The Persian Envoy Mirza Mohammed Reza Qazvini Finkenstein Castle 27 Avril 1807 by Francois Mulard detail

Pierre Amédée Emilien Probe Jaubert (3 June 1779 – 28 January 1847) was a French diplomat, academic, orientalist, translator, politician, and traveler. He was Napoleon's "favourite orientalist adviser and

dragoman A dragoman was an Interpreter (communication), interpreter, translator, and official guide between Turkish language, Turkish-, Arabic language, Arabic-, and Persian language, Persian-speaking countries and polity, polities of the Middle East and ...

".''Friends and rivals in the East'' by Alastair Hamilton p.230''ff''
/ref>

Biography

Born in

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

, Jaubert was one of the most distinguished pupils of

Silvestre de Sacy Antoine Isaac, Baron Silvestre de Sacy (; 21 September 175821 February 1838), was a French nobleman, linguist and orientalist. His son, Ustazade Silvestre de Sacy, became a journalist. Life and works Early life Silvestre de Sacy was born in Pa ...

, whose funeral ''Discours'' he gave in 1838. Jaubert acted as interpreter to

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

during the

Egyptian Campaign The French invasion of Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was a military expedition led by Napoleon Bonaparte during the French Revolutionary Wars. The campaign aimed to undermine British trade routes, expand French influence, and establish a ...

of 1798–1799, in which he was a member of the

Egyptian Institute of Sciences and Arts The Commission des Sciences et des Arts (''Commission of the Sciences and Arts'') was a French scientific and artistic institute. Established on 16 March 1798, it consisted of 167 members, of which all but 16 joined Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign ...

. On his return to

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 ...

he held various posts in the government. In 1802 he accompanied Horace Sébastiani de La Porta on his Eastern mission, and in 1804 he was present in 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 ...

, assisting Sébastiani in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. In 1805, he was dispatched to

Qajar Persia The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic origin,Cyrus Ghani. ''Iran an ...

in the "Jaubert Mission",''Napoleon and Persia: Franco-Persian relations under the First Empire'' by Iradj Amini p.76''ff'

/ref> to arrange an alliance with List of kings of Persia, Shah Fat′h Ali, but on the way there he was seized and imprisoned in a dry cistern for four months by the

Pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

of Doğubeyazıt. Jaubert was allowed to go after the pasha died; he successfully accomplished his mission, and rejoined Napoleon in the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

(1807). Amédée Jaubert was at

Finckenstein Palace Finckenstein Palace (; ) is a ruined Baroque palace situated in the village of Kamieniec, about 25 mi. (40 km) south of Elbląg, in northern Poland. Formerly part of West Prussia, it was designed by the architect John von Collas and ...

for the negotiation of the

Treaty of Finckenstein The Treaty of Finckenstein ( Persian: عهدنامه فین‌کنشتاین), often spelled Finkenstein, was a treaty concluded between France and Iran (Persia) in the Finckenstein Palace (now Kamieniec, Poland) on 4 May 1807 and formalised t ...

which formulised the

Franco-Persian alliance A Franco-Persian alliance or Franco-Iranian alliance was formed for a short period between the French Empire of Napoleon I and Fath Ali Shah of Iran against Russia and Great Britain between 1807 and 1809. The alliance was part of a plan to gath ...

on 27 April 1807. In 1809 he became correspondent of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands. On the eve of Napoleon's downfall, he was appointed ''

chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

'' at Constantinople. The

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Ab ...

ended his diplomatic career, but in 1818 he undertook a journey with government aid to

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

, from whence he succeeded in introducing into France 400

Kashmir goat A cashmere goat is a type of goat that produces cashmere wool, the goat's fine, soft, downy, winter undercoat, in commercial quality and quantity. This undercoat grows as the days get shorter and is associated with an outer coat of coarse hair, w ...

s. Jaubert spent the rest of his life in study, in writing and in teaching. He became professor of

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

in the ''

Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...

'', and director of the ''

École des langues orientales Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (; ), abbreviated as INALCO, is a French Grand Etablissement with a specializing in the teaching of languages and cultures from the world. Its coverage spans languages of Central Europ ...

'', and in 1830 was elected member of the ''

Académie des Inscriptions An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

''. In 1841 he was made a

Peer of France The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...

and member of the ''

Conseil d'État In France, the (; Council of State) is a governmental body that acts both as legal adviser to the executive branch and as the supreme court for administrative justice, which is one of the two branches of the French judiciary system. Establ ...

''. He died in Paris. Besides articles in the ''

Journal asiatique The ''Journal asiatique'' (; full earlier title ''Journal Asiatique ou Recueil de Mémoires, d'Extraits et de Notices relatifs à l'Histoire, à la Philosophie, aux Langues et à la Littérature des Peuples Orientaux'') is a biannual peer-reviewed ...

'', he published ''Voyage en Arménie et en Perse'' (1821; the edition of 1860 has a notice of Jaubert, by M. Sdillot) and ''Elements de la grammaire turque'' (1823–1834).

Notes

References

* ''In turn, it cites as references:'' **notices in the ''Journal Asiatique'', January 1847 **''

Journal des Débats The ''Journal des débats'' (, ''Journal of Debates'') was a French newspaper, published between 1789 and 1944 that changed title several times. Created shortly after the first meeting of the Estates-General of 1789, it was, after the outbreak ...

'', 30 January 1847 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaubert, Pierre Amedee People from Aix-en-Provence 1779 births 1847 deaths 19th-century French diplomats French orientalists French people of the Napoleonic Wars 19th-century French translators French travel writers Explorers of Tibet Qajar Iran French expatriates in Iran Spies of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars Academic staff of the Collège de France Commission des Sciences et des Arts members Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Société Asiatique Peers of France Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Dragomans

Biography

See also

Notes

References