François Baron de Tott

In 1755 he travelled to Constantinople, the capital city of the Ottoman Empire, as the secretary of his uncle Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, who had been appointed ambassador.

His main duty was to learn the Turkish language, to investigate the situation in the Ottoman Empire and to gather information about the Crimean Khanate.

In 1767, he was appointed consul in Crimea in order to learn about the country and incite the Crimean Tatars to rebel against the Imperial Russia.

He succeeded in having a new foundry built to make howitzers, and was instrumental in the creation of mobile artillery units.

He travelled across the Ottoman Empire, visiting coastal cities around the Mediterranean Sea, mainly Alexandria, Aleppo, Smyrna, Salonika and Tunis.