Upon a silk thread? Relations between the Safavid court of Persia and the Dutch East Indies Company, 1623–1722

Those who entered the Persian capital Isfahan in the mid seventeenth cen­ tury when it was reported to count nearly a million inhabitants, a number unequalled in any European town could not fail to be impressed, especially when their journey ended on the majdan. The huge rectangular space 512 by 159 meters was lined with arcades on two floors. At regular intervals, beau­ tiful trees bordered the square. In front of these, the pavement was broken by a shallow canal demarcating the piazza proper. Marble bridges linked it to the space under the arcades, which contained shops on both floors as well as the entrances to the city's main bazaars. The grand Masjid-i Shah, the royal mosque, stood at the south side. This complex of architecture surrounding trees and water there were fountains besides the canal embodied the ide­ als of desert princes who wanted to turn their cities into an oasis. At the piazza's west side, the Ali Qapu rose, the great palace gate, tiled in blue and gold, its main door surrounded by green porphyry. To the left and right of it, nine chained lions were kept.1 Behind it, the Safavid shahs, like their Ottoman colleagues behind the High Porte, received their visitors: lowly subjects, mighty vassal princes and, of course, people from abroad, foreigners, both high-born ambassadors and simple merchants and artisans.2 This essay is concerned with a particular group of such merchants those employed by the Dutch East Indies Company, or VOC and their relations with the Persian court.