Relationships between Envoys of the Vatican and Armenians of Isfahan in the years 1016 1135 AH / 1608 -1722 AD

The emigration of Armenians living in Jolfa to Isfahan during the reign of Shah Abbas, which was driven by economic and political considerations, gave rise to numerous consequences. The special attitude of the Safavid government to the Armenians along with Shah Abbas's tolerant religious policies towards the Christians gradually convinced the Pope that the capacity of the Christians residing in the Iranian plateau, especially the Armenians, could be exploited to strengthen the Catholic Church against the Sunni Ottoman government. Hence, the special envoys of the Pope (the Carmelite), since their arrival in Iran (1016 AH/1608 AD) constantly strived to persuade Armenians into converting to Catholic Christianity. The Carmelite priests resorted to diverse strategies to accomplish this end. For instance, in light of the commercial-economic role of the Armenians inhabiting in Jolfa, they offered trade concessions and privileges to Armenians in some periods by means of cooperation with the European governments in a bid to lure Armenian businessmen of Jolfa. Initially, the Armenians of Jolfa held a positive attitude to the Carmelite, but soon afterwards, the disclosure of the ulterior motives of the Pope's envoys led to the confrontation of these two. It even culminated in the expulsion of Carmelite priests from Jolfa. The authors of this paper aim to explore the relationship of the Pope's envoys with the Armenian of Jolfa and shaed light on its consequences