The famous French traveler of the Muslim World, Jean de Thevenot

Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On June 16, 1633 AD, the famous French traveler of the Muslim World, Jean de Thevenot, was born in Paris. In 1652 he started his journey by visiting England, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy. In 1655 he came to Istanbul the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and then proceeded to Smyrna, the Greek islands, and finally to Egypt, landing at Alexandria.
He stayed for a year in Egypt, then visited Sinai, and, upon returning to Cairo, joined the Lent pilgrim caravan to Bayt al-Moqaddas. He visited the chief places of pilgrimage in Palestine, and was again in Cairo. In January 1659 he sailed from Alexandria to Tunis and after spending four years in Italy in studies, in November 1663 he again sailed for the East, calling at Alexandria and landing at Sidon (in Lebanon), whence he proceeded by land to Damascus, Aleppo, and then through Iraq to Mosul, Baghdad and Mandali.
He entered Iran in August 1664, proceeding by Kermanshah and Hamadan to the Safavid capital, Isfahan, where he spent five months. Then he joined the French merchant Tavernier, and proceeded by Shiraz and Lar to Bandar-Abbas on the Persian Gulf, in the hope of finding a passage to India.
Tavernier left for India but Thevenot returned to Shiraz and visited the ruins of the Achaemenid capital Persepolis, which was destroyed by Alexander of Macedon. He then travelled to Basra and sailed for India on November 6, 1665, arriving at the port of Surat in Gujarat on January 10, 1666. He was in the Mughal Empire of India for thirteen months, and crossed into the Deccan or south India where he stayed for sometime in Haiderabad, the capital of the Qutb Shahi Dynasty, travelling around the kingdom as far as Masulipatam on the Bay of Bengal.
He returned overland to Surat, from where he sailed to Bandar-Abbas and went up to Shiraz. He passed the summer of 1667 at Isfahan, and in October started for Tabriz, but died on the way at Miyana on November 28, 1667. Thevenot was skilled in the Turkish, Arabic and Persian languages, and a curious and diligent observer. He was also well skilled in natural sciences, especially in botany, for which he made large collections in India.