European Visitors to the Safavid Court

Before 1600 few Europeans visited Persia. But with the advent of the seventeenth century there was a marked change from several causes: first, the awakened interest in Eastern trade; the East India Company of London was chartered on 31 December 1600, the Dutch East India Company less than two years later; second, the common enmity against the Turk shared by Persia and Western Europe; third, a by-product of that, Shāh ᶜAbbās’ tolerant and even encouraging attitude to Christians; fourth, the freeing of Persian Gulf ports from Portuguese domination; fifth, reports filtering back to Europe of the wonders of Persia and particularly of its splendid new capital; sixth, more Europeans with the means and urge to travel.And so we have, passing through Isfahan or settling there for long periods, a motley band of Europeans--ambassadors and adventurers, monks and mountebanks, traders and travellers, including combinations of each. Some could scarcely read or write, others wrote volumes--some went on writing about it for the rest of their lives.