The Significance of the Shirvan Region for the Volga-Caspian Trade Transit in the 16th–17th Centuries (a Case Study of the Moscow Company)

This article attempts to assess the practical importance of the Shirvan region, located near the Caspian Sea, for the Volga-Caspian trade route, which connected the Russian state with Persia during the 16th–17th centuries. The reports of agents from the London-based “Moscow Company”, which conducted transit trade in Asian markets with the sanction of Ivan IV’s government, are analyzed as historical sources. The study examines the experiences of English expeditions operating in the Caspian basin, circulating between Astrakhan and the ports of Shirvan. It is established that the Shirvan coast, with its relatively convenient harbors, initially served as the terminus of the “English” version of the Volga-Caspian transit. Additionally, both commercial and logistical centers of British entrepreneurial activity were based in the Shirvan region, particularly in its capital, Shemakha. The article raises the question of the specific reasons that underpinned Shirvan’s unique significance in this context. It is demonstrated that this phenomenon was rooted in a complex combination of natural, geographic, economic, and political factors. Furthermore, the article compares the “Shirvan route” with alternative branches of the Volga-Caspian path, which also attracted the attention of English merchants. The results of this study can be applied to the in-depth exploration of the Moscow Tsardom and Persia’s positions in the global trade system during the Early Modern period.