Anthony Jenkinson
Anthony Jenkinson (1529–1610/1611) was an English explorer who helped open trade with Muscovy, or early Russia. He was born in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, to a wealthy family and trained for a mercantile career. He joined the Muscovy Company and later worked for the English crown, meeting Ivan the Terrible several times during his trips to Moscow and Russia.
Jenkinson’s first major voyage to Russia began in 1558. He travelled south along the Oka and Volga rivers, through Kazan, and reached Astrakhan. From there his party crossed the Caspian Sea and moved into Central Asia. They faced heavy banditry and hostile officials, and after many hardships they returned to Moscow in 1559 and finally to England in 1560. On this journey he began making maps of Russian lands, though he incorrectly thought the Aral Sea was part of the Caspian.
He made a second expedition in 1561–1562, traveling through Russia to Persia. In Persia he met Shah Tahmasp and obtained better trading terms for the Muscovy Company. His good relations with Ivan the Terrible helped the English gain broader trading privileges. He returned to England in 1564.
Jenkinson traveled to Scotland in 1565 during the Chaseabout Raid, attempting to block Leith from helping Mary, Queen of Scots. He later captured a ship near Dunbar and was involved in a dispute with English diplomat Thomas Randolph and the Earl of Bedford over Scottish affairs. Despite these issues, he was sent to Russia again to settle trade terms, arriving in 1567 to negotiate new privileges.
A fourth expedition began in 1571. After delays caused by plague, he reached Moscow in 1572 and successfully reinstated England’s trading rights with Russia in May. He noted the wars and turmoil in the region, including Crimean Tatars’ devastation, during his travels. His maps and accounts were later used to enrich Ortelius’s atlas, Theatrum orbis terrarum, and Hakluyt’s collection of travel writings.
Jenkinson’s travels also included bringing a young Russian girl to the English court, who was known as Aura Soltana or Ippolyta, and she received gifts and clothing from Queen Elizabeth’s circle.
He died in 1610 or 1611 and was buried on 16 February 1611 at Holy Trinity Church in Teigh, Rutland. By 1606 he lived in a manor at Ashton; his wife Judith Marshe had died earlier. Jenkinson’s son Sir Robert was the father of the first Jenkinson Baronets of Hawkesbury, Gloucestershire. His letters and journals describe Russia under Ivan and provided valuable material for historical and geographical compilations.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 11:20 (CET).