Jean-François Allard (; 1785–1839), born in

Saint Tropez , INSEE = 83119 , postal code = 83990 , image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Saint-Tropez-A (Var).svg , image flag=Flag of Saint-Tropez.svg Saint-Tropez (; oc, Sant Tropetz, ; ) is a commune in the Var department and the region of Provence-A ...

, was a French soldier and adventurer. Allard served in

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 army, where he was twice injured. He was awarded the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, and was promoted to the rank of Captain of the French 7th Hussar Regiment. After the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

Allard drifted, going to

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 ...

where he visited

Abbas Mirza Abbas Mirza ( fa, عباس میرزا; August 26, 1789October 25, 1833) was a Qajar crown prince of Iran. He developed a reputation as a military commander during the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 and the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828, as ...

to propose his services. He was promised the rank of Colonel, but never actually received the troops corresponding to his function. In 1820, Allard left for the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

, where in 1822 he entered the service of the Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He was commissioned to raise a corps of dragoons and lancers. On completion of this task, Allard was awarded the rank of general, and became the leader of the European officer corps in the Maharaja's service. While serving under Maharaja Ranjit Singh, he fell in love with Princess Bannu Pan Dei from the area that is now

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

. They married and eventually had seven children. In 1835, Allard returned to his hometown Saint-Tropez along with his wife and built "Pan Dei Palais" to commemorate their love. When he returned to India, to serve in Maharaja's army once again he left Pan Dei at Saint-Tropez, fearing that she might become

Sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

, if he died in India for any reason. Another European who took service in the Punjab with Allard in 1822 was the Italian

Jean-Baptiste Ventura Jean-Baptiste (Giovanni Battista) Ventura, born Rubino (25 May 1794 – 3 April 1858), was an Italian soldier, mercenary in India, general in Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Sarkar-i-Khalsa, and early archaeologist of the Punjab region of the Sikh Empi ...

. They were joined four years later by the Neapolitan Paolo Di Avitabile, and the Frenchman Claude August Court.''Sikh art and literature'' by Kerry Brown p.43''ff''
/ref> A Spaniard, by the name of Oms, also served with them for a period. Allard was a charming and gentle man, very different from some of the other European mercenaries in the Punjab. He made the effort to learn Persian, and is said to have composed poetry in his new language. He was an amateur

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...

, and contributed greatly to the early study of Ancient Indian coins.''Proceedings of the Numismatic Society, 1836/1837-1838/1839.''

Royal Numismatic Society The Royal Numismatic Society (RNS) is a learned society and charity based in London, United Kingdom which promotes research into all branches of numismatics. Its patron was Queen Elizabeth II. Membership Foremost collectors and researchers, bo ...

(Great Britain) p.7

/ref> In June 1834, Allard returned to France on leave, going back to the Punjab 18 months later. He continued to serve the Maharaja until his death in 1839. Allard was awarded the

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

''( French for Legion of Honour)'' by

Napoleon Bonaparte 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 wh ...

, and the Kaukab-i-Iqbal-i-Punjab ''(

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

for Bright Star of Punjab)'' by Ranjit Singh.

Notes

External links

The residence built by Allard in Saint Tropez in 1834: the Pan Dei Palais
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allard, Jean-Francois 1785 births 1839 deaths People from Saint-Tropez French mercenaries Mercenaries in India French expatriates in Iran French expatriates in India 19th-century French people French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars

See also

Notes

External links