Tahqiqāt-e Târix-e Eqtesâdi (Economic History Studies of Iran)

The Linkage of Credit Mechanisms with the Commodity Economy in the Bazaar of Yazd (Late Qajar Era): An Analysis of the Newly Discovered Documents of Sayyid Ali-Akbar Hosseini, a Yazdi Merchant

Articles in Press

Document Type : .

Authors

Atefeh Ranjbar jamal abadi 1
Gholamhossein Zargarinejad 2
Sina Foroozesh 3

1 Department Of History And Archaeology, Faculty Of Literature, Humanities And Social Sciences, islamic Azad University, science And Research Brach, Tehran, Iran.

2 Professor, Department of History, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

3 Department of History, Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran.

10.30465/ehs.2026.55069.2113
Abstract
The monetary crises of the late Qajar era compelled merchants to expand credit mechanisms. Aiming to elucidate the nexus between these mechanisms and the commodity economy, the present study provides a structural analysis of the newly discovered financial documents of Seyyed Ali-Akbar Hosseini. The central question is how indigenous credit intertwined with the specific requirements of prominent commodities—such as opium, henna, glass, and textiles—within his records and commercial practices. Utilizing an archival-documentary method and a historical approach with a qualitative and 'material history' perspective, this research demonstrates that the merchant's financial behaviors did not conform to a unified system. Instead, depending on the liquidity and nature of the goods, he deployed diverse methods, including salaf (forward buying), mosa'edeh (cash advances), nesyeh (credit), and barat (bills of exchange). Specifically, opium functioned as "Highly liquid commercial asset" and a driver of credit, whereas henna formed the foundation of transit credits. Ultimately, by revising the conventional paradigm of market stagnation during the Qajar era, this archive demonstrates how a local merchant ensured the resilience of his business against macro-crises through the strategic utilization of dynamic financial networks.

Keywords

Credit Mechanisms
Commodity Economy
Qajar Period
Yazd Bazaar
Sayyid Ali Akbar Hosseini
Subjects
Tahqiqāt-e Târix-e Eqtesâdi (Economic History Studies of Iran)

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 27 September 2026

  • Receive Date 05 July 2026
  • Revise Date 23 August 2026
  • Accept Date 27 September 2026

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