Jenkinson, Anthony

Date of birth unknown; died circa 1611. English merchant and diplomat.

Jenkinson traveled throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa. Between 1557 and 1572 he visited the Russian state four times. With the permission of Ivan IV the Terrible, he traveled across Russia to Iran and Middle Asia from 1558 to 1559 and from 1562 to 1564. Jenkinson succeeded in obtaining Ivan IV’s agreement to an English trade monopoly (1567-69), under the condition that a peace treaty be signed between England and Russia. Ivan IV revoked the monopoly agreement in 1570 after England refused to sign the treaty. Jenkinson compiled a written record of his journeys, which is a valuable source for information concerning Russia’s relations with England, Bukhara, Khiva, and Iran.