Commercial Centres of South and West of the Caspian Sea in the Ilkhanate and Safavid Era

Throughout History, regions around the Caspian Sea were more or less being used by merchants who were tended to trade with residents of these or surrounding regions. In this case study, we witness the development of commerce in these regions, especially in southern and western parts of the Caspian Sea. Linking routs, crossing the Caspian Sea vertically, attracted attentions of merchants to these centres and as a result, developed trade exchanges via the Caspian Sea and surrounding regions. Provinces such as Mazandaran, Gilan, Azerbaijan, Shirvan and Arran had the most application in commerce. Productions of these regions including silk, rice, skin, cattle & … were sent to surrounding provinces and European cities. European and surrounding Commercial goods also were being sold in the intended regions. Considering the importance of the aforementioned regions in the process of trade exchanges in those eras, in this survey, by explanatory and analytical method, role of surrounding centres of the Caspian Sea in trade affairs and exchanging goods and trading routes have been discussed. Among questions which have been answered in this survey, these can be mentioned: which regions in the Caspian Sea sphere in the discussed era had the most influence on commerce affair? What were the trading goods and routs in these regions?