It has long been recognized that Iranian silk constitutedthe principal source of foreign exchange of the Safavid state in the reign of Shah [ayn]Abbas I(1589–1629), and widely appreciated that Armenian merchants of New Julfa, Isfahan,played a critical role in marketing Iranian silk both within the country and abroad. It is all themore remarkable therefore to consider that Ina Baghdiantz McCabe has produced the first majorstudy of the Iranian Armenian community's business organization, their relationship withthe Safavid state, and the nature of their involvement in the production and marketing of Iraniansilk. Based on Armenian, English, French, and Persian sources, this well-illustrated publication inthe University of Pennsylvania's Armenian Texts and Studies series represents an ambitiouswork of political economy. In it, Baghdiantz McCabe argues forcefully that the Armenians'position reflected the implementation of systematic economic goals by Iranian monarchs; thatArmenians during the reign of Shah [ayn]Abbas I became part of the political elite; that Armeniantrade, far from being the work of itinerant peddlers, was directed by a highly organized, extremelywealthy commercial elite; and that Armenian merchants operating within the Safavid system weresuccessful in excluding European companies from gaining significant influence in the Iranian silktrade.