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lands. However, General Gardane remained in Persia for over a year and urged the Shah
to accept the French mediation between Persia and Russia. 6 Russian officials were
annoyed by the French ambassador’s activity and Alexander complained about the
Franco-Persian relations. Simultaneously, the British sent a mission to Persia to prevent
any Franco-Persian alliance that might have threatened India. By 1809, Fath Ali Shah
realized Napoleon had sacrificed him for the alliance with Russia and was willing to meet
with the British envoys if they promised support against Russia. In response, General
Gardanne decided to leave Tehran and return to France. The Persian ambassador to
France was recalled as well and, on his way back to Persia, he passed through Vienna,
where he met Peter Bagration. The ambassador was accompanied by his retinue and
carried secret documents on Franco-Persian relations. The Russian Foreign Office was
highly interested in these documents and instructed its agents in Vienna to procure them.
It seems Bagration supervised this operations and bribed one of the Persian interpreters,
who fled the mission with the copies of the secret Franco-Persian correspondence. 7
Napoleon was enraged by this blatant espionage. He was previously aware of the
anti-French parties in Vienna and tolerated them considering them of little threat to
French interests. However, hearing about Bagration’s intelligence work, he decided to
put an end to the anti-French sentiments in Vienna. He ordered his foreign minister to
contact Alexander and request the recall and arrest of Bagration along with the Russian
ambassador to Vienna Andrei Razumovsky for “attempting to disrupt the tranquility [on
the continent] and to benefit England. [cherchent partout à déchaîner les passions en
faveur de l'Angleterre.]” 8 Champagny wrote an extensive draft filled with elaborate
phrases to appease Alexander. However, Napoleon rejected it and dictated a more
forceful letter. He protested Bagration’s actions, which he assumed were done “contrary
6 Shapur Shabazi, “Napoleon and Iran,” Proceedings of The Consortium on Revolutionary
Europe, 1750-1850, edited by Donald D. Horward, John C. Horgan. 20 (1989): 847-52.
7 Vandal, Napoleon et Alexandre Ier, II, 413-14.
8 Napoleon to Champagny, 22 August 1810, Correspondance de Napoleon Ier, No. 16,816,
XI, 65-66.
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