Persian embassy to Louis XIV

Entry of Mohammad Reza Beg in Versailles.

The Persian embassy to Louis XIV caused a dramatic flurry at the court of Louis XIV in 1715, the year of the Sun King's death.^[1] Mohammad Reza Beg (Persian: محمد رضا بیگ, romanized: Mohammad Rezâ Beg; in French sources Méhémet Riza Beg), was a high-ranking official to the Persian governor of the Iravan (Erivan) province. He had been chosen by the Safavid Persian emperor Soltan Hoseyn for the mission and travelled with a grand entourage, as suitable to the diplomat of a mighty empire.

^ Padery and Gaudereau, La Perse et la France, documents nos. 89–100 describe the envoy's journey and reception; M. Herbette, Une Ambassade persane sous Louis XIV d'après des documents inédits, Paris, 1907; J. C. Hurewitz, ed. and tr., The Middle East and North Africa in World Politics: A Documentary Record, New Haven, Conn., 1956; On-line overview of French-Persian relations.

[1] Padery and Gaudereau, La Perse et la France, documents nos. 89–100 describe the envoy's journey and reception; M. Herbette, Une Ambassade persane sous Louis XIV d'après des documents inédits, Paris, 1907; J. C. Hurewitz, ed. and tr., The Middle East and North Africa in World Politics: A Documentary Record, New Haven, Conn., 1956; On-line overview of French-Persian relations.

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