41
security became a concern in the Iran-centered region. Other
developments of the second part of the 19
th
century that had
negative impact on trade were famine and epidemics caused
by natural disasters in Iranian and Ottoman lands. For
example, silk trade almost came to an end after an epidemic
broke out and killed silk worms in Gilan, one of the
prominent silk producing regions of Iran in 1871.
67
Ottoman merchants did not prefer trading with Iran,
the reason of which is not exactly known. Despite this fact,
efforts of Iranian merchants helped revival of trade. It is
observed that Ottoman merchants began to establish small
trade colonies and Ottoman consulates were situated in
Iranian cities such as Tabriz, Urmia, Tehran, Salmas, Rasht
and Mashhad. On the other hand, Iranian merchants mostly
of Azerbaijani Turkish and Armenian origin were active in
Ottoman cities, particularly Istanbul, Erzurum, Trabzon,
Samsun, Adana, Van, Diyarbakır, Baghdad, Basrah, Aleppo,
Bursa, İzmir, Thessaloniki, Edirne and Cairo in Egypt.
Furthermore, Istanbul, Bashrah, Izmir, Thessaloniki, Edirne
and Trabzon were cities where Iran conducted trade over
Ottoman lands with Europe.
68
The number of Iranians
dealing with trade increased noticeably towards the end of
the 19
th
century. This increase was caused by those who
were looking for jobs, receiving education aside from those
who were involved in trade activities.
Khan Malik Sasani’s consulate records show that
sixteen thousand Iranian citizens lived in the country, eleven
thousand of being outside the city. It is also noted that
acquiring citizenship by marriage was difficult and many
citizens experienced problems while the embassy worked
hard to abolish this ban. Although this ban was applied for
Iranians strictly (due to Shiite-Sunni discrepancy),
Azerbaijani Turks were exempted on several occasions
67
For the epidemic that caused deaths of silk worms, see Seyf, op.cit., pp.
117- 119.
68
According to statistical data given by Johann Straus, the number of
official foreign missions of Iran stae in the Ottoman Empire was over a
hundred and they were located almost in all cities. “La présence
diplomatique iranienne à Istanbul et dans les Provinces de l’Empire
Ottoman (1848-1908), Les Iraniens d’Istanbul, Eds. Thierry Zarcone et
Fariba Zarinebaf-Shasr, Paris&Teheran&Istanbul: Instıtut Français des
Recherches en Iran/Instıtut Français d’Etudes Anatoliennes, 1993, p. 28 et
al.
42
under Committee of Union and Progress (due to Unionists’
Pan-Turanist policies). However, official consulate records
were not kept statistically as they indicate that the majority
of Iranians were of Azerbaijani Turkish origin.
69
In fact, it is
known that Azerbaijani Turks migrating from northwestern
areas of Iran such as Tabriz, Khoy, Salmas and Shabestar
blended into Ottoman society easily and dressed similar to
Ottomans by removing “külah-ı Irani” which was ridiculed
by Ottomans.
70
Considering the fact that the number of Iranians who
resided for a long time in Istanbul reached twenty thousand
by the early 20
th
century and a similar number lived in rural
parts, Iranian citizens in the Ottoman state is believed to be
slightly over thirty five thousand.
71
Contrary to Ottoman
officials, Iranian official representatives were scattered all
around the country, which might mean that the number was
even higher.
Presence of Iranian community in Istanbul is found
in works of European political observers and travelers.
Growth in number of Iranians in the country after the second
part of the 19
th
century was due to Ottoman government’s
69
Han Melik Sasani, Yadbudha-yı Sefaret-i İstanbul, Çap-e Devom,
Tahran, 1338(1959), pp. 93- 102.
70
Sasani, p. 95.
71
Various sources indicate this number to be around twenty seven
thousand by 1880s. However, considering the rising number of migrants
from Iran to other countries at the turn of the 20th century, rising
population is also expected in the Ottoman Empire simultaneously. It
should also be considered that Iranians in the Ottoman Empire mostly
consisted of Azerbaijani Turks and many of them were willing to be
granted Ottoman citizenship and they were also employed as state
officials by the Ottoman administration. The given numbers mostly
include those who were involved in trade. It is not exactly known whether
it involves people who visited for other purposes. Obviously those who
were visiting for education in Shiite sacred centers in Iraq and those who
were residing temporarily in Ottoman-Iranian border region for work and
trade were excluded from this estimation. There were two reasons why
merchants were the majority in oppositional organizations of Iranians in
Istanbul in 1908: there was a significant rise in the number of Iranian
merchants at the time and they were seeking citizenship from the state in
order to avoid extradition of political dissidents. For a sample review of
Iranian community, see Fariba Zarinebaf-Shasr, “The Iranian (Azeri)
Merchant Community in the Ottoman Empire and the Constitutional
Revolution”, Les Iraniens D’Istanbul, s. 209 vd.; for twenty merchants
who were founders (out of a total of thirty founders) of Encümen-i Saadet
that was the most remarkable organization founded by Iranian opponents
in Istanbul, see Devletabadi, Tarih-i Muasır ya Hayat-ı Yahya, Cilt: III, p.
33.
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