![Gardane Jaubert Jouanin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Gardane_Jaubert_Jouanin.jpg)
Claude-Matthieu, Comte de Gardane (11 July 1766 in
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
– 30 January 1818) was a French general and diplomat. He entered the army and rose rapidly during the
revolutionary wars, becoming captain in 1793.
Biography
In May 1799 he distinguished himself by saving a division of the French army which was about to be crushed by the Russians at the
battle of Bassignana, and was named at once brigadier-general by
Moreau. He incurred
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's displeasure for an omission of duty shortly before the
battle of Marengo
The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy. Near the end of the day, the French overcame General Mic ...
(June, 1800), but in 1805 was appointed to be ''
aide-de-camp'' of the emperor. His chief distinction, however, was to be won in the diplomatic sphere.
In the spring of 1807, when Russia and
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
were at war with France, and the emperor
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.
The son of ...
was also engaged in hostilities with
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. The court of
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
sent a mission to the French emperor, then at the
Finckenstein Palace
Finckenstein Palace (German: ''Schloss Finckenstein'') was a baroque palace, designed by the architect John von Collas between 1716 and 1720 in the former West Prussia, about 25 mi. (40 km) south of Elbląg in present-day Susz, Polan ...
in
East Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
, with a view to the conclusion of a
Franco-Persian alliance
A Franco-Persian alliance or Franco-Iranian alliance was formed for a short period between the French Empire of Napoleon I and Fath Ali Shah of Qajar Persia against Russia and Great Britain between 1807 and 1809. The alliance was part of a plan t ...
. The
Treaty of Finckenstein
The Treaty of Finckenstein, often spelled Finkenstein, was a treaty concluded between France and Persia (Iran) in the Finckenstein Palace (now Kamieniec, Poland) on 4 May 1807 and formalised the Franco-Persian alliance.
Napoleon I guaranteed ...
was signed on 4 May 1807, at that castle; and Napoleon designed Gardane as special envoy for the cementing of that alliance. The secret instructions which he drew up for Gardane, and signed on 30 May, are of interest as showing the strong oriental trend of the emperor's policy.
France was to guarantee the integrity of Persia, to recognize that
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
(then being invaded by the Russians) belonged to the
shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
, and was to make all possible efforts for restoring that territory to him. He was also to furnish to the shah arms, officers and workmen, in the number and to the amount demanded by him. Napoleon on his side required Persia to declare war against Great Britain to expel all Britons from her territory.
Gardane, whose family was well known in the
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
, had a long and dangerous journey overland, but was cordially received at Tehran in December 1807. The conclusion of the Franco-Russian
treaty at Tilsit in July 1807 rendered the mission abortive. Persia longed only for help against Russia who had invaded its Caucasian territories and had no desire, when all hope of that was past, to attack India. The shah, however, promised to expel Britons and to grant to France a commercial treaty. For a time French influence completely replaced that of England at Tehran, and the mission of
Sir John Malcolm
Major-General Sir John Malcolm GCB, KLS (2 May 1769 – 30 May 1833) was a Scottish soldier, diplomat, East India Company administrator, statesman, and historian.
Early life
Sir John Malcolm was born in 1769, one of seventeen children of Geor ...
to that court was not allowed to proceed. Finally, however, Gardane saw that nothing much was to be hoped for in the changed situation of European affairs, and abruptly left the country (April 1809). This conduct was not wholly approved by Napoleon, but he named him
count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
and in 1810 attached him to
Marshal Massena
Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...
's army in Portugal. There, during the disastrous retreat from
Santarém to
Almeida, he suffered a check which brought him into disfavour.
See also
*
Franco-Persian Alliance
A Franco-Persian alliance or Franco-Iranian alliance was formed for a short period between the French Empire of Napoleon I and Fath Ali Shah of Qajar Persia against Russia and Great Britain between 1807 and 1809. The alliance was part of a plan t ...
*
Treaty of Finckenstein
The Treaty of Finckenstein, often spelled Finkenstein, was a treaty concluded between France and Persia (Iran) in the Finckenstein Palace (now Kamieniec, Poland) on 4 May 1807 and formalised the Franco-Persian alliance.
Napoleon I guaranteed ...
Notes
References
*
External links
GARDANE MISSION - Encyclopaedia Iranica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthieu, Claude, Count Gardanne
1766 births
1818 deaths
Diplomats from Marseille
People of the Russo-Persian Wars
French people of the French Revolutionary Wars
French people of the Napoleonic Wars
French generals
French expatriates in Iran
19th-century French diplomats
Military personnel from Marseille