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Teresa Sampsonia

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Teresia Sampsonia
Lady Shirley as painted by Anthony van Dyck in Rome, 1622
Born
Sampsonia

1589
Safavid Empire
Died1668 (aged 79)
Rome, Papal States
Resting placeSanta Maria della Scala
41°53′27.81″N 12°28′3.31″E / 41.8910583°N 12.4675861°E / 41.8910583; 12.4675861
SpouseRobert Shirley

Teresia Sampsonia[a] born Sampsonia; full name after marrying Robert Shirley Lady Shirley, 1589–1668) was a Safavid noblewoman and the wife of Elizabethan English adventurer Robert Shirley, whom she accompanied on his travels and in embassies across Europe in the name of the Safavid emperor, Abbas the Great (r. 1588–1629).

After the death of her husband, and due to impediments from grandees at the court and the authorities during the reign of Abbas' successor and grandson Safi (r. 1629–1642), she decided to leave Iran. She lived in a convent in Rome for the rest of her life, which she devoted to charity and religion. As a pious Christian and because of her love for her husband, she had Shirley's remains transported to Rome from Isfahan and reburied in the grave where she would also be buried.

Teresia was received by many of the royal houses of Europe, such as English crown prince Henry Frederick and Queen Anne (her child's godparents), and contemporary writers and artists such as Thomas Herbert and Anthony van Dyck. According to Herbert, Robert Shirley "was the greatest Traveller of his time"; he admired the "undaunted Lady Teresia", whose "faith was ever Christian, her parents so noble, and her country of [ultimate] origin Circassia".[3][4][5] An emancipated figure of the seventeenth century, due to her exploits, she has been described as someone who subverted patriarchal gender roles common to the Muslim and Christian cultures of her time.

Early life and marriage

See caption
Portraits of Robert Shirley and Teresia Sampsonia, c. 1624–1627. Shirley is wearing Persian clothing, which impressed his European hosts during his travels on behalf of the Persian king; Teresia, in the European (English) fashion of the day, holds a jewelled flintlock pistol in her right hand and a watch in her left.[6][7][b] Teresia's veil and jewelled crown are a varation on the headdresses worn by Iranian women from Isfahan in the first quarter of the seventeenth century.[7]

Teresia was born in 1589 into a noble Orthodox Christian (Greek or Georgian Orthodoxy) Circassian family in the Safavid Empire,[8][9] ruled at the time by king (shah) Abbas the Great. She was named Sampsonia by birth. The daughter of Ismail Khan, a brother-in-law of the king,[9][10] she grew up in Isfahan in the Iranian royal court as an accomplished horsewoman who enjoyed embroidery and painting.[9][10][c]

On 2 February 1608, with the approval of her aunt and Abbas,[9] Teresia married Robert Shirley in Iran.[10][d] Shirley was an English adventurer who was sent to the Safavids after a Persian embassy was sent to Europe to forge an alliance against the neighbouring Ottoman Empire, rivals of the Safavids.[8] During Shirley's attendance at court, Teresia met him and fell in love.[9] Around the time of their February 1608 marriage, she was baptised as a Roman Catholic by the Carmelites with the name Teresia.[12][13][10][e] Her baptismal name derives from the founder of the Discalced Carmelites, Teresa of Ávila.[15]

Travels

Lady Teresia Shirley, painted c. 1611–1613 in England, and dressed in then contemporary attire. The embroidery on her dress includes honeysuckles, which are to signify love, as well as strawberries, as a symbol for fruitfulness. Additionally, these emblems may have a special meaning, as the Shirley's child, Henry, was born during this short stay in England.

She accompanied Shirley on his diplomatic missions to England and other royal houses in Europe for king Abbas. On their first trip together, Teresia and Shirley visited the Grand Duke of Muscovy, Pope Paul V in Rome and the King of Poland. There, Teresia remained in a convent in Kraków for some time, while her husband went on to visit Prague, where Emperor Rudolph II (r. 1576–1612) bestowed the title of Count Palatine on him.[16] He arrived in Rome on 27 September 1609 and met Ali Qoli Beg (the king's ambassador, with whom they had an audience with the pope) before leaving for Savoy, France, Flanders and Spain.[17][16] Teresia then rejoined him in Lisbon via Hamburg; thereafter they went to Madrid.[18][14] In Madrid, Teresia came to know the Carmelite nuns, particularly Mother Beatrix de Jesus (the niece of Saint Teresa, from whom she received a relic of Teresa which later reportedly sustained her in a crisis).[19][20]

Teresia and Shirley then left for Holland and England.[18] Their only child, a son named Henry, was born in November 1611 at the Shirley home in Sussex.[7] His godparents were the Prince of Wales, for whom he was named, and Queen Anne.[21][13] On their way back to Safavid Iran in 1613, they decided to turn young Henry over either to the care of the queen,[22] or Robert's own family in Sussex.[13]

During Shirley's diplomatic missions, their portraits were painted several times. Although he cultivated a Near Eastern air, she posed in the European fashion of the day but retained a symbolic item familiar to Perso-Georgian painting (a pistol in one portrait, said to refer to her saving Shirley from bandits or to indicate her noble family).[1][9]

On Teresia's last mission with her husband they visited Rome briefly between 22 July and 29 August 1622, where Anthony van Dyck (then 23 years old) painted their portraits.[23][24] They then went to Poland, and visited England in 1623 for the last time. They sailed for the Safavid Empire in 1627 with Dodmore Cotton, an envoy from the king of England to Persia and other courts.[25] On the way back, Teresia reportedly saved her husband's life on two occassions; for this, the Carmelite records praised her as "a true Amazon".[14]

Returning to Qazvin (the former capital) from the last mission with Shirley, he and Teresia were rewarded by the king with valuable gifts. Shirley and Cotton, however, became seriously ill with fever (probably dysentery),[26] shortly after their arrival.[25]

Departure from Safavid kingdom and later life

Shirley and Teresia were troubled by the jealousy of several nobles and grandees at court, who spread a rumour that Teresia was a Muslim before she became a Christian.[27] They disgraced her to the king, and it was published in the court that the king intended to execute her by burning.[27] Fifteen days after hearing the report, Robert died of fever on 13 July 1628 in Qazvin at the royal court. According to his wishes, he was buried in the Barefoot Carmelite church in Isfahan.[27] The king summoned Teresia, asking her why the grandees were so opposed to her. She remained silent to protect them; the king advised her not to be afraid, because it would be harder for him to put one woman to death than a hundred men.[27] Some of his corrupt officials plundered her wealth; Teresia became severely ill, and was moved to Isfahan to receive the sacraments from the priests. She recovered, and decided to move to a Christian land.[28]

In the Safavid Empire women were prohibited from traveling abroad without permission,[29] and the Carmelites in Isfahan asked the governor (khan) of Shiraz, Emamqoli, son of the celebrated Allahverdi Khan (one of Abbas' closest associates), for consent on her behalf.[30][29] However, a favourite of his wanted to marry Teresia and reminded Emamqoli Khan of the report that she was a Muslim before she was a Christian. She was ordered to appear before a mullah in a mosque, who would question her about her past and her religion.[29] This was unacceptable to the Carmelites, who asked the governor to have Teresia questioned in the church of the Carmelite fathers.[29] The mullah rejected this however; an agreement was reached that the happening would take place in the home of a steward of the governor of Shiraz, who was a friend of the Carmelite Fathers.[29] She was questioned for an hour, before she was allowed to go home.[29]

See caption
Etching of Teresia, Lady Shirley, possibly late 18th century. Made after an illustration by van Dyck.

Safavid Iran was disturbed by the death of king Abbas a few months after Shirley's death. Abbas' grandson, Safi, succeeded him; compared to his grandfather, Safi was less consistent in his religious toleration. The favourite of Emamqoli Khan, who still wanted to marry Teresia, sent his servants to the Carmelites in Isfahan to capture her. The priests denied knowing where she was, and advised her to take refuge in the Church of Saint Augustine in New Julfa (the Armenian quarter in Isfahan);[29] they were brought to the favourite's house and threatened with torture before they were released.[29]

The mullah asked Emamqoli Khan for permission to question Teresia again. Since he favoured the Carmelite Fathers, but didn't want to insult the mullah at the same time, he said that the matter concerned Isfahan prefect (darugha) Khosrow Mirza.[31] The prefect, also a Georgian, had Teresia arrested and brought before him; a judge questioned her about her religion. She professed her Christianity, saying that she would die a thousand times for it.[31] The judge accused her of lying, and threatened to burn her alive if she did not convert to Islam. When Teresia refused, the judge threatened to have her thrown from a tower; she said that would suit her better, because she would die (and go to heaven) more quickly.[31] According to the Carmelites, the judge was shamed by her reminder of Shirley's service; he thus ended the questioning and reported to the prefect of Isfahan (who allowed Teresia to return to her house and had the mullah dismissed).[31] The Carmelite Fathers received the necessary permission from the governor of Shiraz in September 1629.[31] Teresia's departure was documented in a letter from Father Dimas in the Carmelite archives in Rome:

18.9.1629 ... The lady Countess Donna Teresa, who was the consort of the late Count Palatine Don Robert Sherley, leaves here for Rome; she is a lady of great spirit and valour ... In these parts, she has been an apostle and a martyr confessed and professed ...

— Father Dimas[31]
Front of an old white church, with a man entering
Santa Maria della Scala in the Trastevere rione of Rome, where Teresia remained for the rest of her life

After three years in Safavid Iran since returning from her last trip with her husband, Teresia left her country of birth forever. She lived in Constantinople for three years, receiving a certificate from the commissary general of the Dominicans in the East on 21 June 1634 attesting to her pious conduct.[32] Around that time, she decided to retire to a convent in Rome which was attached to the Carmelite Santa Maria della Scala church. On 27 December 1634 she arrived in Rome and was received kindly by Pope Urban VIII, who entrusted her to the Carmelites.[32][33] Teresia bought a house next to the church;[32] in 1658 she had Robert's remains transported from Isfahan to Rome, where he was reburied in the convent.[34] In the Carmelite convent, she devoted herself to charity and religion until her death at age 79 in 1688.[12][35][34] Teresia was buried at the convent, where she had lived for forty years.[3] She had her headstone inscribed, "Teresia Sampsonia Amazonites Samphuffi Circassiae Principes Filia" (translated by David W. Davies as "Teresia Sampsonia, native of the region of the Amazons, daughter of Samphuffus, prince of Circassia").[36][f] This text shows that Teresia subverted the patriarchal gender roles common to the Muslim and Christian cultures of her time.[26]

During her five journeys between Persia and Europe, she was noted by contemporary writers, artists and European royal houses. According to travel writer Thomas Herbert, Robert Shirley "was the greatest Traveller of his time"; Herbert also admired the "undaunted Lady Teresia", whose "faith was ever Christian, her parents so noble and her country of origin Circassia".[3][4][5]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Baptismal first name also written "Teresa", "Theresia", or "Theresa".[1][2]
  2. ^ According to Canby, the pistol and watch "may be allusions to Robert's role in advancing the import of European technology to Iran".[7] Canby adds that the pistol may also be an allusion to Teresia's courage (referring to the two events in which she saved Robert's life).[7]
  3. ^ The birth name of her father Ismail Khan is rather unspecified, however, on her grave, he is referred to as "Samphuffus", while according to Chick & Matthee (2012) and Andrea (2017), he was also known by the name of "Sampsuff Iscaon".[9][11]
  4. ^ Teresia's aunt was one of the favourite wives of king Abbas I.[10]
  5. ^ Andrea (2017) considers it likely that the Safavid king had arranged Teresia's marriage with Shirley in reward for his deeds.[14]
  6. ^ "Native of the region of the Amazons" is another referral to her Circassian origins.[26] The Amazons are traditionally linked with the Black Sea region, the same area associated with a major part of the ancestral homeland of the Circassians (Circassia).[26]

References

  1. ^ a b Foxhall & Neher 2012, p. 133.
  2. ^ Andrea 2017, p. 141.
  3. ^ a b c El Reyes 2013, p. 19.
  4. ^ a b Cave & Nichols 1844, p. 598.
  5. ^ a b Herbert 1638, p. 203.
  6. ^ Schwartz 2013, pp. 95–99.
  7. ^ a b c d e Canby 2009, p. 57.
  8. ^ a b Jackson & Lockhart 1986, p. 390.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Chick & Matthee 2012, p. 144.
  10. ^ a b c d e Blow 2009, p. 88.
  11. ^ Andrea 2017, p. 30.
  12. ^ a b Brown 1999, p. 54.
  13. ^ a b c Hearn 2009, p. 54.
  14. ^ a b c Andrea 2017, p. 33.
  15. ^ Andrea 2017, p. 32.
  16. ^ a b Blow 2009, p. 92.
  17. ^ Chick & Matthee 2012, p. 145.
  18. ^ a b Blow 2009, pp. 93–94.
  19. ^ Chick & Matthee 2012, p. 146.
  20. ^ Andrea 2017, p. 37.
  21. ^ Johnson & Stevens 1813, p. 369.
  22. ^ Maclean 1860, p. 8.
  23. ^ Blow 2009, p. 138.
  24. ^ Canby 2009, p. 56.
  25. ^ a b Chick & Matthee 2012, p. 289.
  26. ^ a b c d Andrea 2017, p. 34.
  27. ^ a b c d Chick & Matthee 2012, p. 291.
  28. ^ Chick & Matthee 2012, pp. 291–292.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h Chick & Matthee 2012, p. 292.
  30. ^ Floor 2008, pp. 280, 283.
  31. ^ a b c d e f Chick & Matthee 2012, p. 293.
  32. ^ a b c Chick & Matthee 2012, p. 294.
  33. ^ Wheelock, Barnes & Held 1990, p. 155.
  34. ^ a b Christensen 2012, p. 323.
  35. ^ Globe 1985, p. 84.
  36. ^ Schwartz 2013, p. 86.

Sources

  • Andrea, Bernadette (2017). The Lives of Girls and Women from the Islamic World in Early Modern British Literature and Culture (1500–1630). University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-4875-0125-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Blow, David (2009). Shah Abbas: The Ruthless King Who Became an Iranian Legend. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-0-85771-676-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Canby, Sheila R. (2009). Shah ʻAbbas: The Remaking of Iran. British Museum Press. ISBN 978-0-7141-2452-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Cave, Edward; Nichols, John, eds. (1844). The Gentleman's Magazine. Vol. 176. John Bowyer Nichols and sons. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Chick, H.; Matthee, Rudi, eds. (2012). Chronicle of the Carmelites in Persia: The Safavids and the Papal Mission of the 17th and 18th Centuries. I. B. Tauris. ISBN 0-85772-206-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Christensen, Thomas (2012). 1616: The World in Motion. Counterpoint Press. ISBN 978-1-58243-774-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Davis, Dick (2002). Belonging: Poems. Ohio University Press. ISBN 978-0-8040-4005-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Hannay, Margaret P. (2013). Mary Sidney, Lady Wroth. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 978-1-4094-7590-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Hearn, Karen (2009). Van Dyck and Britain. Tate Pub. ISBN 978-1-85437-858-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Herbert, Thomas (1638). Some yeares travels into Africa and Asia (digitalised March 2010, State Library of Bayern). Blome. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Jackson, Peter; Lockhart, Lawrence, eds. (1986). "European Contacts with Persia: 1350–1736". The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 6: The Timurid and Safavid Periods. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 373–412. ISBN 0-521-20094-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Maclean, John, ed. (1860). Works of the Camden Society. Vol. 76. Westminster, UK: J. B. Nichols and Sons. p. 8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Johnson, Samuel; Stevens, George, eds. (1813). The Plays of William Shakespeare (6 ed.). London, UK: J. Nichols and Son. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Brown, Christopher (1999). Van Dyck, 1599–1641. Rizzoli International Publications. pp. 1–359. ISBN 978-0-8478-2196-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Foxhall, Lin; Neher, Gabriele, eds. (2012). Gender and the City before Modernity. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 1–272. ISBN 978-1-118-23445-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Schwartz, Gary (2013). The Sherleys and the Shah (PDF). {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Globe, Alexander V. (1985). Peter Stent, London Printseller (circa 1642–1665). University of British Columbia Press. pp. 1–268. ISBN 978-0-7748-4141-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • El Reyes, Abdulla, ed. (2013). Liwa (PDF). Vol. 5. National Center for Documentation & Research. ISSN 1729-9039. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 November 2014. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  • Wheelock, Arthur K.; Barnes, Susan J.; Held, Julius Samuel, eds. (1990). Anthony van Dyck. National Gallery of Art. ISBN 978-0-89468-155-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Further reading

  • Maclean, Gerald (2011). Britain and the Islamic World: 1558–1713. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-161990-6.
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