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Description

Map illustrating the route of Sir Thomas Herbert, 1st Baronet in the Kingdom of Persia in 1627.

The map reflects Herbert's travels with the Persian Empire in 1627-1628, as part of a diplomatic Embassy sent by Charles I to Sha Abbas I, in order to establish formal trade and diplomatic relations between Persia and Great Britain. Unofficially it was also undertaken to exonerate the adventurer, Sir Robert Sherley, who would be accompanying the mission, from charges that had been made against him by Naqd-Ali Beg, Abbas's ambassador to England. The Persian envoy had claimed that Sir Robert was not an official representative of the Shah or of England, and that he was moreover an impostor and charlatan who deserved punishment, not commendation. A physical altercation had ensued, and Charles I had attempted to defuse the situation by insisting that Sherley go back to Persia, together with his Circassian wife, Lady Teresia Sampsonia Sherley, who was said at the time to have perhaps been a distant relative of Shah Abbas, although this is not certain.

Sailing March 1627, they visited the Cape, Madagascar, Goa and Surat; landing at Gambrun. They travelled inland to Ashraf and thence to Kazvin, where both Cotton and Sherley died.

Thereafter, Herbert made extensive travels in the Persian Hinter land, visiting Kashan, Bagdad, etc. On his return voyage Herbert touched at Ceylon, the Coromandel coast, Mauritius and St Helena, returning to England in 1629.

Pierre Du Val Biography

Pierre Duval (1618-1683) was a French geographer, cartographer, and publisher who worked in Abbeville and Paris during the seventeenth century. He was born in the former city, in northeast France, before moving to Paris. Duval was the nephew of the famous cartographer Nicolas Sanson, from whom he learned the mapmaker's art and skills. Both men worked at the royal court, having followed the royal request for artists to relocate to Paris. In addition to numerous maps and atlases, Du Val's opus also includes geography texts. He held the title of geographe ordinaire du roi from 1650 and died in 1683, when his wife and daughters took over his business.