“ contenant la politique de ce grand empire, les moeurs du Roy Schach Abbas, & une relation exacte de tous les lieux de Perse & des Indes, ou cét Ambassadeur a esté l?espace de huit anées qu'il y a demeuré.” Title, 10 p. ( Preface ); 506 numbered pages; 30 p. ( Table Générale des Matières ), 2 p. blank, 4to ( 190 x 250 mm.), Don García de Silva Figueroa was a Spanish diplomat, and the first Western traveller to correctly identify the ruins of Takht-e Jamshid in Persia as the location of Persepolis, the ancient capital of the Achaemenid Empire and one of the great cities of antiquity. In 1614, Philip III chose Figueroa as his ambassador to the court of Shah Abbas, the Safavid monarch. Before he could reach Persia, however, Figueroa was detained in Goa; he did not arrive at his destination until October 1617. During his stay, Figueroa dealt with various diplomatic issues. He travelled extensively throughout Persia, visiting the cities of Shiraz, Qom and Isfahan. He wrote a full account of his travels under the title Totius legationis suae et Indicarum rerum Persidisque commentarii. It was translated into French by the Dutchman Abraham de Wicquefort in 1667. The original manuscript is preserved today in the National Museum in Madrid.Figueroa's memoirs contain a great deal of detailed information relating to Persian geography, history and culture. He described, among many other things, the funerary practices of the Zoroastrians, the sport of organized bull-fighting in Persian towns, and the cultivation of date palms in southern Iran. His narrative is now regarded as a valuable source document on early 17th-century Persia. Rare!