Ludvig Fabritius

Ludvig Fabritius
Ludvig Fabritius, Lieutenant Colonel and envoy of the Swedish crown to Safavid Iran. Painted by Martin Mijtens.
Swedish ambassador to the Safavid Empire
Monarch	Charles XI and Charles XII
Personal details
Born	Lodewyck Fabritius 14 September 1649 Brazil
Died	6 October 1729 , Sweden
Nationality	Swedish
Occupation	Diplomat, Lieutenant-Colonel

Ludvig (Lodewyck) Fabritius (born 14 September 1648,Brazil — d. 6 October 1729, ) was the Swedish ambassador to Safavid Iran during the reign of the kings Charles XI (r. 1660–1697) and Charles XII (r. 1697–1718). After an initial career in the Russian army, he pursued a diplomatic career representing the Swedish crown. He led three missions to the Safavid court, in 1679-80, 1683–84, and 1697-1700. His efforts were mainly characterized by the aimed establishment of a new transit route between Sweden and Iran through Russia with Narva as its main hub, as well as several attempts to establish a fruitful alliance against the common enemy, namely the Ottoman Empire. Other than that, throughout his tenure as ambassador to the Safavid court, he presented a formal invititation to the Safavid king on behalf of the Swedish king to join the Holy League. Lastly, he was involved in the establishment of several Safavid-Swedish economic and trade-related agreements.

Fabriutius was born as Lodewyck Fabritius in Brazil, of Dutch origin, and moved to the Tsardom of Russia in 1660/61 along with his grandfather, where he subsequently pursued a career in the Russian army, as an officer. He participated in numerous military campaigns under the Russian banner, until he was captured while fighting Stenka Razin and his Cossack forces. Having spent three months in captivity in Astrakhan, enslaved by Tatars, he regained his freedom and moved to the Safavid Empire alongside other Dutch refugees. Upon his arrival in Isfahan, the Safavid capital, he was offered a position in the Dutch East India Company, which he refused, and, in 1672, he moved back to the Russia. In 1677, he resigned from the Russian military service, and moved to Sweden.