard, the text begins with a brief description of the history of silk production and trade. Then, as is rarely done, the geographical distribution of silk production centers is plotted to facilitate a visual understanding of the discussion for the audience. As the maps show, it is not surprising that silk played a role similar to that of oil in some monocrop countries in the modern world for the Khanate. In this context, silk was a common element in the economic and social life of the nobility and the common people in the South Caucasus. Ten out of fifty taxes in the region were levied partly or entirely on silk; approximately 11% of the region’s economic volume was derived from silk; and silk, along with geographical and religious factors, was a powerful force in organizing the time-space of local communities. The silk industry often transcended gender divisions, and women's participation was not uncommon.