The Persian embassy to Europe was dispatched by the Persian Shah Abbas I in 1609 to obtain an alliance with Europe against the Ottoman Empire. The embassy was led by the Englishman Robert Shirley.
Fresco of the Persian embassy visiting Pope Paul V in Rome, painted in 1615–1616. Sala dei Corazzieri, Palazzo del Quirinale, Rome
Fresco detail of Robert Shirley visiting Pope Paul V, Sala dei Corazzieri, Palazzo del Quirinale, Rome. Painted in 1615–1616.
Abbas I as a new Caesar being honoured by the Trumpets of Fame, together with the Persian embassy, in Allégorie de l'Occasion, by Frans II Francken, 1628.
Robert Shirley and his Circassian wife Teresia, c. 1624–1627. Robert Shirley modernized the Persian army, and led the 1609–1615 embassy to Europe.
Abbas the Great
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Abbas I, commonly known as Abbas the Great, was the fifth Safavid shah of Iran from 1588 to 1629. The third son of Shah Mohammad Khodabanda, he is generally considered one of the most important rulers
Persian embassy to Europe (1609–1615)
…The Persian embassy to Europe (1609–1615) was dispatched by the Persian Shah Abbas I in 1609 to obtain an alliance with Europe against the Ottoman Empire. The embassy was led by the Englishman Robert Shirley. The Safavid Persians had…
Portrait by Bishandas c. 1618.
Portrait of Shah Abbas as a young man. Painted c. 1590.
Portrait of Ali-Qoli Khan Shamlu, protector of the young Abbas. Painted in 1584.
The strangulation of Safavid queen Khayr al-Nisa Begum, mother of Abbas, by the Qizilbash on 26 July 1579. Nusretname (1584).