He also established diplomatic ties with the United States, engaged with European nations, and promoted educational progress by persuading Naser al-Din Shah to send 42 students abroad to Europe.

Over the course of his over two-year diplomatic mission, Farrokh Khan instructed his secretary Hoseyn Sarabi to assist him in writing a diary of his trips, titled Makhzan ol-Vaqaye ("The Treasury of Events").

Initially unpublished, this travelogue caught the attention of the Qajar shah and other Iranian court members, and eventually became crucial for historians exploring the international politics of that period.

Scholars have found Farrokh Khan's interactions with Western dignitaries, including Napoleon III, Leopold I of Belgium, and Queen Victoria, along with his detailed diplomatic narratives, to be of high importance.

Born in 1812,[1] Farrokh Khan was part of the prominent Ghaffari family of the city of Kashan, which had produced government officials, artists and jurists in Iran.

The siege was lifted in November 1833 due to the death of Abbas Mirza, with Kamran Shah Durrani agreeing to pay a yearly tribute to Tehran.

As part of his two-pronged strategy of military operations and diplomacy, Naser al-Din Shah sent Farrokh Khan as an ambassador to discuss Iran's demands for the end of the Herat conflict with the British diplomats in Paris and Constantinople.

[7] According to the Iranologist Abbas Amanat, Farrokh Khan was the biggest factor for the "relative leniency" of the treaty, stating that he "was a man of caution and common sense who sustained his consistency and composure in spite of the premier's vacillations, the shah's sunken morale, and British intransigence."

He encouraged Farrokh Khan to personally approach Queen Victoria, pleading with her to grant his "friendly request" and return thirty guns that had been looted as war booty from the Iranian army in Bushehr and Mohammerah.

He responded by advising Naser al-Din Shah to have "Power and discipline, so that all nations will see how far the government of Iran cares for the organization of its army, the development of the country, the tranquility of its subjects, and the fortification of its ports."

Farrokh Khan also became a member of the Freemasonic organization Grand Orient de France after being greatly inspired by the political, social, and technological advancements of the European nations.

[1] In December 1858, Farrokh Khan was appointed as the Minister in Presence (chamberlain[12]), holder of the personal seal of the shah, and the leader of the Imperial servants.

With the belief that advancement was imperative for Iran, Farrokh Khan convinced Naser al-Din Shah to send 42 students to Europe receive instruction in science and technology under the supervision of prominent Persophile Aleksander Chodźko.

[1] Over the course of his over two-year diplomatic mission, Farrokh Khan instructed his secretary Hoseyn Sarabi to assist him in writing a diary of his trips[13] titled Makhzan ol-Vaqaye ("The Treasury of Events").

[14] Initially unpublished, this travelogue caught the attention of the Qajar shah and other Iranian court members, and eventually became crucial for historians exploring the international politics of that period.

Scholars have found Farrokh Khan's interactions with Western dignitaries, including Napoleon III, Leopold I of Belgium, and Queen Victoria, along with his detailed diplomatic narratives, to be of high importance.

[1] It is unclear how much of an impact Hoseyn Sarabi had on the manuscript in comparison to Farrokh Khan, but he functions as a kind of ghost writer and frequently avoids making personal opinions known in his work.

[17] Farrokh Khan was optimistic about the future of his country and expressed his respect for the English and Europeans in general for their forward-thinking and thoughtful approach to building a better society.

In addition, the text's obsession with propriety hints at its author's intention to bypass censorship when publishing the book – an effort that eventually fell short.

I should remind you that during his mission, Saif el-Mulk also decided to publish a similar book with the objective to educate people on the differences between the state of affairs in Iran and Europe, with which I disagreed.

"Vahdat adds that "In addition to moral qualms, it seems likely that the officials of the court were concerned about the development of any "public awareness" of Farangestan that might seem to confirm Iran's backwardness and contribute to skepticism about the power of the regime.