Hossein Ali Beg Bayat

Hossein Ali Beg Bayat
Hossein Ali Beg as engraved by Aegidius Sadeler in Prague, 1601.
Safavid ambassador to the Holy Roman Empire
Monarch	Abbas I
Safavid ambassador to the Tsardom of Russia
Monarch	Abbas I
Safavid ambassador to Habsburg Spain
Monarch	Abbas I
Personal details
Nationality	Safavid
Occupation	Diplomat

Hossein Ali Beg Bayat was the Safavid ambassador to the Holy Roman Empire, the Russian Tsardom, Habsburg Spain and several other royal and noble courts during the reign of king Abbas I (r. 1588–1628), and was part of the first Safavid embassy to Europe.

When king Abbas I had decided to send Sir Anthony Shirley on an important diplomatic mission in Europe to gain the support and to form an alliance against the common cause, namely the Ottoman enemy, Anthony asked the king to send with him an Iranian of rank. Abbas chose a Qizilbash noble, Hossein Ali Beg Bayat, and, according to historian David Blow, he seems to have made him the official leader of the mission. However, this matter was apparently never made clear to Sir Anthony or he simply refused to accept it. This would be the reason for a constant unpleasant atmosphere that would sometimes culminate in bitter disputes between the two over precedence. Sir Robert Shirley, who was Abbas' initial choice instead of his brother Sir Anthony, stayed in Iran to train the army. Hossein Ali Beg and Anthony were accompanied by three others, including his nephew Ali Quli Beg Bayat, Uruch Beg (later Don Juan), nineteen members of Sir Anthony's original suite, and two Portuguese friars. Hossein Ali Beg additionally took a number of Iranian secretaries and servants with him. The entourage left the Safavid capital of Isfahan on 9 July 1599. After reaching Astrakhan, they spent the winter at the Russian court in Moscow. There, Hossein Ali Beg and Sir Anthony quarreled over who should have precedence, but Tsar Boris Godunov chose Hossein Ali Beg's side and even imprisoned Sir Anthony for some time after the Portuguese friar, Nicoloa de Melo made certain accusations against him. In the spring of 1600, Hossein Ali Beg and his retinue left Moscow, and after several stops at various German courts, they eventually arrived in the capital of the Holy Roman Empire, Prague in the autumn of 1600. There, where they were lavishly received, emperor Rudolph II who was already at war with the Ottomans, vowed to pursue the war against them with "great vigour". After a long stay in Prague, they left for Bavaria, Mantua, and Florence where they were received by the Medicis.