Travels In Persia, 1617-1622

Pietro della Valle (1586–1652)

Pietro della Valle was an Italian nobleman, traveller, and writer whose letters from the East are considered important travel accounts from the early modern period. Born in Rome to a distinguished aristocratic family, he received a classical education and was involved in the city’s literary and musical circles before beginning a journey that took him through the Ottoman Empire, Safavid Iran, and as far as India.

From 1614 onwards, della Valle travelled extensively, visiting Constantinople, Egypt, the Holy Land, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia, and India. He meticulously documented the political life, religious practices, architecture, commerce, and daily customs of the societies he encountered. His writings on Safavid Iran, particularly Isfahan under Shah ʿAbbās the Great, are noted for their vivid and detailed eyewitness accounts. During his travels, he married the Assyrian Christian Sitti Maani Gioerida, whose death in Persia significantly influenced his later work.

Upon his return to Rome in 1626, della Valle was honored by Pope Urban VIII and dedicated the rest of his life to scholarship and music, producing both compositions and theoretical writings. His letters were published posthumously as the Viaggi, a work that blends autobiography, ethnography, and historical reporting.

Willem Floor

Willem Floor studied development economics, non-western sociology, Persian, Arabic, and Islamology at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands from 1963 to 1967. He earned his doctoral degree from Leiden University in 1971. Since 1983, Dr. Floor was employed by the World Bank as an energy specialist, during which time he published extensively on the socio-economic history of Iran.

His books include Public Health in Qajar Iran, Agriculture in Qajar Iran, The History of Theater in Iran, and a five-volume series on the Persian Gulf: The Persian Gulf: A Political and Economic History of 5 Port Cities, 1500-1730; Persian Gulf: The Rise of the Gulf Arabs, 1747-1792; The Rise and Fall of Bandar-e Lengeh; Bandar Abbas: The Natural Gateway of Southeast Iran; and The Persian Gulf: Links with the Hinterland Bushehr, Borazjan, Kazerun, Banu Ka’b, & Bandar Abbas.

He also authored Travels Through Northern Persia, 1770-1774, Titles and Emoluments in Safavid Iran, A Social History of Sexual Relations in Iran, Labor and Industry in Iran, 1850-1941, Guilds, Merchants and Ulama in 19th Century Iran, The Rise and Fall of Nader Shah, and Games Persians Play.

Dr. Floor’s translations include Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin’s Travels Through Northern Persia 1770–1774, and with Hasan Javadi, Abbas Qoli Aqa Bakikhanov’s The Heavenly Rose-Garden: A History of Shirvan & Daghestan. He also translated Evliya Chelebi’s Travels in Iran and the Caucasus, 1647 and 1654. His most recent translated and annotated work is Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin’s Astrakhan: Anno 1770, Its History, Geography, Population, Trade, Flora, Fauna and Fisheries.