Petik and Sanos
Armenian silk magnates and tax-farmers / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The brothers Petros (Petik)[lower-alpha 1] and Sanos[lower-alpha 2] were Armenian merchant magnates and Ottoman government tax-farmers from Old Julfa. They played a crucial role in the silk trade in Aleppo during the late 16th and first half of the 17th centuries, operating an extensive commercial network that reached the Dutch Republic and the Indian subcontinent and were important patrons of the Armenian community.
Besides their commercial activities the brothers also held influential positions. Petik was the chief of customs of Aleppo, Tripoli, and Alexandretta, and thus of all Ottoman Syria, and then in Erzurum. Sanos was the chief of customs of Erzurum, and after the execution of his brother and shortly before his own execution was the chief customs officer of Aleppo. Researchers disagree about the circumstances under which the brothers acquired their great fortune, and with it exclusive power in the city, but they agree that their activity was a remarkable positive period in the history of the Armenian community of Aleppo. The reasons for the executions of Petik and Sanos are still not fully understood.