15 king and his ministers of the authenticity of Mohammad Reza Bey’s mission. Nevertheless, the French authorities questioned Marie Petit about the envoy’s background. She informed them that she had met Mohammad Reza Bey in Yerevan, where he indeed served as the kalandar (mayor) of the town. The French court believed that negotiations with Mohammad Reza Bey would not take long. Immediately following the audience on February 19, 1715, Louis XIV appointed the Marquis de Torcy, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pontchartrain, Minister of the Navy, and Nicolas Desmarets, Controller-General of Finances, to negotiate on his behalf with Mohammad Reza Bey.
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