Vrej Esphahnian

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vrej Esphahnian is a fictional character in Neal Stephenson's novel The Baroque Cycle.

Vrej is an Armenian trader who is captured by Barbary pirates and made a gallery slave. He eventually teams up with Moseh de la Cruz and Jack Shaftoe in their plot to buy their freedom by stealing a shipload of silver.

The Esphahnian family rented a room to Jack Shaftoe in Paris and, after Jack humiliated the Duc D'Arachon before Louis XIV, the Duc imprisoned the entire family. Vrej thus holds a grudge against Shaftoe, which is fueled by Èdouard de Gex, who sends Vrej forged letters which purport to be from the Esphahnian family. Vrej eventually betrays Shaftoe.