François Pétis de la Croix

Who was François Pétis de la Croix?

François Pétis de la Croix was a French orientalist.

He was born in Paris, the son of the Arabic interpreter of the French court, and inherited this office at his father's death in 1695, afterwards transmitting it to his own son, Alexandre Louis Marie, who also became a notable orientalist. At an early age, François was sent by Colbert to the East; during the ten years he spent in Syria, Persia and Turkey he learned Arabic, Persian and Turkish and collected materials which he would use in future writings.