Mohammad Reza Beg
safavid mayor and ambassador to France (d. 1717)
Mohammad Reza Beg (Persian: محمدرضا بیگ, romanized: Mohammad-Rezâ Beg; in French-language sources: Méhémet Riza Beg), was the Safavid mayor (kalantar) of Erivan (Iravan), and the ambassador to France during the reign of Soltan Hoseyn (1694–1722). He led the embassy to Louis XIV of 1715.
Biography
Mohammad Reza Beg was the mayor of Erivan and a high-ranking official to the governor of the Erivan province, when, upon the governments initiative, he was sent in embassy to France, in March 1714. He had to cross Constantinople in the neighboring Ottoman Empire, in the guise of a pilgrim, as the former was often at war with Safavid Iran, and relations were unstable. Being still imprisoned, he was released thanks to the French ambassador in Constantinople, Pierre des Alleurs and his "astute dragoman" Etienne Padery, before being conveyed to Marseille (which he reached on 23 October 1714) and Versailles, where he was lavishly received and with great pomp. On 13 August 1715, he reached a new Treaty with the Louis XIV's government, which, included a more favourable provision regarding the French trade. As another result of the diplomatic mission, a permanent Persian consulate was established in Marseille, the main French Mediterranean port for the trade with the East, soon staffed by Hagopdjan de Deritchan.
On 19 February 1715, at 11 AM, Mohammad Reza Beg made his entry into the Château de Versailles on horseback with his large retinue, accompanied by the presenter of ambassadors and the lieutenant of the king’s armies. Crowds reportedly filled the avenue de Paris and the courtyards to attend the arrival of the ambassador and his retinue. The courtiers crowded into the Hall of Mirrors, where four tiers of seats had been set up for them.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3304549. VIAF identifies the subject as 197911744. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1694, 1722, 1715 and 1714.
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