Mohammad Reza Beg

Mohammad Reza Beg
Mohammad Reza Beg as painted by Antoine Coypel.
Safavid mayor of Erivan
Monarch	Sultan Husayn
Safavid ambassador to France
Monarch	Sultan Husayn
Personal details
Nationality	Safavid
Occupation	Governor, Diplomat

Mohammad Reza Beg (in French sources; Méhémet Riza Beg), was the Safavid mayor (kalantar) of Erivan (Yerevan), and the ambassador to France during the reign of king Sultan Husayn (1694-1722), and led the embassy to Louis XIV of 1715.

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 pilgim, 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 October 23, 1714) and Versailles, where he was lavishly received and with great pomp. On August 13, 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. The Hall of Mirrors was packed, with many foreigners present. At the back, Louis XIV on his throne was surrounded by the future Louis XV and his governess, Madame de Ventadour, the Duc d’Orléans Philippe II, and other royal princes. The painter Antoine Coypel and Boze, Secretary of the Academy of Inscriptions, stood below the platform to record the event.