Karkhaneh

large workshops producing weapons, cloth, and clothing in Persia and Azerbaijan in the Middle Ages and the modern period.

In the karkhaneh of the 13th century, which belonged person-ally to the sovereign or to his relatives, mainly slave labor wasused. In the early 14th century, under Ghazan Khan (ruled from1295 to 1304), the workers in the karkhaneh received some economic independence. In the Safavid state, particularly in the17th and early 18th centuries, free artisans paid by the govern-ment worked in the karkhaneh. Under the Safavids, there werestate karkhaneh and karkhaneh attached to the courts of local rulers. The role of the karkhaneh later declined and their num-ber decreased. In the 19th century the term came to be used forthe first factories in Persia.