French traveler known for his trips to the East: Who is Jean-Baptiste Tavernier?

He was born in Paris. His father belonged to a Protestant family that emigrated from Antwerp to Paris towards the end of the 16th century, was a map trader, and engaged in engraving.

He traveled to France, England, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, and Italy until the age of twenty-two; He learned the languages spoken here. He first tried to enter the military profession; He participated in the Montagne-Blanche war in Bohemia (November 8, 1620), and later took part in the siege of Mantoue. Between 1624 and 1629, he took part in the wars against the Turks while he was in the service of the Regent of Hungary.

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605–1689) was a 17th-century French gem merchant and traveler. Tavernier, a private individual and merchant traveling at his own expense, covered, by his own account, 60,000 leagues in making six voyages to Persia and India between the years 1630 and 1668. In 1675, Tavernier, at the behest of his patron Louis XIV, published Les Six Voyages de Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (Six Voyages, 1676).

Then he went to Italy. From here he went to Regensburg to attend the coronation of Ferdinand III. During the coronation, Cardinal Richelieu's advisor and head of Eastern affairs, Father Joseph, suggested that he join two French nobles, de Chappes and Saint Liebau, who would travel to the Holy Land via Istanbul. Tavernier accepted this and made six trips to the East.

On his first trip, he reached Istanbul by land with his companions in early 1631. He left them because he decided to go to Iran. He waited for the caravan to go to Iran for about eleven months. During this period, he collected material for his work titled Nouvelle relation de l'intérieur du serrail du grand seigneur. The caravan he joined reached Isfahan in 1632 via Tokat-Erzurum-Tabriz. He stayed in Isfahan for a month or two and returned to France via Baghdad-Aleppo-Iskenderun in 1633.

In this first trip, he understood the commercial importance of the East and in 1638, he took his younger brother Daniel with him and went on his second trip. He reached Aleppo via Marseille-Iskenderun-Payas. The caravan he joined reached Basra in March 1638. Here he boarded a ship, disembarked at Bender Rig, and continued on his way to Isfahan. It is known that Tavernier went to India in the meantime, was in Goa in 1641, and returned to Paris in 1643.

Tavernier set out from Paris on December 6, 1643, for his third Asian trip; He boarded a Dutch ship in Livorno and arrived in Aleppo in February 1644. This time he went to Isfahan via Diyarbekir, Urfa and Mosul. After staying in Isfahan for a long time, he reached India and from Goa to Ceylon. From here he came to Batavia. Meanwhile, he met with his brother Daniel, who had previously gone to Tonkin. But his brother died because of the debauchery he was accustomed to.

Tavernier went around the Cape of Good Hope in 1648 or 1649 and returned to France. Tavernier, who went on his fourth journey on June 18, 1651, went to Aleppo via the Marseille-Cyprus-Iskenderun road. He boarded a ship from Benderabbas and sailed to India. He traveled through Ceylon, Machilipatam, and Gulkinde, and reached Sûret by land. He returned to Bandarabbas and from there came to Isfahan; He participated in the festivities in Qazvin. He reached Izmir by following the Revan-Erzurum road in February 1655. While waiting for the ship to return to France, he had the opportunity to see Ephesus. In his travelogue, Tavernier introduces Izmir in detail, which was frequently ruined by wars and earthquakes, but still maintained its commercial importance, and gives information about Ephesus.

He started his fifth voyage in February 1657. This time he was accompanied by several French merchants and adventurers. He left Izmir, passed through Tokat, Erzurum, Kars, and Tabriz, and reached Isfahan in the summer of 1657. Here he was received by the shah and honored with a very valuable robe. He stayed in Isfahan for a long time again and then set out for India; Then he came back to Isfahan. After his return to Paris, he married a jeweler's daughter in 1662.

Tavernier, who went on his sixth journey on November 27, 1663, was accompanied by his nephew Pierre. He landed in Izmir on April 25. He stayed here until June 9, 1664. Meanwhile, he witnessed an earthquake that caused a lot of damage in Izmir. On this last journey, he went to India again. On his return to India, he encountered two French travelers of the period, Thévenot and Chardin, in Benderabbas. He stayed in Isfahan until the end of 1667 and came to Istanbul in 1668. He passed through Izmir and returned to France in July. He was in Paris on December 6, 1668.

As a result of his travels to the East, Tavernier acquired a large fortune and became famous as a merchant. Persia and India were the main centers of this trade. He spread trade over a wide area with the representatives he established here. He traded largely in diamonds and precious stones. It also influenced France's participation in Eastern trade.