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A N D HE L P F U L I N TH E B E G I N N I N G S

O F T H I S V O LUME

EDITOR ’ S PREFACE

IN this little volume there has been opened up for English readers an interesting chapter in the history of the intercourse between Orient and Occident . With painstaking care in Intro duction and notes Professor Montgomery has rendered the text

n f understandable and , through bibliographical otices , has o fered suggestion for further critical reading . The time is the late thirteenth century ; the chief actors in the story are two travelers from far Cathay . The scene shifts rapidly all the way from “ ” Peking to the court of King Edward of Engleterra in Aquitaine .

For Rabban Sauma , the Chinese whose diary was drawn upon for h the history which is ere translated , traveled quite as widely as did his contemporary , Marco Polo . And as the latter left us a l narrative of his experiences in eastern ands , so here are chronicled the impressions of the first Chinese to leave a record of his visit to the West during the Middle Ages . The oriental background of occidental culture and the contrasts between East and West furnish a fruitful field for the investigator . Scholars have for some time been at work on these problems ; but th e results of their labors are closed for the most part except to

r specialists who possess the necessa y language equipment . To assist in making available to the general reader some of these materials it is planned to include in this Series translations of a

ni H i to r o Yaba aha III number of sig ficant works . The s y f ll is the

o f first these to see the light .

When the translation of this work was first considered , the intention was to bin d with it other materials similar in content and representing the same general field of interest . After careful con sideration , however , the better plan seemed to be to let this text stand alone . The publishers and the editorial committee concur in the belief that our volumes will be more useful to a w ide range f f o readers if the works translated are o fered separately , even EDITOR ’ S PREFACE t hough this may entail , as in the present case , the publication of a

n thi volume . Obviously from the very nature of the materials some books must consist of collections of documents or writings

i from var ous authors . But in so far as practicable the policy here

laid down will be adhered to . The burden of other work has c ompelled Professor Shotwell to

give up active direction of this Series , which he planned and the

first seven numbers of which he has edited . It is a matter of great regret that the work could n o t have gone forward u nder his most

discriminating and stimulating guidance . The History Depart ment of Columbia University has now assumed general re sp o n sibil

ity for the editorial conduct of the Series . This is the first volume

0 to be published under the new auspices . T those interested in the e nterp rise it may be useful to know that the present arrange

ment provides for a general editor , counselled by an advisory

board , and assisted as need arises by special editors for single

volumes or groups of volumes . It is our wish to continue to

publish translations and studies which shall be at once readable ,

useful and dependable .

A . P . E . CON TE N TS

INTR ODU cTION

TH E D E N § I. S YRIAC OCUMENT ; DITIO S

CU S S ION S

TH E N AN I A I N I § II . M O GOLS D THE R REL T O S W TH THE WEST

TH E I N A N IAN § III . OR E T L ( ESTOR ) CHURCH

TH E NA AN A O F B I A § IV . PERSO GES D F CTS THE OGR PHY

A S KNOW N E R OM E X TERNA L SOURCES

’ THE T OE BAR SAUMA S I I N To V . S ORY M SS O THE WEST

H I STORY OE MAR Y AB ALLA HA

INDEX

INTRODUCTION

SYR A D UMENT ED T ONS I . THE I C O C ; I I AND DIS CUSSIONS

THE names and some of the acts of the heroes of thi s Biography w ere known from Western archives long before the modern dis c o v ery and publication of our document . Papal records of the ’ 1 3 th century and Assem an i scompilations from Oriental literatures Y aballah a had given the Nestorian Catholicus , or Patriarch , and - his friend and right hand man Bar Sauma , or Sauma , a place

AS in history . For these personages see below , iv . a preliminary note on the interest of the present document it is s ufficient to state that Bar Sauma was the first of Chinese birth to reach the Frankish i lands and leave a record of his journey , while in general it illum nes an obscure but most crucial chapter in the history of the relations between the East and the West . A copy of a novel Syriac manuscript giving ‘ the History of ’ Y aballah a e B ed an Mar came into the hands of P re Paul j , of the 1 8 1 8 8 . Chaldaean Church , which he published in Subsequently i o ther copies of apparently one and the same MS . (the orig nal seems t o B ed an have disappeared) came to light , on the basis of which j

in 1 8 Harrasso w itz published a second edition 9 5 ( , Paris and Leipzig)

Histo ire de Mar-Jabalalza i th e under the title , collat ng in it readings f o . the several texts , and adding some other unpublished documents A brief apparatus in Syriac of dates and biographical and geo 2 graphical identifications is also given . It is the text of this

1 For the rise of this Uniate body one in communion with the See of Rome) t C S Assem an i Biblio theca o rien talis 2 8 o u . of the Nestorian hurch , ee , , iii , pt , c . , and

B The Nesto rian san d the ir Ritu als1 8 2 1 for some of its subsequent history adger , , 5 , ,

et se . 1 45 , q 2 MSS B M Or Mr L v n On e . . . . e e e of these is in the ritish useum ( J , of the D M k i Oriental epartment of the useum , indly exam ned it for me in one point where in An serious doubt had been raised , but there was no variation reading . earlier m P H H H an nouncement of the document appeared in a co munication by rof . . . all THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

edition that the present translation follows . The subject has been vastly enriched by a French translation given by J . B . Chabot , ‘ ’ ’ abalah a Revu e de Z Ori en t Latin J , Histoire de Mar III , in the — — — 1 6 6 1 0 2 1 2 0 5 7 ; 73 43 , 3 5 3 4 , with ample notes and at the end chronological and dynastic tables , followed by ih 66— . 6 8 the several Appendices , 5 3 , presenting for first time and

. AS with full treatment the pertinent Western archives , etc this Catholic review appears to be difficult of access (I have been able to find a copy only in the New York Public Library) , the translation

S riast by the eminent y , not to say the Syriac original , has been generally ignored by subsequent English histories and bibliographies bearing on the relations between East and West in the Middle 3 Ages . Hence the present partial translation may be justified for drawing attention afresh and in English dress for the first time to a very remarkable document . I may add that for the most part 4 my annotations as well as translation are independent of Chabot .

— P e di n A O Oc t 1 886 v n ro c e s . in the g of the merican riental Society, , , pp . iv , with much MS its more exact detail as to the provenance of the . and copies , one of which came ’ A P M Dr H through the merican rotestant ission at Urmia into . all s hands , and he H e gives a digest of its contents . notes that a translation of the document into the — M 1 88 86 modern Syriac dialect appeared in issues of the Syriac journal of the ission , 5 . It A thus appears that the discovery was actually made by the merican missionaries . ’ I Dr H all s have made inquiries in various possible q uarters for the present location of . M Dr H P ro ceed S . . , but have been unable to trace it . all also published in the same ’ i s 88 Bed an sfi n 1 . g , 9 , p clxxxi , an additional note bearing upon j rst edition , and ’ animadverting upon the latter s statements as to the discovery of the MS . 3 I atha an d the Wa Thither note as exceptions the second edition of Yule , C y y , to which the editor (himself a French gentleman) , Cordier , has added an abstract of — 2 1 T C In ven ti o n B C I 1 1 1 . . the iography drawn from habot , vol . 9 ; F arter , - o P ri n ti n 1 2 1 2 C E Min an a in f g, 9 5 , 7 , citing ordier ; and the Syrian nglish scholar g a recent article (see iii , note ’ 4 : T No lde ke Liter B e d an s k . For critiques of j wor the following may be cited , — ’ — lbl tt 2 T L B u ll de Z Acad B ei e 1 2 2 2 t 88 8 8 . arischesCen ra a 1 . . , 9 , 4 44 ; . J amy, g , 7 , 3 43 ; — R l i r T 1 H Hil en feld Textkritische B enzer D a i at u e se . Jo n rn as . . uval , q , viii , 3 , 3 3 3 54 ; g , ‘ hu n en zu r Tesh ita de Mar Yaballaha T 1 8 . g , Jena hesis , 94 (of small substantial value) B e rischen Literatu r 26 Gesk d s . See bibliography in aumstark , . . y , 3 A II . THE MON GOLS AND THE IR REL TIONS WITH THE WEST

TH E middle of the 1 3 th century witnessed the final bankruptcy o f the Crusades . The doom of the great enthusiasm was registered ’ 1 in Saladin s capture of Jerusalem in 1 87 . There followed several ’ so — II S called Crusades , among which only Emperor Frederick brief recovery of Jerusalem gave any ray of hope . But a third party now entered into the lists where Christians and Muslims had been engaged . These were the wild and for long invincible i Mongols out of Eastern Asia . Their domin on was established by

h 1 1 Jenghis K an (b . 55 , d . He left to his family and people an empire which ruled from Northern China to the Caspian .

These were pagan barbarians of the Shamanistic stage of religion , who in their first overflows defied at once all established religion

in and civilization . The Muslims who met their blows South western Asia were equally their victims along with the Christians ’ dai whom they exterminated in Russia . Under Jenghis son Og — ( T2 2 7 4 1 ) the Mongols conquered Korea and their hordes overran

Eastern Europe , beyond Russia into B ulgaria , Hungary , Poland , “ AS as far as Thuringia . Loewe remarks , Had not the death of

O dai g recalled Batu and his generals , there is little doubt but that Paris and Rome would have shared the fate of Moscow and

Kiev . This disturbance of the ancient balances in Asia and Europe l faci itated , however , opportunities for enterprises which , had they s ucceeded , would have absolutely changed the complexion of Asia and of Christendom . In the first place a new door was opened into the heart of Asia ; travellers , traders , ambassadors , mission aries found their way in comparative security through the breadth of the Mongol lands ; overland routes via Russia and Asia Minor around the Caspian were now practicable , while the Muslims

ffi . rendered di cult the passages to the East by Egypt and Syria , 4 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

— And Po pe Innocent IV ( 1 243 54) conceived the masterly idea of converting the Mongols to Christianity and so uniting them with

in the Christian West a final Crusade against the Saracens . With n s the followi g document contributing to the demonstration , thi ’ - bold idea was more than a will-o -the wisp ; it proved to be prae

tical politics until nearly the end of the century . For this narrative tells the story of a joint mission from the King of the Western Mongols and the Patriarch of the N e sto rian Church in 1 287 in v o k ing the aid of Christian Europe in a campaign against the Saracens 1 for the recovery of the Holy City Jerusalem .

1 Th e k M H H H Histor o monumental wor on the ongols is that by . . oworth , y f — the Mo n o lsL 1 8 6 88 H M L g , ondon , 7 . . . J . oewe contributes the chapter on the Cambrid e Medi eval Histo r 20 A u n do cu subject in the g y , vol . 4 c . . readable but

d The o n olsB 0 8 m en te M 1 . history was presented by Jeremiah Curtin , g , oston , 9 Yule C Catha H isto ire ordier , y , gives a review of the history and still more fully Cordier in his

de la Chi n e 1 20 Of C D e , 9 . particular value for many detailed points are . ev ria , ‘ ’ ’ — d é i ra hie - Jo urn al asi ati ue ix 8 1 2 8 Notes p g p mongole chinoise , in q , series , vol . , 9 4 , — E B re tsch n eide r Medi ceval Researchesro m E a tern Asi ati c S o u rces . s 3 9 5 443 , and , f , L — Th 2 . 1 1 0 O e vols , ondon , 9 , both drawing fully from the Far riental materials . A 1 latter has an excellent map showing the ancient routes across sia in the 3 th century .

W E Chi n a an d the est O 1 2 . . W Soothill , , xford , 9 5 , gives an admirable review of the Bu t C general subject . these authorities confine themselves in the end to the hinese M e development of the ongol empire of Kublai Khan and his successors , and so ignor W M Ilkh an s T the estern ongols , or , with whom our history is concerned . heir par ticular history has received no recent treatment , while much of the original material , P A in ersian and rabic , still remains inaccessible for practical purposes . ’ Th e O B d H e rbelo t B i bli o riental sources appear to have been first used by . in his ‘ — the u e o ri en tale P 1 6 H 1 q , aris , 9 7, ague , 7 77 79 . Subsequent histories inclusive of the ’ — Ilkh an s d Oh sso n Histo ire desMo n olsH 1 8 A 1 8 2 are , g , ague , 3 4 3 5 , msterdam , 5 , and — H P eschichte de Ilchan e D 1 8 2 A r . G r J von ammer urgstall , , armstadt , 4 . nother elde -u - authority, still useful for its summing p of all the then known materials bearing on M W L M the political and religious relations between the ongols and the est , is . osheim , Histo ri a Tartaro ru m ecclesi asti ca H 1 1 , elmstadt , 74 (ignored in the bibliographies a w as P m R W . . copy kindly put at my disposal by my friend , the late rof . Newbold) - one half o f this valuable work is devoted to the texts of the Papal and other archives ’ M A L B réh ie r L E lise bearing on the relations with the ongols . most useful work is . , g ’ cl l Ori en t an Mo en o 1 2 1 a y 21g , 9 , with a capit l survey of the politics and diplomacy — S 1 0 Th e E n c clo e di a. for our century ; ee especially, cc . 7 . pertinent articles in the y p o Islam Ilkh an s L P hfo ham f may be consulted ; and for the dynasty of the see ane oole , ’ adan D n asti es2 1 et se Marco P olo m . y , 7, q Yule s is an invaluable reference book ;

I u se 1 8 1 have been able to only the first edition , 7 . For further bibliography, E I bearing especially on the Nestorian missions in the Far ast , the contacts of nner

A L C 2 . sia with atin Christendom and the hinese sources , see § iii , note - Th e chief Christian Syrian authority is Bar Hebraeu s(properly Gregory Abu ’ — ’ l Fara 1 2 2 1 2 86 H Bed an hro n i co n j) , 5 , with his Secular istory , Syriac text edited by j , C THE MONGOLS AND THE WEST 5

These at o nce pious and politic plans of Western Christendom

resulted in several missions to the Mongols . The most famous

of these were that of the Franciscans , John de Plano Carpini and

in 1 2 Benedict the Pole , commissioned by Innocent IV 45 , and that of William Rubru qu is(of Rubru ck) sent by the saintly Louis IX 2 of France in 1 2 52 while he was in the Holy Land . Another com

o i Ascelin u s mission , Dominicans , and others , sent by the Pope ,

proceeded in 1 245 to the Western Mongols in Persia . The arrogant demands of these embassies were met with equal bluffness on part

n of the Khans , but they brought home the first direct informatio 3 of the heart of the Mongol empire .

L n sr. . i L P B hro . sr acu m P 1 8 0 . . y , aris , 9 , and translated into atin by J runs , C y , n , ‘ ’ 1 8 hi s H Abbelo o s L Chro n ic o n ecclesi asticu m 7 9 ; and Church istory, ed . by and amy, , L 1 8 2— A so oewen , 7 7 7 . continuator has carried on his work to a later date , that it B is made contemporary to our iography . Further , there are the invaluable Syriac

Assem an i B ibli thec a rien tali 1 1 e o o s s. materials collected by in his , 7 7 q , with large r Bar H ebraeu s 2 1 0 1 cl se exce pts from . Note particularly his section in vol . iii , pt . , q . , ‘ ’ esto rian o ru m su b Mo n o lis On e A N status g . of his chief authorities is the rabic ‘ P Am r Chronicle of the atriarchs by , an extensive section from which is given below Th e i A H aith o n H eth u m I II at end of § iv . writ ngs of the rmenian kings (or ) and ‘ ’ Th e r constitute other contemporary sources . Jou ney of the former king to the — — G 1 2 B re tsch n e ide r ill edire val Researches1 1 6 1 2 reat Khan in 54 5 5 is given by , , , 4 7 . ’ h A n see B Lo e w e s Canzb ( For t is rmenia material the ibliography to chapter in the . Med Hist Th e M Faz lullah R i . . ) principal uslim authority is ash d , whose lifetime — 1 2 1 1 8 z wi B Th e ( 4 7 3 ) synchroni es th the subject of our iography . sumptuous text

P k H E M u atre m ere and translation of his ersian wor , the Collection of istories , by . . Q , Histo ire desAl o n o lsde la P erse 1 8 6 k P L g , 3 (a copy in the New Yor ublic ibrary) , only ’ H u la u s Th e E W G M goes through g reign , and so does not help us . . J . . ibb emorial On has begun publishing the text , with introduction ; two volumes have appeared . ~ — see Yu le Co rdier atha 1 0 1 1 2 this author , C y , 3 , 7 . For geographical descriptions of th e lands of the Western Mongols see Gu y Le

Meso o tami a and P ersia u nder the Mo n olsin the I th en tu r A D A Strange , p g 4 C y , . . ( siatic

M 1 0 m a Nuzlat al— ulu b Society onographs , v) , 9 3 , with excellent p , abstracted from the q H Mu stau fi of amdullah , the geographical portion of which he has since published at

in G 1 1 La ndso the E astern Cali hate length the ibb Series , 9 9 ; also in general his f p ,

1 0 B a hdad du rin the Abbasid D n ast 1 0 0 1 2 9 5 , and g g y y , 9 and 9 4 . For the geography

e sto rian sS Asse m an i l c 1 G and description of the sacred places of the N ee , . . c . 4 ; eorg ‘ ’ H o fim an n Au sz ii e A Ma 1 880 Abhandln n , g aus syrischen kten persischer rtyrer , , in gen

d Ku nde desMo r en landes f. . g , vii , no . 3 . 2 Th e travels of these two commissions have been published by the Hakluyt Society

The Jo urn e o William o Ru bru ch W W R 1 0 0 y f f , in translation by . . ockhill , 9 , and

The Textsand Versio n so Jo hn de Plan o ar i n i and William de Ru bru u is R f C p q , by C . . ’ B z 1 0 M . L M A ea ley , 9 3 angu s letter of response to ouis is given by osheim , pp . xiv . 3 M cl se For a review of these missions see especially osheim , pp . 43 q . (fully docu m en ted Bréhi r — e . 2 20 cl se ) , . atha 1 1 et se also , pp q , Yule Cordier , C y , , 54 q. , and Cordier, 6 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

The third in succession and direct descent from Jenghis was

R u bru u is Mangu , whose court it was q visited . His brother H u la u g , who ruled over the West in his name , annihilated the Abbaside Caliphate at Baghdad practically destroying that city and massacring its inhabitants , but exempting the Chris

n tians , saving them from the common ruin by confini g them to

H ebraeu s . one quarter , as Bar records His further campaign through Syria towards Egypt was stayed by a decisive defeat at Ain

alfit u Ku tuz J , G under the Biblical ilboa , by the Maml k sovereign

1 2 in 60 . (The latter was soon after assassinated and succeeded

Baibars by his lieutenant , who with his successors destroyed the last vestiges of Crusade power in Syria . ) This critical setback may have particularly opened the eyes of the Mongols to the advantages ’ nk of an alliance with the Christian Fra s . Upon Mangu s death

1 2 in 59 his other brother , the famous Kublai Khan , succeeded as

H u la u emperor of all the Mongols , but g was retained as his faithful lieutenant in the West . With the latter there was established a dependent dynasty of the Western Mongols , and it is with his descendants that our document is concerned . He was succeeded — 2 8 1 1 2 6 1 . by his son Abaga , 5 We may note here another contributing factor to these relations with the West , the presence of Christian queens in the Mongol - courts , where the queen mothers held a dominant position . Indeed reports reached the West that many of the Khans themselves

H ula u were Christians . g and his brothers the two Khans Mangu

Arikbu a and Kublai , and another , g , had a Christian mother , a " H u la u woman of great force of character g had a Christian wife , Dak u z Kathon who had been a wife of his father , and whom he had taken to himself after Mongolian fashion . She played an important part in favoring the Christians against

5 H ula u the Muslims , and through her influence g had a Christian — 2 2 2 Asse m n i fir isto i re de la Chi n e . 2 . . a 2 1 1 6 H , at length in vol , cc 4 , iii , , , st collates ’ Ar h o n s W He the Papal documents bearing on g embassy to the est . learned from

Bar u so them only that our Sa ma took part in that mission , and had no knowledge of our Biography .

4 hi n a and the West B ar H ebraeu sChro n r 1 1 s . H 88 . See oworth , , ; Soothill , C , 43 ; , y = A e m an i 2 1 0 He r isSark o th an i ss . . B . 4 88 runs , p 53 3 , in , iii , pt , 3 name in the Syriac

Sark u ti B Siu rk u sten i I Bagi ; other known forms of it are agi , . suppose that most ’ — ’ isPe llio t s So o r h ach tan i T o u n P ao 1 correct transcription of it , y g bagi ( g , 5 ,

5 = 6 Assem an i 1 0 8 A is h 1 B . si . . Bar H ebrae u , . 49 runs , p 53 , , p lso there a citation

8 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

e Clement IV , to which response was made in the name of the Pop

1 2 and the King of Navarre ; in 74 , when the delegates were pre

X n sented to the Council at Lyons by Gregory , where the u ion

of East and West was solemnly , but fatuously proclaimed , and 12 when the Mongol ambassadors were baptized ; in 1 2 77 to John XXI s , whose successor Nicholas III re ponded with a large embassy 13 bearing letters to Abaga and Kublai .

Tan o do r 1 28 1 Abaga was succeeded by a brother g , , who went i over to Islam , the first of the dynasty to do so , assum ng the

good Muslim name Ahmad . His brief reign of two years was ’ th e Aba a s Ar h o n terminated by rebellion of g son g , in which he *

1 2 8 . . lost his life , and the nephew gained the throne , 4 See pp 43 ’ Ar h - cl se . . o n s q and notes g whole interest was pro Christian . 6 i n . o 1 He later announced (in his Mongol letter , f n te ) that he would become a Christian if God vouchsafed to him to take

Jerusalem . His mind appears early in the fact that in the year

after his accession he sent an embassy to Honorius IV , bespeaking

a joint enterprise against the Saracens . The letter presented in

his name , composed in amusingly and amazingly barbarous Latin , 14 was preserved in the Papal archives . He notes that his own

Palmo lo a mother was a Christian (was it Maria g , named ‘ ’ s refers to the perversion of his brother Ahmet , and then call for a common war against the Saracens and especially the land

of Egypt . This letter is specifically addressed to the Pope , the

i . e . . King of the Franks, and King Charles , , Charles I of Anjou

r In 1 287 King A gh o n sent another embassy to the Papal court . This was undertaken in conjunction with Y aballah a Patriarch - of the Nestorians , of the traditional See of Seleucia Ctesiphon ,

actually located at Baghdad . The embassy consisted of Bar

Sauma , a Visitator or Archdeacon , holding episcopal rank a bishop

12 Bréhier 2 0 , p . 4 . 13 see 1 P For these embassies the literature cited note 3 and also note . For the apal exten so M archives in question , which are given in by osheim and Chabot (a summary ’ — ’ o f Catha 1 1 66 I R a n ald s Chabot s results in Yule Cordier , y , , , note) , have consulted y B l i sti ca c aro n iu sAn n alesecc esa . ontinuation of , , vol xiii xiv Certain R F o edera 1 2 et se C English archives are cited from ymer , , 7 7 q. habot uses at times

o R su b an n o 1 26 ther and fuller materials , with variant texts . See aynald , xiv , 7 ,

= M A xix Pa M n o s 0 1 . . 7 , 7 osheim , pp , for the pal response , which informs the ongol a i r e that he in conjunction with the kings of Fr nce and Navarre was agitat ng a c usad . 1‘ b 1 2 8 = M A R u an n o . s . . aynald , 5 , no 79 osheim , p p xxv THE MONGOLS AND THE WEST 9

’ in e e parts of the Ori nt he is termed in the Papal letters) , and thre 15 others whose names are preserved for us in the Papal archives .

Sabadin u sW These were , hom the Pope addressed in a personal

An fu sis letter as a Christian , Thomas de (from his name doubtless

U u e tu s a Christian) , and the interpreter g , the two latter having

2 ex e ri accompanied the embassy of 1 85 . The presence of these p e n ced travellers explains how the embassy was able to interpret its mission to the strange lands it visited . With the names of these

Y aballah a two Christian dignitaries , the Patriarch and B ar Sauma

(or Sauma) , his faithful friend and lieutenant , our particular story

. begins , for the Syriac document concerns their life and fortunes

We may briefly resume the succeeding negotiations between"

nk 2 2 cl se Mongols and Fra s at this period . Chabot records ( , 59 q ;

1 Ar h o n . 6 6 et seq. ) two subsequent embassies from g to the West — 1 2 8 0 The first of these , 9 9 , was conducted by a Genoese , one

B u scarel , and we possess , in addition to the responses written to

Argh o n (p . 59 5) and Kublai Khan (p . the original Tartar l etter presented by the embassy , which Chabot gives with a 1 6 translation . The final embassy was conducted by a Christian

Ar b 6 1 6 et e . h n i . s o convert Chagan , q Thus g sent four embassies — 8 . to the West in his 7 years of reign Further , there is to be noted the mission (unrecorded by Chabot) of John de Monte Corvino to — ’ Ar h o n 1 2 0 1 . the court of g , 9 9 After John s first trip to the East

1 28 (to Constantinople) and his return to Rome in 9 , Pope Nicholas

Ar h o n IV sent him East again with letters to g , Kublai and other ’ Ar h o n s potentates . He remained in Tabriz in g jurisdiction

i 1 2 1 t ll 9 , and then proceeded to Peking , where he established the 1 7 H e brae u Latin Church . Bar snotes briefly that in this reign frequent embassies were coming to Argh o n from the Pope and then refers to the mission of ‘ the monk Rabban Bar Sauma the ’ Ui h u rite g , who entered into a league with the Pope for the extirpa 18 tion of the Arabs . For subsequent correspondence between

1 5 See the full citation of these letters in § iv . 15 2 60 1 et se T l . U aitu so n Chabot , , q his and another letter from King j , a and s Ar h o n P IV 1 0 A T uccessor of g , to hilip , 3 5 , are preserved in the French rchives . hese ’ A Rém u sat M nzo iresde 1 Ac I l . é ademic desn sc i tio ns etters have been treated by , r p , I P v 8 . . . 1 8 2 ols . 7 , , and in a monograph by J Schmidt , St etersburg , 4 . 1 7 — ’ I L atha cl se See Yule Cordier s ntroduction to the etters of this John , C y , 3 , 3 q. 13 = Bru n s 6 2 A sem an i l se . s 1 1 6 hro n sr c . C . y . 5 79 q , p 7 , cited by , p . . 1 0 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

2 6 1 et se . r East and West we may note , after Chabot , , 3 q , a lette

Y aballah a 1 9 b of to Benedict IV , and some letters dispatched y

Ar h o n Edward I of England to the East ; one of these is a letter to g ,

1 2 0 Y aballah a 1 2 of date 9 , and another to , March , Also there is preserved a letter from Edward II to ‘ the Emperor of the ’ 2 1 i . e . Tartars on the Extirpation of the Mahometan Heresy , , l U aitu . j , successor of Ghazan This correspondence and also a reference to Edward I in a letter of Honorius IV 22 indicate that k ’ ing s particular interest in the proposed Crusade ; and this interest , which dated back to his own experience as a Crusader in Palestine when Crown-Prince may well have been augmented by ’ Sau m a s embassy , which visited him at his court in Aquitaine , * 23 2 t e . pp . 7 e sq Mosheim also records two commissions sent by

V Ilkh an B oniface III to the court , one composed of Franciscans

1 2 6 1 2 8 in 9 , the other of Dominicans in 9 , but with what results 24 we are ignorant . For the political relations between the Western Mongols and ’ Christendom after Argh o n sdeath and through the first decade of — ’ 1 réhi r 6 2 i B e . 2 éh r 68 . Br e s the 4th century see , pp 4 remarks on

1 9 R b o 1 0 2 su an n . . See aynald , 3 4 , no 3 2 ° ’ C 2 6 1 6 1 et se Th e T . w habot , , 4 ; 3 q former is given in urner s paper , cited belo 2 8 6 note 3 , at p . 4 , note . 21 R c Marco P o lo 2 0 ymer , iii , 3 4 ; f. Yule , , , 4 9 . 22 R b a o 1 2 1 2 = M A su n n . . . aynald , 9 , no 3 osheim , pp xxxv 23 ‘ T H T th e See particularly a paper by . udson urner , Unpublished Notices of T E I R M P ’ imes of dward , especially of his elations with the oghul Sovereigns of ersia , — Arche olo ical Jo u rn al B Arch mo lo ical I 8 1 Th e g (of the ritish g nstitute) , 45 5 . ’ L f E A re Aba ha th e writer cites ingard to the e fect that upon dward s arrival at c g , T P hi m ff n artar Khan of ersia , proposed to an o ensive alliance against the commo M C R 28 8 P . o f enemy of the oguls and hristians ymer , ii , 4 , 49 , gives a apal letter ’ Bu sc arel s E O 1 2 8 introduction for embassy to dward , of ctober , 9 , and two further ’ D 1 2 0 An d Bu scarel s letters of same import , of ecember , 9 . embassy was actually

L 1 2 0 received and entertained in ondon , for thirteen days from January 5 , 9 , according

R W e e T 8 A M C b s . . am . Med . to the oyal ardrobe Account ; urner, p 4 lso F acler , in . ’ Histor 1 6 Aba a s th e y , 4 , 7 , states , without citation , that one of g commissions to v u 1 2 6 E A E s . h West ( . p ) in 7 announced their arrival to dward . ltogether the nglis k w king appears to have been most een in these negotiations . For similar relations ith T k A Rém u sat Memo iressur les the French kings urner , note 3 , registers the wor by . ,

’ ‘ relati o n spolitiqu esdesprin ceschreti en set parti cu li eremen t desroisde F ran ce avec lesem ereu rsmo n olsP 1 8 2 2 p g , aris , . 24 M 8 Th e P fi mi in A osheim , p . 7 . apal diploma of the rst com ssion he repeats p p . W An n aleso rdin isMi n o ru m Th e fo r th e la er co m xli from adding , , v , 3 45 . letters t A R su b an n o 1 2 mission he gives in pp . xlii from aynald , 9 9 , no . 3 9 . THE MONGOLS AND THE WEST 1 the pregnant possibilities of a Crusade at that time in conjunction with the Mongols against the Saracens , particularly Egypt , are

. 2 8 et worth citing (pp 5 The combined action , he says , of the Christians and the Mongols would have rendered Egypt ’ s condition most critical and the success of the Crusade certain . The fermenting plans of a Crusade were possessed with a very practical spirit and with ideas which witness to openmindedness and to a real knowledge of the Oriental situation . Christianity never had had so clear a sense of the place it held in the world ; no such moment had ever appeared for directing a decisive attack ik against the Muslim world . But the high and statesmanl e plans remained speculations . And we may add , it was at the end of this century that militant Christendom missed the greatest o pp o r tuni ty in its history .

B ut if the immediate cause of Christianity failed , the Mongols played an enormous part in the history of civilization . With their empire stretching in the 1 3 th century from the Yellow Sea to the

Persian Gulf , the Black Sea and the Volga , they were the inter m e diarie sof exchange between East and West to an extent never before developed , and not repeated again until the discovery of - l the all sea route to China , whi e indeed the land route has never - - Since been reestablished . There was give and take in the exchange of the natural products of the two extremes of the continent , and in the contact of the arts the Mongols gave the West gunpowder and the printed book . This record of the fraternal relations between East and West

u wo ld not be complete without reference to Marco Polo , whose

Ilkh an journey on his return home brought him to the court , Y ll h where indeed he may have personally met aba a a . The condi ’ Ar h n . o sw tions of this visit were quite romantic King g ife , a princess of Cathay had died , leaving her express desire that her

Ar h n husband should wed none but one of her own kin . g o accord ‘ ’ in gly dispatched a very gallant embassy to Kublai Khan on this ‘ 1 quest . The latter responded , found a maiden of 7 , a very ’ beautiful and charming person , and as the Messrs . Polo were

in now desirous of returning home , the Khan put the lady their charge . The party made the great journey from China around by the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf ; but on their arrival 1 2 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

Ar h o n . they found that g had died Evidently nothing loth , a ‘ ’ son of his , Casan , took the lady as his bride . This prince sub "5 cl sequently ascended the throne ; see pp . seq Another connection between our Christian pilgrims and Polo is found in the largely identical route the two parties took across the heart

l e . . . c s of Asia We can follow the road of the former , pp q , vi a Tangut , the Desert of Lob , Khotan , Kashgar , to Tus in Khor ’ ire c asan . Polo s party traversed the same road in the opposite d — 1 : tion , , cc . 3 3 45 Kashgar , Khotan , the Great Desert , the province ’ Cam hich u of Tangut and its capital p , possibly the city of Tangut

of the B iography . And as Peking was the home of one of the

c P0 10 . two monks , so it was the obje tive of Now Polo spent three years in traversing Asia until he reached Peking in 1 2 75

Y aballah a 1 28 1 (Yule , p . and was ordained Patriarch in in his

3 7th year (p . so that it is at least possible that the parties

on r u t passed one another o e .

— ’ U L E ME NTARY NOT In P T k The S P P E . . . rof F Carter s recently published wor ,

In ven ti o n o P ri n ti n i n hi n a an d itsS read Westw ard P f g C p , Columbia University ress , 2 I R V s 1 . 9 5 , find the following interesting information ecently in the atican archive a whole series of letters from the Persian Ilkh an shas been found ; and also two letters

P Y aballah a III P 1 0 2 1 0 A from the atriarch to the ope , dated 3 and 3 4 , with rabic A M P text and Uighur seals . list of these documents has been published by . aul ‘ ’ ’ — Pellio t Le sM e t P é Revu e de l Ori en t hréti en 1 2 2 2 in an article , ongols la apaut , C , 9 3 — 0 is m (series iii , vol . pp . 3 3 ; and a full treatment of these documents pro ised by

M Pellio t in r . . fo thcoming numbers of that journal

GENEALOGIES AND SUCCE SS1ONS OF THE GREAT KH ANS AND THE ILKHANS

- Mo hanun adan The following tables are taken from Lane Poole , — ’ ’ 2 2 1 H r h sMo n o s - D n asti es20 1 o w o t l . y , (based on g ) Lane Poole s

orthography , from which the Syriac forms in the Biography vary ,

is retained here .

’ 25 P l P 1 1 8 c Marco o o . . s See Yule , , the rologue of the narrative , cc 7 , , and f Yule et se Th e 1 2 2 d Introduction , pp . lii q . travellers started in 9 , and the voyage laste P 1 2 B 1 et se . . . . s for two years or more olo arrived home in 9 5 ook iv , cc q , contain

Ilkh an b a lot of romantic material on the history, which was doubtless acquired y ’ hi M e s to e man Polo during sstay at that court . arco s narrativ also erves illustrat y

o ur B asthe n es S . an item in iography , ot will how THE MONGOLS AND THE WEST 1 3

I CH I N GIZ .

II OGOTAY TULUY .

KUY UK IV MAN GU KH UB ILAY 1 HULAGU III . . V . .

2 AB A GA AHMAD T RA H D . E G AI (Yuen ynasty) . 3

ARG N GAYKHA 4 . HU 5 . TU 6 . BAYDU

’ L A IT 8 . U J U

GRE AT KHA NS

z 1 2 2 Chingi , d . 7

o ta 1 2 6 Og y , 4

1 2 8 Kuyuk , 4

M 1 2 angu , 5 7

h il 2 K ub ay , 1 94 ENTAL NE ST R AN CHURCH l III . THE O RI ( O I )

THESE Christian personalities engaged in a political mission to the West from a Mongol king open up yet another vista in the

Mediaeval history of Asia , that of a potent Asiatic Christian

Church , whose influence upon the barbarian Mongols proved itself i at least for a time of immense importance . The N e sto r an schism w ascaused by the anathema laid upon the doctrines of the Anti

1 o ch en e theologian Nestorius at the Council of Ephesus in 43 . B anned by the Empire his followers more and more found refuge

in the Persian (Sassanian) Empire , where they created a truly Oriental Church ; indeed the division between them and the West

was ultimately as much political as ecclesiastical , for they were the

Christians of Persia , which was involved in mortal warfare with

the Roman (Greek) Empire . Consequently this Church faced E O astward and became actually what it called itself , the riental

Church . Its missions pushed in that direction with noble zeal

and devotion . It early planted Christianity in India , where this 2 Church survives in the Malabar Christians . How early the mis

‘ 1 It is an unfortunate bit of nomenclature that the term Eastern IS generally W C G C applied by estern hristendom to the reek hurch , with or without thought of the equ ally ancient Churches in Asia and Africa which are not in comm uni on with the Th e ffi G C Greek Church . o cial title of the reek hurch does indeed include the epithet ‘ ’ an atolihé E . In , astern , but this in contrast to the West matter of fact the Greek ‘ O ’ Church holds geographically a central position , and riental by any proper use A C Th e of the term should be used of the distinctly siatic hurches . Ne sto rian Church ‘ O ’ C calls itself riental , and from its history as the dominant ommunion in Asia more To e sto rian s than other deserves that title . call them N is no more correct officially

a P L C P C th n the rotestant term for atin atholics as apists , or the atholic names for

P L C . It rotestants as utherans , alvinists , etc is hardly necessary to remark that - k C W M there is another Syriac spea ing hurch , that of the estern onophysite Jacobites . 2 I A T According to tradition the Church in ndia was founded by the postle homas .

see A Medl c o tt In i a th For recent defences of the genuineness of this tradition . y , d and e

ostle Tho m asan In u i r with a Criti cal An al siso the Acta Tho mae L 1 0 Ap , q y y f , ondon , 9 5 ; ‘ ’ Th e A T I B u lleti n an d . . J N Farquhar , postle homas in North ndia , of the John — R L 1 26 80 1 1 1 ylands ibrary , 9 , . For the earliest collection of materials on the Oriental see Assem an i 2 e . . rea m n xpansion of the Church , iii , pt , c 9 , with t t e t of the missions I4

1 6 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

A romantic development of the fame of these conversions to the Faith in In ner Asia was the marvellous story of Prester (Presbyter)

John and his Christian kingdom , which became one of the objects of research for travellers and learned men , and lent hope of political 5 support to the great plan of the West to evangelize Asia .

in 1 2 The outburst of the Mongols the th century , with all its horrors and devastations , resulted actually in establishing a wide dominion extending for the length of Asia and in providing for

’ ee those who had the en tr a security of passage over the continent .

This was proved by the European missions already referred to , and by the classic journey of Marco Polo to the court of Kublai — “ 1 Khan ( 2 69 1 2 9 As Loewe remarks (p . Apart from

re so n mere negative results , the growth of the Mongol power was p sible for other developments in the East . The first and foremost of these was the unification of Asia . This must not be interpreted in the modern sense of unity or homogeneity . The Mongol govern ment secured tranquillity within its vast borders . The roads were open and a traveller could , as things went , count upon a safe journey . There was complete religious toleration , and it is only a superficial judgment that will ascribe this to spiritual in dif ference on the part of the Mongols . Furthermore the Mongol hordes were exposed to the fate of e very barbarian element intruding into a higher civilization , the fascination of its religion . The Mongols in their wide sweep over th e world were confronted with four such religions , Confucianism ,

Mo n u men t i n i a P K L 1 1 6 H e Ch n . . k , published by the S . . C . , ondon , 9 has wor ed h i out some most interesting identifications with C inese h story , further proving the e f k Hsi-an -fu f ects of Christianity upon the Chinese . Sae i adopts the spelling (p . H w as modern singan , for the city, which for five centuries the capital of China (p . the At H k stone was located at the imperial city . an ow in the south there survive ’ n s P 6 c the remai of a handsome Nestorian Church , observed by olo , ii , c . 7 , f. Yule s n 1 Th e e sto rian s hi is ote , p . 5 7 . last reference to N in C na a statement by the Jesuit R 1 60 8 mi n - -fu missionary icci , who in found a serable rem ant of them in Sin gan . 5 On P see A em an i 88 et e M s. m aterials ss . rester John the in , pp 4 q osheim , pp . ’ 2 cl se Marco P olo T o u n P a 1 8 2 et e . 1 s 20 et se o . 9 q ; Yule , , , 5 q. ; Cordier , g , , 5 q ; and ’ M m E arl S read o hristian it 0 the brief statement by inga a , y p f C y , 3 9 (citing Cordier s e M P0 10 1 The dition of Yule , arco , , tradition of the conversion of a whole T a l B r H ebr 1 0 0 ro n ecc . i mu s Ch . s urkish tribe , related by for the year 7 ( , iii , mo re than paralleled by the facts we now possess about the conversion of large groups A On u t an d A n T r r w of the peoples of Central sia , like the g lai arta t ibes , along ith k se e their ings ; the works cited above . THE ORIENTAL CHURCH 1 7

B — uddhism , Christianity , Islam not to name the retiring wave o f a Manich eanism , which had planted itself among many of the e lder Turkish tribes . The first three were rooted in the heart of - l Asia , were non mi itant , and were not viewed with political hos i til ty . Islam on the other hand sturdily bore the brunt of their a ttack on Southwestern Asia , and so was long reckoned as an - enemy religion . In the end the Eastern Mongols adopted the Chinese religionism ; for some generations in the West they dallied with Christianity . This was due to the subtle and powerful i spiritual nfluences of Nestorian Christianity , abetted by motives of policy in join ing hands with Christian Europe against the com

1 mon foe in Islam . But in the end , by the close of the 3 th century , f the die was cast , and the Mongols adopted o ficially the faith of the Arabian Prophet . It may be left to the historian of politics and religion to determine why and how . Confession must be made , i on whatever account , of the actual fa lure of the Nestorian Church

1 in Asia . B ut in the latter half of the 3 th century it appears that that Church was on the point of evangelizing the Western Mon

m fir t- gols . And the following docu ent is a shand monument of this history , for it gives unique inside information for just that

Ar h n in . o critical period Had g , following the track of statesman like popes , won over the West to his plan of a Crusade against the ’ Mamluk power , the centre of Islam s resistance , he might have become the Constantine of his Mongols . His grand idea perished , unsupported , and despite the favorable attitude towards the

Ga kh atu Christians of his immediate successors , y , Baidu , Ghazan , ’ Islam triumphed . We may speculate on the change in the w orld s

ul history which wo d have been involved , had the Western Mongols 6 t urned Christian .

5 Amaz ing reports were indeed brought back to the West of the actual conversion

f M e . . B u t o . ongol potentates , g , of Kublai Khan these reports were fallaciously based on the inquisitive in terest or even favorable inclination of the Khans in regard t o l M in E Christianity, especia ly in despite of the hostile uslim power gyp t . None a Ilkh an Ar h o n ppears to have been more favorably inclined to Christianity than the g , but he made his conversion conditional on the capture of Jerusalem ; and our intimate d u Ilkh an s a C oc ment shows that none of the whom it presents was an actu l hristian . Bu t it is in teresting to note that this favorable attitude towards Christianity went so r far that not only did these Khans attend the Christian services , mar y Christian

z Ar h wives and even have some of their children bapti ed , but also that coins of g o n A see Jo urn asser ix . 1 and his father baga bear Christian legends ; . , . , 7 5 4 ;

8 3 34 . A E IV . THE P ERSO N G S AND FA CTS OF THE BIO GRAPHY AS KN OWN FROM EXTE RNAL S OUR C ES

FOR the two heroes of our document we possess the following external information long in possession of Western archives . A m i . sse an In his list of the Nestorian Patriarchs , vol ii , records — Y l h 6 1 D 6 2 A. 1 2 1 b la . . 1 8 a a a (p 4 5 ) for Era Sel 593 9 . gives the names of the consecrating bishops , and notes the several - removals of his body from its first resting place in Baghdad . The Continuator of the Jacobite historian Bar H ebraeu sgives ll h Y hro n . a l . 1 aba a C . ecc a brief note upon in his , § ii , p 4 5 (cited

Assem n i 2 1 1 B n a . e d a . . by , iii , pt , 3 , and by j , p vi) The passage ‘ ’ 1 tells how two Y agh u rite monks had come from China on pil grimage to Jerusalem ; being prevented by the difficulties of travel - due to the Mamluk control of Syria Palestine , they turned aside to B aghdad . Here the Patriarch Denha made one of them Metro - Y ll h aba a a . politan of China , he taking the accession name Upon

The Uighurs were a notable Turkish race of Western M T esto rian C M ae ongolia in the oasis of urfan , a focus of N hristianity and anich anism , M and a chief civilizing agency among the ongols , to whom they contributed their ’ —Man ich man see script of Syriac origin . (For the exact origin of this script the writer s

Aramai c In can tati o n Textsro m Ni u r P 1 1 2 et . se f pp , hiladelphia , 9 3 , pp 3 q , and plate xl . ) F o r e e H 2 t B re tsch n e ide r di ceval s 1 1 e se . Me Researches1 2 6 this people oworth , , q , , , , 3 - 2 63 ; and for the recent remarkable discoveries of Uighur Manichaean (also Christian) - G rii n w e del L Co C Catha I 6 2 et se remains , first made by and von e q , Yule ordier , y , , q; A n i t e Bre tschn ide r sse m a 6 e s. e 2 6 2 for the Syriac sources , pp . 4 7 q notes , p . , that T E C A A in the Syriac sources the name denotes urks of astern athay . lso the rabic a Y aballah a Am r biogr phical notice of by , given at the end of this section , speaks of T a Bar P him as a urk . And thus , lthough Sauma was born in eking (p . and Y aballah a a was a n tive of a place not far distant from that capital (p . the two ’ C H Bar Sau m a s may not have been hinese by race . owever , the story of youth has

C A c a distinctly Chinese flavor . For the distribution of hristianity among the siati ’ “ Pellio t T o u n P ao 1 6 : Ce races the following remark by is pertinent , g , 5 , 43 chris — tian ism e extreme oriental du XIIIe e t du XIVe siecle était surtout le christianisme ’ ’ - de - hi c était d Alain s T étre un de populations non c noises ; la religion , de urcs , peut peu M ” vrais ongols . PERSONAGES AND FACTS OF THE BIOGRAPHY 1 9

’ 2 Den h a s n Ashm o t - death a certai emir , a fellow countryman of the pilgrims , suggested to King Abaga , then in his last year , that it were good policy to appoint to the Patriarchate one who was a ’ Mongol in race and tongue , and on the King s order the election was consummated . This datum is additional to the account of

et se the election given in the Biography , pp . q ; the interest of the Kin g and the politics involved in the election of a Mongol “ Y aballah a patriarch are to be noted . The chronicler adds that , although deficient in education and Syriac letters , was nevertheless a man of fine nature and commendable piety , and he showed great ”

f . a i . e . fection to us and our people , , the Jacobites ’ Y aballah a s For the mission to the West in which vicar engaged , and which was undertaken at the behest of the Mongol King — Ar h o n 1 28 88 g , 7 , we have only the testimony of the Western 3 a H ebrae u s. rchives , with one exception , in Bar This person is ‘ ’ Ya h u rite the other g , whose name in the Biography always appears as Sauma with the prefixed title Rabban ( ‘ our but in ’ H ebraeu s Ar h o n s an d Bar , Amr , g diploma the Papal archives 4 as Bar Sauma the original form of his name . The Papal archives contain copies of four letters written in response to this mission by Pope Nicholas IV . Two of these are addressed ‘ Ar h o n hi s Ch arissim a: to g , one to Christian wife , in Christo ’ filiae Tu c tani re in aaTartaro rum Sabadin usArch ao n g , and one to fi 6 a Christian member of the embassy . Also a contemporary letter from the Pope to Kublai Khan informs that potentate of

2 T Ashm o t P his also appears in a judicial process against a ersian dignitary , whose ' e flec tsBar H ebrazu sChro n sr 2 = B 1 condemnation he , , . y . , 54 runs , p . 59 ; and also

2 in the Arabic biography cited below . See also p . note 9 ; p . 3 1 8 See § ii , note . 4 ‘ Bar of fasting , after a common type of Syriac name ; the constant ‘ ’ R In a P title abban has dislodged the first element . one pl ce in the apal letters the ‘ ’ R Bar Th e e title oban is given Sauma . name is common , . g. , that of a notable

th A A han i s . ecclesiastic in the century, and also of an rabic poet in the g ‘ ’ ’ ’ 5 Arch ao n is accepted by Chabot on Klaproth s authority as meaning Christian .

A M P 0 10 1 2 et se long discussion of the term by Yule , . , , 54 q , reaches the conclusion

B u t D e 6 cl se that the word has some racial significance . ev ria , pp . 3 9 7 , 43 . q , shows that the Chin ese use of the word means Christian priests ; he derives it from Greek d w v P px , which passed over into Syriac and ersian . 5 R k su b an n o 1 288 6 . See aynald ; for the two letters to the ing , , no 3 , and the l i bid i T . Sabad n us i M i etter to the q ueen ; the letter to no . 3 5 . hey are g ven by oshe m , A 1 xxvu XXVlll xx i pp . xxv , , , x . 20 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

‘ ’ ‘ the mission of certi n u n cn from the Magnificent King Prin ce ’ 7 Ar h n o . g , which he has had the pleasure of receiving It is of value to give this documentation as at least a testimony to the historical character of the Biography . It may be noted here that .

2 1 28 Bar Sauma had reached Naples by June 4 , 7 (see note to p .

and that he was still in Europe , at Rome , on the First Sunday

a 1 288 . 28 . fter Easter , (p Easter falling March We now possess in addition to the above sources a full biography

Y aballah a of , from the Arabic Chronicle of the Patriarchs by ‘ 8 1 . . Amr ibn Matta of the 4th century , published by H Gismondi

Yaballah a e An extensive and lively notice is given of , and we hav w as to suppose that the narrative written soon after his death , as the list of the Patriarchs terminates with his death . It runs . parallel to our Biography , but the two are manifestly independent .

a Rabban Bar S uma is well known , but nothing is said of his mission

AS to the West . a contemporary document , with its picture of the personality and the prestige of the Patriarch and his relations

Ilkh n a . with the court , it is worthy of reproduction I give the pertinent parts of it , as follows .

THE ARABIC BIOGRAP H Y OF YABALLAHA III

I TH S Father was a young man of handsome figure . He wore a

round beard . He occupied the patriarchal see until he reached an

extreme age .

7 R u b an n o 1 28 6 2 = M A xxx n n s . . . ay ald , 9 , no osheim , pp 8 Amri et li bce de atri archisNesto ri an oru m co mmen tari o 2 R 1 6 S . 8 p , vols , ome , 9 , 1 8 Th e resec 99 . section in question is to be found in the second volume , at the end , p ’ l A L Amr A i tiv e . ssem an s y , of the rabic text and the atin translation was one of P Th e MSS G chief authorities on the atriarchal history . . ismondi has edited are

se e in the Vatican . For the Chronicle series of which this work is a part the brief B k Gosch d sr Literatur et se M description by aumstar , . . y . , 5 q. y attention to this biographical notice of Y aballah a was first directed by an obscurely entitled article ‘ - M M Sio u ffi su r u n by the one time French consul at osul , . , Notice patriarche nesto ’ Jo u rn asi ati u e ser 1 8 - 6 Th e rien , in . q , . vii , vol . 7 9 9 . editor makes public A MS i an rabic . which had fallen into his hands , one badly d lapidated and defective , He in Mar often illegible . cites from it full in French translation the biography of ’ Y aballah a A r s III , and indicates its other contents , which prove it to be a form of m ’ C as e i Gism o n di s I hronicle , inde d appears from comparison w th text . have found ’ Sio u fli s i is h as no further reference to publication , wh ch thus initial , and of what hi MS I i s . h L become of there appears to be no record . am ndebted to t e ibrary ’ C Gism o n di s of olumbia University for the loan of volumes . PERSONAGES AND FACTS OF THE BIOGRAPHY 2 1

He was Turk by birth and came from the country of Cathay ; he had left the service of the Khan in order to travel . The reason of his arrival in this country was that he might visit the Holy City

[Jerusalem] . The Khan had committed to him some vestments which he was ordered to baptize in the Jordan and to put in contact with the tomb of the Lord Christ . 9 When he arrived at the Camp and communicated his firm an s and orders which he had to the Great Sultan Abaka Khan , the “ latter responded thus : The road isnot safe . You have a great fame and your repute is widespread in all lands ; that is why I ” fear for your safety . He was accompanied by his master and teacher who had instructed him and rounded his education and who had initiated

B r him into the religious life . This teacher was called Rabban a

Sauma . He possessed regular features , a tall and fine figure and “ : an agreeable mann er . He answered the Sultan If the condition is as you say , we will go and present our homage to our Father and Patriarch the Catholicus Mar Denha ; we will gain his benedictio n ” and afterwards return home .

He betook himself to him [the Patriarch] at Baghdad , where he U stayed for long . They went p to the Camp , whence , after con se cratin him g archbishop of Tangut , the Patriarch sent him back

Y aballah a to his country . , who was already chosen by the Highest h is for the Patriarchate , found no route by which to return to k floc . Accordingly he returned to Arbel and took residence in the convent of Mar Sabrish o Bak uk a. One of the most reverend of the mo n ks of this convent said to “ him one day : Thy stay here can be of no use ; rise and go to

Baghdad , for God has chosen thee to rule His Church . Upon thy arrival the Catholicus will be dead , and the Patriarchate will ” n be entrusted to thee . The name of the mo k who spoke thes e

ul words to him was Rabban S aqa. Y aballah a made his preparations and went to Baghdad [where 10 he arrived] on Monday , the first day of the Dominical Fast .

g Sio u fli A I k A transliterates the word as rdava , which too to represent rdabil , o n e of the capital cities of the Ilkh an sin Adh arbaij an ; but Gismondi h asthe pointed ’ ‘ ’ l-u rdit H -P see A a . rabic , industani ersian for camp . For the term p note 3 , etc . 1 ° D 2 see 1 enha died Feb . 4 ; p . note 9 . 2 2 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

He found the Catholicus dead and the people praying by his body

. Y aballah a in the church As soon as he was buried , went up on bem a . the , where he shed hot tears He kissed the lips of the deceased and received from him the Patriarchate , in accordance 11 with what had been said to him . The assembly of the Faithful “ : rejoiced at his coming , and they all cried Behold our Catholicus and Patriarch "” Some days later the conclave of the Fathers as well as the citizens of Baghdad testified their allegiance to him , declaring by a document bearing their signatures that they had elected him . He betook himself forthwith to the Honored Camp and presented himself to Abaka Khan . This prince rejoiced , and invested him with a magnificen t robe of honor . He provided him with equip ment beyond count , and sent him back accompanied by a great ” Ashm at prince named , who was of the family of the Khan . The new Patriarch arrived at B aghdad covered with honors and respect , and after making his preparations , went down to the ’ monastery of Madain . The day of his arrival was a holy day ; 13 it was the Saturday before the first Sunday of the Entrance . - [There follows a list of the ordaining bishops , twenty one in

Assem n i a . number . It is identical with the list given by ; see p note He was consecrated Patriarch at Mada m the First Sunday o f the Consecration of the Church ; and he wore a pale-colored

‘ Sele u ci e biron 1 d . . The consecration took place 593 Era On that day he ordained a large number of deacons , and when he left the altar to ascend the chair , a great quantity of small pieces of gold and silver were showered upon him . No one could get into the temple , the crowd was so great . Then he went down to the monastery of the Apostle Mar Mari , where he was received accord 14 ing to customary usage . After this he went up to Baghdad , where he had a similar reception .

11 This physical contact with the deceased is naively represented asa means of transferring the succession .

12 see Ashm at 2 For this royal reception p . 3 For see above , note . 13 Another name for the season of the Ku ddash ta ; the dating is the same as in our

’ Madain = Seleucia- n an d th e a al Biography ; see p . For Ctesipho p triarch

see . 1 . c hurch of Koke p note 9 , p

14 se e 1 For this locality p . note 9 .

’ V . THE STO RY OF BAR SAUMA S MIS SION TO THE WE ST

TH E present translator has limited his task to the first half of

20 the Biography (99 out of 5 printed pages) , namely , the portion

n that gives the early history of the two Chinese mo ks , their pil

grimage to Western Asia , their settlement and ecclesiastical ele ’ Saum a s vation there , and mission to the West , terminating with ’ 1 2 1 2 the latter s death in 93 and the accession of King Ghazan in 9 5 . The last section of the translation tells of the storms that were

'

brewing for the Christians . What follows is a sad story of the

f t h e e rse cu vicissitudes they su fered from their Muslim enemies , p tions amounting to local desperate wars at Maragha and Arbela

o w h o and elsewhere , even despite the occasi nal favor of the kings ,

seemed powerless to help them much . The story terminates with

Y aballah a 1 1 the death of in 3 7 . The Biography was written by

one who was in part a witness of these turbulent events . What hope there had been of the Nestorian evangelization of the Mongols was dissipated forever ; they became the devoted followers of the 1 Arabian Prophet . Apart from the oecumenical importance of the Biography with its vista in to the international ranges of politics and religion in ‘ ’ ’ 1 the 3 th century , there is its interest as a Traveller s Tale , brought back by an observant Oriental from the strange lands to which

1 In the last century Kurdish hostility had driven a large part of the Nestorian

T P E In Christians out of urkey into the more benevolent lands of ersia to the ast . G d the reat War and afterwar s their position here became intolerable , whence they k u M P a T k trek ed by a long circuitous ro te to osul . rob bly all left in ur ish territory T a M have been annihilated . hey live in and bout osul , about souls according M am d B M to ing a , in great economic istress under the protection of the ritish andate , ‘ A ’ B I and an ssyrian battalion is one of the mainstays of the ritish forces in raq . Th e P f young atriarch , who holds his o fice by hereditary right , is now at school in ‘ E Th e L R ngland . political head of the Church is his aunt , the ady Surma , egent ’ 1 26 A fl of the Assyrian Nation , who in 9 paid a visit to merica on behalf of her af icted Th e C is M people . only other fragment of the ancient hurch on the alabar coast of

M Rae The S ri an Chu rch i n In di a 1 is G . 8 2 T s a I see . M ndia ; , y , 9 . hi al bar Church in h th e u now communion wit Jacobite Syriac Ch rch . ’ BAR SAUMA S MISSION TO THE WEST 2 5

Cam balu - h e was commissioned . Himself a Chinese from Peking and the contemporary of Marco Polo , he deserves our remembrance as an Oriental antitype of the great Venetian . The story of the

k : mission begins with p . Sauma appears to have ept a diary this was written in Persian and was much abbreviated by the biographer , as the latter states , p . The first person of the * diarist occasionally survives in the narrative , pp . 74 ’ Saum a sparticular interest was in the religious life of the West which he found so akin to his own Christianity , although on a far ‘ ’ more magnificent scale . He carefully records the marvels of " the great churches he saw , very particularly their relics His description of the rites of Holy Week and Easter at Rome , at which he was an honored guest , has its historical interest . I have endeavored in my notes to the text to check up these references from current sources , but with no attempt to exhaust the anti i 3 qu ar an details . Of course it must be borne in mind that he describes buildings which have largely disappeared or else been most radically altered , and so his descriptions are all the more interesting . In Paris he saw the creations of St . Louis , Sainte

Chapelle and S t . Denis in their pristine beauty .

’ Other things than religious also struck the traveller s eye .

He notes the eruption of Aetna (p . and the perpetual sum mer on the Riviera (p . In Naples he witnessed from a convent roof soon after his arrival a sanguinary battle in the

nk streets , and marvels at the custom of the Fra s that they kill n one but the contestants (p . At Genoa he notes the demo cratic constitution of the city (p . A unique datum , I under stand , is his figure for the number of students at the University of Paris , which he gives as his accompanying very exact description of the studies at the University indicates his learned interest (p . The message the King of England gave him

2 see Assem an i 6 — 68 For the Nestorian devotion to relics , pp . 3 5 3 , with the opening “ R statement : eliquias sanctorum apud Ne sto rian o sin summa v en e ratio n e haberi ” fin itistestim o n iisro bari in p potest . 3 I Maru c c h i B asili u escl e lisesde Ro me 1 0 have referred in particular to , q g , 9 9 ,

’ ’ Elemen tsde l archeo lo ie chréti en n e A . C H bein ol of his g . . . Walksi n Ro me g v 3 ; J are , , B e d 1 8 1 0 . . , 9 9 , and the indispensable aedeker 4 Th e Nestorians were distin guished for their learning and great schools ; see — i 1 1 Assem an . . , pp 9 9 9 5 26 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

Ar h o n nk (p . for King g is characteristic of the Fra ish mind , as also a pertinent statement of the difle ren ce between the Mediaeval East and West : to tell him that in the land of the Franks there are not two creeds but only one , that which confesses Jesus Christ , and that they are all Christians . Finally we may notice his interview with the Cardinals on his first visit to Rome in the

Papal interregnum , in which he doughtily maintained his own * 6 cl se confession (pp . 5 q ) ; we may wonder how the discussion was f carried on by those men of di ferent tongues . But Bar Sauma

c was a polyglot , f. p .

For convenience of reference to the original , the pagination of ’ B e dj an sSyriac text in his second edition is given in the text of the translation with asterisked figures in brackets .

TH E H ISTO RY O F MAR Y ABALLAH A

[THE S TORY OF RA B B AN S AUMA]

1 THERE was a certain B eliever , a freeman , who feared

God , rich in the things of the world and those of natural character , and well known in family and race , whose name was Sheban the

2 in - Visitator . He dwelt the city Khan balig , the royal city 3 of the Country of the East . He was legally united to a wife

1 Th e O T . riental name , as in the New estament , for Christians ‘ 2 Th e Visitator (se oro) or Pe rio de u tes(this Greek word was also carried over into Syriac) , was generally a chorepiscopus , with itinerant commission , an office Assm an i A . e like that of rchdeacon , which word also appears in the Syriac See , iii ,

2 8 2 6 cl se Th e sachora B ar M pt . , q. title is given to Sauma in the ongol letter to King

Ar h o n se e In t 1 6 . g , . , § ii , note Chabot doubts whether the Visitator was a bishop , ’ Asse m an i s f P but in addition to testimony to the o fice , three of the apal letters refer ‘ ’ ’ i o rien tis to Sauma as ep sco p u sin partibus . Chabot s objection is based on the ’ Sau m a sa principle that bishops cannot be married , as was f ther , and later Sauma P himself , p . riests , deacons , even monks , might be married , but not bishops , B 2 6 Asse m an i according to adger , , c . 3 ; however , in his treatment of the subject

2 s w w notes , p . 3 7 , some regulations whereby bi hops losing their ives ere allowed to Th e C I remarry . point is further clinched by the fact that the hinese nscription c h o re isc 0 i 1 1 refers by name to certain sons of p p ; see Saeki , p . 4 , who thinks that this Bu t w may have been an indulgence to Chinese ideas . there was apparently ide ‘ ’ To R liberty in the matter in that Church . be sure , Sauma is always called abban , ‘ ’ Asse m an i R which according to , p . 79 9 , is used of presbyters , as abba , is of bishops ; but the title may have become personal in his case . 3 Th e Cam balu Cam balu c Cam bale (other travellers more correctly , g , etc . ) of P0 10 i e P i se e , . . , ek ng ; his description of that great capital of Kublai Khan , bk . ii , ’ ’ 1 1 cl se Th e 1 a cc . q. name means Khan s City (Yule , , or r ther Khan s Camp L O a P ( oewe , p . ther references to the Christi ns of eking known to me are as

T Me tro o litan cie s follows . here are the numerous lists of the p of the Nestorian

h n balek e Asse m an i 8 C a . 2 0 . 6 Church , always including that of , g , , ii , 45 , iii , pt . , 3 , h r 2 w M w ile in the latte volume , p . 5 3 , he gives a considerable list of kno n etropolitans

i B G an d of Ch na, to which are to be added those named in our iography , eorge Nes to rio s P 0 0 0 , pp . olo refers to 5 Christian , Saracen and Cathayan astrol ’ ’ ’ M o s ogers operating in that city , c . 3 3 . John of onte Corvino , who in the 9 of that L P k his century established the atin Church in e ing , reports in the opening of First ‘ Letter that the Nestorians have grown so powerful in those parts that they will not l o so an a low a Christian of an ther rite to have ever small a chapel , or to publish y 2 7 2 8 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

K m h a t a . named y As time went on and they had no heir , they

committed themselves in prayer and supplication to God , that He would not deprive them of one to continue the family and to

be a comforter to them . He in His grace and love accepted their prayer and was compassionate to them ; for He is wont to receive the entreaty of the broken-hearted and to listen to the cry of those ‘ who entreat and pray . Everyone who asks receives , and who

’ - . 8 prays finds , and who knocks to him it is opened [Matt 7 ] when one speaks with a confidence based on a true hope . For

[divine] visitation is made to both orders , men and women , when f with set purpose they o fer request . For there was Hannah the wife of Elkanah , who was not restrained when she prayed with

1 fixed purpose [ Sam . and the wife of Manoah , who was not repelled when she received the angel readily to her chamber , and he breathed the Spirit into the womb of the woman , and she 4 5 bore a son . Then they called him Sauma . And they rejoiced with great joy and they gave joy to their neighbors and kin . And when they had brought him up in a commendable rearing to the age that was fit for teaching , they committed him to a suitable teacher , and they schooled him zealously under him in the

D octrines of the Church . And they betrothed him . And he was qualified for the order of Priesthood , and he was numbered among the Clergy , and he became Verger in the church of the aforesaid city . And he behaved himself with all modesty and humility . And he was zealous for possession of the things that are excellent

[Phil . and he strove for the conduct of life that belongs to the things to come , until he was twenty years old . And there was kindled in his heart the light of God and it burnt up the under brush of the sinful and purified his bright soul from uncleanness and all impurity . For he loved more than aught else the love of his Lord , and was not willing when he took hold of the plough to look back . The shadow of the world he rejected at once and forthwith denied its delights ; foods that putrefy he deemed

’ f se e -C Catha 6 A doctrines di ferent from their own ; Yule ordier , y , 3 , 4 . report upon ’ L 1 2 se e C T o u n P ao I 8 6 1 them is also given by a atin emissary in 3 9 ; ordier , g , , . 4 A 1 I midrashic development of the story of the birth of Samson , Jud . 3 . cannot

The Ar Taleso the Pro het trace it otherwise in Jewish or Syriac literature . abic f p s a a gives simil r story for the birth of Jesus .

5 In t See . , § iv , note 4 .

THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

country , and people began to gather to him to hear his word .

And honor was attributed to him by all .

[TH E S TORY o r MAR YABALLAHA]

In the foreknowledge of God is everything known , and the 1 purposes of all men , whether of the Right or the Left , before

they are formed in the womb are revealed to Him . Therefore

according to them the purposes] he elects and justifies , and

: because of them he torments and troubles . To Moses it was said ‘ ’ - B ehold , I have made thee a god to Pharaoh [Exod . the election of him because of his [fore]known good will ; and also

the hardheartedness of Pharaoh , for even before he was it was known that he was hardhearted , so that he was rejected . And ‘ so He said to Jeremiah : Before I formed thee in the belly I knew

thee , and before thou camest out of the womb I consecrated thee and ’ made thee a prophet to the nations [Jer . And Paul said , ‘ ’ ‘ ’ Did God cast o ffHis people whom He knew from the beginning"

i . e . [Rom . , because of their fair good will and pure pur poses . Now of the election some marks are shown in the person

chosen , and there rise in him rays of light which indicate that he

is worthy of the grace . He who is illuminated recognizes them ,

but the unskilled does not know them . Since the elect person in was one whose case there is the concern of an exalted life , we must tell the method of his election and confirm this as comple l mentary to his wi l . There was in the city Koshang 2 in the Country of the East a faithful and righteous man , pure and spotless , who served God in His Church faithfully and behaved himself in His laws with

in i l Ba e . distinction , by name , an Archdeacon And he had four 3 sons , the youngest of whom was called Markos . This one was

1 G d c M An . ancient nostic distinction between the goo and the bad ; also f att .

1 et e 25 : 3 sq. ’ 2 fi P Cacian -fu bk 11 C . . habot suggests identi cation with olo s ( , c according Ho kian -fu H k 1 20 P k Bu t Pellio t to Yule and others ( o ien) , miles south of e ing . , ’ 6 2 6 T - On u t T o un P ao 1 . g , 5 , pp 3 , 3 4, identifies it with ong chen , a town in the g country ’ z P k The f th e re io n are T z . ceso (Odoric s o an or Co an) , west of e ing Christian prin g * I m et with in the narrative below , p . 5 . 3 v i n n O ta 1 2 . o . Born 44 ; . f. p accordingly in the reign of Kha g y THE STORY OF MAR YABALLAHA 3 1

instructed in the Doctrines of the Church beyond all his brothers . 4 And the guests reproved him with such words , and it appeared to them that they were arguing with a pillar rather than with a reasonable man . And despite his being repressed in many ways he did not turn from his way , nor did his purpose forego its quest , but he fixed his aim and went o ff to Rabban Sauma by a fifteen ’ days journey with great fatigue . And when he greeted Rabban

S . auma , the latter rejoiced in him and received him with gladness

And after he had refreshed himself , he [Sauma] asked him " My son , whence comest thou And how has it occurred to thee to come to this mountain" And of what city is thy family " And who is thy father and what thy pedigree " ” And “ : Bain iel he replied I am son of the Archdeacon , of Koshang , and ” “ : I am called Markos . And he said to him What is thy reason that with such labor and fatigue thou hast come to me "” And “ : he answered him B ecause I wish to be a monk . Since I heard o f thy fame , I let everything go and sought thee . Do not keep i ” “ . : me from my des re Rabban Sauma said to him My brother , this way is difficult and hardly can an elder man bear its difficulty ; let go the thought that youths and children can tread it . And him when he had given much persuasion to return to his parents ,

n but he did not change his mi d , he accepted him as a disciple , 5 an d him he clothed with the wool and set him to the service .

After three years he received the tonsure , in other words the G Nesto rio s habit , from the holy man Mar the Metropolitan on the Sunday of the Holy Spirit the Paraclete [Whitsunday] . And

n in he conti ued many toils and fastings lasting till evening . And they were toiling in the mountain in the service of purity and holiness and taking comfort in God , to whom they had committed themselves .

4 Hil en feld s g note that this noun should be pointed as a plural , and that there must be a lacuna telling the story of some disputation . 5 Th k Th e M e garb of the mon . uslim Suhs took their n ame from a garment of l u woo , g f. 5 There had been a change in the Metropolitanship of China since th e ordination r co r e e d d p . 3 2 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

[TH E P ILGRIMAGE OF RAB B AN SAUMA AND RAB B AN MARK O S TOWARDS JERUSALEM]

One day they took counsel that if we should leave this region

an d o ff n go to the West , it were dear to us to receive benedictio 1 from the shrines of the Holy Martyrs and the Fathers Catholici ,

and if the Christ , the Lord of All , prolong our life and bring us on

the way by His grace , that we go to Jerusalem , so that we may acquire perfect reconciliation for our sins and remission of our ” faults . Although Rabban Sauma held Rabban Markos back and was terrifying him with the difficulty of the way and the fatigue o f the journey and the danger of the roads and the obstacles one might find in a foreign land , Rabban Markos was hot to go , and revealed to him his mind that as it were treasures were in store for him in the West . And he kept urging Rabban Sauma with his arguments and impelling him to the departure . And when they had agreed that neither would separate from the other , even if he should have to bear for his sake any kind of hurt , they rose up and distributed their fleece garments and vessels among the poor , and entered into that [the neighboring] city so as to get companions for the journey and furnish themselves with pro

at visions . The Christians there once recognized them and learned their purpose and gathered to them , so as to turn them from their

: purpose , saying Perhaps you know not how great is the distance of the country you are going to , or how misleading the perplexity

n e of the roads , beyond your reckoni g , so that you cannot arriv

in there . Remain here and strive the life to which you have been ‘ ’ called . For it is said that the Kingdom of Heaven is within you [Luke They replied “ We have already put on the habit and denied the world , for we are dead . We expect of it

l . no trouble that wi l terrify us , no fear to disturb us One thing we ask of you , that for the love of Christ you pray for us , and that you give up talk that produces hesitation , and that ye seek ” “

: . that the will of God be fulfilled . They said Go in peace

1 ‘ ’ O i Catholicus was the earlier title of the head of the riental Church , signify ng 1 1 B i Pa a se e B 1 . . its dependence upon the tri rchate of Antioch ; adger , , c oth t tles , d C an d Pa are . atholicus triarch , often use together THE PILGRIMAGE TOWARD JERUSALEM 3 3

And they kissed one another , and they separated with anguished

: . weeping and affectn cries , saying Go in peace Our Lord ,

o u whom you seek , be with you , and provide for y what seems ” best to Him and is helpful to you . Amen .

And they came to the city Koshang . And when the citizens and the parents of Rabban Markos had heard that these two

nk mo s were arrived , they went joyfully out to meet them and received them with joy and cheer , and with great honor did they “ : bring them into the church . And they asked them How is it you have for they thought they were goi n g to remain with them , and that Rabban Markos had done this because of the ffi proximity of his family . B ut when they a rmed that they were going to Jerusalem and were fixed on the West , and were on the way , they felt it greatly and were much grieved . Now the

-in - news came to the lords of the city , who were sons law of the 2 K u bo h If h n a o a . Khan King of Kings , namely , g and g And upon the news they sent messengers and brought the two monk s to the 3 Camp . And they received them with pleasure , and the light i of love for them was kindled with n them . When they learned “ ” “ : that they are leaving us , they began to say to them Why do you leave our region and go to the West " For we are very anxious to draw monks and fathers from the West to this region . How can you let yourselves go away " ” Rabban Sauma answered “ We have let the world go , and so far as we are with men we do not fin d rest . And so it is right for us to flee away for the

re dem love of the Christ , who gave Himself to the death for our p

in tion . Whatever is the world we have cast behind , although your love for us urges us not to go , and your kindnesses constrain us , and your alms are abundantly shed upon us , and it is even

’ agreeable to us to dwell with you . We recall the Lord s word :

2 Th e P 11 - title would indicate Kublai , who according to olo , , c . 9 , had forty seven sons , the names of twelve of whom , with the title of king , have been preserved , and ’ B u t Pe lli T l . o t o n n P ao I 6 1 c se c an d with no count of daughters , g , 5 , 3 q , i entify

k C Om T k K u n bu a these princes ; they are nown chiefs of the hristian gut ur s , q and

Ai bu a a q , whose family relationships are a matter of history ; the l tter is the father ‘ P G ’ fi M P of rince eorge , who gures in arco olo as a descendant through his mother of P rester John .

3 Th e see so w old nomadic term for the court ; note at p . and frequently belo lkh an of the I court . 34 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

‘ What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lo se ’ u " his own soul , and what will a man give in exchange for his so l r [Matt . Although we desire the separation , yet whereve

r we are , in proportion to our weakness , we shall emember your ” kingdom with prayers night and day . When they saw that argument with them w asu seless and that

they would not yield to persuasion , they distributed to them gifts , “ : equipment , gold and silver and garments . But they said We

need nothing . For what can we do with possessions , and how can we burden ourselves with this great load"” Then the “ Kings answered : Then you are not acquainted with the length

w e of the road and the expense it demands . But we know , and - h advise you not to go empty handed . You are not able to reac

your destination without funds . And so accept these gifts from

us as loans , and if cause of poverty calls , spend them , and if you s arrive in safety , distribute them to the monasteries and convent

of the monks there and the fathers , so that we may have fellowship ‘ with our fathers of the West . For it is said : Your abundance ’ 2 for their want [ Cor . Then these monks , when they saw

that they gave with a pure heart , took what the Kings gave . And

they parted from one another sorrowfully , and weeping mixed with

joy followed them . 4 T n u th th And thence they came to the city a g . And e c itizens heard that Rabban Sauma and Rabban Markos were

come on their way to Jerusalem . They went forth with ardor

to meet them , men and women , youths and striplings , boys and

r Tan u th girls . Fo very ardent was the faith of the people of g

4 P 0 A . ccording to olo , i , c 4 , this is the name of an extensive province at the north C west end of hina ; it is to be identified with the present province of Kansu (Yule , p .

Th e h P W Sachiu e city at w ich olo arrived from the est he calls , which Yul ib n S h ach au P . s ( ) identifies with moder ( ) , on the edge of the desert , where olo note Bu t Tan u th he found some Christians . the city of g as above is probably Kan ch au — - ’ o An w as Pau thier s -su (m dern hsi chau) , which on testimony the chief city of Kan . ’ ’ P Cam ich u It . l is identified with olo s p , c 44 (see Yu e s discussion) , in which city ‘ ’ It he found three very fine churches . was these Christians who welcomed our B Jo urn as H . . . . 1 8 et se s pilgrims owever , onin , , series ix , vol 5 5 4 q , regard Tan u th W -si g as embracing all est China , including Shen , and the ancient capital - -fu Th Sin . e gan , the site of the Nestorian Stone pilgrims would then have been - Th e Tan u th i at the mother church of China . name g sadmitted by th e scholarsto fi in it ex en be inde nite s t t . THE PILGRIMAGE TOWARD JERUSALEM 3 5

k and pure their intention . And they honored them with all inds of gifts , and they received their benedictions . And crowds fol “ : lowed them , weeping and saying Our Lord who chose you for ” the honor of His service , He will be with you . Amen . s ’ Thence they came to Lotou after two months journey in the vexation and trouble of that cold desert ; for it was void of in h ab itan ts because the water was bitter , and it was not sown at all , ’ and scarcely in an eight days journey was there found sweet water to load the wagons And at the time they arrived at Lotou there happened to be a quarrel between the Khan King of 7 Kings and King Oko . And the latter fled from him and came to the place and destroyed a thousand people there , and the

o ff roads and paths were cut , and corn failed and was not to be had , and many died of hunger and perished . And after six months the 8 monks went forth thence , and they came to Kashgar . And they found the city emptied of its inhabitants , for it had been despoiled by the enemy . But because their aim was fixed and they pleased

God with all their heart , He averted from them every disturber , f and su fering befell them not , and He saved them from captivity 9 and robbers . And they arrived at the court of King Kaidu

5 Bed an e j , follow d by Chabot , regards this name as error for Khotan , an important

E C T M se e P o city in the southwest of astern ( hinese) urkestan , and a etropolitan . ol 6 T describes it , i , c . 3 . here has been much recent exploration of this interesting

S A An cien t Kho tan 2 region ; ee especially the monumental work by . Stein , , vols . , O 1 0 xford , 9 7 . ‘ ’ 5 R red n e r d é T i o a o . Lo b Lo eading , for y runners h s desert is that of , or p , E T P in astern urkestan . olo , i , c . 3 9 , describes its terrors (the worst of them demons ")

k in 2 8 w w a and its lac of water some places altogether you ill find ter , and he

k a n states that it too his party a month to make the tr nsit . Yule in his note fi ds it

f l B u t di ficult to reconci e this with our maps . our pilgrims , going much slower , took H double that time . Sven edin vividly describes his h azardous journey through the

G D M Li e asan E x lo rer 1 2 cl se same reat esert , y f p , 9 5 , cc . 3 5 q. 7 ‘ ’ T No o dar his person may be King g , a bandit knight , who was operating in

’ ‘ these regions during Polo s travel eastwards ; he himself was nearly caught by those ’ bk . . 8 6 ct se scoundrels ; see i , c , and the accompanying extensive note by Yule , pp . 9 q. ’ Pelli T u C . Bu t o t o n P ao 1 6 2 Alu u f. also Chabot , g , 5 , 3 , corrects the reading to g . 8 An i E T P mportant city in the west of astern urkestan ; see olo , i , c . 3 3 , with ’ Kho tan . It M se e Yule s note , and Stein , , cc 3 , 4 . was a etropolitan of the Nestorians and an im portant provincial capital ; the awfulness of those wars appears in the present account of its desolation . 9 O o ta Kaidu was a grandson of g y , the second Great Khan , who was able to main Tu rk estan In 1 2 6 Ilkh a tain his independence of Kublai in . 9 his forces invaded the n 3 6 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

T l 10 at e eo s. And they came to him and prayed for the preserva

tion of his life and blessed his kingdom . And they asked him for

orders that none should injure them in his land . But hardly , 1 1 with the fatigue that accompanies fear , did they reach Khorasan ,

abandoning on the way a lot of what they had with them . And 1 2 they came to the holy convent of Mar Sehy o n in the neighbor 13 o f . hood. the city Tus And they were blessed by the clergy and

nk mo s in that place , and so they thought that they were born

afresh to the world . And they acknowledged the grace of God on whom they trusted and in whom they hoped and rejoiced , for He is the aid and helper of all who seek Him . And when they had delighted themselves in converse with those 14 Adh arbai an brethren , they started towards j , that they might go thence to Baghdad to the Reverend Catholicus Denha . But it a 1 5 happened that the Reverend Catholicus came to Mar gha , and

PO10 has see H The Mo n o ls territories , and some romantic stories about him ; oworth , g , — 1 1 1 8 1 I sv , 73 ; Yule , ndex , . . 10 T fi his name has been identi ed by Chabot , after Klaproth , with the river and

T T - Th e Le E astern ali city alas in rans Jaxartes . following extract from Strange , C hate 8 : Th e p , 4 7 , serves to identify the place with the capital of King Kaidu ruins of Alm ali h i M a h ata O o ta g , wh ch was the ongol capital under Jg y [ g y ] have been found S Old Ku l ah Ilih near the ite of j , on the river ; and its position is indicated by Ali of ” I T Tel s A z a O l. Ya d , who also mentions the rtish river and ul s [evidently our fuller -C Catha 8 note on the place , with more exact location , is given by Yule ordier, y , 3 , 7 ,

2 i bid Bre tsch n eide r Med l 1 . . i a va n . ; its location is given in the map opposite p 3 ,

— Alm ali h Researches2 . 1 1 2 , , 3 3 3 9 , and vol , note 7 , gives a full treatment of g , especially

r = hin e se A- - - T see i b 1 so u c es C . . 2 from the Chinese , li ma li . For elos , vol , notes 3 ,

8 T T c it w h ich Telo sz h e n ce a ro v 5 5 , on alas or aras , river and y , the Chinese knew as , pp ’ Ou r T -Alm ali h w as ing the spelling above . travellers route , Khotan to elos g , often C W 1 taken by the hinese travellers to the est in the 3 th century, whose stories are 1 1 6 D e Jo u rn a er B o e . ss 8 given by r tschneider , . g. , vol . , 7 , 9 ev ria records , . . , . ix , vol . ,

2 1 2 L a 1 8 4 , 4 3 , the establishment there of a tin bishopric in 3 3 and its destruction

1 2 in 3 4 . 1 1 Th e great eastern province of the old Abb aside domain ; the travellers were — h Le a 2 Ilk an . 0 n o w . . in the territory See Str nge , cc 7 3

12 B u t Se h o n = i . Z 0 n i Chabot knows of no such saint y , and the comb nation ‘ ’ ’ a with Mar is like our St . S viour s . 13 On e se e se e Le of the chief cities of Khorasan , and an episcopal ; Strange , pp .

88 et se 3 q. 14 T I he province lying between the Caspian and the northeast of present raq , L m including ake Ur ia . 15 n M MS T Bedj a prefers the spelling argha after one . his is the name of a bish o ric e z irah M p in the J province (Upper esopotamia) , whence came the celebrated T M Bu t Ma a a L k i homas of argha . the place meant here is r gh , east of a e Urm a,

3 8 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

1 7 18 o f Beth-garm ai and Nisibis to receive benediction and to ” ask help . When the Catholicus saw the loveliness of their intention and the sincerity of their mind and the fix edn essof

: their purpose , he said to them Go , my sons , the Christ , Lord of

All , grant you your request out of His rich and overflowing

treasury , and fulfill His grace with you , and His favor follow you

wheresoever you go . And he wrote letters patent for them to

" those places , that wherever they went they should be honored ; and he sent with them a man to show them the way and to guide

them on the roads .

And they arrived at Baghdad , and thence to the Great Church of Koke 1 9 And they came to the monastery of Mar Mari the

Apostle . And they received benedictions from the shrines of that

country . And from there they turned and came to the country - m i ar a . of Beth g From its shrine , full of the works and cures of 20 Mar H ez kiel they received the benediction . And thence they

2 1 to went to Arbel , and thence to Mosul . And they moved on 22 23 Shigh ar and to Nisibis and to Merda . And they received

1 7 B - arm ai M Z ab eth g was the etropolitan district on the Upper , northeast of see Asse m an i 2 M . osul , one of the great centres of Nestorian monastic life ; , iii , pt ,

' 1 H ff Au sz e 2 et se et se 8 . n . 74 7 q . , 74 , and for its schools , p 9 3 ; o mann , g , 53 q 13 M Ne sto rian odern Nisibin , once the seat of the most distinguished of academies , E see Asse m an i 2 B C the successor of the ruined School of dessa ; , p . 9 7 ; J . . habot , ‘ ’ ’ — 8 G M To l Jo urn asse r . . L Eco e . . . de Nisibis , , ix , vol , 43 9 3 ; F oore , in the y Volume , B Gesch d sr H t 1 1 et e H to o eli i 2 et e . s s. i si n the isr R o n s . . . S tud e y f g , 55 q ; aumstark , y , 3 q 1 9 This was the ancient See church (sometimes called ‘ the Great Church ’ ) of the ‘ P - A Al-M D atriarchate at Seleucia Ctesiphon , the rabic adain ( ouble which s till retained its primitive primacy, despite the removal of the actual location of the See to B aghdad (even as the Archbishops of Canterbury reside officially in London) ; Au sbreitu n d Christen ta rns A e m an i 6 2 2 t e 6 28 . ee ss e s . s . . , pp q , , etc (also i , Sachau , g , L Assem an i 6 B 2 t se It e . . . 0 2 6 e q. is often named in the iturgies , g , , p 74 , adger , , 3 4 ,

as P . P great functions , like atriarchal consecrations , were always held there resumably ll a traces of it have now disappeared . Koke appears to have been the original name Abbelo o sActa S Maris 8 M d see . f . o the site of the old capital ; , , 4 , note ari was burie D r- n i e Assem an i 1 28 Abbelo o s 2 u o se . . . n ear Koke at q ; , p , , p 7 , note For the obscure

P se e Asse m an i et se h istory of the rise of the atriarchate , i , 9 q. , and the critical discus ’ L b r L chri ti an isme dan sl ern i re erse 1 0 1 2 H t e s . s . a o u . ions in J , p p , 9 4 , cc , , and F aase , — e i tal u ellen 1 2 1 1 I O G ach o r en . . ristli che sek . n . Altch Q 9 5 , 9

20 Dak o k B Tho maso Mar ha A monastery at named after its founder ; see udge , f g ,

i , p . lxxvii . 21 A Th e Assyrian and Classical rbela . 22 M se e Le 8 Arabic Sinjar , to the west of osul ; Strange , p . 9 . 23 M ib 6 Modern ardin ; . , p . 9 . THE PILGRIMAGE TOWARD JERUSALEM 39

benediction from the shrine of the bones of Mar Augen , the Second 24 - i 25 Christ . And from there to the Island of Beth z abda . And 26 from all the shrines and monasteries (that is , convents) and the monks and fathers in those places they received benedictions .

And they paid the vows for which they were bounden , and assigned tables [for the poor] and did alms wherever they came . And they turned back and came to the holy convent of Mar Michael f ’ 27 o . Tar el And they bought a cell , and the two of them were r eceived by the monks there . And the purpose which was operat in g in them stayed from its course , although they had not attained the object of their expectation . When Mar Denh a the Catholicus heard of the manner of their life , he sent and required them to come to him . And they went

n at once and gave the greeti g of the monastery . And he said to “ : in them We have heard that you have been received a monastery , bu t it does not please us that you should live a conventual life .

In this way you will obtain only surcease for yourselves . But living with us , you will gain profit and satisfaction for the com

An d munity . so do you stay with us and assist in the royal court ‘ ” [lit . gate in whatsoever chances to your hands . They said to “ h im : Whatever our Father bids us we will do . He said “ 8 to them : Go to King Abaga " You will receive commissions ” “

: . for us . They said to him So be it But let our Reverend Father send a man with us who will take the commissions and ” give them to him . And he prevailed on them in this matter , and furnished them with blessin gs And w 29 hen they came to the Blessed Camp , an emir presented them to

24 A -E ugen ugenios , the founder of monastic life among the Nestorians ; he estab h M I Tu r A A e m an i 86 2 lised ss . a convent at ount zla near Nisibis in bdin . See , pp H ff 1 68 1 1 HisA Bed an Ad a cl se . . . q ; o mann , pp , 7 cts have been published by j in t san cto ru m Hi mart ru rn e . s y , iii epithet , remarkable indeed , is otherwise known ; see T hes. sr 2 2 1 P . ayne Smith , y 4 . 25 Beth-z abdai was a district on the right bank of the upper Tigris with Jazirat ‘ ’ Th e t z Ar bic az at O . azar ha a ir ibn mar as capital Syriac word here , g j , means island , Asse m an i 0 2 and is used of districts almost surrounded by water . See , pp . 73 , 73 ;

Le . . Strange , p 9 3 2 6 o lio so Syriac diction often interpolates a variant word . 27 Bed an M j locates this monastery near osul . 28 1 28 1 In t Died ; see . , ii . 29 L As . appears below , the royal residence was to the east of ake Urmia Such 40 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

the King , and he asked them about the manner of their coming

and what was their country . And they gave him an answer which 3 0 f l revealed their purpose . Then he ordered his o ficials to fulfi l

their quest , and to give them orders as they required , and the commission which the Reverend Catholicus required of them they

forwarded with his messenger .

And they started out with companions to Jerusalem . And 3 1 when they reached the city An im to and saw the convents

and monasteries there , they marvelled at the size of their con

struction and their beauty . And thence they went to Beth 3 2 o r a e . g g y , that they might go by a clear road But when they

arrived there , they learned from the citizens that the road was cut

o ff by reason of the murders and depredations which occurred in it .

[APP OINTMENT OF RABBAN MARK O S Y AB ALLAH A AS METROP O LITAN AND OF RABBAN SAUMA AS VrsrTATOR-GE NE RAL]

And they turned back and came to the Reverend Catholicus . “ : And he was glad for them , and said to them It is not the time to

o ff. go to Jerusalem , for the roads are disturbed and the routes cut But you have received benedictions from all the houses of God P and the monasteries in them [ ] . And to my mind when one

n visits these with a pure heart , the service to them is not less tha

reaching Jerusalem . And I give you fitting counsel , worthy of

to your heed . I have decided to make Markos Metropolitan and

devolve the Apostolic gifts upon him ; and thou , Rabban Sauma , I - will appoint thee Visitator General . And I will send you to your ” : several places . Those monks answered and said The word of

‘ ’ C titles as blessed are applied to hristian cities , and it is significant that the term is C here applied to the amp . 3 0 T f E Asm o th Bar He brae u s his o ficial may well be the mir , who later , according to , called the royal attention to Markos as a likely appointee for the Patriarchate ; se e

In t ” § iv . 3 1 Be d an j , by a rearrangement of the letters and construction , ingeniously suggests

An i a C A e su bse the city , the old c pital of hristian rmenia , and this agre s with the Th e n e q uent route . ruins of its cathedral , citadel , etc . , are among the most otabl of

r A menian remains . 3 2 a G via T z Syri c for eorgia . From the coast of this Christian state , probably rebi ond m W so P n (as on the subsequent ission to the est and olo on his return) , they i tended B k M H L i to ship by the lac and editerranean Seas to the oly and , the land routes be ng c O see W H Gesch d losed . For the importance of that city in riental trade . eyd , . . — Levan tehan elsi m ittelaller 2 1 0 8 . d M , , 9 5 - METROPOLITAN AND VISITATOR GENERAL 4 1

our Reverend Father is by the command of the Christ , and whoever does not execute it contributes to the transgression of the command .

B ut herewith we reveal our mind and declare our inward heart .

We did not come from there to go back there to China] . Nor are we minded along with the difficulty we have endured again a second time to endure it . For it were foolish to be weighed down with a stone twice . And further we say that we are not worthy of this gift , and for small men such an assignment is dif

fi u l n c t . And what we ask is this , that we remai in the convent and serve the Christ until we die . And the Catholicus said to “ them : This gift is fit for you and the assignment worthy of your modesty . And when they saw that their apology was not seemly , ” “ : they said : The will of our Father be done . And he said Till now Rabban Markos has not been given a name . I will therefore give him a name in this wise , proposing this , that we write the

[eligible] names and place them on the altar , and the one which w comes forth by the hand of the one to be known by it , ith that shall we name him . And he did so . And there came forth the ll 1 “ a Y aba ah a . n me And he said that this is from the Lord , "” blessed be He And they qualified . And Rabban Markos received the degree of Metropolitan from Mar Denh a the Cath o li cus in the 3 sth year of his age for the diocese of Kathi and of 2 Ong . And after a few days there came the news that the road they had come by [from China] was completely cut o ff and none w as following it , because the mind of the two Kings of the two regions h 3 on either side of the Gi on was changed [towards one another] .

1 ‘ ’ I e Go d He P . . , has given . was the third atriarch of this name . 2 ’ Kath a P Kathi (rather y , with change of the Syriac pointing) is olo s Cathay , as Ch R Th e the name still exists for ina in ussian . second name has been variously ‘ ’ D e 0 8 I i e O identified . ev ria , p . 4 , note , interprets as Uighur the right , . . , the rient .

B u t Pellio t On On u t W T a best is the identification , after , with g , plural g , the hite art rs

-si C M a of the Chinese , situated to the northwest of Shen , connecting hina with ongoli ; ’ se e H Mo n o ls1 2 6 Pe llio t T o n n P o o 1 6 2 ct se T a oworth , g , , , , g , 5 , 9 q. his ppointment

Y aballah a M C a of to the etropolitanship of hina followed a scand l in that jurisdiction . - A Bar k C a 1 2 h ad certain Simeon alig had been ordained bishop of hin in 79 , then

a w as shown himself refractory, was imprisoned by the ecclesiastic l authorities , and

se e Bar H ebraeu s hro n eccles 1 Asse m an i later found dead in prison ; , C . , ii , 45 , cited by , 1 1 2 Th e P Y aballah a a p . . faction later made against the atriarch may have been Th e sequel of these old troubles . next paragraph tells why the two ecclesiastics did n o t return to China . 3 1 e O i th e . . , the xus , to which the Saracens gave the name of the G hon , one of 4 2 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

And so these illuminated men turned o ff to the convent of Mar ‘

Michael at Tar el , and dwelt in their own cell for two years more

or less .

On e Yaballah a night when Mar was asleep , he saw a dream ,

as though he went into a great church , and in the church pictures o * of the Saints , l3 ] and among them the Cross ; and he stretched

forth his hand to be blessed by it . And as much as he stretched

an forth his h d it was lengthening out , and the Cross was mounting

up until it reached the top of the great nave , and there he caught

and kissed it . And when he went out from the church , he saw high

trees , laden with various fruits . And he began to take of the fruits

and to feed himself from them , and he gave and administered

them to the great throng that had assembled . And when he “ awoke he declared to Rabban Sauma that I have seen a dream , “ ” and it terrified me . Rabban Sauma said to him : Tell it to me .

: And when he had told it , Rabban Sauma interpreted it In that thy arm was lengthened out when thou didst stretch it forth to

receive a benediction from the Cross and the pictures of the Saints ,

thou shalt attain to the great stature of the Fathers . And in that

thou atest of the fruit of the trees and didst feed it to the people , by the heavenly gift that has fallen upon thee and in which thou ” o n delightest shalt thou delight many peoples . And again

another night Mar Y aballah a saw another vision . It was t as though he sat on a lofty throne , and there was assembled abou

him a great throng , and he was teaching . And when he spoke , his tongue lengthened out until it went a long way forth of his

mouth , and it divided into three forks , on each fork appearing

something like fire . And the people there were wondering and

n praising God . And when he awoke , he again told it to Rabba “

. : Sauma And he said to him This is not a dream , but a revela

tion , and like a revelation . For it is not at all to be distinguished from the Spirit which in the likeness of fiery tongues descended

upon the Apostles . Also upon thee has the Spirit of Holiness

descended . And the Patriarchal See will be given into thy hand ”4 to accomplish its ministry and to serve its function .

P Gen 2 m i See four rivers of aradise , . ; si ilarly the Jews had applied it to the N le . Le Th e is Ilkh an s Strange , p . 43 4 . conflict doubtless that between the and the rebel se e lious Kaidu ; p . ’ 4 C m Yaballah a s in A B f. the story of a si ilar prophecy of elevation the rabic iog

ra h en at th e end o f In t . . p y , giv , iv ELECTION OF MAR YABALLAHA AS PATRIARCH 43

[E LECTION O F MAR YAB ALLAH A AsPATRIARCH]

And when these things took place , Mar Denha the Catholicus was still alive ; but he was stricken with a disease in

nk Baghdad . Moreover many of the mo s and the fathers were seeing dreams like those . And a few days after the purpose moved

Y aballah a in to go to Baghdad to the Catholicus , to receive the 1 biro n f benediction , the and the sta f , that they might accompany him to his place . And when he arrived at Holy B aghdad , there “ : met him one of his acquaintance , who said to him The Catholicus

. e is deceased And if p rchance thou wert urgent for thy belongings , ” thou wouldest have come to him before his departure . Then

n o ff in great sorrow and with a xious heart he started hastily , and at last he reached the door of the church . And when he entered he saw great crowds weeping , and others praying . He went

o ff up to the bier , and he took his mitre and tore his clothes and wept with bitter sobs . And at last he fell on the ground as dead . And after an hour they raised him up and put his mitre on him and comforted him . And when the service was finished , he [the Patriarch] was buried— his memory be for a blessing " And the fathers returned to their cells .

When the next day came , the fathers assembled to choose a person who should sit on the Throne . And there were of these : first 2 3 - Tan u th Maran ammeh , Metropolitan of Elam ; another , he of g ; b 4 5 another , he of Tira an ; another , he of the Mountain ; and along with them the chiefs and scribes and lawyers and physicians of 6 . B aghdad And one said that it should be this , and another that ,

1 Th e P M Asse m an i 666 colored habit of the atriarch and etropolitans ; see , p . . 2 ’ H e Asse m an i s M G an disa o r v i n appears in list , as etropolitan of p , . f , p . As * 1 . n ote 9 . p 3 7 indicates , this bishop had the precedence in consecration of the

Patriarch . 3 See note to p . 4 Tirhan is the name of a district in the neighborhood of Samarra in Iraq (see — 1 88 1 1 Le H fim an n . Asse m an i o . 8 , pp 9 , Strange , p which according to , p . 7 5 , was an episcopal see . Chabot prefers identification with Teheran near R ay in Persia ;

Assem an i R a but does not record that city among the episcopal sees , y being the Th e A . e T Th e name of that diocese rabic biography also r ads irhan . bishop of

T Yaballah a 1 irhan appears subsequently as a consecrator of , p . note 9 . 5 W Ch abo t = Tu r A ith bdin , north of Nisibis , the mountainous district se e 2 c H f a as . . 1 6 f mous the great monastic centre ; note at p and f of mann , p . 7 . 5 Fo r the P se e Assem ani 6 cl se Th e election of the atriarch , pp . 43 q. Christian 44 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA until at last they all agreed that Mar Y aballah a should be the - 7 head and leader for the See of Seleucia Ctesiphon . The

reason of his election was this . The Rulers of the whole empire were Mongols , and there was none who was acquainted at all with h 8 their customs and policies and language but e . And when

o ff they told him this , he begged from it , and alleged that I am

lacking in education and Church doctrine , and the member of my tongue is afflicted ; and how can I become this" For I am not

even acquainted with your Syriac language , which is a matter ” of universal necessity . And when they pressed their solicitation

upon him , he agreed to their decision and accepted . He was given an unanimous vote by all the clergy and priests and magnates

and scribes and also the physicians in Baghdad . And he arose and came to the holy convent of Mar Michael at Tar ‘ el with

nk Rabban Sauma . The mo s had already heard of the decease

Y aballah a of the holy father Mar Denha ; when Mar arrived , they

received him with joy and encouraged him . And they were

unanimous that he should be Catholicus . It was a divine motion and an operation from Him ; everything by necessity serves

His accomplishment And when he spoke with Rabban Sauma , the

: o ff latter said to him This is the divine will , thou canst not beg

from it . Therefore let us go to King Abaga , and if he agrees , we ” shall receive ordination .

o ff Adh arbai an And they arose and went to j , along with the

clergy and fathers and monks who accompanied them , because the

kings were summering there . And they came to the King at

Tn ra Uhkani a B lack Mountain [ ] , which is known in the Persian = 9 Se aco h a . as y [ Siy h Kuh] And the emirs introduced them , and they presented their petition : The King live forever " The

Catholicus is deceased , and all the Christians have unanimously

agreed that this Metropolitan should take his place , one who came ” from the East to go to Jerusalem . What does the King command" physicians of Baghdad were famous in the Oriental world and took high place in the

Church . 7 See note to p . 8 se e In t For the actual dictation of this election . , iv . 9 Adh arbai an is Th e Asn oted above j the country southwest of the Caspian . see Le 1 68 Ardabel . B M . lack ountain is west of , one of the chief cities ; Strange , p

se e . 1 Th e M M a . ongol centre was at ar gha , p note 5

46 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

: - a assembled fathers , of whom there were these Mar Isho zek , 1 6 Metropolitan of Suba and Armenia ; and Mar Moshe [Moses] ,

Metropolitan of Arbel ; and Mar Gabrel , Metropolitan of Mosul 1 7 Dak o k and Nineveh ; and Mar Elia , Metropolitan of and Beth 1 8 arm ai Tu r elo s g ; and Mar Abraham , Metropolitan of p and

Jerusalem ; and Mar Jacob , Metropolitan of Samarkand ; and

Adh arbai an Yohanan , Metropolitan of j , along with the

- o other bishops to the number of twenty four . The ordination t ok place in Second Tishri [November] on the first Sunday of Ku ddash

1 A D h . t edta , year 593 of the Greek Era . ] in the 3 7 year 19 of his age . It happened in the winter of that year that King Abaga came

Y aballah a down to B aghdad , and Mar went to him on the Sabbath before the Dominical Fast Lent] and set forth to him the

activity of the Christians . And he found favor in his eyes , and

he [the King] presented him with great gifts , and gave him an order to take every year for the churches and monasteri es and

monks and priests and deacons dinars , which is white And he sent the Catholicus to recover this quan

tity of donation from the countries . But when that King 21 departed from this temporal life , the donation was withdrawn .

15 I e B Assem an i 6 H f . . , Nisibis , with play on the iblical Sobah ; see , p . 7 7, o fmann , 2 2 Th e in 1 2 0 p . 9 . successor of this prelate the same province in 9 was the distin ish e d —I gu writer Abd sho . 17 A B —arm ai town in eth g . 1 8 T M ripoli of Syria , still in Christian hands , the residence of the etropolitan of

A b it c 2 1 u sre u n . Jerusalem ; for this province see Sachau , g, 79 , f p . . ‘ ’ 1 9 Ku ddash— H edta allowing of the Church , the name given to a series of Sundays A T corresponding to our dvent , beginning with the first Sunday in Second ishri , C see Assem an i 2 approximately our November . For the Nestorian alendar , iii , pt . ,

80 et se Histo r o t e H o l E a te u r 1 0 2 t Th . h srn h ch 8 e se e 3 q , Neale , y f y C , 5 , pp . 7 9 q. pre 2 see Asse m an i 6 Th e decessor died Feb . 4 , , ii , 4 5 . long interim was occupied with

Assem an i ib u the necessary negotiations and journeys . gives , . , a fuller list of co se ’ C H e Maran am m eh see crating bishops , taken from Amr s hronicle . includes , p . 3 M Gan disa o r E Asse m an i but described as etropolitan of p , in ancient lam ( , p . M E Dak o k A Th e oshe of Arbel , lia of and braham of Jerusalem as here . bishops of Adh arbai an — Samarkand and j do not appear in his list , which gives twenty one names . 9 0 T tax C Th e his was of course levied upon the hurch by the royal authority . di G k see 2 2 8 nar was worth a erman mar ; Yule , , 5 . 21 Abaga appears to have been most friendly to the Christians ; Bar Hebrmu sreports t hat within a year of his death he celebrated the E aster feast in the church at Baghdad ; = B An d hi o n sr . . h Chr . . sbe t e o ccasn re o r e a y , 54 7 runs , p 59 3 t s mu t io p t d bo ve . H 2 6 ee . S further for his character , oworth , 3 , 7 DIFFICULTIES IN THE REIGN OF AHMAD 47

[THE D IF F ICULTIE S IN TH E REIGN O F AHMAD]

And not to prolong the story of what took place in the mean ’ time , there arose in this King s stead his brother who was called

i H ula u H u labu . Ahmad , son of K ng g [text , ] Now he was lacking in education and knowledge , and he persecuted the Christians 1 much by reason of his association with the Hagarenes . And because two envious clergy found opportunity to accomplish their purpose , they entered the presence of King Ahmad through the intervention of certain Arabs Muslims] , one of the latter being

ad- f named Shams Din , o ficer of the budget [the Arabic word — — daiw an ] h e was chief secretary of public accounts the other an 2 - Y llah a ar . aba elder man , Abd Rahman And they slandered the Catholicus and Rabban Sauma and accused them that their

Ar h o n n heart was with g son of Ki g Abaga , and that they have i written and compla ned against thee , O King , to the Khan King o f Kings Kublai And there was associated in the i compla nt Shammoth , who was then governor of the city of Mosul — and its district h e was a monk and an ascetic And these two men named took Ahmad as an instrument to accomplish their desire through the agency of the aforesaid clergy , who were 4 ‘ - Tan u th Sh em o n Isho sabran , Metropolitan of g and Bishop of

5 Cath o l Arni . These two men had the plan that the one should be - icu s . , the other Metropolitan and Visitator General And when by the counsel of the Devil this purpose occurred to them , they undertook this method , as we have recorded . The King

1 M A an d H T I e . . . , uslims , as descendants of braham agar his prince , a brother o f A T Ta o do r baga , had a artar name , g , and showed himself at first most benevolent

se e Bar H ebrae u sC ro r = B A se m an i h n s . s to the Christians ; , . y . , 553 runs , p 59 3 , and ,

1 1 His M Ah p . 4 . adoption of the uslim name mad indicates his change of heart towards

Islam . 2 ’ Bar H ebraeu s ad-D hro n details Shams in s indictment against the Christians , C . l 6 2 60 1 C Th e a ecc . . . , pp 5 , (cited by habot) Christian author speaks of his bility

hro n sr = B Th hi . e in the ghest terms , C y . , 549 runs , p . 59 7 . same history recounts the ’ s f Aba a s Ar ho n assassi tory of his death , ef ected by g son g , on the ground that he had

= B 60 n ate d his father ; p . 554 runs , p . 3 . 3 sv P . See ayne Smith , . 4 E vidently a case of jealousy of this bishop of a Chi nese jurisdiction against the C Chinese monk who had been elevated as atholicus . 5 20 A M se e H fm . 4 . Modern rna , in the neighborhood of aragha ; of ann , p 48 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

did then , being lacking in education , for he had abandoned God , not consider that these men could have no satisfaction in such an operation— what could they allege in their complaint" But he

believed the words of the deceivers , and by his orders Mar Yabal laha the Catholicus with Rabban Sauma and the emir Shammoth 6 was brought to the Great House . In place of the orders he had given for them he took away the house of the Reverend Catholicus

and the tablet . And when they entered the court they did not

ul . know what wo d be required of them And they remained aghast , “ "” for what then have we done For the messenger of the court ,

: who brought them in , said Your own clergy and clerks and

fellows of the Sacrament have accused you before the King .

Then the Chief Emir , that is the Judge , asked the Catholicus “ What evil hast thou seen on part of the King that thou shouldst be disloyal to him and shouldst send word to lay accusation with f the Khan King of Kings , to the e fect that he [the King] had left the way of his fathers and had become a Hagarene"” He “ answered and said : I am not privy to anything They said : “ ” Thy clerks have said this against thee . And they brought

them in . And as each one was brought in by himself , each made “ : reply as he knew . The Reverend Catholicus said O Emir , what do you" Turn back that messenger with whom the documents

came , and examine them . If this accusation against me be true , let me die without clemency and in my own blood for my own ” guilt] . And if not , it is for you to judge and to take vengeance .

And the emirs accepted this plea and presented it to the King . He sent after the messenger and took away from him all the docu 7 ments near Khorasan . And when the documents were opened i and read , and there was not found in them anyth ng adequate

for an accusation at all , and the judges did not find any accusers , on account of this we knew that they had taken them [the letters]

as a pretext . But the Catholicus remained in ward forty days f i more [43 or less , in great torment and bitter su fering and af lie

tion every day , until at last God looked after him in His mercy an d he was rescued from death . For King Ahmad was furious at

‘ ’ 6 ffi c T k P I e . . . . , the royal o ces ; f the ur ish Sublime orte 7 h so is he W sed W y the messenger had gone far to the east not evident , unless i h to m ake evasion with the documents . DIFFICULTIES IN THE REIGN OF AHMAD 49

i him , and l ke one thirsty for a cool drink did he desire to shed his blood , except for the Angel of Solicitude , who conducted this 8 holy See , and served himself of his mother and the emirs and i overruled h m from the purpose he had . And further by the word ’ of those we have named the‘ Catholicus found mercy in the King s eyes , and the latter gave to him [again] the commission and the tablet , and he gladdened his heart and restored him . 9 He then departed from him and went to the city Urmia .

An d in the Church of Our Lady Mary he saw a dream , and he knew that he was not to see the King again . And after some time 1 0 he arrived at the city Maragha , he with the clergy his accusers .

And King Ahmad went with his forces to Khorasan , so as to seize A h r o n . King g , son of King Abaga And he and the two persons — already named Shams ad Din and Abd ar-Rahman] and the chiefs of the Arabs took counsel that when they had taken i him , he should k ll the rest of the princes and he should be caliph in B aghdad ; also he should dispatch the Catholicus . But his i 11 purpose turned out in va n and his intention bootless . The

Lord puts away the plans of men and establishes His own purpose , i i removing kings and do ng away with k ngs , but His Kingdom A ’ stands forever . And his [ hmad s] forces were dispersed , and most of them helped Kin g Argh o n ; and he was taken and killed

[A. D.

3 T A his may indicate that hmad had a Christian mother, unless it be a loose term fo r D i e M Palae o lo a a In . . se e t the Queen owager, , aria g , wife of Abag ; . ii . 9 Th e l - n L a we l know city to the west of ake Urmi , at that time a large and important place . 1 0 1 W See p . note 5 . here the previous trial was held is not told ; it may have be C In Ca en at the amp . that case the tholicus may have been domiciled at Urmia so Th e as to be kept under surveillance . present journey must have been due to a m d su mons in line with the machinations which are immediately escribed . 11 A 6 t sc . c M . P long account of this civil war is given in bk iv , cc q. , of arco olo 2 8 ct Bar H ebrze u sCh o s = n . r 1 ct sc Bru n . s . 60 . 1 cl sc ( Yule , , 3 9 , r y , 5 5 q , pp q. i A According to th s story hmad had seiz ed the succession to his brother Ab aga in ’ th e absence of the latter s so n Argh o n who was warring in Khorasan against a rebel Th e to his father . nephew proceeded with an army against the usurper ; he was d k Bu t efeated and ta en prisoner . released by his powerful friends he again raised

A A a an army against hmad , and the latter fleeing was caught and put to death . hm d w as M evidently supported by the uslim party , and the reference to the caliphate at B aghdad which he was to assume indicates the plan of reviving that ancient institution un M M der a uslim ongol prince . 50 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

Now on a night before the report of this news of what happened

Y aballah a : to King Ahmad , Mar the Catholicus saw a dream that the like of a beautiful youth came to him carrying a platter “ an d in his hands , covered with veils , and he said to him , Arise ” h' eat what is placed therein . And when he took o the veils h e

found therein a boiled head . And when he had eaten and fin ished “ - : it and left the jaw bones , the youth said to him Knowest ” “ ”

" . thou what thou hast eaten He said , No The youth ” 12 said to him : This was the head of King Ahmad . And at once

the Catholicus awoke in fear . And after a few dayscame the news

n Ar h o n of the destruction of the aforesaid , and that Ki g g had

. t become king And his joy was increased , not for the death of tha

one but for the accession of this . In those days he went with the clergy and monks to give his

Ar h o n in cum benediction to King g , and also to satisfy the duties

th e bent upon Christians to kings , whoever they are , according to apostolic commands that ‘ every soul shall be subject to the power ’ ‘ ’ of the country , for there is no power unless it be of God [Rom .

1 Ar h o n d 3 , And when he saw King g and blessed him , he praye d for the permanence of his sovereignty . He [the King] increase

his honor and exalted his station , when he heard of what happened

to him at the hand of the King before him , and also the story of

h e those clergy , whom we have named , who served with him , and Y b llah a s ordered their destruction . But Mar a a the Catholicu “ : 0 " said King , live forever We Christians have laws , and when

anyone does not fulfill them it is called a transgression . For our

law does not inflict the death of a man but condemnation . And

th e there are many categories of this [condemnation] , and it [

fo r process] is made use of by those who discipline sinners . And as

these clergy death is not their penalty by our law , but full dis missal from the rank with whose function they have been ” entrusted . And so it seemed good to the King , and he dismissed

the Catholicus with great honor . And in joy he returned to his

convent with much gladness . And when the holy fathers were assembled with the Catholicus

to welcome and encourage him , there was inquisition into the

‘ 12 Chabot connects this theme with an Oriental expression in which eating th e ’ hi h ead of an enemy means accomplishing sruin . JOURNEY OF RABBAN SAUMA TO THE WEST 5 1

history of those aforesaid men , and they decided after much inquisition , and after these had confessed their sinfulness , upon the sentence of deposition against them both , and they were dis missed from all the ecclesiastical orders .

[ABOUT THE JOURNE Y OF RABBAN SAUMA To TH E LAND O F THE R o MANsIN THE NAME OF KIN G AROH ON AND TH E CATHOLICUS MAR YAB ALLAH A]

’ No w Y aballah a i Mar was advanced in his [the K ng s] presence , 1 and day by day his honor increased before the King and the Queen . For he pulled down the Church of Mar Sh allita in Maragha and restored it at great expense , and replacing the [roof] timbers he 2 made it into two naves . At the side he made the cell of its vicar .

f r Ar h o n And his a fection was ve y warm for the family of King g , because he loved the Christians wi th all hisheart . And he was “ minded to go and subjugate the lands of Palestine and Syria : that if the Western Kings , who are Christians , do not help me , my desire ” 3 ulfille cannot be f d . So he desired of the Catholicus that he should give him a wise man , one useful and fit for the embassy , to send him to those Kings . And when the Catholicus saw that there was none acquain ted with the languages except

Rabban Sauma , since he was competent for this , he commissioned him to go . Then Rabban Sauma said : I am desirous of this and eager for

Ar h o n it . And King g at once wrote recommendations for him to the Kings , to the Kings of the Greeks and the Franks , that is , 4 arliles n the Romans , and y and letters , with gifts for each Ki g 5 20 0 0 separately . And he gave Rabban Sauma pounds of gold ,

1 Argh o n had two Christian wives ; or the term may refer to the Dowager Maria

Palaeo lo a In t c 8 g ; see . § ii , and f. p . note . 2 Such appears to be the meaning ; he replaced the flat wooden roof with tw o vaulted naves . 3 ' Th e z In t The P King would be bapti ed only in Jerusalem ; see . ii . ope s letter

R an 1 2 88 6 a to him ( aynald , . , no . 3 ) argues at length with him upon the bsolute and

Th e B immediate necessity of baptism . iographer ignores the earlier mission sent

Ar h o n to the West by g in the second year of his reign . 4 ’ Yarlik M , a ongol word , meaning a letter patent , generally the document aecom

aiza 1 1 . panying the gift of the p ; see Yule , , 3 4 5 ‘ ’ I math ela l . so translate for convenience the Syriac word q , primari y weight For 52 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

along with thirty goodly steeds and a tablet . And when he came to the monastery to receive a letter from M ar Y aballah a the

Catholicus and to bid him adieu , the Catholicus gave him his

permission to go . And when the time of departure came , he “ : [the Catholicus] was unhappy , for he said What will become of " this For thou hast been the manager of the monastery , and thou knowest well that with thy departure my undertakin gs will

fall into confusion . And after he had spoken thus they separated

from one another with weeping . And documents and presents

that were befitting he sent with him to the Reverend Pope , gifts

commensurate to his ability .

[RABBAN SAUMA IN B YZ ANTIUM]

o ff And Rabban Sauma started , and there went with him certain t eminent pries s and deacons of the monastery . He arrived at the 1 2 land of the Romans on the shores of the sea . And he

saw the church . And he embarked in a ship . And his com 3 panions with him in the ship were more than 3 0 0 souls . And

every day he used to exhort them with a discourse on the Faith .

And many of the people in the ship were Romans Greeks] , and by reason of the flavor of his discourse they honored him not

a little . And after some days he reached the great city of Constanti

n O le . p And before he entered , he sent two pages to the ’ Ar h o n s royal court to announce that King g ambassador was come . And the King commanded that certain should go out to meet

them and bring them in with joy and honor . And when Rabban

Sauma entered , he appointed a house , that is a mansion , for his

a se e 2 1 I 8 Th e calculations of the value of the medi eval pound Yule , 4 7 , and , 4 . mith al corresponding Arabic q is generally used of the dinar . ‘ ’ 1 R O B E co n ome was the current riental name of the yzantine mpire , which B trolled the lack Sea ports . ‘ ’ 2 i e C mo/aha . de . Syriac , , on this side , which is nonsense . habot proposes , with ‘ ’ de—rnelea i e G m e a s B k Se a a ff . . a di erent pointing , , , the reek word g , great , the lac ‘ ’ ‘ ’ w darn ka E i Th e was then kno n ; or possibly , quiet , euphemistically , like ux ne . T z 2 p ort in question is doubtless rebi ond , p . note 3 . 3 - th e He no es a a w ar- al e Yule , pp . lx lxix , discusses the shipping of age . t th t g l y 2 0 might have a complement of more than 5 men .

54 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

9 and reddish ; the tomb of Justinian , which is of a green color ;

1 8 ae and the stations of the 3 Fathers [of the Council of Nic a] ,

in which are all set one large church , and their bodies are not corrupted because they confirmed the Faith ; and also many shrin es o f the holy fathers . And he saw many amulets , and ikons figured in bronze and stone . Then Rabban Sauma went in to King Basilios and said : The King live forever " I acknowledge the grace of Our Lord in that

I have been deemed worthy of the sight of these holy shrines . And fil now , if the King permits , I will proceed to ful l the orders

Ar h o n of King g , his orders that I go to the lands of the

Franks . Then the King treated him kindly and presented him with gifts of gold and silver .

[RABBAN SAUMA IN ITALY AND GREAT ROME]

And thence he went to embark on the sea . And he saw on the

de o s shore of the sea a monastery of the Romans , and there were p ite d in their treasury two silver caskets , in one of which was the head of Mar John Chrysostom , in the other that of the Reverend

Pope who baptized King Constantine . And he embarked , and got out on the broad sea . And he saw in it a mountain from which

x all day long smoke ascends and by night fire is e hibited , and none can approach its neighborhood for the smell of the sulphur .

For people say that the Great Serpent is there , after whom that hli 1 At a. sea is called For that sea is a terror , many thousands of men have perished in it . At the end of two months he gained

disco m the shore of the sea , after much travail and weariness and fort .

And he disembarked at a city called Naples . The name of

- al its King was Irid sh ard o . He had audience with the King and declared to him for what they had come . He received him joy fully and honored him . It happened that there was a quarrel

9 T A his tomb , in the Church of the postles , according to ancient authorities of porphyry , has now disappeared (Chabot) . 1 This eruption of Aetna witnessed by our traveller is a matter of hi storical record c ’ Athlia I 1 8 see n . for June ; the next ote , may be talia , but the sense of the etymology given isobscure . RABBAN SAUMA IN ITALY AND GREAT ROME 55

- between him and another king , whose name was Idar arcon . And ’ ’ the latter s forces came with many ships , and the other s forces were got ready . And they met in battle with one another . And

- -sh ardalo Idar arcon conquered King Irid , and killed of his opponents

nk . men , and sa their ships in the sea Meanwhile Rabban Sauma and his companions sat on the top of the roof of the man

nk sion , and they were amazed at the custom of the Fra s , that they 2 killed none apart from the contestants . And thence they went by horse on land . While they passed through cities and villages , they were amazed that there was not a region which was devoid of cultivation . And on the way he heard that the Reverend 3 Pope was deceased .

And after some days they reached Great Rome . And they entered the Church of Peter and Paul , for the monastery of the See of the 1 Reverend Pope is there . And after the death of the Reverend 5 Pope there were twelve men conducting the See called Cardinals .

2 ’ I id-sharaalo = il Do i e C II A r . . ri Charles , , King harles , of njou , son of the turbulent I 1 2 8 Idar-arco n = il A i e aco m o A Charles , who died 5 ; ri ragon , . . , J the ragonese King

n H A C of Sicily ; that dy asty being the mortal enemy of the ouse of njou . habot - It o ff has been able to identify this sea battle . was the engagement fought the coast ’ Ba Da 1 2 8 of Naples , more exactly in the y of Sorrento on St . John s y (June 7 , ’ between the Aragonese admiral Roger dell Oria and the squadron of the Count of A II’ s C M rtois , protector in Charles name and guardian of harles artel the young son o f k P A Th e that ing , the latter being then a captive in the hands of eter of ragon , A sharp engagement was won by the ragonese admiral , who thereupon entered the ’ city , which had been in his opponent s control and which finally submitted to him . ’ Th e Bar Sau m a s identification enables us to fix the date of arrival at Naples . For

M Reru m italicaru m the graphic contemporary description of the battle see uratori ,

i t re 1 6 I a a scr o s . I p (ed xiii , 3 (for a translation of this t li n document am indebted

Mr G C I a to my friend . eorge F . ole) ; to which add further det ils of the battle from

Histo ri a si cu la M 1 0 0 a the in the new edition of uratori , xiii , pt . 3 , ( Ch bot adds some Th . e . A other sources) latter document , p 9 7 , gives a date for an eruption of etn a

1 8 that greatly disturbed the combatant ships on the coast of Sicily , for June ; and Bar Wh o this is the eruption Sauma records . the king was whom Sauma saw is

c 2 . a mystery ; f. p . note 3 3 IV A 2 8 H . 1 onorius , d pril 3 , 7 . “ T Th e P P his monastery must be the Vatican . names of eter and aul are also It given to it below . is hardly necessary to remind the reader that the buildings in

s 1 6 q ue tion were the ancient ones preceding the grand constructions of the th century . f o P Bu t 1 0 . L see H Walks the actual residence the opes till 3 5 was St John ateran ; are , i n Ro e 1 m , 4 4 .

5 Th e College of Cardin als was then much depleted . Similarly at the election e Gre o ro viu o f Celestin e V in 1 2 9 4 there were only twelve Cardinals present ; se g s.

r v iu n 6 . G e o ro s l es . 2 1 e i n the Midd e A . R o m g , vol 5 , pt , 5 g notes that the meeti gs 56 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

And when they were in council to elect a Pope , Rabban Sauma “ sent word to them that we are am bassado rsfrom King Argh o n ” and the Catholicus of the East . Then the Cardinals bade them enter . And the Frank who came in with Rabban Sauma instructed them that when they entered the monastery of the Reverend Pope ,

there was an altar there which they should worship , and

n . thence go and salute the Cardi als And they did so . And as it pleased the Cardinals , when Rabban Sauma entered , none rose in his presence , for it was not the custom of these twelve men to do so

because of the dignity of the See . And they sat Rabban Sauma 6 “ : alongside of them . One of them asked him How art thou ” after the toil of travel " H e answered : B y your prayers I am ” “ happy and content . And he said to him : Why hast thou ” come hither" He said to him : The Mongols with the Catholicus of the East have sent me to the Reverend Pope in behalf of Jeru

salem . And he has sent letters with me . They said to him “ Content thyself at present , and later we shall speak with one ” another . And they assigned him quarters and lodged him there .

And after three days the Cardinals sent and called him . And “ : when he came to them , they began to ask him What is this region" And why hast thou come"” And he said so and “ : " so . They said to him Where does the Catholicus live ” And who of the Apostles taught your region" He answered them : “ Mar Thomas and Mar Addai and Mar Mari taught our region , ” and we hold to the ordinances they gave us until now . They “ said to him : Where is the See of the He said : “ ” : In B aghdad . They responded What art thou there" He “ answered : I am the D eacon of the monastery and Master of the - “ students and Visitator General . They said : We are surprised that thou art a Christian and a Deacon of the patriarchal See of the E ast and yet hast come on an embassy of the King of the Mon “ : gols . He said Know , my Fathers , that many of our Fathers went to the lands of the Mongols and Turks and Chinese and - taught them . And to day there are many Mongol Christians .

’ P so e of the present electors were held at the late ope s private villa , that this assemblag ‘ ’ ‘ w as Th e i halton aré in the Vatican temporary . word here used for card nals is , but

kardan e below . 5 see Fo r the identity of this personage p . ’ RABBAN SAUMA S CREED 57

Indeed some of the children of th e King and Queen are baptized and confess the Christ . And they have churches with them in the Camp . And they honor the Christians greatly , and there are also many B elievers among them . And the King , since he is assiduous in affection for the Catholicus and is desirous to conquer Palestine and the lands of Syria , desires your help because of the captivity of Jerusalem . For this purpose he has chosen and sent me . And since I am a Christian , my word should be credible “ w : ith you . They said to him What is thy creed , and what — line of doctrine art thou attached to , that which the Reverend “ Pope accepts to-day or another" He replied : As for us Orientals none has come to us from the Pope , for the holy Apostles whom I

u have named ta ght us , and up to the present we hold fast to what ” “ they committed to us . They said to him : How believest thou " ” Expound thy creed .

[TH E CREED O F RABBAN SAUMA W HI CH TH E CARDINA LS DEMANDED OF H IM]

: He answered them I believe in one God , hidden , eternal , w in ithout beg ning and without end , Father and Son and

Holy Spirit , three equal Persons inseparable , in whom there is not a first or second , nor a younger and elder , who are in

he dn d one Nature [ y ] but in three Persons , the Father Begetter , the

Son B egotten , the Spirit Proceeding ; that at the end of the time one of the Persons of the Royal Trinity , to wit , the Son , clothed

Himself with perfect man , Jesus Christ , of the Holy Virgin Mary , ’ arsé d ith and was united with him personally [p p , from Greek

ro so o n p p ] , and in him redeemed the world ; who in His Godhead i was eternally of the Father , and in His human ty in time was born of Mary , a unity not to be dissolved nor broken forever , a unity without intermixture or confusion or articulation ; and this

Son is of a unity , perfect God and perfect Man , two Natures

ke dn é en 67n é [ y ] and two Persons [q ] , one Personality

1 There is no definite liturgical formula of creed in the N esto rian Church asin the

w . V estern Churches arious credal statements , of which the above is a sample , abound ;

Assem an i 2 B 2 6 R n sm . . . . e au do t Ori en o e such are given by , iii , pt , c 7 ; adger , vol , c ; , 58 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

: They said to him The Holy Spirit , does He proceed from the “ Father [alone] or from the Son He answered : The

Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit , are They associated or ” “ separated in regard to Nature" They repli ed : They are asso c iate d in Nature but separated in Individualities He

“ ’ said : What are Their Individualities" They say : The Father s ’ is the quality of Begetter , the Son s that of being Begotten , the ’ Spirit s that of Proceeding . He said : Which of Them is the ” “ cause of the other" They said : The Father is cause of the ” “ : Son , and the Son is cause of the Spirit . He said If They are equal in the matter of Nature and operation and power and author

ity , and They are just Three Persons , how can one of Them be cause of the other" Then the inference would be that the

B u - Spirit is cause of something else . t the subject matter is

ultimately for the confession of wise men only . Further we cannot

follow a demonstration agreeing with this argument of yours .

For the soul is cause of reason and life , but reason is not the cause

of life . And the orb of the sun is cause of glow and heat , but heat

is not the cause of the glow . So again we are disposed to think

that the Father must be cause of the Son and the Spirit , and

They two His causations . Adam begat Sheth and produced Eve ,

and they are three in the matter of begetting and bringing forth , ” but not distinguished at all in the matter of humanity . They “ said : We confess that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the

Son ; we have not , as we have said , attempted a trial of thy “ : modesty . He said It is not true that to any one thing there are

two causes , or three or four , but I think this is not like our con ” fession . And they terminated his discourse with many arguments . But they honored him for his discourse .

2 6 1 2 Giam il Ori en schristian u s alische Litu r i en . t g , end of vol , and one of date by , in ,

A The Assri an C W . hu rc 1 et se . h I 6 . , q ; and especially a large list in Wigram , y , ‘ ’ K 1 1 0 I Offic ial C A e P . C . S . . . , 9 , c 3 , hristology of the ssyrian Church , with extensiv a see Katten bu sch Das discussion . For critic l discussion of the Nestorian Creed , — o sto lische S mbol 1 2 2 8 . ap y , , 45 4 2 Th e Cardinals naturally proceed to examine him on the burning dogmatic issue li o u e Th e l between East and West , the fi q addition to the Western Creed . fo lowing i discussion is of interest , and exhibits the dialectic ab lity of the Nestorian advocate .

A memorandum of the discussion may well have been made , and there is no reason n Th e e a an to think with some critics that this is a bit of dogmatic paddi g . t xt dds ’ er shé I . p t , or the separated ones , which cannot explain HE SEES THE SIGHTS OF ROME 59

Then he said to them : I have come from far lands not to dis p ute nor to expound the them es of the Faith ; but to receive a benediction from the Reverend Pope and the shrines of the saints

i Cath o l have I come , and to declare the business of the K ng and the icas . If it be agreeable to you that we leave the discussion and you make arrangement and appoint some one who will show me the churches here and the shrines of the saints , you will confer a great ” favor upon your servant and disciple . Then they called the governor of the city and certain monks and ordered them to show him the churches and the places of the saintsthere . And so they went forth at once , and they saw the places which we will now record .

First , they went into the Church of Peter and Paul . Now beneath the throne [tribune] is a chapel , and there is deposited 3 the body of St . Peter . And above the throne is the altar ; a n d the altar which is in that great temple has four gates , and

An d at each gate carved doors of iron . on the altar the Reverend E Pope consecrates [celebrates the ucharist] , and none but he

“1 presides at the service of that altar . And afterwards they 5 saw that throne of Mar Peter , on which they seat the Reverend

Pope w hen they consecrate him . And further they saw the pure

Ou r n piece of garment in which Lord left His portrait , sendi g it A 6 to King bgar of Edessa . But the majesty of that church 8 7 n 1 0 . a d its glory cannot be told . It stands on pillars And

3 Th e C a sar Sepulchral hapel under the present high alt r and dome , where is the c h a u s P 0 p g of St . eter . 4 T i h s privilege still obtains . 5 ’ P P n o w a B robably the ancient wooden chair of St . eter , enc sed in ernini s Cathedra

P in T see H Walksi n Ro me 1 a a etri the ribune ; are , , 5 7 , for the e rlier loc tions of this chair . 5 ’ Th e Syriac Do ctri n e of Addai tells how Abgar smessenger to the Lord p ainted ’ L a Ce dre n u s the ord s picture for his m ster . Ultimately in ) this legend was

fi L a magni ed into the story of a veil on which the ord left the impress of his fe tures .

T E B a Th e a his relic was later taken from dessa to yz ntium . writer appe rs to confuse O ’ P ’ the riental legend with the story of St . Veronica s veil , still a relic in St . eter s ,

H W see H 1 1 ct sc where it is exhibited publicly at the end of oly eek ; are pp . 5 q . , and ’ ‘ ’ Maru c chi B asili ueset e lisesde Ro me 1 2 P a q g , 3 . olo , describing the salam nder cloth “ i : I m a a a R (asbestos) made by the Ch nese (i , c . relates y add th t they h ve at ome k stuff G P k a nap in of this , which the rand Kaan sent to the ope to ma e a wrapper for ” H An d h the oly Sudarium of Jesus Christ . Yule adds that such an asbestos clot i s l V sti l preserved in the atican . 7 C 60 Th e f. the 3 gates (or pillars) attributed by the writer to Santa Sophia . 60 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA there is in it another altar at which their King of Kings receives ordination— and he is called Emperor King of Kings— from the

Pope . For they say that after the service the Reverend

he Pope takes the crown with his feet and invests him , and

-so [the Pope] puts it [the crown] on his head , that the priesthood 8 sa . may dominate over royalty , they y And after they had seen all the churches and monasteries in

Great Rome , they went out of the city to the Church of Mar Paul the Apostle ; for his tomb is also beneath the altar , and the chain with which Paul was bound , having been brought there , is 9 there . Also there is deposited in that altar a casket of gold in which is placed the head of the Martyr Stephen and the hand of Mar Ananias who baptized Paul . Also the staff of the

Apostle Paul is there . Thence they went to the place where the Apostle Paul was crowned [with martyrdom] . And they

o ff say that when his head was cut , it leaped up three times , ” s and each time it called Christ , Christ , and from the three place where it fell there issued water at each place and it is good for i 1 0 cures and relief of all who are affl c ted . And there is a great ’ ‘ ’ 1 1 n au sei . church [ , lit nave ] there , and in it the bones of illustrious martyrs and fathers ; and they received benediction 1 2 from them . Further , they went to the Church of the Lady Mary ,

figure may include the colonnade of the old church in front and the portico connecting

Maru cch i 1 1 se e . . with the city ; , p 9 8 ’ M h i et e at - ar s. u c c . , pp 59 q , gives length an eye witness s account of the coronation

III 1 2 a 1 of Frederick in 4 5 , and extr cts from one of the appropriate rituals of the 4 th Th M Th e 1 e . or 5th century . investment occurred at the altar of St aurice . reference ’ ’ P Th e P to the ope s feet is obscure . new emperor kissed the ope s feet at the beginning

n T a d the end of the ceremonies . his abasement of royalty must have been passing ’ strange in the Oriental s eyes . ’ 9 P a w as 1 8 2 St . aul s Without the W lls ; the ancient church destroyed by fire in 3 . l Pa Th e new church sti l boasts the tomb of St . ul . ’ 10 T a a P hese three springs , where the s me tr dition survives , beyond St . aul s , are contained in the present Church of San Paolo alle Tre Fo n tan e ( 1 6th century) ; it t is a . one of three churches the place , including the ancient one mentioned next

1 1 Vin c e n z i A h Th e C . o t ancient hurch of SS and nastasio , of the 7 century , restored H 6 1 1 2 2 1 a . . in ; still pr ctically the very building our pilgrim saw are remarks , p 4 , “ R ” There isno church in ome which breathes a greater air of antiquity than here .

a Anast asius w asan Oriental m rtyr . 1 2 Ma a a th IV wh o was Ma a . S . ri ggiore ; the n ve d tes from the 5 century Nicholas , ’ a elected during our pilgrim s visit , redecor ted the church .

6 2 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

i 2 1 of s lver . Also they saw the foot o fthe Apostle Philip and the arm Z ” of James the son of ebedee in the Church of the Apostles there . And after this they saw buildings which word of speech cannot

relate , and the narrative concerning the buildings would cause a

prolongation of the story in any attempt to relate them , therefore

I will excuse myself . Afterwards Rabban Sauma and his companions returned to the

Cardinals , and he made his acknowledgments that they had deemed him worthy of the sight of those sanctuaries and of the benedictions

that come from them . And Rabban Sauma asked leave of them 23 “ to go to the King in Rome . And they said : We cannot give i ffi ” you a reply [to your commission] unt l a Pope is in o ce . And thence they went to the land of Tu sz ek an

and were given honors . And from there they came to Genoa .

Now there is no king in that place , but the people institute as chief 24 h over it for the government one whom they desire . W en they

Ar h o n heard that an ambassador of King g had arrived , the Chief went out with all the crowd and brought them into the city with

honor . And there was there a great church with the name of 25 Se n al rn i o a th e Saint . And in it was the holy body of Mar John 26 B aptist in a casket of pure sil ver . And they saw also a bowl

Six - sic of sided [ ] emeralds , and those people told them that this is

that in which Our Lord and His disciples ate the Passover , and 27 when Jerusalem was taken it was brought here . And thence

21 Still shown in the church . 22 T H A to hese last two relics refer us to the Church of the oly postles , dedicated P saw u th SS . hilip and James ; our pilgrim the str cture dating to the scentury, mod ’ e rn iz ed Th e in after the pilgrim s day . relics of the two apostles were rediscovered

1 8 Maru cchi 1 0 73 ; , p . 5 . 23 T P here evidently follows a lacuna in the narrative . robably they discovered i R to to their surprise that there was no k ng in ome , and indeed no emperor , at least

R Th e II A oman eyes . nearest approach to such a personage was Charles of njou ,

A o n M see n P s . now a prisoner of eter of ragon , or his minor Charles artel ; p ote ,

c and f. p .

24 1 This was previous to the establishment of the dogeship in 3 3 9 . 25 Th e D L 1 2th 1 . uomo di San orenzo , built in the century , restored in the 4th

26 Th e 1 H iti eso No rthern and Cen tral present silver shrine dates from 43 7 ; are , C f

Ital 1 8 y , , 3 . ‘ ’ 27 T H a G 1 1 0 1 his is the oly Grail , brought from C esarea to enoa in , and reverenced It asthe glory of the city . is an octagonal bowl , long regarded as an emerald , but It w as e ren in 1 80 an d wasro ken n o w known to be ancient glass . loot d by the F ch 9 , b H i b 8 s r 1 8 1 . . o n it retu n in 5 ; are , 3 RABBAN SAUMA IN FRANCE 63

28 n r saw t hey came to the land of O ba . And the people there that they were not fasting on the first Saturday of the Fast “ h . W [Lent] And when they asked them , y do you so , and separate “ y ourselves from all they answered : This is

o u r . custom When we were first instructed , our ancestors were weak in faith and were not able to fast ; their teachers bade them ”29 t o fas t forty days .

[RABBAN SAUMA IN FRANCE]

1 And after this they went to the land of Paris to King Francis .

An d the King sent out many people to meet them , and they brought i them into the city with honor and great accla m . Now his lands ’ extended for a month s length and more . And he assigned them a lodging place . And after three days King Francis sent an officer to Rabban Sauma and summoned him . And when he came in he “ : rose up before him and honored him , and he said to him For ” " : what hast thou come , and who sent thee He said to him “ King Argh o n and the Catholicus of the East have sent me on behalf of Jerusalem . And he declared to him all that he knew , and gave him the letters he had with him , and the presents ,

i . e . . , the gifts , which he brought King Francis answered him “ If the Mongols , although they are not Christians , are fighting with the Arabs because of the captivity of Jerusalem , it still more

in behooves us to fight and go forth force , if Our Lord will . Rab “ ban Sauma said to him : Now that we have seen your praise worthy majesty and have viewed the glory of your power with the i eye of flesh , we ask of you that you give orders that the cit zens

S u S how the churches and the shrines and the relics of the saints , an d all that is to be found with you and not anywhere else , so that

28 P L Bed an robably ombardy ( j ) . 29 Th e G narrative of the incident must be proleptical of the second visit to enoa , L Th e L when Sauma was there in ent . atin criticism of the Nestorians is due to the fact that the latter were strictly forbidden under severe canonical penalty from fasting

as E E see Asse m an i on Saturdays well as on Sundays , with the exception of aster ven ; , Th 2 0 et se . e E iii , pt . , 7 5 q Nestorian Calendar had seven Sundays before aster, preceded with the Fast of Jonah , and in this way they may have counted forty days . ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ’ 1 a The wa P il Francois w sunderstood as Francis instead of French . King sh ip brat s hro n s L IX R dafran He u r. 8 o u e s IV Bar . . Similarly , C . y , 4 4 , calls is 64 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA when we return we can tell and declare in the lands what we have ” “ seen . Then the King gave orders to his officers to go and Show

ill S them all the marvels which we have , and afterwards I w how ” SO ffi them what I have . And those o cials went out with

them . And they remained a full month in that great city of

Paris , and saw everything in it .

Now there are there students , who study in ecclesiastical ‘ n u hhdrd i subjects , that is Interpretation [ , illum nation and in

i : subjects outs de of this the Exegesis , that is Interpretation , of

hilo so h all the Holy Scriptures , and Wisdom , that is Philosophy (p p u tha ) , and Rhetoric , along with Medicine and Geometry and

Arithmetic and the science of the planets and stars , which they ar e very assiduous to write up . And they all receive stipends from f the King . Further , they saw a great church where the co fins of 2 efli i e the Kings lie . And their g sin gold and silver are upon their tombs . And there are in the service of the tombs of those k ’ Kings five hundred monks who eat and drin at the King s cost , and they are diligent in fast and prayer at the tombs of those Kings . And the crowns and arms of these Kings along with their clothing are alongside these tombs . In fine , they saw everything worthy of praise and honor .

i to Afterwards the K ng sent and called them , and they came 3 him at the church . And they saw him standing by the altar “ : o w and they greeted him . And he asked Rabban Sauma N you have seen what we have , does there remain anything else ” beside" Then he made his acknowledgments . And forthwith

n th e he went up with the Ki g to an upper chamber of gold , which

O King pened . And he brought out of it a casket of crystal beryl in which was set the Crown of Thorns , which the Jews set upon the head of Our Lord when they crucified Him . And the Crown

O was visible in the casket before it was pened , because of the translucency of the crystal . And further there was in it a relic

2 D P - e o f k The Church of St . enis , near aris , the burial plac the French ings ; the asbe au tified L pilgrim saw the church by St . ouis . — 3 l in 2 1 2 8 n I e . Lo 1 Sai te Chapelle , on the de France , built by St uis 45 4 to house T k w him the Crown of horns and other precious relics , which he brought bac ith A C from the Eighth Crusade . long with the Crown are a fragment of the ross and sn Th l in th e Th e i o . e a n ail from it . Chapel proper the upper floor re ics are now -D Treasury of Notre ame . RABBAN SAUMA GOES TO THE ENGLISH KING 65

o f the Wood of the Cross . And the King said to them that when 4 our ancestors took Constantinople and despoiled Jerusalem , they ” brought these benedictions from there . And we blessed the King . 5 Then we persuaded him to give us orders to leave . Then “ he said to us : I will send with you one of the great officers at my ” S ide to give King Argh o n a reply . And he gave him gifts and

fine garments .

[RABBAN SAUMA GOE S TO TH E KING OF E NGE LTE R RA]

Iln a tar And they went thence , that is , from Paris , to the King g i 1 Ke so n a . to And when after twenty days they reached their city ,

: " the citizens went out to meet them , and asked them Vho are ” " : you They answered them We are ambassadors , and from beyond the Eastern Seas have we come . We are delegates of i ” the K ng and the Patriarch , to wit , of the King of the Mongols .

And the people went quickly to the King and informed him , and

i . he received them with delight , and he brought them nto his court Then the party of Rabban Sauma forthwith gave him the dispatches o f Ar h o n King g and the presents he sent him , along with the document which Mar Catholicus gave him . And he was greatly delighted . And when discourse arose about the business l “ . : of Jerusalem , his joy was stil more increased And he said We

S Kings of these cities carry the cross as a ign on our bodies , and

n we have no thought apart from this busi ess . And my mind is gratified when I hear that somewhat of what I have thought of ” 2 King Argh o n has planned . And he commanded Rabban Sauma to celebrate the Eucharist [ ‘ consecrate the and he cele

4 A casual allusion to the outrageous despoliation of Const antinople by the Fourth 1 20 Crusade in 4 , when the French and the Venetians divided the loot . 5 Th e first person of the original diary slips in here . 1 ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ‘ ’ Iln a tar u An le te rre Keso n ia G A . s g is corr ption of g , and of ascony is l k E I E wel nown , dward of ngland was then in his French province of A quitaine

1 2 86 A 1 2 8 se e Gascony , spending three years there from the Spring of to ugust , 9 ; , e An n aleslo n do n i en ses R Chro n icleso the Rei n so Edw a I . . d a g , , in the olls Series , f g f r nd I Edw ard I . . atha 1 1 66 Min an a , pp 9 5 , 9 7 Cordier , in his edition of Yule , C y , , , and g ,

E arl S read o hristi an it 1 L B u t y p f C y , 3 4 , wrongly hold that Sauma reached ondon . E the latter thought he was in ngland . 2 O isn o r ce to th e P st e E e ddly enough there eferen ale inian Crusad of dward , befor — his 1 26 1 . accession , 9 7 66 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

brated the laudable Mysteries , the King and his courtiers attending, and the Kin g received the Communion the sacrum And on the same day the King gave a great banquet . Then Rabban

: in . Sauma said We desire , O King , that whatever there is this

S country of churches and hrines thou wouldst have shown to us , that when we return to the Orientals we may tell the story . He “ : S Ar h o n answered So hall you say to King g and all the Orientals ,

adm ir that we have seen something , and that there is nothing more able than this , namely , that in the lands of the Franks there are not two creeds , but only one , that which confesses Jesus Christ , ” and they are all Christians . And he gave us many gifts and o u r 3 expenses .

[RAB B AN SAUMA RE TURNS To ROME ]

n And the ce we went to winter in the city of Genoa . And when w e is arrived there we saw a garden like Paradise , where the winter not cold , nor the summer hot , and where green vegetation is found

r S all the yea long , and trees which do not hed their leaves nor are without fruits . There is there one kind of vine that bears seven crops in the year , but wine is not pressed from the grapes .

At the end of the winter there came from the country of Alma ‘ dan a distinguished man who was the Visitator of the Reverend 1 w as Pope , going to Rome . And when he heard that Rabban Sauma

there , he came to greet him . And when he entered , they exchanged greetings and kissed one another in Christian love . And he said “ : to Rabban Sauma I have come to see thee , for I have heard of thee that thou art a good and wise man , and also that ” thou desirest to go to Rome . Rabban Sauma said to him “ " What can I say to thee , honored friend For I have come on an embassy from King Argh o n and the Catholicus of the East in

l r behalf of Jerusalem to the Reverend Pope , and it is a fu l yea

3 E d M e In t se . . For the subsequent correspondence of dwar with the ongols , § ii ‘ ’ ‘ ’ 1 i e G s A . . . lmadan , , ermany ; he heard allemand Chabot interestingly identifie -L T Co ll co n cil 2 M . as . this personage the Cardinal egate Jean de usculum , citing ansi , , 4 ,

n n alesan n o 1 2 8 T G Baro n iu sA . 9 43 , , , 7 his Cardinal had been sent to ermany at 6 R H sur esed the end Of 1 2 8 to negotiate for the coronation of udolph of ap b g , and he pr id W ii rz bu r M 1 8 1 2 8 at . an unsuccessful council at g , arch , 7 RABBAN SAUMA RETURNS TO ROME 67

. S o that I have been here , and a Pope is not seated What hall I g " and say and answer to the Mongols They , whose heart is harder k s than roc , desire to take the Holy City , while those who e ' u o n it business it is do not resolve p , even do not think of the thing " at all . We know not what we shall go and say . The Visitator “

: . said to him Thy words are true I will go myself , and all the

S i th e words thou hast poken I w ll tell literally to Cardinals , and I ” will constrain them to elect a Pope . to And the Visitator departed and came to Rome , and told it the King" and he to the Reverend Pope . On that same day he sent a messenger to them , that the party of Rabban Sauma

Should come . And they on the arrival of the messenger diligently 3 set out for Rome , and they reached it in fifteen days . And they “ ” asked : Who is this Pope they have elected " They answered “ : e him It is the bishop who conversed with you , when you cam "” here first , his name is Nicholas And they rejoiced greatly .

When they arrived , the Reverend Pope sent people to meet them , the Metropolitan along with many others . And Rabban Sauma went in at once to the Reverend Pope . And he was seated on his throne . And he [Bar Sauma] presented himself with homage and ‘ kissed his feet and hands . And he retired backwards [lit . turned ’ : back ] with his hands clasped . And he said to the Reverend Pope

May thy throne be established , O Father , forever , and blessed i may it be above all k ngs and peoples , and may peace reign in thy days in the whole Church to the ends of the earth " Now that I have seen thy face it has brightened my eyes that I do not come heartbroken to the lands . I acknowledge the grace of God that ” He has counted me worthy of the sight of thee . And he presented to him the gift of King Argh o n along with his letters and also the

2 Th e k c II reference to a ing appears gratuitous ; f. at p . Charles was not i 1 2 88 P Ma Gre released unt l November , ; he was crowned by the ope the following y (

v i sRo me i n the Middle A es 2 o ro u . . g , g , vol 5 , pt , 1 T his statement is proleptic to the following inquiry .

1‘ IV A a 2 2 1 288 He fi Nicholas , Jerome of scoli , consecrated Febru ry , . was the rst P L Franciscan to become ope , had distinguished himself as a egate to the East and was titular Patriarch of Byz antium ; he was deeply concerned in a Crusade ( Grego r v s 0 et H o iu . w , p 5 7 ence the interest sho n by him from the very first in this

O . H e riental embassy , p and further exp ressed in the following narrative . was - an extremist in orthodoxy , and it was he who asMinister general in 1 2 77 senten ced R B oger acon to prison for his errors . 6 8 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

‘ ’ Y aballah a gift of Mar the Catholicus , that is , the blessing , and

. his letters And the Reverend Pope was glad and rejoiced , and he honored Rabban Sauma more than was wont . And he said to “ him : It will be well if thou celebrate the season with us and see ” — our custom , for that day was the middle of the Dominical Fast “ ”

. : [Lent] He replied Your command is high and lofty . And the Reverend Pope assigned an abode for his sojourn , and appointed a ttendants to give him all he desired . And after some days Rabban Sauma said to the Reverend Pope : I desire to consecrate [the Eucharist] that you too may see ” our custom . And he bade him to consecrate , as he requested . And on that day a great congregation assembled to see how the ambassador of the Mongols consecrates . And when they saw , “ : f they rejoiced and said The language is di ferent , but the rite is ” one . Now that same day when he consecrated was the Sunday of ‘ Who is the Healer"’ 5 And when he had solemnized the Mys te ries , he went in to the Reverend Pope and greeted him . And he said to Rabban Sauma : May God receive thy offering and bless ” thee and pardon thy faults and Sins " And Rabban Sauma said “ With the pardon of my faults and S ins which I have received from thee , O Father , I desire of thy fatherliness , O Holy Father , that

I may receive the Communion from thy hands , so that I may ” “ : S have complete forgiveness . And he said It hall be so .

And when Sunday came again , that is , Hosanna Sunday [Palm

Sunday] , there assembled in the morning thousands and tens of thousands without number before the throne [of the Pope] , and 6 they brought olive branches . And he blessed them ; he gave the

5 I e L . . . , the Fifth Sunday in ent , as the following shows Sundays were often known L P . after their roper Anthems or Antiphons , as in old atin usage ’ 5 P P Bu t Th e present practice places the chief alm Sunday service at St . eter s . ’ the Lateran is still the traditional Station for that day in Holy Week ; and doubtless it was that church in which the present service was held . For the ceremonies of

H so B I oly Week , fully described in this iography , have consulted especially the H M l e The Litu r i n Ro me . . b o k to C sti an an d E cclesi asti ca Ro m . H and o hri , pt ii , gy , by

M R T L 1 8 and . A . . . , ondon , 9 7 , a valuable volume now out of print , a copy of which l At P C . has been kindly lent me by my friend and colleague , rof . J . u len Ayer the W k E end of that volume is given a calendar of the services for Holy ee and aster . l The B Th e n ame Hosanna Sunday is also given in Roman u se to Pa m Sunday . ene c er o th e P e lessi diction o i the Palms on that day is still an elabo rate em ny, op b ng Han dboo k see . S . pecial palms ; the , c 7

70 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

afterwards he consecrated the Atoning Mysteries , and gave Com

munion to the people . And he went forth thence and came into

the great nave . And he distributed and gave to the holy fathers i to each one two leaves of gold and thirty sheets of s lver . And

he departed . And the Reverend Pope assembled the monk s of hi s monastery , and he washed their feet , and wiped them with a 11 cloth that was girt about his loins, to the last . And when the

full rite of Passover was accomplished , at noon he gave a great

dinner . And the servants set before each man his portion of food .

And those who sat there were two thousand more or less . And

r when they removed the food , there emained [but] three hours 12 of the day .

And on the next day , which was the Passion of Our

Redeemer [Good Friday] , the Reverend Pope put on a black k cassock , and all the clergy li ewise ; and they went out barefoot , 13 and came to the Church of the Adorable Cross . And the Rev e ren d Pope worshipped and kissed it [the Cross] , and he gave it

to each one of the clergy . And when the crowd saw it , they uncovered their heads and kneeled on their knees and wor

shipped it . And he preached and discoursed to the people . And

T R B a (Holy hursday) is performed the ite of enediction of the oil of c techumens , ” so H an dbo o k 2 6 an d of the oil of the sick , and the confection of the chrism ; the , p . 4 , It w hich also gives the order of the services . is similarly the day for that purpose L throughout the atin world . 11 H 1 L a According to are , p . 4 3 , this was the practice as long as the ateran pal ce w s 1 80 a inhabited , down to 5 ; the feet of twelve priests or poor men were washed by -T T P th e Pope on Maundy hursday . his custom is now celebrated by the ope at ’ b 1 P Han d o o k 2 . St . eter s . See further , the , 5 12 T Thi s banq uet hall is doubtless the ancient riclinium , the great dining chamber P a E an d se e o f the opes , used particularly at Christm s , aster imperial coronations ; Maru c chi H . 1 0 cchi 1 0 . Maru , p . 5 are , p 4 , records that its terminal apse survives , but h olds that nothi ng remains of it . 13 G Th e c hurch is Santa Croce in erusalemme , which boasts possession of the Th e saw 1 2 i Title of th e Holy Cross . pilgrim the church of the th century , of wh ch P L M M It w as . little remains . consecrated to the assion of the ord , as S ary aggiore R La A Th e ffi to hi sN ativity and esurrection , the teran to his scension . solemn o ces P C o f Good Friday used to be celebrated there , attended by the ope , ardinals and

M ru c chi It G ee a . . a vast throng ; s , p 3 4 7 is still the Station for ood Friday , and the R c eremonial is more impressive there on that day than in any other church in ome ;

An d a 2 t se . Hare p . e this custom of the barefoot procession is corrobor ted by , 4 3 q “ P Ca the H an dbo o k 2 4 : On Good Friday the ope and rdinals went first to the Sancta , 9

L P . C Sanctorum chapel in the ateran , and thence the ope walked barefoot to S roce , ” In L R . all reciting Psalms . the atin ite the vestments for the day are all black EASTER IN ROME 71

w hen the Cross had turned around in the four directions , and f when service was finished , he brought some of the Host O fering - of the Passover [Maundy Thursday] and put wine with it . And the Reverend Pope received the Communion alone , for it is not the custom for Christians to offer the Offering on the day of the 14 Passion of Our Redeemer . Then he returned to his monastery . And on the day of the Sabbath of Light 1 5 the Pope went to

PrO h the church , and they read the books of the Prophets and the p 1 6 e ciesabout the Christ . And they placed a font and set about it branches of myrtle . And the Reverend Pope consecrated the

i S baptismal water himself , and he baptized three ch ldren and igned 17 S . them [with the ign of the cross] And he entered the chancel , an d o ff he put his vestments of the Passion , and put on the

r . obes of his function , the value of which passes telling And he consecrated the Mysteries . An d on the Sunday of the Resurrection [Easter Day] the Rever

n o f An d e d Pope entered the holy Church the Lady Mary . they i greeted one another , he and the Card nals and the Metropolitans an d the Bishops and the crowds ; and they kissed one another on the mouth . And he celebrated the Mysteries , and they received the

An d Communi on . he entered the monastery and he made a great 1 8 feast and celebration without stin t . And on N ew Sunday [Lo w

Sunday] the Reverend Pope held an Ordination , and he ordained 1 9 ’ . au m a three bishops And Rabban S sparty saw their ritual . And they celebrated the blessed Feasts with them .

I e L a Ma Pre san c tifie d . . , the tin custom of the ss of the . 15 E E a a G a Sa a as La R S abbatn aster ven ; lso c lled the re t bb th , in the tin ite m.

a n u m m g . 1 5 A H andbo o k 2 80 a th e ccording to the , , there are still re d twelve prophecies ,

an chanting of which occupies hour . 1 7 Th e an d L a n monastery church are those of the ateran , which is still the St tio

a Th e B a for the day, and where the principal function is celebr ted . ancient ptistry w as E E a once used on aster ven for the (compulsory) b ptism of a number of Jews ,

H 0 1 a the custom still surviving , according to are , p . 4 , with neophytes c lled Jews .

Th e H andbo o k 2 80 cl sc solemn service is still maintained ; see the , pp . q. , which states sm i ply that baptism is performed if candidates are presented . 1 3 M M . da P E S ary aggiore is still the Station for the y , but the ontifical aster ’ P Th e services are now at St . eter s . banquet was doubtless held in the Latera n T E Da 1 2 88 Ma . 28 riclinium aster y fell in on rch . 19 T O a his was not a regular service for rdination , which service regularly f lls in a E E S e . . Em be rtide ssee H andbo ok 1 Th eason of fasting , g , aster ven or the ; the , 73 . e 72 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

And when all this had taken place , he desired of the Reverend “ Pope permission to depart . B ut he said to him : It is our desire that thou remain with us , and thou shalt be in our company , and we will k eep thee as the apple of our eye . But Rabban Sauma “ : replied I , O Father , have come on an embassy to do you service . C If my oming were of my own desire , in the outer gate of your monastery would I accomplish the days of this my life of vanity in your service . But when I return I will declare to th e

Kings there the favors you have done to my weakness . I think it will be a great satisfaction to the Christians . But I desire of your Holiness that you give me an alms of some of the relics y o u “ : have . The Reverend Pope said If it were our custom to give everyone these relics , although they were mountains high , they

Ofl would soon be finished by the myriads . But Since thou hast ” come from a far country , we will give thee a few . And he gave m him a small relic from the garment of Our Lord Christ , and fro

o ikile r s the p or bonnet of the Lady Ma y , and small relics of the saint

Y aballah a his there . And he sent to Mar a crown of pure gold for head , adorned with very precious stones , and clothing for the vest ments of his function , red and embroidered with gold , and shoe his sewn with small pearls , and boots , and also a ring from o w n finger ; and letters patent which contained authorization of h is ll Patriarchate over a the Orientals . And to Rabban Sauma he gave letters patent as Visitator over all Christians "0 And he blessed him . And he allotted to him for the expenses of his journey 21 Ar h o n 1 50 0 pounds of red gold . And to King g he sent some d gifts . And he embraced and kissed Rabban Sauma and dismisse him . And Rabban Sauma rendered thanks to Our Lord that He had deemed him worthy of such boons .

‘ name New Sunday for the First Sunday after E aster is found in the Armenian ’ Hi t the H o l E ast Ch ssm n i so . A e S . a s rite , . Neale , . f y , 73 5 ; it is not recorded in

Nestorian Calendar . 2 0 Th e letters to these ecclesiastics have not been preserved ; for th e o ther c orre In t n e n ce se e . . sp o d , ii 21 Se e note at p . OF THE BENE FACTIONS OF KING ARGHON 73

[CONCE RNING THE RE TURN OP RABBAN SAUMA PROM R OME PROM TH E RE VE RE ND P OPE CATH OLICUS AND PATRIARCH OF TH E ROMANS AND OF ALL THE OCCIDE NTALS]

And again he crossed the seas from whither he had gon e . And ’ h e arrived safely at King Argh o n sin soundness of body and preservation of soul . And he gave him the documents of blessing along with the presents which he brought from the Reverend Pope

h e as well as from all t Kings of the Franks . And he told him how they had received him with love , and had warmly listened to the dispatches he brought . And he narrated the marvels he had seen

Ar h o n and the might of the empire . And King g rejoiced and was “ t : delighted , and he hanked him and said to him We have put

t . hee to great trouble , seeing thou art an old man Therefore we l will not let thee be separated from us . But we wil establish a church in our royal court and thou shalt serve and pray ” “ l in . : l it Rabban Sauma said If Mi ord the King wil command , let Mar Y aballah a the Catholicus come and receive the gifts which the Reverend Pope has sent him and the articles for divine worship which he has donated to him , and he shall be the institutor of the

n church which the Ki g establishes in the royal court , and he shall consecrate it . And these things came to pass just so . And since it was not our purpose to relate and compose the i th ngs which Rabban Sauma did and saw , we have somewhat

m An abbreviated what he hi self wrote in Persian . d these things which are here recorded have been added and abbreviated in proportion to the aim of the undertaking .

[THE BE NE PACTIONS OF KING AR GH ON AND H IS D E ATH ]

1 In the year 1 598 of the Greek Era King Argh o n further gave 2 o Y aballah a rders and brought Mar to the Camp , as Rabban

’ 1 A D Sau m a n B t . . s u Chabot corrects to , the year of retur . on the ’ u n c Seleu cide see Min an a s k B ulletin ertainty of the calculation of the era g remar s , R L 1 2 1 H e of the John ylands ibrary , 9 5 , 3 3 . notes that the beginning of the era k 0 1 B i l . C . s u may be ta en anywhere between 3 9 and 3 3 , and that it general y nsafe to e 1 1 th e s d pend upon the usual addition of 3 years to Chri tian era . 2 see For itslocation at p . 74 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

Sauma requested . And because of the honor of the Catholicusand also in order to en courage all the Christians who believed in the

n Christ and to increase His love among them , he [the Ki g] estab lish ed a church at the gate of the throne , hard by , so that the ropes of the tent-cloths of the church were intercrossed with ’ those of his [the King s] house [tent] . And he made a great banquet

Ar h o n for three days . King g himself presented the food and the cup to the Catholicus and so to all his staff sons of his service although the bishops and the holy fathers and the priests and the deacons and the monks were occupied in the vigils and the 3 [divine] service . And the King provided that the church should 4 not fail for the sound of a gong . And thus the praise of the Oriental and Occidental Christians increased until they cried with

one voice : Blessed is the Lord who has enriched us . And the ” Lord has visited His people and given it salvation . And when

the Camp moved on , the priests moved the church and all that was b in it . And Rab an Sauma was director of the church and overseer and steward of the stipends of the priests and deacons and visitators

Ar h o n and the caretakers of the church . For King g , for the great f love he had for him , commanded that the [Eucharistic] O fering

S for himself and prayer on his behalf hould not cease .

1 1 60 0 And at the turn of the year , that is , 599 [error for ]

A D 1 28 of the Greek Era , in the month Elul [ . . 9 , September] King Argh o n went to the monastery of the city Maragha to see the

Reverend Catholicus . In the month Ab [August] he had his son

baptized , and he ordered him to receive the Atoning Mysteries . 5 And so the preaching of Life increased , and the Gospel of the i K ngdom of Heaven waxed in all the earth , until that from all Sides

3 — In the old days the all night vigils played a great part in the Nestorian liturgy, and this prevented most of the clergy from attending the banquet . For these vigils ’ i iii 2 8 20 e e Asse m an . . c s , , pt , For the extreme act of courtesy on the King s part f. A In h t . . t e statements made in the rabic biography cited at end of , iv 4 ‘ n d oshd w l Syriac q , a long piece of wood which is struck ith a flexible stick , sti l i P - the means of announc ng the services among the Nestorians . See ayne Smith ,

Thesauru s2 66 A Ch eik o Le christi an isme et l , 3 , and for the early rabic references , a

’ t e B 1 1 2 se A 2 littératu re chre i en n . 0 8 Go ttheil Jo u , eyrouth , 9 , q ( rabic text) , ; also , rn al

i can Ori ental S o ci et 1 1 0 1 o the Amer . seman t f y , 9 , 3 4 Similar wooden clappers , ra, G k see Hist o t Hol E o . he ast Ch 1 were intr duced into the ree Church ; Neale , f y . ., ,

t . e se . 2 1 7 q , with illustrations ‘ ’ 5 Th e the reek s n Syriac equivalent of G alvatio . KING KAIKATHO AND MAR YABALLAHA 75 people were gathering to the Patriarchal monastery to derive bene it - fits from , the Christians of the Faith were not congregating there , even as they were excused by the Reverend Catholicus , so ’ 6 that he might meet their [the others ] requirements . But when this providence which we have recorded had lasted for a little while , God , the Lord of All , the Lord of death and

Ar h o n departure , took away King g to the Chamber of Delights an d to the Bosom of Abraham . And upon his removal mourning oppressed the whole Church under heaven , because those things which before his time had been made and then were ruin ed f were greatly restored . And who does not su fer greatly from a " change of reign For why not , since it is a hard thing and bitter to speak of , when one knows the nobles and all the royal courtiers . not to speak of the contemporary king himself"7

[KING KAIKATH O AND MAR YABALLAH A]

And when the Church had been in these circumstances for some time , all at once there arose the younger brother of the deceased

Irn a in King , one called g Tongin ; and he was crowned as King ’ Kaik ath o , and he took the royal sceptre and sat on his brother s

i 1 60 2 throne . And he became K ng in of the Greek Era in 1 An d the month Ah . the creation was at peace and chaos fled and hid itself , and the light of righteousness arose and was revealed , in that the blessed Kaik ath o strayed not from the path of his

r ancestors . He confi med all the religious sectaries each in his status and honored all the chief dogmas , whether of Christians or Arabs or Jews or Pagans , and showed parstiality to none . And he did not waver nor decline from righteou ness , gold being con

5 Th e text of this period is obscure . 7 A pertinen t complaint against the un certainties induced by a change of k ings Ar ho n M 1 0 1 2 1 1 6 M . among the ongols g died arch , 9 ; see Yule , , 3 . Subseq uent to his death was the arrival of Marco P0 10 and his company bringing a bride to him In t from the Great Khan , see . , § ii , end . 1 A Bar H ebraeu sChr sr 8 B A . . . I . . e . . . , ugust ccording to , y , p 5 7 ( runs , tr p ’ 2 1 60 Th e A on Hez iran (June) 9 , 3 . author s dating in ugust may be taken from

Th e 1 2 1 the event recorded below . year is 9 , and Yule gives as the exact date July ‘ ’ ‘ ’ s Kai ath u E rn a in T th l Bar H ebraeu . e 2 c . g g 3 , . spells the names and urgi For ’ A l u iacato P . 1 8 . Bar Hebraeus w as former Po o writes Q , rologue , c ccording to he k his ’ in charge of an army on the Gree marches at brother s death . 76 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

sidered as dung in his eyes , and there was no limit to his alms nor

end to his gifts , for everyone who asked of him received , as is said , ‘ ’ He who seeks finds (Matt . 7 , And this truly was in the 3 way of a [divine] trial . For when he came to ascend the throne

in the aforesaid month of the year , on the day of the Feast of the Memorial of the Holy Lady Mary 4— her prayer be for the world

in the middle of the month Ab , he entered the church which had 4 3“ — been founded by Taw o sKathon in the blessed Camp and 5 they [the Court] were then in the mountain called Alatak while

e ie our father the Catholicus was celebrating the Myst r s . And

‘ th e f Cath o licu s the king was very glad and rejoiced , and he gave 6 gifts , dinars and nine brocaded vestments of first quality . And there were assembled on that day the sons of the king and

the daughters of the queens and the commanders and magnates ,

as well as the forces . And the praise of the Holy Catholic Church

An d th e increased as at the first and even more . mind of the b i

Christians grew bold , and they were strengthened , knowing the mind of the Victorious Kin g and hearin g his words and attainin g

with their hands his gifts and favors . And day by day their

praise increased and the glory of their Church grew . And this came by the great diligence and good management of Mar Y aballah a and 7 his Skill in adulation of the royal household .

Rabban Sauma then , for he was already growing old and was weary of the hard discipline of the Mongols and of the life

Kaik ath o in the field , received commission from the Victorious King to build a church in the city of Maragha and to place in it the ritual equipment of the church which the deceased King Argh o n

7 Bar H ebrmu s him if gives a totally d ferent character , as one wholly addicted to c H aith o n M 8 1 so . sensual pleasures ; and also the Armenian Chroni ler , , see osheim , p . ‘ ’ 3 Literally in a trial ; presumably the present prosperity of the Church was part h ad of the divine trial which another phase in the subsequent political troubles .

4 1 L A On August 5 , the atin Feast of the ssumption . a 4 a a se In t fir Th e C a e . . hristi n wife of Ab g , ii We learn here for the st time d C o f her influence in foun ing the amp Church . 5 Th e Alatak L Ar h o n h ad r pastures east of ake Van , where g built a great summe see Le E astern Cali hate 1 8 palace in the midst of a hunting preserve ; Strange , p , 3 ,

- l b 1 0 0 hi sNu zhat al u u . an d Q , 5 ‘ ‘ -A D ba e P . i g , a ersian rabic word 7 This artless statement is a confession of the moral weakness which afle c ted the O en urc in itse n sn Th e sa e e kn ess e sin its statecraft of the ri tal Ch h xpa io . m w a app ar

Chi nese missions .

7 8 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

1 w a 2722: . that is the qf applied to it , was more or less i And he was faithful in his service and prayer , and d ligent in con l f stan t f . y o fering the O fering , which he instituted in the church And he had great satisfaction in the monastery alongside Of the

church he had planted . And its embellishment continues until f the present , and constant in it are the services and the O ferings .

Ou r May Lord render to him the wage of his labor , the delight of H the eavenly Kingdom , and a portion with the Saints in the

heights above .

And when he had finished the church we have mentioned , he went down in the service of Mar Catholicus to Baghdad in the year

A D . 1 60 5 of the Greek Era [ . And in the First Tishri [October] 2 of that year King Baidu , the son of the brother of King Abaga , 3 made a great feast at a place called Sirz o r on account of the

Catholicus . And he assembled to the banquet his royal family sons of his kingdom And Rabban Sauma got up from the

‘1 feast , his health being undermined , and he fell down seized with a o ff fever . And on the next day he went from King Baidu B aidar

and he reached the city of Arbel , [where he stayed] in the settlement of necessary affairs and in the pleasure he had with the members ’ Saum a s of the church . And Rabban illness was increasing , and

he was in distress . And he held out until the Catholicus reached

B aghdad . And the illness increased , and health fled and hope of ff life was cut o . And he departed from this world of vanity and

vexation to the world of the Holies and to the city of the Saints ,

Jerusalem in Heaven , in the night of the Sunday after Epiphany , ‘ ’ first the anthem for which is To Thy Church , on the tenth of 5 Kanon of that year . And his body was buried in the Court of the Romans on the north side of th e altar outside in the inner 6 . court , at the south side of that house of prayer His portion

1 ‘ ’ Th e usual Arabic word for endowment . 2 ‘ ’ T B n . ext , aidar ; of this prince , with the courtesy title of King , more ano 3 Sh ah raz u r Be d an see Le E astern Probably in western Kurdistan ( j ) ; Strange ,

ate 1 0 . Caliph , 9 4 ‘ ’ i e . M . . ixture ; , of the four temperaments constituting the physique 5 D First Kanon is ecember , Second Kanon January . 5 I e . Thi r . . , the grave lay between the church and an altar in the court s Cou t (dartha) of the Romans is evidently the great monastic compound in Baghdad known - ee Le Ba hdad 20 8 et se We m sn e et r e r Rum s . in the Arabic asDe ; Strange , g , q u t i t rp r OF THE DEATH OF RABBAN SAUMA 79

" be with the fathers the Catholici , among whom he is placed And

Our Lord rest him , and set him at His right hand in the great day of recompense , when He requites each according to his work by the balance of righteousness and the scales of truth " And Mar Y aballah a the Catholicus suffered great afllic tio n a t his death ; and the lamentation reached even to heaven . And he conducted services for the people , not to say in private as well . fi The magnates , the prefects , that is , the of cials , and all the fathers of the city of Baghdad came to comfort him . And hardly did he allow himself comfort on the third day . And he returned to his

hi s . throne to function] And it was right for him to feel so , and the law of nature commanded it . For the departed one was ‘ strong and effective [ So n of arm and a help in the o fli c e of the patriarchal monastery , not only for Mar Catholicus but for all

Christians who gathered to him . And when the Catholicus had completed that winter in B agh 7 d ad o ff , on the day of the Great Feast he went to the Camp o f n Kaik ath o Alatak the Victorious Ki g in . He reached the ’ King s Camp , and the latter honored him with many gifts , giving

i him su ku r him a fleece garment and two fine mules and assign ng a , 8 dtlz sh ér 2222 . that is , a , and presenting him with In fine , anything that Mar Catholicus opened his mouth about and desired

An d n he did not refuse . then he retur ed from the Victorious King . And he laid the foundations of the holy monastery of Mar John Baptist to the north of the city of Maragha at a third of a parasang ’ s distance from it more or less , in that same year at the end of the month Haziran [June] , and he raised the walls nearly to completion and its naves to the eaves of the peak . And all at once the storms arose and waves of chaos were vio

i An d lent n the kingdom . the emirs were disloyal to the ff n w Kings , and tempests of su eri gs prevailed over the orld , and commotion fell upon the creation . And men were killed without desert , and many cities were taken with violence by the armies .

’ the confused story to the eflect that the Sick man accompanied the Catholicus p arty Th B . e to aghdad , where he died next sentence indicates that this was the burial p lace of the Patriarchs . ‘ ’ 7 k in th e c as n n E o wn . aster , generally n alendar the Su day of Su days 8 See note to p . 80 THE HISTORY OF MAR YABALLAHA

1 60 6 . A. D 1 2 And in the winter of of the Greek Era [ . 9 5] the roads

Adh arbai an being cut between j and Baghdad and Diarbekr , the nobles did not cease from the contentions they stirred up , until at last they destroyed King Kaik ath o by violence and handed

n over the ki gdom to King B aidu . And this wretched man took

2 it for fear of his life , and he remained on the throne from the 4th — 2 th Nisan to the 5 Elul [April September] of that year more or less .

And he ruled and reigned in disturbance , and spent his days in fearfulness . And the wiles in those five months and the frauds and mutual tricks between him and the Victorious King Kazan ,

Ar h o n son of the departed King g , and the stratagems practised by

enemies , speech is not now able to encompass , lest we make the

story too long , and the history which is desired turn into something

Kaik th o . a else To sum up , the murderers of that blessed King

contrived the murder of this other King Baidu . And there befell division , and civilization was disturbed , and the hordes of the Arabs roused up to avenge themselves upon the Church and h er

children for their losses through the father of those Kings . Then ‘ ’ suddenly on the Sunday The mouth cannot , in that same year ,

2 th r on the 5 Elul of the aforesaid year , there was heard the rumo of the flight of King Baidu and of his destruction , and with it 9 came trials , which in truth were by the permission of God .

9 Th e above agitated picture of the breaking of the Muslim storm upon the Church K aik ath o is filled out by the facts of history . was done away with by a conspiracy , B his cousin aidu raised to a troubled throne and a brief reign of eight months .

I Bu t Although inclined most friendly to the Christians he had to confess slam . M f t so n Ar h o n G the uslims , not satisfied , o fered the hrone to a of g , hazan , on condition - Th e B th e that he should whole heartedly accept their cause . latter attacked aidu in i Bu t fi l . C eld , ki led him , and ga ned the crown the new king still favored the hristians a Bu t w as and is reputed to have permitted their religion in his own f mily . he not M strong enough to restrain the murderous attacks of the uslims against the Christians , and the rest of thi s Biography gives the ugly picture of the internecine strife between

C It hi z the two religions , which ended in the collapse of the hristians . was t s Ka an who married the Chinese lady from Kublai ’ s court who was sent in charge ’ M P as Ar h o n of arco olo a bride for his father g , and who arrived after the latter s

se e Bar H ebraeu sChro n sr death . For this subsequent history the end of , . y . , and l Assem an i ii an d s in M m cc es. . e Chro n . e his , cited in , iii , part , c 7 , the capital urvey osh i , 82 cl se pp . q. INDEX

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Adh arbai j an

ZEtn a f , eruption o A hmad , King .

Al tak a .

Am r A , rabic Chronicle of gerfalcon device

An i i , n Armeni gongs

G k e ra c n ree , alculatio of h n Ar o . g , King

Ascelin u s

Assem an i

Augen-Eugenios Innocent IV

D r er-Rum a T e Je n de usculum .

Baidu , King Jenghis Khan . Bar Hebrze u s John de Monte Corvino Bar Sauma John de Pl ano Carpini

- m ai B ar . eth g Kaidu , King h aik at o . K , King

care l B u s Kashgar .

Kazan , King . Cacian -fu Khotan

Koke , church of . a Kublai Kh n . . Cardinals College of

Lo b Cathay , desert of L Catholicus , title ombardy Louis IX L C Chaldaean Church yons , ouncil of Charles I of Anjou

’ II O fAn o u M a s -C n Charles j ad in , . Seleucia tesipho

Constantinople . Manichaeism ‘ ma hro Creed , the Nestorian p M aragha . D a enha, C tholicus 82 INDEX

M a Palaeo lo a seman tra s ari g , . gongs marriage o fbishops shather M c Palze o lo us M l f n d o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 i hael g Simo agus , egen 0 - Sin gan -fu s - . Naple Siyah Kuh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Nestorian Chinese Inscription su ko r

o o o n ifi o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o h o o r c tablet , T 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 z 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 abri T sc an d r . ala , ity iver On On u t 1 Tan u h g, g 3 3 , 4 g t Tong-Chen paiza Trebiz ond Paris Tu r Abdin

o f Tu s University . Peking Tuscany Philip IV P M olo , arco Uighurs P u h o n o rific rester John mbrella , Urmia redon e R V t ome isitator , itle Santa Croce L St . John ateran M a W Ru bri u is St . ari illiam q ’ P ul St . a s ’ P Y ball h II . a a a. I St . eter s a- o n Seleuci Ctesiph . RECORDS OF CIVILIZ ATION

SOURCES AND STUDIES

Fo rthco m in g Vo lu mes

B M C. Calen d ar R e form i n th e Th i rt e en th Cen t u ry . y ary l W e b o rn .

Tsh an AS h r n i c e J. c H elmo ld : S i c C . B lav o l y Franci s , S i stan t P f o f H P n S ro essor istory , ennsy lva i a tate

College .

- Old No rw e gi an L aw : Th e Gut ath i n gsL aw an d th e P ros P f o f M. L t ath in sL aw . B L g y aw rence arson , ro essor

H o f I . istory , University llinois

‘

i i . C. Otto o f I reisin g : Ch ron i cl e o f t h e Tw o C t es B y C.

M P o f C d C . ierow , resident olora o ollege

P i e r re Du B oi s: On th e R e c o ve ry o f th e H ol y L an d . B y W I B A P f o f H S U n i . . randt , ssistant ro essor istory , tat e o f I v ersity owa .

Hi s o f I e n d . S ourc esF o r th e E arly tory r la B y James F . D o f H R P Kenney , irector istorical esearch and ublicity , P A C ublic rchives , anada . - A Sy ro Arab G en tl eman o f th e Cru sad es: Mem oi rso f

Usm n Ibn Munk i dh . B P H it ti t P ro a a y hilip , A ssis ant f L P S . ossor o f emitic iterature , rincet on Unive rsity

W illi am o f Ty re : H ist o ry o f Thi n gsDo n e In th e L an d s t a 7 B e o n d h S . B M . M B D e e rs“ . . k y y abcoc , epartment K P f A . H o f L . C atin , and rey , ro essor of isto ry , Univer i f M sty o innesota .

o sF ro m Medi u h S ec i n s. B L T k el t eval A t or y y nn horndi e ,

P f H C b a n t ro essor o f istory , olum i U iv ersi y .