Mammadli Sh.
PhD, senior researcher of the Institute of History and Ethnography named after A.A. Bakikhanov of ANAS
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8822-3513
Baku, Azerbaijan

Abstract
Azerbaijani cities, located on an important transit trade route between Europe and Asia, have long played an important role in the political and economic life of the countries of Europe and the Middle East. The trade route in the southern region of Azerbaijan (Tabriz–Marend-Julfa-Nakhchivan–Turkiye–Europe) was one of the main routes of transit trade between Europe and Asia. In the eastern direction, the roads led to Isfahan–Bandar Abbas (Hormuz), and from there by sea to India.  Medieval documents confirm the transportation of raw silk from Shamakhi to the Ottoman state, Baghdad and Basra, and from there to England. The silk industry, established in Russia during the reign of Peter the Great, was largely dependent on raw materials imported from the Caspian countries.
Shamakhi, Sheki, Aresh, Karabakh, and Ganja played an important role in the raw silk trade. High-quality Azerbaijani silk was supplied to the Ottoman Empire, Russia, Poland, and Western European countries through these territories.

 Keywords: International trade, cities of Azerbaijan, trade in the Middle Ages, European-Asian trade, Eastern trade