JAUBERT

jaubert, pierre amedee emilien probe (1779-1847), french orientalist, was born at aix in provence on the 3rd of june 1779. he was one of the most distinguished pupils of silvestre de sacy, whose funeral _discours_ he pronounced in 1838. jaubert acted as interpreter to napoleon in egypt in 1798-1799, and on his return to paris held various posts under government. in 1802 he accompanied sebastiani on his eastern mission; and in 1804 he was at constantinople. next year he was despatched to persia to arrange an alliance with the shah; but on the way he was seized and imprisoned in a dry cistern for four months by the pasha of bayazid. the pasha's death freed jaubert, who successfully accomplished his mission, and rejoined napoleon at warsaw in 1807. on the eve of napoleon's downfall he was appointed charge d'affaires at constantinople. the restoration ended his diplomatic career, but in 1818 he undertook a journey with government aid to tibet, whence he succeeded in introducing into france 400 kashmir goats. the rest of his life jaubert spent in study, in writing and in teaching. he became professor of persian in the college de france, and director of the ecole des langues orientales, and in 1830 was elected member of the academie des inscriptions. in 1841 he was made a peer of france and councillor of state. he died in paris on the 28th of january, 1847. besides articles in the _journal asiatique_, he published _voyage en armenie et en perse_ (1821; the edition of 1860 has a notice of jaubert, by m. sedillot) and _elements de la grammaire turque_ (1823-1834). see notices in the _journal asiatique_, jan. 1847, and the _journal des debats_, jan. 30, 1847.