Paul Lucas (31 August 1664, inQuevilly, near Rouen – 12 May 1737, inMadrid) was a French merchant, naturalist, physician and antiquarian to KingLouis XIV.
Lucas was the son of Centurion Lucas, a well known book printer and publisher in Rouen, and Judith Mauclerc.
In 1688, he served with theVenetians at theSiege of Negroponte. In 1696 he returned to France with a large collection of medals and other antiquities which were purchased for the French Royal Cabinet. This brought him to the attention of the court and he then began a series of three voyages to the East: he travelled extensively inGreece,Turkey, theLevant andEgypt, in three major voyages (1699–1703, 1704–1708 and 1714–1717).[1]
Lucas is one of the earliest sources of information fromUpper Egypt, visiting among other placesThebes (though he does not identify it) and theNile up to thecataracts.
A panegyrical portrayal of Lucas is also afforded in the Arabic autobiography ofHanna Diyab, a Syrian whom Lucas employed as an interpreter, assistant, and servant from around 1707-10. Diyab viewed Lucas as having miraculous medical powers. Lucas's own writings never mention Diyab, however.[2]
Selected illustrations from Paul Lucas' books:
