Persian embassy to Europe (1609–1615)

The embassy went to Kraków, Prague, Florence, Rome, Madrid, London, and returned to Persia through the Great Mogul's India.

In 1611, Shirley reached England, but he was opposed by the Levant Company, which had strong interests with Ottomans.

[8] Shirley then returned to Persia by sea, through the Cape of Good Hope to land in India, at the mouth of the Indus, escaping from an attempt on his life by the Portuguese.

[10] In 1616, a trade agreement was reached between Shah Abbas and the East India Company and in 1622 "a joint Anglo-Persian force expelled the Portuguese and Spanish traders from the Persian Gulf" in the Capture of Ormuz.

[11] In 1624, Robert Shirley led another embassy to England in order to obtain trade agreements.

Fresco of the Persian embassy visiting Pope Paul V in Rome, painted in 1615–1616. Sala dei Corazzieri, Palazzo del Quirinale , Rome
Fresco detail of Robert Shirley visiting Pope Paul V , Sala dei Corazzieri, Palazzo del Quirinale , Rome . Painted in 1615–1616.
Abbas I as a new Caesar being honoured by the Trumpets of Fame, together with the Persian embassy, in Allégorie de l'Occasion , by Frans II Francken , 1628.
Robert Shirley and his Circassian wife Teresia , c. 1624–1627. Robert Shirley modernized the Persian army, and led the 1609–1615 embassy to Europe.