Six days with the Shāh. A note on a letter of a Venetian traveller to the court of ‘Abbās the Great Persia

Since the Mongol and the Timurid rule in Iran, Italian travelogues represented a major source of Persian history. This paper focuses on the report made by Giacomo Fava, a XVI century Venetian merchant, during his visit in the new capital town of the Safavid empire, under the reign of Shāh ‘Abbās. In particular, through the analysis of the account, who reached us under the form of a letter, the paper would present the experience Fava made in Isfahan, during the six days he spent with the Persian king. The paper will report and comment the impressions he had, the description of the town, of the Shah, of his palace and, above all, of the "solemn celebration" a "otor-qorbānī (the camel sacrifi ce) - he attended. As far as I know, this letter has never been presented, commented or published before, with the exception of the printed letter I consulted in Italian, the original language of the document, included in a XVI century collection of documents I found in an Italian archive. Another printed copy of the letter appeared in an 1608 edition of the Trésor Politique, but in a coeval French translation. This paper would try to give a contribution to the historical study of the travelogues and to the history of Venetian/Italian-Persian relations. The paper would offer a new and unknown document which is a part of the attempt to enhance the mutual knowledge of two so different worlds, such as Europe and "the Orient". The latter, and especially the Persian one, which also shared some political, economic and military goals and strategies with the European powers.

Keywords: Safavid dynasty ‘Abbas I Isfahān Venetian-Persian relations travelogues

Michele Brunelli, Sei giorni con lo Shah. Un commento alla lettera di un viaggiatore veneziano alla corte di ‘Abbas il grande in "STORIA URBANA " 146/2015, pp 115-156, DOI: 10.3280/SU2015-146006