Examining the Role and Function of Translators in Iran’s Foreign Relations Based on European Travelogues (From the Reign of Shah Abbas to the Fall of Isfahan)

Mirahmadizade, Amirali; Dashtaki Nia, Farhad

doi:10.22034/chs.2026.560153.1146

Examining the Role and Function of Translators in Iran’s Foreign Relations Based on European Travelogues (From the Reign of Shah Abbas to the Fall of Isfahan)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

amirali mirahmadizade ¹

farhad dashtaki nia ²

¹ Ph.D. Candidate in the History of Islamic Iran, Department of History, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

² Assistant Professor, Department of History, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

10.22034/chs.2026.560153.1146

Abstract

During the Safavid period, particularly from the reign of Shah Abbas I (996–1038 AH / 1587–1629 AD) to the fall of Isfahan (1135 AH / 1722 AD), the expansion of Iran’s foreign interactions made language a strategically important tool in diplomatic and political relations. In this context, translators were not merely language translators but acted as intercultural agents in the processes of diplomatic, cultural, and even ideological communication between Iran and the West. Adopting a descriptive-analytical approach and relying on library sources, especially European travelogues, this study seeks to examine the role and status of translators from the reign of Shah Abbas I to the fall of Isfahan. The findings indicate that many translators active in the Safavid court were either European Christian subjects or new converts to Islam who, through prolonged residence in Iran, had gained mastery over the prevalent languages and customs of the country. An analysis of figures such as Pietro Giuseppe Rosario, Mareh, and Raphael du Mans reveals that these individuals were not merely translators but, as intermediaries aware of various Iranian affairs, played a pivotal role in conveying complex political, commercial, and cultural concepts between Iran and Europe. In practice, they constituted part of the process of producing and reproducing meaning in Safavid diplomatic relations.

Keywords

Safavid Iran

Diplomacy

Court translators

Safavid era travelogues

Persian language

Raphael du Mans

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