Claude-Matthieu, Comte de Gardane (11 July 1766 in
Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
– 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 (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
'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 ...
(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: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
were at war with France, and the emperor
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", 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 in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...
was also engaged in hostilities with
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. The court of
Tehran
Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
sent a mission to the French emperor, then at the
Finckenstein Palace in
East Prussia
East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
, with a view to the conclusion of a
Franco-Persian alliance. The
Treaty of Finckenstein
The Treaty of Finckenstein ( Persian: عهدنامه فینکنشتاین), often spelled Finkenstein, was a treaty concluded between France and Iran (Persia) in the Finckenstein Palace (now Kamieniec, Poland) on 4 May 1807 and formalised t ...
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 South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
(then being invaded by the Russians) belonged to the
shah
Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...
, 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 the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
, 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 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'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
*
Treaty of Finckenstein
The Treaty of Finckenstein ( Persian: عهدنامه فینکنشتاین), often spelled Finkenstein, was a treaty concluded between France and Iran (Persia) in the Finckenstein Palace (now Kamieniec, Poland) on 4 May 1807 and formalised t ...
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