Robert Mignan (1803 – 3 June 1852) was a British military officer, explorer, and author. He was fellow of the

Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature coll ...

and member of the

Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the e ...

. Mignan entered the

Bombay Army The Bombay Army was the army of the Bombay Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India. It was established in 1662 and governed by the East India Company until the Government of India Act 1858 transferred all presidencies to the ...

in 1819 and became a lieutenant of the 1st European Regiment on 3 May 1820. In January 1821, he was part of an expeditionary force of 2,695 men under the command of General Lionel Smith sent on a punitive campaign against the Bani Bu Ali tribe in

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

. In the 1820s, Mignan commanded the escort attached to the resident of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

. Between 1826 and 1828, Mignan made several archaeological excursions into the little known regions of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, visiting such sites as

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; Middle Persian: 𐭲𐭩𐭮𐭯𐭥𐭭 ''tyspwn'' or ''tysfwn''; fa, تیسفون; grc-gre, Κτησιφῶν, ; syr, ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢThomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modi ...

and

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

. He published ''Travels in Chaldæa: Including a Journey from Bussorah to Bagdad, Hillah, and Babylon, Performed on Foot in 1827'' in 1829. In 1829 Mignan departed, with his family, from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to return to his military duties in India. Travelling through St. Petersburg, the Russian capital, he joined Prince

Khosrow Mirza Prince Khosrow Mirza Qajar (; 1813 – 21 October 1875) was the seventh son of Abbas Mirza and grandson of Fath-Ali Shah, King of Iran. Khosrow Mirza is best known for his "Apology Mission" to the Russian Empire after the murder of Alexander Gri ...

, Persian envoy extraordinary, returning to Persia after conveying regrets at the murder of the Russian diplomat

Alexander Griboedov Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedov (russian: Александр Сергеевич Грибоедов, ''Aleksandr Sergeevich Griboedov'' or ''Sergeevich Griboyedov''; 15 January 179511 February 1829), formerly romanized as Alexander Sergueevich Gr ...

in Teheran. While in St. Petersburg, Mignan met the Prussian scholar

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister ...

who convinced him to explore the western coastline of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...

. His winter journey on a difficult route via

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk (russian: Новочерка́сск, lit. ''New Cherkassk'') is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as ...

and through the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

to Tiflis, the capital of Russian Georgia, and further south into northwestern Persia in 1829 and 1830 is described in Mignan's travelogue ''A Winter Journey through Russia, the Caucasian Alps, and Georgia'', published in London in 1839. Mignan was promoted to captain on 11 September 1830 and major of the right wing on 15 August 1847. His last commission was brevet lieutenant colonel on 7 June 1849. He died in Poonah in 1852.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mignan, Robert 1803 births 1852 deaths British East India Company Army officers Fellows of the Linnean Society of London British explorers British travel writers British orientalists Explorers of the Caucasus Explorers of Iran