ܒܪ ܨܘܡܐ Bar Ṣawma ("Son of Fasting") | |
|---|---|
| Church | Church of the East |
| See | Baghdad |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1220 |
| Died | January 1294 (aged c. 73–74) |
| Denomination | Church of the East |
| Residence | Baghdad,Maragheh |
| Occupation | Monk, ambassador, writer |
Rabban Bar Ṣawma (Syriac language:ܪܒܢ ܒܪ ܨܘܡܐ,[rɑbbɑnbɑrsˤɑwma];c. 1220 – January 1294), also known asRabban Ṣawma orRabban Çauma[2] (simplified Chinese:拉班·扫马;traditional Chinese:拉賓掃務瑪;pinyin:lābān sǎowùmǎ), was aUyghur monk turned diplomat of the "Nestorian"Church of the East in China. He is known for embarking on a pilgrimage fromYuan China toJerusalem with one of his students, Markos (later PatriarchYahballaha III). Due to military unrest along the way, they never reached their destination, but instead spent many years inIlkhanate-controlledBaghdad.
The younger Markos was eventually elected Yahballaha III,Patriarch of the Church of the East and later suggested his teacher Rabban Bar Ṣawma be sent on another mission, as Mongol ambassador to Europe. The elderly monk met with many of the European monarchs, as well as the Pope, in attempts to arrange aFranco-Mongol alliance. The mission bore no fruit, but in his later years in Baghdad, Rabban Bar Ṣawma documented his lifetime of travel. His written account of his journeys is of unique interest to modern historians, as it gives a picture ofmedieval Europe at the close of theCrusades, painted by a keenly intelligent, broadminded, and statesmanlike observer.[3]
Bar Ṣawma's travels occurred before the return ofMarco Polo to Europe, and his writings give a reverse viewpoint, of the East looking to the West.
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Rabban ("monk" in Syriac) Bar Ṣawma was born c. 1220 in or near modern-day Beijing, known then asZhongdu,[4] later asKhanbaliq under Mongol rule. According toBar Hebraeus he was ofUyghur origin.[5] Chinese accounts describe his heritage asÖngüd, aTurkic people classified as members of the "Mongol" caste under Yuan law.[6] The namebar Ṣawma is Aramaic for "Son of Fasting"[7] though he was born to a wealthy family. He was a "Church of the East Christian", and became an ascetic monk around the age of 20 and then a religious teacher for decades.
In his middle age, Rabban Bar Sauma and one of his younger students, Rabban Markos, embarked on a journey from Yuan China to make a pilgrimage toJerusalem.[8] They traveled by way of the formerTangut country,Khotan,Kashgar,Taraz in theSyr Darya valley,Khorasan (nowAfghanistan),Maragha (nowAzerbaijan) andMosul, arriving atAni in theKingdom of Georgia. Warnings of danger on the routes to southernSyria turned them from their purpose,[3] and they traveled to Mongol-controlled Persia, theIlkhanate, where they were welcomed by PatriarchDenha I of the Church of the East. The Patriarch requested the two monks to visit the court of the Mongol Ilkhanate rulerAbaqa Khan, to obtain confirmation letters for Mar Denha's ordination as Patriarch in 1266. During the journey, Rabban Markos was declared a "Nestorian" bishop. The Patriarch then attempted to send the monks as messengers back to China, but military conflict along the route delayed their departure, and they remained in Baghdad. When the Patriarch died, Rabban Markos was elected as his replacement,Yahballaha III, in 1281. The two monks traveled toMaragheh to have the selection confirmed by Abaqa, but the Ilkhanate khan died before their arrival and was succeeded by his son,Arghun.
It was Arghun's desire to form a strategic Franco-Mongol alliance with the Christian Europeans against their common enemy, the MuslimMamluk Sultanate at Cairo. A few years later, the new patriarch Yahballaha III suggested his former teacher Rabban Bar Ṣawma for the embassy, to meet with the Pope and the European monarchs.
In 1287, the elderly Bar Sauma embarked on his journey to Europe, bearing gifts and letters from Arghun to theEastern Roman emperor, the Pope, and the European kings.[3] He followed the embassy of another "Nestorian",Isa Kelemechi, sent by Arghun toPope Honorius IV, in 1285.[9][10]
Rabban Bar Sauma traveled with a large retinue of assistants, and 30 riding animals. Companions included the Church of the East Christian (archaon) Sabadinus; Thomas de Anfusis (or Tommaso d'Anfossi),[11] who helped as interpreter and was also a member of a famousGenoese banking company;[12] and an Italian interpreter named Uguetus or Ugeto (Ughetto).[13][14] Bar Sauma likely did not speak any European languages, though he was known to be fluent in Chinese, Turkic, and Persian, and he was able to read Syriac.[15] Europeans communicated to him in Persian.[16]
He traveled overland through Armenia to either theEmpire of Trebizond or through theSultanate of Rum to theSimisso[17] on theBlack Sea, then by boat toConstantinople, where he had an audience withAndronicus II Palaeologus. Bar Sauma's writings give a particularly enthusiastic description of the beautifulHagia Sophia.[3] He next traveled to Italy, again journeying by ship. As their course took them past the island ofSicily, he witnessed and recorded the great eruption ofMount Etna on 18 June 1287. A few days after his arrival, he also witnessed a naval battle in theBay of Sorrento onSt. John's Day, 24 June 1287, during the conflict of theSicilian Vespers. The battle was between the fleet ofCharles II (whom he callsIrid Shardalo, i.e. "Il re Charles Due"), who had welcomed him in his realm, andJames II of Aragon, king ofSicily (whom he callsIrid Arkon, i.e. "Il re de Aragon"). According to Bar Sauma, James II was victorious, and his forces killed 12,000 men.
He next traveled to Rome, but too late to meet PopeHonorius IV, who had recently died. So Bar Sauma instead engaged in negotiations with thecardinals,[3] and visitedSt. Peter's Basilica.
Bar Sauma next made stops inTuscany (Thuzkan) and theRepublic of Genoa, on his way to Paris. He spent the winter of 1287–1288 in Genoa, a famous banking capital.[12] In France (Frangestan), he spent one month with KingPhilip the Fair, who seemingly responded positively to the arrival of the Mongol embassy, gave him numerous presents, and sent one of his noblemen,Gobert de Helleville, to accompany Bar Sauma back to Mongol lands. Gobert de Helleville departed on 2 February 1288, withclercs Robert de Senlis and Guillaume de Bruyères, as well asl'arbalétrier (crossbowman) Audin de Bourges. They joined Bar Sauma when he later returned through Rome and accompanied him back to Persia.[18][19]
InGascony in southern France, which at that time was in English hands, Bar Sauma met KingEdward I of England, probably in the capital ofBordeaux. Edward responded enthusiastically to the embassy, but ultimately proved unable to join a military alliance due to conflict at home, especially with theWelsh and theScots.
Upon returning to Rome, Bar Sauma was cordially received by the newly electedPope Nicholas IV, who gave him communion onPalm Sunday, 1288, allowing him to celebrate his ownEucharist in the capital of Latin Christianity.[3] Nicholas commissioned Bar Sauma to visit the Christians of the East, and entrusted to him a precious tiara to be presented to Mar Yahballaha[3] (Rabban Bar Sauma's former student, Markos). Bar Sauma then returned to Baghdad in 1288, carrying messages and many other gifts from the various European leaders.[20]
The delivered letters were in turn answered by Arghun in 1289, forwarded by the Genoese merchantBuscarello de Ghizolfi, a diplomatic agent for the Il-khans. In the letter to Philip IV, Arghun mentions Bar Sauma:[21]
"Under the power of the eternal sky, the message of the great king, Arghun, to the king of France..., said: I have accepted the word that you forwarded by the messengers under Saymer Sagura (Rabban Bar Sauma), saying that if the warriors of Il Khaan invade Egypt you would support them. We would also lend our support by going there at the end of the Tiger year’s winter [1290], worshiping the sky, and settling in Damascus in the early spring [1291].
If you send your warriors as promised and conquer Egypt, worshiping the sky, then I shall give you Jerusalem. If any of our warriors arrive later than arranged, all will be futile and no one will benefit. If you care to please give me your impressions, and I would also be very willing to accept any samples of French opulence that you care to burden your messengers with.
I send this to you by Myckeril and say: All will be known by the power of the sky and the greatness of kings. This letter was scribed on the sixth of the early summer in the year of the Ox at Ho’ndlon."
— France royal archives[22]
The exchanges towards the formation of an alliance with the Europeans ultimately proved fruitless, and Arghun's attempts were eventually abandoned.[2] However, Rabban Bar Sauma did succeed in making some important contacts which encouraged communication and trade between the East and West. Aside from King Philip's embassy to the Mongols, the Papacy also sent missionaries such asGiovanni da Montecorvino to the Mongol court.
After his embassy to Europe, Bar Sauma lived out the rest of his years in Baghdad. It was probably during this time that he wrote the account of his travels, which was published in French in 1895 and in English in 1928 asThe Monks of Kublai Khan, Emperor of China orThe History of the Life and Travels of Rabban Sawma, Envoy and Plenipotentiary of the Mongol Khans to the Kings of Europe, and Markos Who as Mar Yahbh-Allaha III Became Patriarch of theChurch of the East in Asia, translated and edited by SirE. A. Wallis Budge. The narrative is unique for its observations of medieval Europe during the end of the Crusading period, through the eyes of an observant outsider from a culture thousands of miles away.
Rabban Bar Sauma died in 1294, in Baghdad.
Rabban Bar Sauma's travel narrative has been translated into English twice:
A critical edition of the Syriac text with an English translation was published in 2021:
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| Tang dynasty |
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| Yuan dynasty |
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