The Role and Function of Financial Documents in the Economic Relations of the Safavid Era

Economic history is one of the most important topics in historical researches. This is important because understanding the economic concepts and characteristics of the financial institution of each period will help to better understand the social and political structures and the general situation of that period. In addition, it can pave the way for future economic planning. Financial documents in the archives of documents are considered as reliable sources of economic history. During the Safavid period, for various reasons, including political concentration and territorial unity, relative prosperity in the economy and trade, increasing foreign relations along with improving the performance of the judiciary, financial documents found a significant place and role in the political administrative system of that period. These documents provide complete information on trade, agriculture, and commodity exchanges between people. In the Safavid court organization, documents of real and commercial transactions, agricultural products and their spending methods and expenses were recorded. These financial documents are classified under different court titles based on their role and function. The purpose of this article is to understand how to distinguish and recognize these documents based on their role and function. This article intends to study the nature of Safavid financial documents based on archival sources and consider their role in the financial structure and economic relations of the relevant era.