Teresia Sampsonia
Noblewoman of the Safavid Empire of Iran · Historical Figures · Lived 1589 to 1668 · aged 79
Teresa Sampsonia was a Circassian-English noblewoman of Safavid Iran. She was the wife of the Elizabethan English adventurer Robert Shirley, whom she accompanied on his travels and embassies across Europe in the name of the Safavid emperor Abbas the Great.
Teresia Sampsonia is read about 23 times a day, in 16 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 17 August 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 60 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?People around Teresia
Family
Teresia SampsoniaPartners
Is this everyone?
Only relatives with a profile here are drawn, so a family can be larger than this. A line here can also be wrong. A marriage is drawn as ended only where its end is recorded, so a spouse drawn here may be a former one.
Correct this familyMedia & music
Photos 6
![Portraits of Robert Shirley and Teresa Sampsonia, c. 1624-1627. Shirley is wearing Persian clothing; Teresa, in the European (English) fashion of the day, holds a jewelled flintlock pistol in her right hand and a watch in her left.[7]{{harvnb|Canby|2009|page=57}}. Canby adds that the pistol may also be an allusion to Teresa's courage (referring to the two events in which she saved Robert's life; after departing on their first mission, and later when hostile Portuguese attacked them on their way to Goa).{{harvnb|Canby|2009|page=57}}; {{harvnb|Andrea|2017a|p=33}}."}},"i":0}}]}">[c] Teresa's veil and jewelled crown are a variation on the headdresses worn by Iranian women from Isfahan in the first quarter of the seventeenth century.Canby 2009, p. 57."},"errors":[{"key":"cite_error_references_duplicate_key","params":["Canby 2009 page=57"]}]}">[8]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Shirleys.JPG/500px-Shirleys.JPG)
Portraits of Robert Shirley and Teresa Sampsonia, c. 1624-1627. Shirley is wearing Persian clothing; Teresa, in the European (English) fashion of the day, holds a jewelled flintlock pistol in her right hand and a watch in her left.[7]{{harvnb|Canby|2009|page=57}}. Canby adds that the pistol may also be an allusion to Teresa's courage (referring to the two events in which she saved Robert's life; after departing on their first mission, and later when hostile Portuguese attacked them on their way to Goa).{{harvnb|Canby|2009|page=57}}; {{harvnb|Andrea|2017a|p=33}}."}},"i":0}}]}">[c] Teresa's veil and jewelled crown are a variation on the headdresses worn by Iranian women from Isfahan in the first quarter of the seventeenth century.Canby 2009, p. 57."},"errors":[{"key":"cite_error_references_duplicate_key","params":["Canby 2009 page=57"]}]}">[8]![Lady Shirley, painted c. 1611-1613 by William Larkin in England, and dressed in then contemporary attire. According to art historian Patricia Smyth, "the embroidery on Teresa's dress includes honeysuckles, which are to signify love, as well as strawberries, as a symbol for fruitfulness".[28] Smyth notes that these emblems may have an additional meaning "as the Shirley's child, Henry, was born during this short stay in England".[28]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Teresia%2C_Countess_of_Shirley%2C_painted_circa_1611-1613.jpg/500px-Teresia%2C_Countess_of_Shirley%2C_painted_circa_1611-1613.jpg)
Lady Shirley, painted c. 1611-1613 by William Larkin in England, and dressed in then contemporary attire. According to art historian Patricia Smyth, "the embroidery on Teresa's dress includes honeysuckles, which are to signify love, as well as strawberries, as a symbol for fruitfulness".[28] Smyth notes that these emblems may have an additional meaning "as the Shirley's child, Henry, was born during this short stay in England".[28]
Etching of Teresa, Lady Shirley, possibly late 18th century. Made after an illustration by van Dyck.
Santa Maria della Scala in the Trastevere rione of Rome, where Teresa remained for the rest of her life
The headstone of Teresa and Robert Shirley in the Santa Maria della Scala
