From Isfahan To Ayutthaya
Ismail M. Marcinkowski
From their imperial capital Isfahan, the Safavids (1501-1722) encouraged contacts with the non-Muslim world. This curiousity in the outside world is shared by the Siamese King Narai (r. 1656-88). His tolerant rule encouraged foreigners from Europe and various Asian countries to settle down at his flourishing royal capital Ayutthaya, which became known among foreign mariners under the Persian epithet of Shahr-e Nav. Utilising parts of the Ship of Sulayman, a narration by Ibn Muhammad Ibrahim, a member of an Iranian mission to Siam, and other works by European explorers, Dr Marcinkowski unfolds the influences and impact resulting from contacts between Iran and the Siamese kingdoms and the visible effects in present-day Thailand. He discusses the community of Iranian merchants in Siam, the mysterious Shaykh Ahmad and the creation of the office of the Shaykh al-Islam. He also briefly touches upon the spread of Islam in the region.

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