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The Persian embassy to Europe (1599–1602) was dispatched by the Persian Shah Abbas I in 1599 to obtain an alliance against the Ottoman Empire.^[1] The Persians had then been at war with the Ottoman Empire for more than a century, and so decided to try to obtain European help against the Ottomans.^[2] Besides the territorial antagonism of the Ottoman and Persian realms, there was also strong religious antagonism, as the Persians proclaimed Shiism against the Ottoman Empire's Sunnism.^[1] The objective of the mission was to establish a European–Persian alliance against the Ottoman Turks.^[3] These Persian efforts at rapprochement with Europe followed the Persian defeat against the Ottoman Empire in the Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–1590).

Plan

The embassy was composed of one ambassador, Hossein Ali Beg, and four secretaries (First Secretary Uruch Beg, son of Sultan Ali Beg; the nephew of the ambassador 'Ali Quli Beg; and two others) and led by the English adventurer Sir Anthony Shirley.^[4]^[5] Shirley had sailed from Venice on 24 May 1599 with 25 other Englishmen, bound for Aleppo, and had found favour with King Abbas I. ^[6] ^[4] Various contacts had already taken place between the Persians and Europe, as with the embassy of Anthony Jenkinson from Queen Elizabeth I in 1562.^[5]

The plan was to visit eight European courts, with one additional Special Envoy who would stay as the Persian ambassador at the court of Russian Emperor Boris Godunov.^[5] The embassy effectively met with three German potentates, and the Italian and Spanish courts, but initial plans to meet with the courts of France, England, Scotland and Poland were abandoned on the way.^[7]

Itinerary

The embassy left in July 1599 for Astrakhan.^[5] They reached Moscow in November 1599.^[8] Two members of the embassy, Nicolas de Melo and Nicolás de San Agustín were arrested in Russia and deported to the Solovetsky Monastery.^[9]

After a long voyage, rest of the embassy reached Prague in Bohemia in the autumn of 1600, where they met with emperor Rudolf II and were sumptuously received over the winter. In Spring 1601 they set for Munich, where they met with William II, the former Duke of Bavaria. They then went to Italy, where they were received by Vincenzo Gonzaga in Mantua. The embassy failed to meet the Doge of Venice, as he declined an interview on the ground that he was meeting an ambassador from the Ottoman Empire.^[10] The final portion of their mission took them to Spain, where they met with king Philip III, and obtained seaborne transportation from Portugal to the Strait of Hormuz and Persia.^[11] In a final incident however, one of the members of the embassy, a religious mullah, was stabbed to death by a Spaniard in Mérida.^[12] After discussions to obtain redress, the embassy set sail for Persia from Lisbon in early 1602.^[13]

1000km
620miles

6

5

4

3

2

1

Persian travel

1

Astrakhan - July 1599

2

Moscow - November 1599

3

Prague - 1600

4

Munich - 1601

5

Mantua

6

Lisbon - 1602

Aftermath

The embassy was immediately followed by a new conflict between Persia and the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman–Safavid War (1603–1618), in which the Persians succeeded partly through the major military reforms and modernizations organized by the Englishman Robert Shirley, brother of Anthony Sherley.

A second Persian embassy to Europe (1609–1615) would be set up, this time led by Robert Sherley himself, which went to Kraków, Prague, Florence, Rome, Madrid, London, and returned to Persia through the Great Mogul's India.^[3]

In 1616, a trade agreement was reached between Shah Abbas and the East India Company and in 1622 "a joint Anglo-Persian force expelled the Portuguese and Spanish traders from the Persian Gulf".^[14]

In 1624, Robert Sherley led another embassy to England in order to obtain trade agreements.^[3]

A Persian embassy to Louis XIV occurred in 1715.

Notes

^ ^a ^b Khair (2005), Other routes, p. 173, ISBN 978-0-253-21821-6
^ Le Strange (2004-12-22), Don Juan of Persia, p. 2, ISBN 978-0-415-34488-3
^ ^a ^b ^c Maquerlot (1996), Travel and drama in Shakespeare's time, p. 17, ISBN 978-0-521-47500-6
^ ^a ^b Le Strange (2004-12-22), Don Juan of Persia, p. 1, ISBN 978-0-415-34488-3
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Le Strange, Don Juan of Persia, p. 3
^ "The Three Shirleys", The Gentleman's Magazine (November 1844) p.476
^ Brothers, Harper (2007), Don Juan, p. 7, ISBN 978-1-4067-6357-7
^ Le Strange, Don Juan of Persia, p. 4
^ Alonso, Carlos (1958). "El P. Nicolás de Melo, OSA. Embajador y Mártir" [Father Nicolas de Melo, OSA. Ambassador and Martyr]. Missionalia Hispanica (in Spanish). 44 (15). Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas: 219–244 – via Simurg.
^ Le Strange, Don Juan of Persia, p. 6
^ Le Strange, Don Juan of Persia, p. 8
^ Le Strange, Don Juan of Persia, pp. 8–9
^ Le Strange, Don Juan of Persia, p. 9
^ Badiozamani (2005-05-29), Iran and America, p. 182, ISBN 978-0-9742172-0-8

References

Guy Le Strange, Juan de Persia Don Juan of Persia: A Shi'ah Catholic 1560-1604 Routledge, 2004 ISBN 0-415-34488-3.
Don Juan of Persia - A Shi-Ah Catholic 1560-1604 Read Books, 2007 ISBN 1-4067-6357-8.
Tabish Khair, Martin Leer, Justin D. Edwards, Hanna Ziadeh, Amitav Ghosh Other routes: 1500 years of African and Asian travel writing Indiana University Press, 2005 ISBN 0-253-21821-7.
Jean-Pierre Maquerlot, Michèle Willems Travel and drama in Shakespeare's time Cambridge University Press, 1996 ISBN 0-521-47500-7.
Badi Badiozamani, Ghazal Badiozamani Iran and America: Re-Kindling a Love Lost East West Understanding Pr., 2005 ISBN 0-9742172-0-4.

[Khair_173-1] Khair (2005), Other routes, p. 173, ISBN 978-0-253-21821-6

[2] Le Strange (2004-12-22), Don Juan of Persia, p. 2, ISBN 978-0-415-34488-3

[Maquerlot_17-3] Maquerlot (1996), Travel and drama in Shakespeare's time, p. 17, ISBN 978-0-521-47500-6

[Strange_1-4] Le Strange (2004-12-22), Don Juan of Persia, p. 1, ISBN 978-0-415-34488-3

[Strange_3-5] Le Strange, Don Juan of Persia, p. 3

[6] "The Three Shirleys", The Gentleman's Magazine (November 1844) p.476

[7] Brothers, Harper (2007), Don Juan, p. 7, ISBN 978-1-4067-6357-7

[8] Le Strange, Don Juan of Persia, p. 4

[:0-9] Alonso, Carlos (1958). "El P. Nicolás de Melo, OSA. Embajador y Mártir" [Father Nicolas de Melo, OSA. Ambassador and Martyr]. Missionalia Hispanica (in Spanish). 44 (15). Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas: 219–244 – via Simurg.

[10] Le Strange, Don Juan of Persia, p. 6

[11] Le Strange, Don Juan of Persia, p. 8

[12] Le Strange, Don Juan of Persia, pp. 8–9

[Strange_9-13] Le Strange, Don Juan of Persia, p. 9

[14] Badiozamani (2005-05-29), Iran and America, p. 182, ISBN 978-0-9742172-0-8

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[2]

[3]

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:Husain Ali Beg.jpg|thumb|The ambassador [[Husain Ali Beg]].]]
+[[File:Husain Ali Beg.jpg|thumb|The ambassador [[Hossein Ali Beg Bayat|Hossein Ali Beg]]]]
+The '''Persian embassy to Europe (1599–1602)''' was dispatched by the [[Persian Empire|Persian]] [[Shah]] [[Abbas I of Persia|Abbas I]] in 1599 to obtain an alliance against the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref name = "Khair 173">{{citation | title = Other routes | last = Khair | page = 173 | year = 2005 | isbn = 978-0-253-21821-6 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LASiz73_xY0C&pg=PA173}}</ref>  The Persians had then been at war with the Ottoman Empire for more than a century, and so decided to try to obtain European help against the Ottomans.<ref>{{citation | title = Don Juan of Persia | last = Le Strange | page = 2 | date = 2004-12-22 | isbn = 978-0-415-34488-3 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wNxmWxyKX7IC&pg=PA2}}</ref>  Besides the territorial antagonism of the Ottoman and Persian realms, there was also strong religious antagonism, as the Persians proclaimed [[Shiism]] against the Ottoman Empire's [[Sunnism]].<ref name = "Khair 173" /> The objective of the mission was to establish a European–Persian alliance against the Ottoman Turks.<ref name = "Maquerlot 17">{{citation | title = Travel and drama in Shakespeare's time | last = Maquerlot | page = 17 | year = 1996 | isbn = 978-0-521-47500-6 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nOPIuahJU8QC&pg=PA17}}</ref> These Persian efforts at rapprochement with Europe followed the Persian defeat against the Ottoman Empire in the [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–1590)]].
-[[File:Ali Quli Beg.jpg|thumb|[[Ali Quli Beg]], nethew of the ambassador.]]
-The '''Persian embassy to Europe (1599–1602)''' was dispatched by the [[Persian Empire|Persian]] [[Shah]] [[Abbas I of Persia|Abbas I]] in 1599 to obtain an alliance against the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref name = "Khair 173">{{citation | title = Other routes | last = Khair | page = 173 | year = 2005 | isbn = 978-0-253-21821-6 | url = http://books.google.com/?id=LASiz73_xY0C&pg=PA173}}</ref>  The Persians had then been at war with the Ottoman Empire for more than a century, and so decided to try to obtain European help against the Ottomans.<ref>{{citation | title = Don Juan of Persia | last = Le Strange | page = 2 | date = 2004-12-22 | isbn = 978-0-415-34488-3 | url = http://books.google.com/?id=wNxmWxyKX7IC&pg=PA2}}</ref>  Besides the territorial antagonism of the Ottoman and Persian realms, there was also strong religious antagonism, as the Persians proclaimed [[Shiism]] against the Ottoman Empire's [[Sunnism]].<ref name = "Khair 173" /> The objective of the mission was clearly to establish a European–Persian alliance against the Ottoman Turks.<ref name = "Maquerlot 17">{{citation | title = Travel and drama in Shakespeare's time | last = Maquerlot | page = 17 | year = 1996 | isbn = 978-0-521-47500-6 | url = http://books.google.com/?id=nOPIuahJU8QC&pg=PA17}}</ref> These Persian efforts at rapprochement with Europe followed the Persian defeat against the Ottoman Empire in the [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–1590)]].
 ==Plan==
-[[File:Anthony Sherley.jpg|thumb|left|[[Anthony Sherley]] convinced the Persian ruler [[Abbas I of Persia|Abbas I]] to send an embassy to Europe, and accompanied it in its journey.]]
+[[File:Anthony Sherley.jpg|thumb|left|[[Anthony Shirley]] convinced the Persian ruler [[Abbas I of Persia|Abbas I]] to send an embassy to Europe, and accompanied it in its journey.]]
-The embassy was composed of one ambassador, [[Husain Ali Beg]], and four secretaries (First Secretary Uruch Beg, son of Sultan [[Ali Beg]]; the nephew of the ambassador 'Ali Quli Beg; and two others) and led by the English adventurer Sir [[Anthony Sherley]].<ref name = "Strange 1">{{citation | title = Don Juan of Persia | last = Le Strange | page = 1 | date = 2004-12-22 | isbn = 978-0-415-34488-3 | url = http://books.google.com/?id=wNxmWxyKX7IC&pg=PA1}}</ref><ref name = "Strange 3">{{citation |title = Don Juan of Persia| last = Le Strange | page = 3}}</ref> Sherley had sailed in from [[Venice]] in May 1599 with 25 other Englishmen, and had found favour with King Abbas I.<ref name = "Strange 1" />  Various contacts had already taken place between the Persians and Europe, as with the embassy of [[Anthony Jenkinson]] from Queen [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] in 1562.<ref name = "Strange 3" />
+The embassy was composed of one ambassador, [[Hossein Ali Beg Bayat|Hossein Ali Beg]], and four secretaries (First Secretary [[Don Juan of Persia|Uruch Beg]], son of Sultan [[Sultan Ali Beg|Ali Beg]]; the nephew of the ambassador 'Ali Quli Beg; and two others) and led by the English adventurer Sir [[Anthony Shirley]].<ref name = "Strange 1">{{citation | title = Don Juan of Persia | last = Le Strange | page = 1 | date = 2004-12-22 | isbn = 978-0-415-34488-3 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wNxmWxyKX7IC&pg=PA1}}</ref><ref name = "Strange 3">{{citation |title = Don Juan of Persia| last = Le Strange | page = 3}}</ref> Shirley had sailed from [[Venice]] on 24 May 1599 with 25 other Englishmen, bound for [[Aleppo]], and had found favour with King Abbas I. <ref>"The Three Shirleys", ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' (November 1844) p.476</ref> <ref name = "Strange 1" />  Various contacts had already taken place between the Persians and Europe, as with the embassy of [[Anthony Jenkinson]] from Queen [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] in 1562.<ref name = "Strange 3" />
-The plan was to visit eight European courts, with one additional Special Envoy who would stay as the Persian ambassador at the court of Russian Emperor [[Boris Godunov]].<ref name = "Strange 3" /> The embassy effectively met with three German potentates, and the Italian and Spanish courts, but initial plans to meet with the courts of France, England, Scotland and Poland were abandoned on the way.<ref>{{citation | author1 = Brothers, Harper | title = Don Juan | year = 2007 | page = 7 | isbn = 978-1-4067-6357-7 | url = http://books.google.com/?id=nyfSt11hVdMC&pg=PA7}}</ref>
+The plan was to visit eight European courts, with one additional Special Envoy who would stay as the Persian ambassador at the court of Russian Emperor [[Boris Godunov]].<ref name = "Strange 3" /> The embassy effectively met with three German potentates, and the Italian and Spanish courts, but initial plans to meet with the courts of France, England, Scotland and Poland were abandoned on the way.<ref>{{citation | author1 = Brothers, Harper | title = Don Juan | year = 2007 | page = 7 | isbn = 978-1-4067-6357-7 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nyfSt11hVdMC&pg=PA7}}</ref>
 ==Itinerary==
-The embassy left in July 1599 for [[Astrakhan]].<ref name = "Strange 3" /> They reached [[Moscow]] in November 1599.<ref>{{citation |title = Don Juan of Persia| last = Le Strange | page = 4}}</ref>  After a long voyage, they reached [[Prague]] in [[Bohemia]] in the autumn of 1600, where they met with emperor [[Rudolf II]] and were sumptuously received over the winter.  In Spring 1601 they set for [[Munich]], where they met with William II, the former [[Duke of Bavaria]].  They then went to Italy, where they were received by [[Vincenzo Gonzaga]] in [[Mantua]].  The embassy failed to meet the [[Marino Grimani (doge)|Doge]] of Venice, as he declined an interview on the ground that he was meeting an ambassador from the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref>{{citation |title = Don Juan of Persia| last = Le Strange | page = 6}}</ref>  The final portion of their mission took them to Spain, where they met with king [[Philip III of Spain|Philip III]], and obtained seaborne transportation from Portugal to the [[Strait of Hormuz]] and [[Persia]].<ref>{{citation |title = Don Juan of Persia| last = Le Strange | page = 8}}</ref> In a final incident however, one of the members of the embassy, a religious [[mullah]], was stabbed to death by a Spaniard in [[Mérida, Spain|Mérida]].<ref>{{citation |title = Don Juan of Persia| last = Le Strange | pages = 8–9}}</ref> After discussions to obtain redress, the embassy set sail for Persia from [[Lisbon]] in early 1602.<ref name = "Strange 9">{{citation |title = Don Juan of Persia| last = Le Strange | page = 9}}</ref>
+The embassy left in July 1599 for [[Astrakhan]].<ref name = "Strange 3" /> They reached [[Moscow]] in November 1599.<ref>{{citation |title = Don Juan of Persia| last = Le Strange | page = 4}}</ref> Two members of the embassy, [[Nicolas de Melo]] and [[Nicolás de San Agustín]] were arrested in Russia and deported to the [[Solovetsky Monastery]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Alonso |first=Carlos |title=El P. Nicolás de Melo, OSA. Embajador y Mártir |trans-title=Father Nicolas de Melo, OSA. Ambassador and Martyr |url=http://simurg.csic.es/view/990001221670204201_A1958_V44/missionalia-hispanica-1958-vol-44?q=facet,metadata.25_year.en.keyword,equals,1958&q=filter,parents,equals,1808745&offset=1&limit=50&sort=-metadata.25_year.en.keyword&sort=-metadata.26_numero.en.keyword |journal=Missionalia Hispanica |language=es |location=Madrid |publisher=Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas |publication-date=1958 |volume=44 |issue=15 |pages=219-244 |via=Simurg}}</ref>
+After a long voyage, rest of the embassy reached [[Prague]] in [[Bohemia]] in the autumn of 1600, where they met with emperor [[Rudolf II]] and were sumptuously received over the winter.  In Spring 1601 they set for [[Munich]], where they met with William II, the former [[Duke of Bavaria]].  They then went to Italy, where they were received by [[Vincenzo I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua|Vincenzo Gonzaga]] in [[Mantua]].  The embassy failed to meet the [[Marino Grimani (doge)|Doge]] of Venice, as he declined an interview on the ground that he was meeting an ambassador from the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref>{{citation |title = Don Juan of Persia| last = Le Strange | page = 6}}</ref>  The final portion of their mission took them to Spain, where they met with king [[Philip III of Spain|Philip III]], and obtained seaborne transportation from Portugal to the [[Strait of Hormuz]] and [[Persia]].<ref>{{citation |title = Don Juan of Persia| last = Le Strange | page = 8}}</ref> In a final incident however, one of the members of the embassy, a religious [[mullah]], was stabbed to death by a Spaniard in [[Mérida, Spain|Mérida]].<ref>{{citation |title = Don Juan of Persia| last = Le Strange | pages = 8–9}}</ref> After discussions to obtain redress, the embassy set sail for Persia from [[Lisbon]] in early 1602.<ref name="Strange 9">{{citation |title = Don Juan of Persia| last = Le Strange | page = 9}}</ref>
+{{OSM Location map
+| coord={{coord|53|15}}
+| float=left| zoom =3
+| width = 450  | height = 400
+| mark-coord1 = {{coord|46.3517|48.046}}
+| mark-title1 = Astrakhan - July 1599
+| shape1=n-circle
+| shape-color1=dark blue
+| shape-outline1=white,1
+| mark-size1=14
+| mark-coord2 = {{coord|55.755833|37.617222}}
+| mark-title2 = Moscow -  November 1599
+| mark-coord3 = {{coord|50.0849|14.423}}
+| mark-title3 = Prague - 1600
+| mark-coord4 = {{coord|48.1391|11.5693}}
+| mark-title4 = Munich - 1601
+| mark-coord5 = {{coord|45.154|10.7934}}
+| mark-title5 = Mantua
+| mark-coord6 = {{coord|38.7091|-9.1358}}
+| mark-title6 = Lisbon - 1602
+| caption = Persian travel
+| auto-caption=1
+}}
 ==Aftermath==
@@ Line 18: / Line 42: @@
 The embassy was immediately followed by a new conflict between Persia and the Ottoman Empire, the [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1603–1618)]], in which the Persians succeeded partly through the major military reforms and modernizations organized by the Englishman [[Robert Shirley]], brother of Anthony Sherley.
-A second [[Persian embassy to Europe (1609–1615)]] would be set up, this time led by Robert Sherley himself, which went to [[Cracow]], [[Prague]], [[Florence]], Rome, [[Madrid]], London, and returned to Persia through the [[Great Mogul]]'s India.<ref name = "Maquerlot 17" />
+A second [[Persian embassy to Europe (1609–1615)]] would be set up, this time led by Robert Sherley himself, which went to [[Kraków]], [[Prague]], [[Florence]], Rome, [[Madrid]], London, and returned to Persia through the [[Great Mogul]]'s India.<ref name = "Maquerlot 17" />
-In 1616, a trade agreement was reached between Shah Abbas and the [[East India Company]] and in 1622 "a joint Anglo-Persian force expelled the Portuguese and Spanish traders from the [[Persian Gulf]]".<ref>{{citation | title = Iran and America | last = Badiozamani | page = 182 | date = 2005-05-29 | isbn = 978-0-9742172-0-8 | url = http://books.google.com/?id=NK6_hIN8SOwC&pg=PA182}}</ref>
+In 1616, a trade agreement was reached between Shah Abbas and the [[East India Company]] and in 1622 "a joint Anglo-Persian force expelled the Portuguese and Spanish traders from the [[Persian Gulf]]".<ref>{{citation | title = Iran and America | last = Badiozamani | page = 182 | date = 2005-05-29 | isbn = 978-0-9742172-0-8 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NK6_hIN8SOwC&pg=PA182}}</ref>
 In 1624, Robert Sherley led another embassy to England in order to obtain trade agreements.<ref name = "Maquerlot 17" />
@@ Line 33: / Line 57: @@
 ==References==
-* Guy Le Strange, Juan de Persia ''Don Juan of Persia: A Shi'ah Catholic 1560-1604'' Routledge, 2004 ISBN 0-415-34488-3.
+* Guy Le Strange, Juan de Persia ''Don Juan of Persia: A Shi'ah Catholic 1560-1604'' Routledge, 2004 {{ISBN|0-415-34488-3}}.
-* ''Don Juan of Persia - A Shi-Ah Catholic 1560-1604'' Read Books, 2007 ISBN 1-4067-6357-8.
+* ''Don Juan of Persia - A Shi-Ah Catholic 1560-1604'' Read Books, 2007 {{ISBN|1-4067-6357-8}}.
-* Tabish Khair, Martin Leer, Justin D. Edwards, Hanna Ziadeh, Amitav Ghosh ''Other routes: 1500 years of African and Asian travel writing'' Indiana University Press, 2005 ISBN 0-253-21821-7.
+* Tabish Khair, Martin Leer, [[Justin D. Edwards]], Hanna Ziadeh, Amitav Ghosh ''Other routes: 1500 years of African and Asian travel writing'' Indiana University Press, 2005 {{ISBN|0-253-21821-7}}.
-* Jean-Pierre Maquerlot, Michèle Willems ''Travel and drama in Shakespeare's time'' Cambridge University Press, 1996 ISBN 0-521-47500-7.
+* Jean-Pierre Maquerlot, Michèle Willems ''Travel and drama in Shakespeare's time'' Cambridge University Press, 1996 {{ISBN|0-521-47500-7}}.
-* Badi Badiozamani, Ghazal Badiozamani ''Iran and America: Re-Kindling a Love Lost'' East West Understanding Pr., 2005 ISBN 0-9742172-0-4.
+* Badi Badiozamani, Ghazal Badiozamani ''Iran and America: Re-Kindling a Love Lost'' East West Understanding Pr., 2005 {{ISBN|0-9742172-0-4}}.
 {{Iran-United Kingdom relations}}
@@ Line 50: / Line 74: @@
 [[Category:Iran–United Kingdom relations]]
 [[Category:History of the foreign relations of Iran]]
-[[Category:Safavid Empire]]
+[[Category:Diplomatic missions of Safavid Iran]]