The role of silk trade in Iran-Ottoman relations in the Safavid period

The intense economic rivalries between Iran and the Ottomans during the Safavid period are among the issues that overshadowed the relations between the two countries. So that the rulers of the two countries continuously and extensively used economic tools as leverage on each other. One of the economic tools that played an important role in the political and economic relations of the Safavid and Ottoman governments was silk. During this period, silk, as one of the most important currency commodities, always played a major role in the urban economy and domestic and foreign trade of the Safavid and Ottoman governments. Accordingly, the present study uses a descriptive-analytical method to investigate the role of silk as an economic tool in the relations between the Safavid and Ottoman governments. The results of the study indicate that the Safavid and Ottoman governments tried to use various functions of silk and deprive the enemy of its sources of income, to force the other government to change its foreign policy behaviors and to surrender. To force against their wishes.