Sir Anselm Adornes – Ambassador to Persia 1474

English translation
To all the princes, barons, soldiers, and commoners, to whom these things have been shown in our letter, our goodwill and well-being, your entirety, and each of you. We ask that our beloved and faithful counselor, orator, and our chaplain, Sir Anselm Adornes, knight, lord de Corthuy, the bearer of these, whom we send to some Eastern parts of the present when he shall come from among you, or shall he travel through your lands and dominions, receive favorably; you may wish to treat and be treated the same, together with twenty persons, and as many horses or others as they are riding or below, by permitting them to pass without tolls, tax, farmhouses, data, or any other tax.

From March to June 1474, Adornes, Lord of Cortachy, led an embassy in the name of Charles the Bold to the Shah of Persia Uzun Hassan (1423-78), whom the Duke of Burgundy sought to persuade to engage in a new military expedition against the Ottomans, following a campaign in the previous year which had ended in Uzun Hassan’s defeat by Mehmed II. Adornes was chosen for this mission due to his knowledge of Muslim territories; he had made a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in 1470/71 (the account of his journey written by his son Jan is still preserved). Sir Anselm Adornes Ambassador

One of the most illustrious members of the Adornes-Adorno family, of Genoese origin, and a wealthy patron, Anselm was closely involved in international trade (mainly in alum and cloth from Tournai and England). He maintained commercial relations with Genoa and Spain and played an essential role in Burgundian diplomacy.

Sir Anselm Adornes Ambassador