When Shah Abbas got the power, he tried to move the Armenians of Armenia towards Iran’s frontier and to evacuate that area. By doing so, he had two ideas: first, debilitating the Ottoman Empire since the Ottoman army would come to serious trouble in acquiring logistics for winter in case of evacuation of counties and towns of the area; second, Shah Abbas was aware of the Armenians’ skills in trading and he found it fit for improving the Economic condition of the state.
This would have caused by an increase in tax payers and tributaries. By this idea, Shah Abbas scattered the Armenians in some areas of Iran with fertile and fecund lands and pleasant climate, and built the quarter of Jolfa in Isfahan for the Armenian people of Jolfa. He sent off those of the the rural to the counties of Fereydan and Chaharmahal. The quarter of Jolfa, which was named New Jolfa by the Armenians, was connected to the Safavid capital through several bridges.
Shah Abbas gave them Freedom of religion and granted them autonomy to keep the memory of obeying the Shah in their minds. They lived by their own customs and set up twenty five churches in this quarter to preserve their religion and beliefs. Besides a religious function, these churches also had an educational role. Chardin, the French traveler who visited Isfahan in the Safavid era, calls new Jolfa as the greatest township of the world.
