The Path of The Man in a Panther-Skin to England and English Historical Sources

Abstract

This paper examines the information emerging in the English historical literature and primary sources concerning the origin of Shah Abbas’ Georgian Christian wives, which has not yet been discussed in Georgian historical writing. Specifically, English diplomat and traveller Sir Anthony Sherley, at the end of the 16th century, and Sir Thomas Herbert, an English attaché to Iran in the early 17th century, note in their books published in the 17th century that Abbas married the daughters of King Simon of Kartli and King Alexander of Kakheti.

English historical writings and sources indicate that the English diplomat Sir Anthony Sherley and his colleagues were assisted by the Christian wives of the Shah at the end of the 16th century. This statement reinforces the view that the story of the MPS known to a group of the early 17th-century English playwrights, and Shakespeare himself, became known through the cooperation of prominent ethnic Georgians, promoted at the Court of Abbas, with Sir Anthony Sherley.