Persian embassy to Louis XIV
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The Persian embassy to Louis XIV caused a dramatic flurry at the court of Louis XIV in 1715, the year of the Sun King's death. Mohammad Reza Beg (; in French sources ), was a high-ranking official to the Persian governor of the Iravan (Erivan) province. He had been chosen by the
Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...
Persian emperor
Soltan Hoseyn Soltan Hoseyn (; 1668 – 9 September 1727) was the Safavid shah of Iran from 1694 to 1722. He was the son and successor of Shah Suleiman (). Born and raised in the royal harem, Soltan Hoseyn ascended the throne with limited life experience a ...
for the mission and travelled with a grand entourage, as suitable to the diplomat of a mighty empire.


The embassy

The scene of the Persian ambassador's entry into Paris, 7 February 1715, was described by François Pidou de Saint-Olon (1646–1720), a nobleman who was delegated the diplomatic position of liaison officer to the Persian delegation: During several months that he spent at
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
, Mohammad Reza Beg conducted negotiations towards establishing trade treaties between Persia and France, as well as on specific agreements concerning the installation of consulates. He conferred with the French on possible joint military operations against the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. But negotiations were impeded by Louis XIV's bad state of health. Nevertheless, Mohammad Reza Beg returned to Persia in autumn 1715 bearing treaties on commerce and friendship between France and Persia that had been signed in Versailles on 13 August. As another result of the diplomatic mission, a permanent Persian consulate was established in
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
, the main French Mediterranean port for the trade with the East, soon staffed by Hagopdjan de Deritchan.


Influences in literature

During the time he spent in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, however, feverish speculation ran rife about this exotic personage, his unpaid bills, his lavish but exotic lifestyle, the possibilities of amours, all concentrated in a pot-boiler romance of the beautiful but repeatedly kidnapped Georgian, Amanzolide, by M. d'Hostelfort, ''Amanzolide, nouvelle historique et galante, qui contient les aventures secrètes de Mehemed-Riza-Beg, ambassadeur du Sophi de Perse à la cour de Louis le Grand en 1715''. (Paris: P. Huet, 1716). It was quickly translated into English, as ''Amanzolide, story of the life, the amours and the secret adventures of Mehemed-Riza-Beg, Persian ambassador to the court of Louis the Great in 1715'' a true '' turquerie'', or fanciful Eastern imagining, which did not discriminate too finely between Ottoman Turkey and Safavid Persia. More permanent literary results were embodied in
Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principal so ...
's '' Lettres Persanes'' (1725), in which a satiric critique of French society was placed in the pen of an imagined Persian ''homme de bonne volonté'', a "man of good will". The ''Memoirs'' of Saint-Simon for the year record contemporary court gossip that the ambassador was in fact an ordinary merchant from Persian lands, perhaps sent by "the governor of his province with business to transact in France" and put up as an ambassador by Pontchartrain, minister for trade and much else, essentially in a successful attempt to cheer up the aged king. He says of the ambassador "there seemed to be nothing genuine about him, and his behaviour was as disgraceful as his wretched suite and miserable presents. Moreover he produced neither credentials nor instructions from the King of Persia or his ministers".Norton, Vol II, 403


See also

* Persian embassy to Europe (1599–1602) * Persian embassy to Europe (1609–1615) * Franco-Persian alliance * France-Iran relations *
Franco-Ottoman alliance The Franco-Ottoman alliance, also known as the Franco-Turkish alliance, was an alliance established in 1536 between Francis I of France, Francis I, King of France and Suleiman the Magnificent, Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire. The strategic and s ...


Notes


External links


1715 Reception of the Persian embassy (official website of Château de Versailles
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Persian Embassy To Louis Xiv Foreign relations of the Ancien Régime Ancien Régime Diplomatic missions of Safavid Iran 1715 in international relations Treaties of the Kingdom of France Treaties of the Safavid dynasty France–Iran relations 1715 in France 1710s in Iran 1715 in Asia History of the foreign relations of Iran History of the foreign relations of France