A French orientalist's account of his 1805 to 1806 mission from Napoleon to the Shah of Persia, including months in a Kurdish dungeon.
Full title Journey in Armenia and Persia in 1805 and 1806, followed by a notice on Gilan and Mazandaran by Colonel Trezel (with observations on the Turkmen and Kurds)
Pierre-Amedee Jaubert (1779-1847), orientalist and interpreter to Napoleon, carried letters to Fath Ali Shah in 1805-1806. Seized by the pasha of Bayazid, he spent months in an underground cell before reaching Tehran and the Shah's summer camp at Sultaniyeh. His Voyage en Armenie et en Perse (Paris, 1821) describes Kurds, Armenians, Persians and the Qajar court, and ends with a notice on Gilan and Mazandaran by Colonel Trezel of the Gardane mission (1807-1808). Tartary proper lies off his route: 'Tartars' appear as Ottoman couriers, as claimed ancestors, and in passing on the Turkmen frontier. The corpus holds two scans of the 1821 edition.
How they knew
Part eyewitness
Who “Tartar” means here
Several things at once: in Ottoman usage a 'Tartare' is an official courier and travel contractor; Kurds and the people of Khoy claim 'Tartar' (Mongol, Uzbek or Turkic) descent; Turkish is called a dialect of 'Tartar'; and a prince's Khwarazmian mother gives him 'Tartar blood'.
Why read it
It shows how stretchy the word Tartar was in the Middle East around 1800, from a job title to a claim of ancestry to a slur, on the southern edge of what French maps called Independent Tartary.
Watch out
Peripheral to Tartary. Turkmen material is reported, not seen, and the Gilan notice is Trezel's work. Jaubert's reasoning from faces and 'blood' reflects the prejudices of his day.
Editorial contextJaubert describes Khoy in Persian Azerbaijan as a fairly new town with regular fortifications, few mosques or large houses, tree-shaded streets and a good caravanserai for merchants. Its 25,000 inhabitants said they were of Tartar origin, which earned the district the nickname 'the Turkestan of Persia'.
The town of Khoy, which is not very old, has regular fortifications. One does not see many mosques or large houses there; but the streets are shaded with trees, and there is a rather fine caravanserai reserved especially for merchants. The population of this town may be put at twenty-five thousand souls, whose inhabitants also say they are of Tartar origin
Working translation
Original wording
La ville de Khoï, qui n'est pas fort ancienne, a des fortifications régulières. On n'y voit pas un grand nombre de mosquées ni de maisons considérables; mais les rues sont ombragées d'arbres, et l'on y trouve un assez beau caravanséraï spécialement réservé pour les marchands. On peut évaluer à vingt-cinq mille âmes la population de cette ville, dont les habitans se disent aussi d'origine tartare
Editorial contextIn practical advice for travellers, Jaubert says that in Turkey one can make a deal with a 'Tartar' who will supply everything needed on the road, but warns never to pay him the whole sum in advance; in Persia the custom was unknown. In the Ottoman Empire a 'Tatar' was a government courier, and Jaubert himself travelled with one, Omar, who renamed himself Aly in Persia.
In the first of these countries one can strike a bargain with a Tartar who undertakes to supply you with everything necessary; but take care not to pay him the whole in advance. In Persia this custom is unknown.
Working translation
Original wording
Dans le premier de ces pays, on peut faire marché avec un Tartare qui se charge de vous fournir tout ce qui est nécessaire; mais il faut se garder de le payer d'avance en totalité. En Perse, cet usage est inconnu.
Editorial contextInvited to hunt with Fath Ali Shah near Sultaniyeh, Jaubert notes that the Persians kept up falconry, an expensive taste he thinks they probably got from the Tartars. The Shah's many falcons came from the lands north-east of Astrakhan, each with its own name and trainer.
probably came to them from the Tartars. The Shah owns a great number of birds of this kind, from the countries north-east of Astrakhan, which are trained with much art. Each falcon has its own name and its own trainer.
Working translation
Original wording
leur vient probablement des Tartares. Le Chah possède un grand nombre d'oiseaux de cette espèce, provenant des pays situés au nord-est d'Astrakhan, et qui sont dressés avec beaucoup d'art. Chaque faucon a son nom propre et un instituteur particulier.
Editorial contextIn the appended notice on Mazandaran, Colonel Trezel explains why pilgrims to Mashhad gathered at Astarabad in caravans of seven or eight hundred. Turkmen raiders roamed the plains, plundered everything and carried off men and even children able to keep up, sending them to herd flocks around Bukhara and Samarkand; Sunni Turkmen, he says, were driven against Shia Persians by hope of plunder and by religion.
The Turkmen roam all these plains, plunder everything they find, and carry off into slavery the men, and even the children able to keep up with their raids. They send them to guard their flocks on the plains of Bukhara and Samarkand. These peoples are driven against the Persians by hope of plunder and by difference of religious opinion, because they are Sunnis.
Working translation
Original wording
Les Turkomans rodent sur toutes ces plaines, pillent tout ce qu'ils trouvent, et emmènent en esclavage les hommes et les enfans même en état de suivre leurs courses. Ils les envoient garder leurs troupeaux dans les plaines de Bokhara et de Samarcand. Ces peuples sont animés contre les Persans par l'espoir du pillage et par la différence des opinions religieuses, parce qu'ils sont sunnys.
Colonel Camille-Alphonse Trezel (Notice sur le Ghilan et le Mazenderan, printed with Jaubert)
Editorial contextJaubert reports that the Kurds, settled or nomadic, claim descent from the Mongols and Uzbeks whose sudden raids so often shook Asia. He rejects the claim on the evidence of their large eyes, aquiline noses, fair skin and height, which he thinks 'belie this Tartar origin'.
These peoples, whether they lead a settled life or wander the countryside, claim descent from the Mongols and the Uzbeks, whose sudden incursions have so often disturbed Asia. But the size and beauty of their eyes, their aquiline noses, the fairness of their complexion and their tall stature belie this Tartar origin.
Working translation
Original wording
Ces peuples, soit qu'ils mènent une vie sédentaire ou qu'ils errent dans les campagnes, se prétendent issus des Mongols et des Uzbeks, dont les irruptions soudaines ont si souvent troublé l'Asie. Mais la grandeur et la beauté de leurs yeux, leur nez aquilin, la blancheur de leur teint et l'élévation de leur taille, démentent cette origine tartare.
Editorial contextIn a note drawn from his own Turkish grammar, Jaubert calls Turkish a dialect of 'Tartar' brought to Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453, later enriched with Arabic and Persian words. For him 'Tartar' is the name of the whole Turkic language family.
Since the Turkish language is written and spoken in several provinces of Persia, we think we should insert here some reflections taken from a grammar we composed some time ago … This language, we say, is a dialect of Tartar, brought by the Ottomans to Constantinople in 1453.
Working translation
Original wording
Comme la langue turque est écrite et parlée dans plusieurs provinces de la Perse, nous croyons devoir insérer ici quelques réflexions extraites d'une grammaire que nous avons composée il y a quelque temps … Cette langue, disons-nous, est un dialecte du tartare, apporté par les Ottomans à Constantinople en 1453.
Pierre-Amedee Jaubert (footnote from his Turkish grammar)
'The ferocity of Tartar blood' in a Persian prince
Editorial contextDescribing the Shah's eldest son, Mohammad Ali Mirza, Jaubert notes that he was born of a Khwarazmian slave woman and says 'the ferocity of Tartar blood' had shown in him since childhood, though he was also precociously brave. Here 'Tartar' marks a mother from Khwarazm, south of the Aral Sea, and carries the old stereotype of Tartar savagery.
Mohammad Ali Mirza, whom the partisans of his rival call Mir Ali Khan, eldest son of Fath Ali Shah, was born of a Khwarazmian slave woman; and the ferocity of the Tartar blood that flows in his veins showed itself in him from childhood.
Working translation
Original wording
Mehemed-Aly-Mirza, que les partisans de son compétiteur appellent Myr-Aly-Khan, fils aîné de Feth-Aly-Chah, est né d'une esclave khouarezmienne; et la férocité du sang tartare, qui coule dans ses veines, s'est fait reconnaître en lui dès son enfance.
About Qajar court; Khwarazmian (Turkic) slave mother
Keep in mind
Court gossip dressed in a racial stereotype; the Qajar dynasty was itself of Turkic origin.
The fine print
How we know
firsthand The author saw the places or people described.
firsthand observation (Jaubert carried Napoleon's letters to Fath Ali Shah; imprisoned at Bayazid; describes Turkmen and Kurdish tribes en route); Trezel's notice from the Gardane mission
Research notes
Turkmen material largely reported, not observed; Trezel's notice is a separate author's work.
Lower priority; included because the task list named it.
Why it matters
Peripheral to Tartary proper: offers a French diplomat's notes on the Turkmen of the Caspian shore and the Qajar frontier, useful for the southern edge of "Independent Tartary" on French maps of the 1820s. Jaubert also edited Meyendorff (recorded separately).