Shaykh Iʿtiṣām al-Dīn b. Shaykh Tāj al-Dīn (c. 1142-1214/1730-1800) was the first Indian diplomatic representative from the Mughal emperor to the British king and later wrote an autobiographical travel narrative about his experiences in Britain and France in 1180-1/1766-7. He was born in Nadia District (in present-day West Bengal, India) to a traditional service-elite family. They claimed to be sayyid s (descendants of the Prophet) who had immigrated from Iran to escape the Mongols. He trained as a munshī (secretary)