Thomas Herbert was a historian and courtier to Charles I. In 1627 he attended the diplomatic mission of Sir Dodmore Cotton and Sir Robert Shirley to the court of Abbas I, Shah of Persia. This mission failed following Shirley and Cotton's death and Herbert and others travelled throughout Persia, the Middle East and Africa, eventually returning to England in 1630.

In 1634, Herbert published his account of the journey under the title A Description of the Persian monarchy. This was followed by an expanded second edition in 1638. The second edition, renamed Some Years Travels into Divers Parts of Asia and Afrique, was a success and was quickly translated into Dutch and French.

While in Persia, Herbert took notice of cuneiform inscriptions at the Naqsh-e-Rustam necropolis north of Persepolis. These wedge-shaped inscriptions, although they would not be deciphered until the nineteenth century, were correctly identified by Herbert as representing words rather than individual letters. He also visited the ruins Persepolis itself, comparing the approach to the city to that of Windsor Castle from Eton. Herbert also visited the city of Isfahan where he was awed by the scale of the Grand Bazaar and wrote extensively on the plethora of goods on sale.

Herbert's accounts are, on the whole, based on his own travels, but, as further editions were published he came to insert fanciful or inaccurate material which was often gained through hearsay.