The Traveler You May Never Have Heard Of

The Traveler You May Never Have Heard Of

World History Name: ______
E. Napp Date: ______

Historical Context:

“Rabban bar Sauma,(born c. 1220,Zhongdu [now Beijing], China – died January 1294,Baghdad, Iraq),[was a] Nestorian Christian ecclesiastic, whose important but little-known travels in western Europe as an envoy of the Mongols provide a counterpart to those of his contemporary, the Venetian Marco Polo, in Asia.

Born into a wealthy Christian family living in Zhongdu and descended from the nomadic Uighurs of Turkistan, bar Sauma became a Nestorian monk at age 23, gaining fame as an ascetic and teacher. With his disciple Marcus he attempted a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, passing through Gansu and Khotan (Hotan) in western China, Khorāsān in Iran, and Azerbaijan before reaching Baghdad, the residence of the catholicos, or head, of the Nestorian church. Unable to reach Jerusalem because of local fighting, he stayed some time in Nestorian monasteries in Armenia before being called back to Baghdad by the catholicos to head a mission to Abagha, the Mongol Il-khan (“regional khan”) of Iran. Later he was appointed visitor general of the Nestorian congregations of the East, a post similar to that of archdeacon.

In 1287 bar Sauma was sent on a mission to the Christian monarchs of Western Europe by Abagha’s son Arghūn, a religious eclectic and Christian sympathizer who hoped to persuade the Christian kings to join him in expelling the Muslims from the Holy Land. Traveling to Constantinople, bar Sauma was received hospitably by the Byzantine emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus, but on reaching Rome he learned that Pope Honorius IV had just died. He was interviewed by the Sacred College of Cardinals, who, less interested in his mission than in his theological tenets, asked him to recite the Nestorian creed. Reluctant to do so, as Nestorianism was considered a heresy in the West, he left Rome and traveled to Paris, staying a month at the court of King Philip IV, and to Bordeaux, where he met Edward I of England. Neither monarch was willing to commit to an alliance with Arghūn.

Leaving France, bar Sauma passed back through Rome and met the newly elected pope, Nicholas IV, before returning to Iran. Later he was appointed chaplain to the Il-khan’s court and still later retired to Marāgheh in Azerbaijan to found a church. A perceptive traveler, he kept a diary in Persian that presents an outsider’s view of medieval Europe. An English translation is included in Sir E.A. Wallis Budge’s The Monks of Kûblâi Khân (1928; reissued as The Monks of Kublai Khan, 2003).”

~ Britannica

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What is Nestorian Christianity?

“Nestorian [is a] member of a Christian sect originating in Asia Minor and Syria out of the condemnation of Nestorius and his teachings by the councils of Ephesus (ad 431) and Chalcedon (ad 451). Nestorians stressed the independence of the divine and human natures of Christ and, in effect, suggested that they were two persons loosely united. In modern times they are represented by the Church of the East, or Persian Church, usually referred to in the West as the Assyrian, or Nestorian, Church. Most of its members – numbering about 170,000 – live in Iraq, Syria, and Iran.

Christianity in Persia faced intermittent persecution until the Persian Church in 424 formally proclaimed its full independence of Christian churches elsewhere, thereby freeing itself of suspicions about foreign links. Under the influence of Barsumas, the metropolitan of Nisibis, the Persian Church acknowledged Theodore of Mopsuestia, the chief Nestorian theological authority, as guardian of right faith, in February 486. This position was reaffirmed under the patriarch Babai (497–502), and since that time the church has been Nestorian.

Nestorius had been anathematized at Ephesus in 431 for denouncing the use of the title Theotokos (‘God-Bearer’) for the Blessed Virgin, insisting that this compromised the reality of Christ’s human nature. When supporters of Nestorius gathered at the theological school of Edessa, it was closed by imperial order in 489, and a vigorous Nestorian remnant migrated to Persia.

The Persian Church’s intellectual centre then became the new school in Nisibis, which carried on the venerable traditions of Edessa. By the end of the 5th century there were seven metropolitan provinces in Persia and several bishoprics in Arabia and India. The church survived a period of schism (c. 521–c. 537/539) and persecution (540–545) through the leadership of the patriarch Mar Aba I (reigned 540–552), a convert from Zoroastrianism, and also through the renewal of monasticism by Abraham of Kashkar (501–586), the founder of the monastery on Mount Izala, near Nisibis.

After the Arab conquest of Persia (637), the Caliphate recognized the Church of the East as a millet, or separate religious community, and granted it legal protection. Nestorian scholars played a prominent role in the formation of Arab culture, and patriarchs occasionally gained influence with rulers. For more than three centuries the church prospered under the Caliphate, but it became worldly and lost leadership in the cultural sphere. By the end of the 10th century there were 15 metropolitan provinces in the Caliphate and 5 abroad, including India and China. Nestorians also spread to Egypt, where Monophysite Christianity acknowledged only one nature in Christ. In China a Nestorian community flourished from the 7th to the 10th century. In Central Asia certain Tatar tribes were almost entirely converted, Christian expansion reaching almost to Lake Baikal in eastern Siberia. Western travelers to the Mongol realm found Nestorian Christians well-established there, even at the court of the Great Khan, though they commented on the ignorance and superstition of the clergy. When during the 14th century the Church of the East was virtually exterminated by the raids of the Turkic leader Timur, Nestorian communities lingered on in a few towns in Iraq but were concentrated mainly in Kurdistan, between the Tigris River and Lakes Van and Urmia, partly in Turkey and partly in Iran.

In 1551 a number of Nestorians reunited with Rome and were called Chaldeans, the original Nestorians having been termed Assyrians. The Nestorian Church in India, part of the group known as the Christians of St. Thomas, allied itself with Rome (1599), then split, half of its membership transferring allegiance to the Syrian Jacobite (Monophysite) patriarch of Antioch (1653). In 1898 in Urmia, Iran, a group of Nestorians, headed by a bishop, were received in the communion of the Russian Orthodox Church.”

~ Britannica

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Read the following Edited Excerpts Regarding Rabban Sauma’s Journey:

~ hofstra.edu

1. Arghon (the King of Persia) loved the Christians with his whole heart. And Arghon intended to gointo the countries of Palestine and Syria and to subjugate them and take possession of them, but he said tohimself, “If the Western Kings, who are Christians, will not help me I shall not be able to fulfil mydesire.” Thereupon he asked the Catholicus (the leader of the Christian Church in Baghdad) to give him awise man, “one who is suitable and is capable of undertaking an embassy, that we may send him to thosekings.” And when the Catholicus saw that there was no man who knew the language except Rabban Sauma…he commanded him to go.

2. Rabban Sauma set out on his journey, and there went with him a number of excellent men fromamong the priests and deacons of the Cell of the Catholicus. He arrived at Beth Rhomaye [the territory ofthe Romans] on the borders of the Sea of Meka [the Black Sea], he saw the church that was there, and[then] went down [embarked] in a ship and his companions were with him. . . . And after [some] days hearrived at the great city of Constantinople, and before they went into it he sent two young men to theRoyal gate (Sublime Porte) to make known there that an ambassador of King Arghon had come. Then theking commanded certain people to go forth to meet them, and to bring them in with pomp and honor.

3. After two months of toil, and weariness, and exhaustion, Rabban Sauma arrived at the sea-shore,and he landed at the name of which was Napoli (Naples); the name of its king was Irid Shardalo [KingCharles II]. He went to the king and showed him the reason why they had come; and the king welcomedhim and paid him honor. Now it happened that there was war between him and another king, whose namewas Irid Arkon [King of Aragon, James II]. The troops of the one had come in many ships, and the troopsof the other were ready, and they began to fight each other. The King of Aragon conquered King CharlesII and slew twelve thousand his men and sunk their ships in the sea. Meanwhile Rabban Sauma and hiscompanions sat upon the roof the mansion in which they lived, and they admired the way in which theFranks waged war for they attacked none of the people except those who were actually combatants.

4. From that place they traveled inland on horses and passed through towns and villages and marveledbecause they found no land which was destitute of buildings. On the road they heard that Mar Papa (ThePope) [Honorius IV who died in 1287] was dead…Three days later the Cardinals sent and summonedRabban Sauma to their presence. When he went to them they began to ask him questions, saying, “Whatis thy quarter of the world, and why hast thou come?” … Rabban Sauma said unto him, “The Mongolsand the Catholicus of the East have sent me to Mar Papa concerning the matter of Jerusalem; and theyhave sent letters with me.” … The Cardinals said unto him, “Where is the Throne of the Catholicus?” He said to them, “In Baghdad. . . . Know ye, O our Fathers, that many of our Fathers have gone into thecountries of the Mongols, and Turks, and Chinese and have taught them the Gospel, and at the presenttime there are many Mongols who are Christians. For many of the sons of the Mongol kings and queenshave been baptized and confess Christ. They have established churches in their military camps, they payhonor to the Christians, and there are among them many who are believers. Now the king [of theMongols], who is joined in the bond of friendship with the Catholicus, hath the desire to take Palestine,and the countries of Syria, and he demandeth from you help in order to take Jerusalem.

5. Afterwards they went to the country of Pariz (Paris), to king Francis [Philippe IV le Bel]. The kingsent out a large company of men to meet them, and they brought them into the city with great honor andceremony. Now the territories of the French king were in extent more than a month’s journey. And theking of France assigned to Rabban Sauma a place wherein to dwell, and three days later sent one of his

Amirs to him and summoned him to his presence. When he had come the king stood up before him andpaid him honor, and said unto him, “Why hast thou come? And who sent thee?” And Rabban Sauma saidunto him, “King Arghon and the Catholicus of the East have sent me concerning the matter ofJerusalem.” And he showed him all the matters which he knew, and he gave him the letters which he hadwith him, and the gifts, that is to say, presents which he had brought. And the king of France answeredhim, saying, “If it be indeed so that the Mongols, though they are not Christians, are going to fight againstthe Arabs for the capture of Jerusalem, it is meet especially for us that we should fight [with them], and ifour Lord willeth, go forth in full strength.”

7. They went forth from that place, that is to say, from Paris, to go to the king of England…Havingarrived in twenty days at their city [Bordeaux], the inhabitants of the city went forth to meet them, andthey asked them, “Who are ye?” And Rabban Sauma and his companions replied, “We are ambassadors,and we have come from beyond the eastern seas, and we are envoys of the King, and of the Patriarch, andthe Kings of the Mongols.” And the people made haste and went to the king and informed him [of theirarrival], and the king welcomed them gladly, and the people introduced them into his presence… AndKing Edward gave us many gifts and money for the expenses of the road. And from that place we came tothe city of Genoa, in order to pass the winter there. And when we arrived there we saw a garden whichresembled Paradise; its winter was not [too] cold, and its summer is not [too] hot.

8. At the end of the winter there came from the country of Almadan (Allemagne) a man of highdegree, who was the “Visitor” of Mar Papa, and who was on his way to Rome. And when he heard thatRabban Sauma was there, he went to visit him and salute him. When he entered [his house] they gaveeach other “Peace!” and they kissed each other in the love of Christ. And the Visitor said unto Rabban

Sauma, “I have come to see thee. For I have heard concerning thee, that thou art a good and wise man,and also that thou hast the desire to go to Rome.” And Rabban Sauma said unto him, “What shall I sayunto thee, O beloved and noble man? I have come on an embassy from King Arghon, and the Catholicusof the East to Mar Papa on the subject of Jerusalem. Behold I have been a year of days [since I came], anda Pope hath not sat. When I go back what shall I say and what answer can I make to the Mongols? …Then the Visitor said unto him, “Thy words are true. I myself will go and show in their integrity theCardinals all the words which thou hast spoken, and will urge them to appoint a Pope.”

9. That Visitor departed from him and went to Rome, and he explained the matter to the king, that isto say Mar Papa, and that same day the Pope sent a messenger to Rabban Sauma and his companions[bidding] them to go to him. As soon as ever the messenger had arrived, they set out for Rome with thegreatest readiness and they arrived there in fifteen days…And when they arrived Mar Papa sent out aMetropolitan bishop and a large company of men to meet them. And straightway Rabban Sauma wentinto the presence of Mar Papa, who was seated on his throne. And he drew nigh to the Pope, bowingdown to the ground as he did so, and he kissed his feet and his hands, and he withdrew walkingbackwards, with his hands clasped [on his breast]…

10. He (the Pope) gave Rabban Sauma a small piece of the apparel of our Lord Christ, and a piece ofthe cape that is to say, kerchief of my Lady Mary, and some small fragments of the bodies of the saintsthat were there. He sent to Mar Yahgh-Allaha a crown for his head which was of fine gold and was inlaidwith precious stones; and sacred vestments made of red cloth through which ran threads of gold; andsocks and sandals on which real pearls were sewn; and the ring from his finger; and a “Pethikha” or Bullwhich authorized him to exercise Patriarchal dominion over all the Children of the East. He gave toRabban Sauma a “Pethikha” which authorized him to act as Visitor-General over all Christians. Mar Papablessed him and he caused to be assigned to him for expenses on the road one thousand, five hundredmathkale of red gold. To King Arghon he sent certain gifts. He embraced Rabban Sauma and kissed himand dismissed him. Rabban Sauma thanked our Lord who had held him to be worthy of such blessings asthese.

11. Rabban Sauma returned. He crossed the seas which he crossed when he came, and he arrived in peaceat the place where King Arghon was, sound in body, and with soul safely kept. He gave him the Letter ofBlessings, and the gifts which he had brought from Mar Papa and from all the kings of the Franks. Heshowed him how they had welcomed him with love, and how they had hearkened gladly to the Pukdane(or Royal Dispatches) which he had carried [to them], and he related the wonderful things which he hadseen, and the power of [their] kingdom[s].

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