Henri de Boulainvilliers, Count of Saint-Saire (1658-1722), was an important French historian and writer. In 1728, he wrote La Vie de Mahomet, one of the most fascinating accounts of the life of the Prophet to be written that early in the west. Boulainvilliers describes Muhammad as "an enlightened and wise lawgiver." In 1731, an English translation was produced under the title The Life of Mahomet, from which this facsimile edition is produced.