William Jones was an Anglo-Welsh Orientalist, scholar and lawyer who established the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784.

Jones published this Persian grammar after graduating from Oxford while embarking on his legal studies. It teaches the Persian language through passages of Persian literature and incorporates a “Catalogue of the Most Valuable Books in the Persian Language.” Since Persian was the official language of the Indian courts, his publication proved to vital in the training of East India Company employees in the late 18th century.