First edition. Gobineau had just published his notorious Essai sur l'inégalité des races humaines when he was invited to act as First Secretary to the French mission in Teheran, at the critical time of the Crimean War. He naturally jumped at the chance to visit the birthplace of the Aryans, and this book resulted. The first part is an interesting account of his journey there, the second an analysis of what he found, concluding: "Je me borne donc à constater ce fait que l'Asie est un mets très-séduisant, mais qui empoisonne ceux qui le mangent" (p.482).