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Rabban Sauma, a Syriac monk, travelled to Europe in 1287 as a diplomatic representative of the Mongols; this is his own account of his travels, the first translation into English.
Publisher: Gorgias Press LLC
Availability: In stock
SKU (ISBN): 978-1-61143-874-1
  • *
Publication Status: In Print
Series: Analecta Gorgiana 957
Publication Date: Apr 23,2014
Interior Color: Black
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Page Count: 24
Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-61143-874-1
$35.00

When the Mongol Ilkhan Arghun wanted to communicate with Europe about joint action against the Muslims of Palestine, he sent a prominent Syriac cleric, Rabban Sauma, to talk to the Pope and to Edward I of England, who was planning to go on crusade. The diplomacy was unfruitful - there was no living Pope, and Edward died without ever crusading; but Rabban Sauma wrote an account of his travels in Persian. This account survives, somewhat condensed and translated into Syriac, as a chapter in the History of Yaballaha III and Rabban Sauma; this paper is a free-standing English translation of the chapter, from Paul Bedjan's Syriac edition (also published by Gorgias), with an introduction on Rabban and the Syriac Church and extensive critical commentary, otherwise difficult to come by. The account itself presents a vivid picture of the Middle Ages: Rabban toured the splendors of Constantinople, had a difficult voyage to Italy (past Etna), watched a battle, argued theology with the Cardinals, visited the Kings of France and England, and saw the coronation of the new Pope.

When the Mongol Ilkhan Arghun wanted to communicate with Europe about joint action against the Muslims of Palestine, he sent a prominent Syriac cleric, Rabban Sauma, to talk to the Pope and to Edward I of England, who was planning to go on crusade. The diplomacy was unfruitful - there was no living Pope, and Edward died without ever crusading; but Rabban Sauma wrote an account of his travels in Persian. This account survives, somewhat condensed and translated into Syriac, as a chapter in the History of Yaballaha III and Rabban Sauma; this paper is a free-standing English translation of the chapter, from Paul Bedjan's Syriac edition (also published by Gorgias), with an introduction on Rabban and the Syriac Church and extensive critical commentary, otherwise difficult to come by. The account itself presents a vivid picture of the Middle Ages: Rabban toured the splendors of Constantinople, had a difficult voyage to Italy (past Etna), watched a battle, argued theology with the Cardinals, visited the Kings of France and England, and saw the coronation of the new Pope.

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Norman McLean

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