The City of Artisans on the Silk Road

This city was a workshop for silk production, the most valuable currency for at least twelve centuries. Consequently, invaders would often take artisans from here, yet the city itself was regarded as a mint—a thriving enterprise that generated significant profit. For centuries, the silk fabrics produced in Ordubad were sold in the West under the name “Chinese silk.” Here, the most luxurious and fashionable goods were created for the royal courts along the Silk Road, including the renowned Ordubad cochineal, which was considered one of the most expensive luxury items in medieval Europe.

Later, the production extended to Nakhchivan, and the cochineal became known as Nakhchivan cochineal. Thanks to this luxurious material, Ordubad gained recognition in Byzantium, Egypt, Italy, and Spain. For many years, local artisans kept the secrets of producing this material for royal garments under wraps.

The history of this food dye (E120), also known as carmine, played a crucial role in one of the most successful business ventures of the Middle Ages, the Silk Road. Ordubad is one of the few centers of cochineal production, which, no less than silk, contributed to the genius of this endeavor—the Silk Road.

Biblical legends even mention a purple dye derived from a red worm, crafted by the descendants of Noah. The very fact that cochineal was produced in Ordubad serves as further evidence supporting the narrative of Noah’s presence in this region.

Carmine was obtained from cochineal insects, also known as oak galls or kermes. Besides the Nakhchivan region, these insects were found in Mediterranean countries and Ukraine, but it was the Ordubad cochineal that gained fame. For at least seven centuries, it represented the first Persian brand, the mark of the country, with Ordubad serving as its treasury, where a currency far more valuable than gold and emeralds was produced. In the third century, one of the Persian kings sent valuable gifts to the Roman Emperor Aurelian. The most expensive gift in Rome was a woolen fabric dyed in a crimson hue. The purple-dyed fabric so captivated the Romans that it was displayed in the Capitol, much like paintings would later be.

Cochineal was equally sought after in Byzantium. Ordubad became a supplier of purple fabric to the palaces of emperors, the highest nobility, and the patriarchs of the Byzantine Church. In medieval Arabic manuscripts, Nakhchivan is mentioned as a land producing the valuable dye “kirmiz” (red), used for dyeing down and woolen products. In Ordubad, new applications for this miraculous dye were continuously discovered. The significance of Ordubad as a city of artisans creating a unique branded product—cochineal—is so immense and exclusive that it warrants the establishment of a museum titled “Azerbaijan: The Silk Road Workshop.” This is where the entrepreneurial and inventive spirit of Ordubad truly originates.

For instance, another application for cochineal was discovered. Calligraphers and artists began using it for book illustrations. The miniaturists of Tabriz extensively employed cochineal in their famous book illustrations. For several centuries, cochineal was one of the most sought-after dyes for carpet weavers across the East. Cochineal not only boasts a splendid past but also a magnificent future. In the 17th century, Mexican cochineal emerged in Europe. Its production was cheaper, and the dye pigment was brighter. Over time, Mexican cochineal displaced the Ordubad variety due to its affordability, seemingly for good.

However, in the 1930s, under Stalin’s initiative, the Soviet leadership remembered cochineal and sought to reduce the importation of food products. They tasked the renowned entomologist Boris Kuzin with establishing cochineal production as a valuable food additive and dye. They recalled the works of academician Joseph Gamely, who, in his monograph on “living dyes,” devoted special attention to cochineal due to its significant role in the economy, art, and cuisine. Attempts to revive cochineal studies surfaced in 1971, but the project never reached industrial-scale cultivation.

Today, cochineal is once again actively used by restorers of ancient carpets, miniatures, engravings, and books, as well as by fashion designers and clothing makers. It is in high demand among artists of a new fashion trend—paintings created exclusively with plant-based dyes. Conferences on the development of sericulture have been held in Uzbekistan, China, and Kazakhstan.

The unique role of Ordubad indicates that it is time to hold such a conference in Azerbaijan, focusing particularly on the true discovery of Ordubad cochineal and its immense contribution to the prosperity of the Silk Road. Ordubad became a center for the spread of silk production and eventually “connected” Ganja, Sheki, Shusha, and Derbent to this lucrative business. The outcome of such a conference could be an exhibition titled “The Role of Azerbaijan in the Development of the Silk Road,” leading to the establishment of a museum dedicated to silk and cochineal in Ordubad.

It is worth noting that even before the 1917 revolution, Ordubad silks had won awards at international exhibitions fourteen times. In this city, based on the laboratory established by Aydin Gambarli, research on cochineal can be conducted—an ingredient for which Byzantine emperors paid Ordubadi merchants in gold, especially as recent years have seen a shift away from synthetic food additives, making cochineal once again in demand.