The Documentary History of the Russian Strand of Safavid Diplomacy (1501-1722) (supported by the grant No 18-78-10052 of the Russian Science Foundation)

The Russian Tsardom had quite an active international policy with Persia. For two centuries Moscow was visited by 14 Safavid embassy missions. The East-European part of their route routinely started either at Terky fortress, or in the city of Astrakhan and took several months to overcome. Over this time diplomats and merchants were intensively exchanging letters with representatives of the Russian authorities discussing a broad range of issues – from the purpose of visit and internal developments in the ‘Kyzylbashsky’ state to some minor every-day problems and requests to sort them out.

Andy Bek, Kay, Azi Khosrov and many other representatives of the Safavid Iran arrived to Russia with numerous escort and lots of gifts. The host country was responsible for logistics and financial support of embassies. Therefore, for Persian embassies regular letter exchange with Russian authorities ensured success of the mission.

The above-mentioned developments shaped the uniqueness and versatility of original merit certificates produced by the Shah administration, embassies, or merchants in the 16th-early 18th centuries. These documents reflect the development of diplomatic relations between the Muscovite state and Middle Asian khanates in early 18th century, as well as internal policies of the Safavid empire, finer points of reception ceremonies to welcome embassy missions in Moscow, diplomatic traditions in Iran, and perception of Russia’s policies, religion, and traditions by representatives of the Islamic East.

The project perspective is to publish the major share of diplomatic letters that had been written over a timespan of two centuries.