I hope you realise that these episodes are immensely valuable works for human history and technology. Never really in the past have humans had information like this so freely accessible at their fingertips on demand from any place. This concept of being able to do that is incredibly valuable. Thank you.
Yeah it's really amazing that technology can just give us information and knowledge like this wherever for example I'm on the toilet taking a poop right now but I still get to hear a first-hand account of what medieval Europe appeared to a Chinese exporter
I'm 10 minutes in the video and there wasn't any real description of medieval Europe from chinese view. Just communications and "great cities". Your title fits more than the original one.
Rabban Sawma: Say great king philip Philip: Yes Rabban Sawma: I've heard you burned the templars to the stake is that true? Philip: funny rumors of course hahaha...........
@Lianhua Xin I used to be into the crusades (Thanks Assassin's Creed). but never did I read anything about ( besides territory) What Europeans actually gained from holding lands. interesting Now you've got me thinking. I honestly assumed my nation (England) to be to dumb at that point, to have such long trade routes and hold them without to much problem
@@mpb6491 But non of the European kingdoms would have held the trade routes, even if they had conquered the whole of the Middle East. All the Crusader kingdoms were independent states that levied taxes and tolls for themselves. The reason why the Crusades were undertaken was the same reason the allies undertook World War Two. The Muslims were an aggressive power that had conquered half the Christian world over the previous 400 years and who were constantly raiding and enslaving Christians. The Crusades were defensive wars undertaken to check the power of a hostile neighbour who sought to conquer them.
Rabban Bar Sawma: "Let us chat about Jerusalem" King Phillip if France: "War! Everyone, let's go! Mongols and France unite!" Rabban Bar Sawma: "Ummm, yeah...could I see you Churches?" ***Awkward Silence*** Next day Rabban Bar Swama: "Is this the road to England?"
That is the journey of a lifetime, and he did it at an old age, imagine how crazy is that when he was sailing on the Italian Sea he saw a volcanic eruption and then when he arrived in Naples a war was happening and a new King took over and in a way he was Emissary of these news.
Oh well that would be usual administration for italians, you can't do without the emperor and the pope fighting or some italian states bickering every single day
It’s worth noting that the reason for the confusion of the cardinals regarding the Nestorian Christians is that the Western Catholic Church has essentially lost all contact with the Eastern Christians after the Muslims shattered the Sassanian Empire. They may have been aware (via the Byzantines and Crusader states) that the Caliphates moved most of the church hierarchy from Edessa to Baghdad, but at this point the West generally believed the Mongols had totally flattened the city, with no survivors. Most likely the framing of the cardinals’ question about which quarter of the world the delegation came from was that they were unsure if they were Copts, Greeks, Armenians or oyhers. Pæå
@@historyrepeat402 I think the word "quarter" here wasn't used in the sense of a numerical fourth of the world, but rather its other meaning denoting a specific area. Like they were basically asking what country or part of the world they were from.
@S Utter nonsense. The common man may have believed the Earth was flat, if given any reason to even think on it, but all educated men since the days of classical Greece knew that the Earth was round and even its size to within less than a hundred miles. 'Quarter' was meant to be a region, such as how cities may be divided into the 'royal quarter' 'merchants quarter' 'foreign quarter' and so on.
@@MerkhVision Especially since in Romance Languages like Spanish/Portuguese at least, "cuarto/quarto" also means "room", or "dwelling place," the way in English (via French) "quarters" is a semi-antiquated way of saying 'room'. "I went back to my quarters".
There are, but they live in Louisiana. I don't know about Quebec, but they seem at least passive-aggressive on the matter of leaving Canada and becoming French citizens again.
Jesus, this man walked through more history than possibly any man alive. Mongol Empire. Byzantines during arab invasion. Etna eruption. When Frsnce got its foothold in Naples, which is huhely important to the future Borgias, Medicis, and Machavelli. In italy when a Pope died. Goes to France and meets the dude who destroys the Templars and steals the Papacy. Meets Longshanks the dude who leads to William Wallace and Scottish independence. And sets up a future crusade the whole time. Wow
Seljuks were not Arabs, they were Turks. Arabic attack on Constantinople was in 7th century. Last but not least, the Byzantian Empire was not under invasion, those parts had become Seljuk Empire like 1-2 centuries ago.
Yes. Back in the days when a vacation in Europe was an extraordinary thing. And the books and reports you could write based on what you witnessed would be valued highly.
@@Dayvit78 to be fair, this was a pilgrimage, and visiting sites of religious renown was part and parcel of absorbing the essence of what was known about Jesus in the land of the Franks. Europeans take relics and put them into their museums. East Asians take notes and display them for the public. I'm actually not sure which one is more intrusive. But one of them seems to be sanctioned by both parties as legal.
@@tombingham7455 Huh? Where did this talk about the fake Jerusalem come from? What are you talking about? That kinda came out of the blue. What are you trying to say?
@@zhouwu Pardon me, I didn’t mean to erase the comment. Now to answer your question. Now this isn’t a popular concept, so I understand if you don’t believe it at first. The real Jerusalem fell a long time ago. What you see now is nothing short of a copy. The site was never in the Middle East.
Both the French and the Mongols were formidable. I would not for a million ducats be in the shoes of the Muslim holder of Jerusalem if both the French and Mongols attack
The whole thing is very professional and business like, he had a difficult and important job to do and did it without messing around. Maybe there was another account about the food and drink and funny habits of the foreigners but this is for the official record.
Rabban Sawma was a from the Ongud tribe, it was one of the christian tribes of Mongols. The Ongud are mentioned in the Secret History of Mongols. They supported Genghis Khan and later Kublai Khan. If I'm not mistaken Rabban Sawma made his journey during Kublai's reign in Great Yuan. He probably spoke Mongolian or Turkic. I wonder how he communicated with these Kings and Emperors. On the side, I can't say for certain that I have ever met someone from this tribe. I am Mongolian and my tribe is a contemporary of his maybe even older. I wonder if any Ongud people survive and identify with their tribe.
He probably either spoke Greek (the Nestorians had a fair bit of cultural exchange with the Byzantine Church), which most high-level Christian scholars at least knew a little of, or he may have acquired a Greek-Muslim translator for translating from Greek to Latin, which was the lingua franca.
Many Ongud were highly Sinonized during Yuan Dynasty and were using names in Chinese styles, so I guess many of them were assimilated by Han Chinese. Actually Ongud was a tribe that lived in the south of Gobi desert and had more contact with agricultural people. They even served as guards of the Great Wall for Jin Dynasty before they join Genghis Khan (which is the reason why Mongols could easily penetrate the Great Wall defenses during their war against Jin Dynasty).
Onguds are in Inner Mongolia, around the area they historically lived in had cultural remnants of their Nestorian past, even though they became Tibetan Buddhists. Also, Queen Mandukhai was from Ongud tribe.
Not really as an independent people, but descendants of the Onguds are both some of the Last Nestorians/Logosophics and Manichees remaining in the country in the modern era
@@luxborealis He spoke perfect persian. Mongol/turkic being his native tongue, while having complete mastery over han chinese. His greek or latin would be very limited, if any at all. But persian/greek or latin translator are plenty to come by in the near east. His record in han chinese is limited, thus he never came to anyone's attention until fairly recently by historians of our time. Because most of his stories were kept in the old syrian script - in good condition, just most people didnt know how to read it, or cared enough to read it. Certainly its not easy to find a chinese scholar who could read old syrian.
That’s actually a plot point for War and Peace: ua-cam.com/video/tEY2DsigZ6s/v-deo.html Since battle largely consisted of formations, the biggest danger would be roaming patrols of light cavalry, who may or may not respect that you are civilians depending on time and era.
This one was especially cool. I love these kinds of stories in fiction so knowing that these epic voyages into distant and different lands happened for real before the age of discovery is captivating.
I like how all these historical Kings are like "who dis?" and he's like "Christian pilgrim from far east, wanna talk about Jerusalem and show me your churches?" and every single one is just delighted and rolls out the red carpet.
Nestorian Christianity had a long history in China and Central Asia beginning in the 7th century. It's very sad that this ancient school of Christianity has been mostly forgotten and is now only practiced in a small region of Iraq called Assyria.
@@greatwolf5372 I appreciate the kind words bro. Heres Assyrian warrior Beneil Dariush representing us in the UFC just a minute ago 👊 www.reddit.com/r/MMA/comments/i6ay03/spoiler_beneil_dariush_vs_scott_holtzman/
Imagine what an adventure this was. Rabban Sawma was already well into his middle age when he started his pilgrimage. He could've retired and lived simply and easily back home, but he went out and traveled a decent chunk of the known world, meeting kings and seeing history. May we all strive to be a little more like him.
Yes, what struck me is that both the eastern Roman Emperor and the Khan remark about how tired Bar Sawma looked. It was certainly an adventure, but not the easy globe treks that some of the more affluent in today's society often make. It's really sobering to me that adventures back then took a toll on your body!
What I loved was the fact that, despite Bar Sawma being 'Nestorian' and formally considered to be part of a sect considered heretical to the western Latin Christian princes, as well as to the Roman Emperors alike, and yet, the King of England still asked him to lead in offering the sacrifice of the Eucharist. They would've been used to the Mass in Latin, but they must've been fascinated as this Asian man began to chant the prayers and psalms in Syriac! I think most traditionalists in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches today would find such ecumenism unacceptable.
@Johannes Terzis There's East (Jerusalem) and then there's East (China). Jerusalem might well be further from China than it is from Europe. And let's not forget that Jesus is still contentious, especially among His own people, with His own relatives.
@MARK Antoninus Let me just assume you're a brother in the Lord. Let's leave this world and all its holdings. What use are they for us? We're strangers and sojourners here, like our father Abraham. If they want to kick us out and return to worship stones and wood and gold and silver and such like, and become like the lifeless things they worship, with eyes, but cannot see, with ears, but cannot hear, with a mouth, but cannot speak, with feet, but cannot walk, even if we reasoned with them, they will still do so. Therefore, whatever they sow, let them reap. The return of our Lord approaches. The days are getting darker, so our shining presence will get brighter. By their own tongues, they confess they are defendants of the vanquished foes. If they, therefore, pick up the rebellion of their ancestors, then they are continuing their transgressions. For God has already established His King on the Heavenly Mount Zion. The Decree has gone out, and God shall not Repent. Why then do the nations rage and the peoples plot a vain thing? Our Lord has them all in derision. The Righteous, Sinless One, they crucified, and raise up their voices with His murderers. The god of this age has blinded the eyes of the unbelievers, that they should not see the Glory that illuminates from the Face of our Lord. A Light brighter than the sun in radiance, for it is the Face of God Himself, piercing the divide between the human spirit and the human soul. Mystery of mysteries, God Himself has entered into human history. On Earth, a Stranger. Always in danger. Yet, even in death, He comes out Victorious, smelling not only of roses, but also Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh!
"Meanwhile Rabban Sawma and his companions sat upon the roof the mansion in which they lived, and they admired the way in which the Franks waged war for they attacked none of the people except those who were actually combatants". What an absolutely beautiful way to put the nail on the coffin of the idea of Medieval depravity in war. This UA-cam channel is a treasure of valuable sources!
except it absolutly doesnt. European chroniclers say that in later june the aragonese started ravaging the countryside. WhenRabban Sawma already left for rome.
I just read a book talking about this guy. Also, for those using the term "Nestorian" that's a misnomer. Its better to call this denomination, "The Church of the East" as they called themselves. It is also due that Nestor became increasingly irrelevant in their theology and liturgy plus if I remember correctly in a councip they upholded a Christology that is not Nestorian.
maybe say church of the east/nestorian? seeing as Nestorian is by far the more commonly recognizable word even if it may not exactly be correct from a in denominational perspective. like how we still use the word byzantine even though it was not often used within the empire itself, or how the muslims often called the catholic crusaders franks even though many were not actually Frankish.
Calling them Nestorian is a bit like calling the Catholic Church "The Petrine", because the apostolic succession of the Roman church was founded by St. Peter. I mean, it's not entirely incorrect, it's just kinda arbitrary.
Enthused Norseman yah, but the big difference here is that “nestorian” is the more widely known term from a western perspective. so from a perspective of plain recognizability there is that.
People complaining about cultural appropriation when they see two people sharing their cultures should have to watch these videos of people almost 1000 years ago being more progressive than them.
@@levitatingoctahedron922 you and those who complain of cultural appropriation have the same mindset. Technology can't be definitively attributed to one place or people. It is the product of small improvements and additions from many peoples throughout our time on this planet
@@levitatingoctahedron922 "At Oboui they excavated an undated iron forge yielding eight consistent radiocarbon dates of 2000 BC. This would make Oboui the oldest iron-working site in the world,"
"The Lebombo bone from the mountains between Swaziland and South Africa may be the oldest known mathematical artifact.[24] It dates from 35,000 BCE and consists of 29 distinct notches that were deliberately cut into a baboon's fibula."
"Anthropologist Peter Schmidt discovered through the communication of oral tradition that the Haya in Tanzania have been forging steel for nearly 2000 years. This discovery was made accidentally while Schmidt was learning about the history of the Haya via their oral tradition. He was led to a tree which was said to rest on the spot of an ancestral furnace used to forge steel. When later tasked with the challenge of recreating the forges, a group of elders who at this time were the only ones to remember the practice, due to the disuse of the practice due in part to the abundance of steel flowing into the country from foreign sources. In spite of their lack of practice, the elders were able to create a furnace using mud and grass which when burnt provided the carbon needed to transform the iron into steel. Later investigation of the area yielded 13 other furnaces similar in design to the recreation set up by the elders. These furnaces were carbon dated and were found to be as old as 2000 years, whereas steel of this caliber did not appear in Europe until several centuries later.[62][63] Two types of iron furnaces were used in Sub-Saharan Africa: the trench dug below ground and circular clay structures built above ground. Iron ores were crushed and placed in furnaces layered with the right proportion of hardwood. A flux such as lime sometimes from seashells was added to aid in smelting. Bellows on the side would be used to add oxygen. Clay pipes on the sides called tuyères would be used to control oxygen flow."
@@MrSafior My impression is that the massacre of Beziers, because of how shocking it was even at the time, came to be associated in the public mind with the entire Albigensian crusade. Which is probably not a right association. The Albigensian crusade was bloody, for sure, as the local Cathar civilians put up a stiff resistance. Still, i wonder it would be as shocking in comparison to Mongolian wars
What an amazing journey, to go so far, distant kingdoms, witnessing volcano eruption and war being waged in the field.. Yet wherever he went, he was well received. A testament to the humanity in ALL of us.
This is the closest possible experience one could imagine to being there, a time machine of sorts if you wish, whereby the narrator perfectly captures the setting and epochs of discovery through primary sources. The word is used too often nowadays where it has lost some of its esteem, but this was "epic".
Wow, I was really expecting some terrible twist or something, but it really sounds like this man had an amazing journey. I am pleasantly surprised, honestly this kind of stuff makes my day.
Very proud to be part of this ancient church that has such an amazing history, legacy, and contributions to mankind, unfortunately forgotten by most of the world now.
@@lam1991hahaha and when they greeted the British ambassador just before the first Opium War they addressed him in Latin. Because that was the language they had used to communicate with the people from the west since their first contact with the Romans. I like to joke that that's why the British got mad and declared the Opium War, not because of the tea and opium, but because the ambassador was offended that the Chinese thought that the British were Catholics by talking to him in Latin. (If you don't get it it's because they were protestants)
@@lam1991hahaha Thais call Europeans "Ferenghi" which comes from "Frank" I believe.The matter is very similar to the word for "Greek" in many middle eastern and even far eastern languages-it's Yunan -or some similar word and it comes from the fact that the first Greeks that Middle Eastern cultures came into contact with were the Ionian Greeks who colonized what the coastal areas of what is now Turkey.Even the ancient Indians called the Greeks "Javana." as does the Bible in original Hebrew.
@@JBGARINGAN How did the Chinese know how to speak Latin -I would presume because of the famous highly educated Jesuit missionaries who were trying to convert the Chinese to Catholicism and almost succeeded in converting the emperor at one stage but Rome was too intransigent in insisting that converted Chinese use Latin and become europeanized as well as christianized.It's called "The rites controversy.
5:03 Irid probably comes from Italians calling them something like "Il Re" (the king) and Shardalo comes from the Charles, likely pronounced in the French Fashion (Sharlay) as French was his native toungue, whereas King James of Aragon, Irid Arkon, might have has his name spoken in some form of Latin "iaco" (yawko) for those wondering why the names seems so disimilar
Wasn't there a "marco polo bridge incident" between the japanese and the chinese right before ww2? Like i don't want to say marco polo has been to east asia or hasn't been but still. It could be named way after marco polo visited though.
It amazes me how far and how well he seems to have communicated with peoples he never even met before. People who say ancient people are dumb dont ever look closer at this kind of stuff
There was a long standing legend in medieval Europe called "Prester John" -it was believed that there was a powerful Christian monarch somewhere in the East and one of the motives for the portuguese and other explorations was to find this monarch and enlist him in the fight against Muslims.The empire of Abyssinia a Christian power,was thought to be it at one stage but it probably refers to the Mongols many of whom were Nestorian Christians,including I believe one of the wives of Genghis Khan and key generals who were her offspring.
Wasn't Prester John usually believed to live in Africa? And isn't it generally accepted that the "real" version of that was Ethiopia? AFAIK the legend originates with Christian Egypt and the knowledge that Christianity had spread further south but that contact had been severed by the expanse of Islam.
@hedgehog3180 This comment is 3 years old but the supposed location of prester john changed was believed to be somewhere in Central Asia until the mongol invasions. After 1250 people began to believe prester john was in Ethiopia. So during the time of the video the prester John myth would've been associated with central Asia.
For a Chinese man to see these things must be like having visited another planet. Remember, there was no internet or media back then. He had no idea what Europe would look like.
Parsya o_o I’m surprised he didn’t comment more on what he saw, but he had already lived in foreign lands like Baghdad, so it must not have been all that strange seeing other foreign lands as he was probably use to it.
"Hey! Let's sit on the rooftop and watch the war!" They didn't have Netflix back then after all. Can you imagine? What a journey.Even today being able to go and see all those amazing places would be incredible.
@@Peasant_of_Pontus what about the hieroglyphics on the walls? Those are much better than the papyrus paper and I'd argue just as good as clay tablets. We still have modern examples of both. The Rosetta Stone a stone tablet is what helped us translate their long lost language. Not many people these days know that the modern people of Egypt are not the ancient people of Egypt, they are Arabs and speak Arabic. They really should. Don't wanna end up doing the Egyptian walk dance in front of an Arab Egyptian and getting yelled at. 😲
Unknown, only that it was in Baghdad. Most likely it was converted to a mosque when the city was reconquered from the Mongols; this was an easy way for a conqueror to both cater to the Muslim majority while also making the Christians dependent on the conqueror for new church plots.
This is extremely interesting for anyone who knows Christianity. Especially during this period, as the [Nestorian] Church of the East was, and still is, out of communion with both Greek/Eastern Orthodox and Latin Christianity since the 5 century. But he still recieved the Eucharist in Rome and served the Eucharist to the King of England. Truly intriguing.
It says he was an ambassador from Arghun, the ruler of the Ilkhanate (which spawned around Persia). Although Rabban Sawma (as I understand) was himself a Mongol from Mongolia, the mission didn't start in China.
Someone needs to dig on this and make a moviie or something. I'm so glad I'm subscribed and I don't know what holiwood filmakers are thinkng about but your channel is a huge source of wonder and insight into ancient civilizations and connections that honestly I didn't even know they existed.
It is always fascinating what place Jerusalem had in the mind of medieavel people. That kept going, i heard that even columbus used Jerusalem as an argument for the funding of his travel to West.
"Meanwhile, Rabban Sawma and his companions sat on the roof of the mansion of which they lived and they admired the way the Franks waged war, for they attacked none of the people except those who were actually combatants" Oh no
Massacres of civilians were really quite rare at the time. After all you don't want to kill the workforce of the land you're trying to steal when your entire revenue's going to come from taxing it.
Rabban Bar Sawma: "This sea is a very terrible sea, and many thousands have perished within." The Mediterranean: "Bro, I'm just s- I'm just sitting here."
Maybe one sailor was telling him about this shipwreck and that other one, and our boy might have misunderstood it, thinking that the sea was dangerous. Problems with translation, maybe.
I feel like this could easily be made into a travel comedy, his use of Aramaihic honorific is also very interesting, reminds me of Indian Orthodox Christians.
Wikipedia says that Rabban Sawma spoke no European languages, so the Europeans communicated with him in Persian. Is that true? How did all the Italians, French, and English monarchs, noblemen, and clergymen he met know how to speak Persian in the 13th century?
Now this is an Epic Journey. To go into unknown lands and cross unknown seas and learn the beliefs of the people and see with his own eyes all there was to see of the Monuments raised to pay homage to their beliefs. An undertaking that took years to accomplish with immense & unseen/unknown (at the time), danger all around him and his companions and yet he succeeded in his mission. Really incredible history, thank you for the re-telling :)
In 1287, Constantinople was a small shadow of what it had been. The 4th Crusade had sacked the city and carried away almost everything of value. A quote from Speros Vryonis, historian: For three days they murdered, raped, looted and destroyed on a scale which even the ancient Vandals and Goths would have found unbelievable. Constantinople had become a veritable museum of ancient and Byzantine art, an emporium of such incredible wealth that the Latins were astounded at the riches they found. Though the Venetians had an appreciation for the art which they discovered (they were themselves semi-Byzantines) and saved much of it, the French and others destroyed indiscriminately, halting to refresh themselves with wine, violation of nuns, and murder of Orthodox clerics. The Crusaders vented their hatred for the Greeks most spectacularly in the desecration of the greatest Church in Christendom. They smashed the silver iconostasis, the icons and the holy books of Hagia Sophia, and seated upon the patriarchal throne a whore who sang coarse songs as they drank wine from the Church's holy vessels. The estrangement of East and West, which had proceeded over the centuries, culminated in the horrible massacre that accompanied the conquest of Constantinople.
They did actually, I don't remember full details but the Christians made a small alliance with the Mongols upon their arrival in the Middle East. Pretty sure it was with one of Genghis Khans sons.
It would seem that the arrival of Chinese Christians messed mightily with the minds of the folks they encountered. "Uh...who are you?" is a refrain here 😅 😂 🤣
This is the only historical account I have heard describing any sea as _The Italian Sea,_ and as if that weren't surprising enough, I hear, “It is a terrible sea.” Perceptions (and tourism) have really changed since then.
@@greatalexander3820 Ocean? Lol i had a south african friend constantly calling seas "oceans". And i was calling the indian ocean and atlantic ocean surrounding south africa "seas" lol. (My country is surrounded by seas in three sides. One could say 2 and a half sides.) :D
@@briaormead4239 Yeah, the Mediterranean is a sea but it didn't really seem to fit the sentence (made the sea rather unpleasant just sounds clunky to me, I don't know why) and I figured the difference between a sea and an ocean are minor enough that it would not really matter.
This is absolutely phenomenal!!!! I almost can't wrap my mind around this....the distances traveled, the knowledge of foreign dignitaries, the ability to communicate with said dignitaries...
I don’t fully remember what I read about Rabban Sawma, but I’m pretty sure I recall that he wasn’t an ethnic Han Chinese-subject under a Mongol-ruled dynasty over the region that is China, yes, but not exactly what we think of when we think of “Chinese visitor to medieval Europe”. I think he was some sort of Sogdian or Middle Easterner? I could be wrong on the ethnicity, though.
ZhangK71 He wasn’t Han Chinese, but he was ‘Asian’ and born in Beijing. According to Bar Hebraeus he was of Uyghur origin. Chinese accounts describe his heritage as Öngüd, a Turkic people classified as members of the "Mongol" caste under Yuan law. His name is probably confusing you since it’s kind of middle eastern. “The name bar Ṣawma is Aramaic for "Son of Fasting" though he was born to a wealthy family. He was a follower of the "Nestorian" faith, and became an ascetic monk around the age of 20 and then a religious teacher for decades.” Essentially, his name is Aramaic (a middle eastern language) because the people who spread Nestorian Christianity in China were Assyrians from the Middle East and his family changed their name after converting, but he wasn’t ethnically middle eastern. Rabban was sent by the mongol ruler (Arghun) to seek an alliance with the franks against the muslims. Arghun was a devout Buddhist, but he was pro-Christian and anti-Muslim. The mongols were increasingly more anti-Muslim due to Assyrians Christians like Isa Kelemechi who told Khubilai (the mongol emperor) the Muslim precept of "Kill the polytheists, all of them", raising the suspicion of the Mongols towards Muslims. Arghun also had christian sympathies because his mother was probably a Christian. Arghun even swore to convert to Christianity and be baptised in Jerusalem once the crusaders helped him conquer it. The franks and mongols were actually planning to do so around 1290s but it came far too late even though King Edward was enthusiastically for it, but its implementation was continuously delayed. “In 1291, Pope Nicholas IV proclaimed a new Crusade and negotiated agreements with Arghun, Hetoum II of Armenia, the Jacobites, the Ethiopians and the Georgians. On January 5, 1291, Nicholas addressed a vibrant prayer to all the Christians to save the Holy Land, and predicators started to rally Christians to follow Edward I in a Crusade. However, the efforts were too little and too late. On May 18, 1291, Saint-Jean-d'Acre was conquered by the Mamluks in the Siege of Acre.” I hope that explains everything about that period of history.
I hope you realise that these episodes are immensely valuable works for human history and technology.
Never really in the past have humans had information like this so freely accessible at their fingertips on demand from any place.
This concept of being able to do that is incredibly valuable.
Thank you.
yeah this is why it needs to be burned. sry i ment treasured
@DRS_ au sincerely, for all our sakes, hope that isn't true.
This is correct, I can confirm.
Yeah it's really amazing that technology can just give us information and knowledge like this wherever for example I'm on the toilet taking a poop right now but I still get to hear a first-hand account of what medieval Europe appeared to a Chinese exporter
@@bleachguy64 It's better to take poops while reading a book, just in case there isn't toilet paper.
1. Meet with local sovereign
2. Talk about Jerusalem
3. Visit local churches
4. Spend the night in Akhet Khufu
5. Cast off from Tura North and spend the day with the phyle.
This one got me, that was a classic video.
Imagine becoming a meme in a few thousand years because of your diary.
Dont forget to meet inspector merer
@@firewarrior776 Uh...
Hopefully not, with the stuff I would write if I had a diary.
Alternate video title: Man Has Very Nice Vacation
Rabban Sawma is very interested in your local churches.
I would cut off both legs to get this guy's tourist experiences
He even got to admire the European method of war.
I'm 10 minutes in the video and there wasn't any real description of medieval Europe from chinese view. Just communications and "great cities". Your title fits more than the original one.
nackteHintern Rabban describes nothing really. That’s the hilarious part.
Rabban Sawma: we want to talk about the matter of Jerusalem.
Every single European monarch: you had my interest, but now you have my attention.
Those are the magic words for free stuff
Rabban Sawma: Say great king philip
Philip: Yes
Rabban Sawma: I've heard you burned the templars to the stake is that true?
Philip: funny rumors of course hahaha...........
devanis those damn assassins cread games are getting to me.
@Lianhua Xin I used to be into the crusades (Thanks Assassin's Creed). but never did I read anything about ( besides territory) What Europeans actually gained from holding lands. interesting Now you've got me thinking. I honestly assumed my nation (England) to be to dumb at that point, to have such long trade routes and hold them without to much problem
@@mpb6491 But non of the European kingdoms would have held the trade routes, even if they had conquered the whole of the Middle East. All the Crusader kingdoms were independent states that levied taxes and tolls for themselves.
The reason why the Crusades were undertaken was the same reason the allies undertook World War Two. The Muslims were an aggressive power that had conquered half the Christian world over the previous 400 years and who were constantly raiding and enslaving Christians. The Crusades were defensive wars undertaken to check the power of a hostile neighbour who sought to conquer them.
Rabban Bar Sawma: "Hail, King Francis!"
King Phillip of France: "Close enough I guess."
Rabban Bar Sawma: "Let us chat about Jerusalem"
King Phillip if France: "War! Everyone, let's go! Mongols and France unite!"
Rabban Bar Sawma: "Ummm, yeah...could I see you Churches?"
***Awkward Silence***
Next day
Rabban Bar Swama: "Is this the road to England?"
oneday341
That King Phillip was the one who annihilated the knights Templar in France oddly enough.
@@joellaz9836 He's one of the most notorious french kings. Edward longshanks was one of the most notable of the english kings too, coincidentally.
Altrantis
Yeah. I was thinking this guy is lucky to have met two of the most notable kings of the medieval age.
i think "Francis" here probably means France as in King of France
It just amazes me how aware these ancient peoples were of each other.
@buymebluepills kek
Almost as if they lived on the same continent...
@@FireurchinProductionsByzantium they don't
@@alikhidzam3749 the continent of Eurasia.
Nothing ancient , 800 years back is fookin nothing .
That is the journey of a lifetime, and he did it at an old age, imagine how crazy is that when he was sailing on the Italian Sea he saw a volcanic eruption and then when he arrived in Naples a war was happening and a new King took over and in a way he was Emissary of these news.
Also the Pope died.
@@LegionHimself oh yeah that too, what a crazy journey.
@@LegionHimself Mar Papa!
Oh well that would be usual administration for italians, you can't do without the emperor and the pope fighting or some italian states bickering every single day
Yeah it would make a nice movie or mini series.
It’s worth noting that the reason for the confusion of the cardinals regarding the Nestorian Christians is that the Western Catholic Church has essentially lost all contact with the Eastern Christians after the Muslims shattered the Sassanian Empire. They may have been aware (via the Byzantines and Crusader states) that the Caliphates moved most of the church hierarchy from Edessa to Baghdad, but at this point the West generally believed the Mongols had totally flattened the city, with no survivors. Most likely the framing of the cardinals’ question about which quarter of the world the delegation came from was that they were unsure if they were Copts, Greeks, Armenians or oyhers. Pæå
Yea very interesting (if perfectly true) that the question was phrased as which quarter of the world rather than which half of the world
@@historyrepeat402 I think the word "quarter" here wasn't used in the sense of a numerical fourth of the world, but rather its other meaning denoting a specific area. Like they were basically asking what country or part of the world they were from.
@S Utter nonsense. The common man may have believed the Earth was flat, if given any reason to even think on it, but all educated men since the days of classical Greece knew that the Earth was round and even its size to within less than a hundred miles. 'Quarter' was meant to be a region, such as how cities may be divided into the 'royal quarter' 'merchants quarter' 'foreign quarter' and so on.
@@MerkhVision Especially since in Romance Languages like Spanish/Portuguese at least, "cuarto/quarto" also means "room", or "dwelling place," the way in English (via French) "quarters" is a semi-antiquated way of saying 'room'. "I went back to my quarters".
I also heard that even some members of Ginghis Khan court converted to Nestorianism
5:27 ~ Mongolians discover the concept of noncombatants, 1282 (colourised)
Lmfao. What, you don't kill farmers to spread fear and confusion? Back in China 20 mil. dead peasants is just Thursday.
I love how the French instantly committed their entire force to taking Jerusalem without question at the mere mention of the Holy City.
@rzomg wtf do you expect from me, taking Jérusalem ?
rzomg Some still are
There are, but they live in Louisiana.
I don't know about Quebec, but they seem at least passive-aggressive on the matter of leaving Canada and becoming French citizens again.
rzomg
Do you spend a lot of time thinking about French men?
Religion is a heluva drug.
Jesus, this man walked through more history than possibly any man alive.
Mongol Empire. Byzantines during arab invasion. Etna eruption. When Frsnce got its foothold in Naples, which is huhely important to the future Borgias, Medicis, and Machavelli. In italy when a Pope died. Goes to France and meets the dude who destroys the Templars and steals the Papacy. Meets Longshanks the dude who leads to William Wallace and Scottish independence. And sets up a future crusade the whole time.
Wow
@Eduardo Morales pales my ass
David Attenborough exists
@Eduardo Morales who?
@sick turrett So they left when he showed up. Or was I right all along?
Seljuks were not Arabs, they were Turks. Arabic attack on Constantinople was in 7th century. Last but not least, the Byzantian Empire was not under invasion, those parts had become Seljuk Empire like 1-2 centuries ago.
its litterally a dude writing about his badass vacation in europe
I think I might have said this in the comments of another one of their videos but:
Nice sona.
@@CostaCola thank
@@folfielukather8083 ^W^
Yes. Back in the days when a vacation in Europe was an extraordinary thing. And the books and reports you could write based on what you witnessed would be valued highly.
Folfie Lukather Rabban Sawma’s Excellent Adventure.
"We want to talk to you about Jerusalem."
*Continue*
Ah, but first, show me Notre Dame. And the Eiffel Tower. I really am a diplomat, not a tourist, trust me.
@@Dayvit78 The French replied that the Eiffel Tower would not be built for another 600 years.
@@Dayvit78 to be fair, this was a pilgrimage, and visiting sites of religious renown was part and parcel of absorbing the essence of what was known about Jesus in the land of the Franks. Europeans take relics and put them into their museums. East Asians take notes and display them for the public. I'm actually not sure which one is more intrusive. But one of them seems to be sanctioned by both parties as legal.
@@tombingham7455
Huh? Where did this talk about the fake Jerusalem come from? What are you talking about?
That kinda came out of the blue. What are you trying to say?
@@zhouwu Pardon me, I didn’t mean to erase the comment.
Now to answer your question. Now this isn’t a popular concept, so I understand if you don’t believe it at first.
The real Jerusalem fell a long time ago. What you see now is nothing short of a copy. The site was never in the Middle East.
Byzantine Emperor: How you feeling after that long journey man.
Nestorian Pilgrim: I feel great after looking upon your face your highness.
I think he meant upon looking at the image of the king of the christians (christian king), jesus. (maybe idk)
*insert suggestive face emoticon*
Byzantine Emperors were Christian and considered half holy. Constantinople was the center of the East Orthodox Church at the time.
@Tiago de Mello I feel great after looking upon your comment your highness
he was a real charmer wasnt he.
i bet the emperor blushed.
So, when someone ask you why are you there, just ask them to see the churches and all of the relics. Instant friends with anyone.
Basically asking a kid to show you his toys.
“So about Jerusale-“
France: “Yes”
King Phillip: I will back you with the full force of France to take the holy city
Rabban sawma: ummm yeah I'm really just here to see the Notre Dame
lmao
He had a lot of foresight. Got there before it got burnt down. Good job!
Chinese tourist befor it become mainstream
Both the French and the Mongols were formidable. I would not for a million ducats be in the shoes of the Muslim holder of Jerusalem if both the French and Mongols attack
Ironic considering he wiped out the knights Templar the guy was basically the first Scrooge mcduck
The whole thing is very professional and business like, he had a difficult and important job to do and did it without messing around. Maybe there was another account about the food and drink and funny habits of the foreigners but this is for the official record.
@@donq2957 You mean a Decameron? I don't know if all countries can come up with dozens of interesting stories though.
Right, that pretty much sums it up
Rabban Sawma was a from the Ongud tribe, it was one of the christian tribes of Mongols. The Ongud are mentioned in the Secret History of Mongols. They supported Genghis Khan and later Kublai Khan. If I'm not mistaken Rabban Sawma made his journey during Kublai's reign in Great Yuan. He probably spoke Mongolian or Turkic. I wonder how he communicated with these Kings and Emperors.
On the side, I can't say for certain that I have ever met someone from this tribe. I am Mongolian and my tribe is a contemporary of his maybe even older. I wonder if any Ongud people survive and identify with their tribe.
He probably either spoke Greek (the Nestorians had a fair bit of cultural exchange with the Byzantine Church), which most high-level Christian scholars at least knew a little of, or he may have acquired a Greek-Muslim translator for translating from Greek to Latin, which was the lingua franca.
Many Ongud were highly Sinonized during Yuan Dynasty and were using names in Chinese styles, so I guess many of them were assimilated by Han Chinese. Actually Ongud was a tribe that lived in the south of Gobi desert and had more contact with agricultural people. They even served as guards of the Great Wall for Jin Dynasty before they join Genghis Khan (which is the reason why Mongols could easily penetrate the Great Wall defenses during their war against Jin Dynasty).
Onguds are in Inner Mongolia, around the area they historically lived in had cultural remnants of their Nestorian past, even though they became Tibetan Buddhists. Also, Queen Mandukhai was from Ongud tribe.
Not really as an independent people, but descendants of the Onguds are both some of the Last Nestorians/Logosophics and Manichees remaining in the country in the modern era
@@luxborealis He spoke perfect persian. Mongol/turkic being his native tongue, while having complete mastery over han chinese. His greek or latin would be very limited, if any at all. But persian/greek or latin translator are plenty to come by in the near east. His record in han chinese is limited, thus he never came to anyone's attention until fairly recently by historians of our time. Because most of his stories were kept in the old syrian script - in good condition, just most people didnt know how to read it, or cared enough to read it. Certainly its not easy to find a chinese scholar who could read old syrian.
Everyone: "whom has send thee"
The English: "whO Are yOu!?"
Little known fact: "you" was actually formal and "thou" infomal. So I guess the English were doing it with class.
I don't know why but I read it in a cockney accent
@@galenusv7831 "WhO THa FacK R U m8?"
Iam yu
@@aaronthoming8192 Except the english kings at the time didn't speak English.
So no formal you sadly.
*Arrives in a new city*
Rabban Sawma: "Y'all got any CHURCHES I can see?"
To be honest, that's what I do too
Literally me
Imagine sitting on a rooftop and watching a medieval battle for entertainment.
Inhabitants of European cities would set up on a hillside like a picnic to watch the battles in the Napoleonic era too! Crazy
@@duskworker8469 In the American Civil War that happened quite a few times as well.
That’s actually a plot point for War and Peace:
ua-cam.com/video/tEY2DsigZ6s/v-deo.html
Since battle largely consisted of formations, the biggest danger would be roaming patrols of light cavalry, who may or may not respect that you are civilians depending on time and era.
@@mrfunnyperson100 Yeah don't hang around a battle during the Thirty Years War as a civilian.
Yeah, but imagine being shocked that the French army didn't kill civilians in it's combat. That tells you how brutal midieval china was
This one was especially cool. I love these kinds of stories in fiction so knowing that these epic voyages into distant and different lands happened for real before the age of discovery is captivating.
I like how all these historical Kings are like "who dis?" and he's like "Christian pilgrim from far east, wanna talk about Jerusalem and show me your churches?" and every single one is just delighted and rolls out the red carpet.
@@digitalbrentable It wasn't every day somebody from such a distant place would make it to Christian civilization
@@digitalbrentable Its wonderful news as a Christian yo hear your faith in the lord had reached the ends of the earth. At the time.
Nestorian Christianity had a long history in China and Central Asia beginning in the 7th century. It's very sad that this ancient school of Christianity has been mostly forgotten and is now only practiced in a small region of Iraq called Assyria.
Nothing lasts forever.
@@daithiocinnsealach1982 well we've lasted til now ;)
@@yaqo6577 Are you Assyrian? Lots of respect to you guys
@@greatwolf5372 I appreciate the kind words bro. Heres Assyrian warrior Beneil Dariush representing us in the UFC just a minute ago 👊 www.reddit.com/r/MMA/comments/i6ay03/spoiler_beneil_dariush_vs_scott_holtzman/
theres a HUGE assyrian church in my hometown in california, its really cool
*Edward Longshanks:* "We have no subject of thought except [taking Jerusalem.]"
*The Scots:* _sweating profusely_
And us Welsh!
Around this time one of Edward's sons or brothers was actually preparing or engaged in a crusade I think. So it makes sense.
Imagine what an adventure this was. Rabban Sawma was already well into his middle age when he started his pilgrimage. He could've retired and lived simply and easily back home, but he went out and traveled a decent chunk of the known world, meeting kings and seeing history. May we all strive to be a little more like him.
Yes, what struck me is that both the eastern Roman Emperor and the Khan remark about how tired Bar Sawma looked. It was certainly an adventure, but not the easy globe treks that some of the more affluent in today's society often make. It's really sobering to me that adventures back then took a toll on your body!
He may not have had a choice. When a Khan politely invites you to undertake a task, declining is not necessarily the healthier option.
This is one of the best channels on UA-cam. Nuff said.
What I loved was the fact that, despite Bar Sawma being 'Nestorian' and formally considered to be part of a sect considered heretical to the western Latin Christian princes, as well as to the Roman Emperors alike, and yet, the King of England still asked him to lead in offering the sacrifice of the Eucharist. They would've been used to the Mass in Latin, but they must've been fascinated as this Asian man began to chant the prayers and psalms in Syriac! I think most traditionalists in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches today would find such ecumenism unacceptable.
People forget that Christianity went east as it did west.
@Johannes Terzis true
Johannes Terzis yes, anyone from Europe who read the Bible and thinks it’s all about them, need to improve their reading comprehension...
@Johannes Terzis There's East (Jerusalem) and then there's East (China). Jerusalem might well be further from China than it is from Europe. And let's not forget that Jesus is still contentious, especially among His own people, with His own relatives.
@MARK Antoninus
Let me just assume you're a brother in the Lord.
Let's leave this world and all its holdings. What use are they for us?
We're strangers and sojourners here, like our father Abraham.
If they want to kick us out and return to worship stones and wood and gold and silver and such like, and become like the lifeless things they worship, with eyes, but cannot see, with ears, but cannot hear, with a mouth, but cannot speak, with feet, but cannot walk, even if we reasoned with them, they will still do so. Therefore, whatever they sow, let them reap.
The return of our Lord approaches. The days are getting darker, so our shining presence will get brighter.
By their own tongues, they confess they are defendants of the vanquished foes. If they, therefore, pick up the rebellion of their ancestors, then they are continuing their transgressions.
For God has already established His King on the Heavenly Mount Zion. The Decree has gone out, and God shall not Repent.
Why then do the nations rage and the peoples plot a vain thing? Our Lord has them all in derision.
The Righteous, Sinless One, they crucified, and raise up their voices with His murderers.
The god of this age has blinded the eyes of the unbelievers, that they should not see the Glory that illuminates from the Face of our Lord. A Light brighter than the sun in radiance, for it is the Face of God Himself, piercing the divide between the human spirit and the human soul.
Mystery of mysteries, God Himself has entered into human history. On Earth, a Stranger. Always in danger. Yet, even in death, He comes out Victorious, smelling not only of roses, but also Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh!
@Johannes Terzis True. With the rise of christianity we lost our roots. Are you greek?
"Meanwhile Rabban Sawma and his companions sat upon the roof the mansion in which they lived, and they admired the way in which the Franks waged war for they attacked none of the people except those who were actually combatants".
What an absolutely beautiful way to put the nail on the coffin of the idea of Medieval depravity in war. This UA-cam channel is a treasure of valuable sources!
except it absolutly doesnt. European chroniclers say that in later june the aragonese started ravaging the countryside. WhenRabban Sawma already left for rome.
Thanks!
I just read a book talking about this guy. Also, for those using the term "Nestorian" that's a misnomer. Its better to call this denomination, "The Church of the East" as they called themselves. It is also due that Nestor became increasingly irrelevant in their theology and liturgy plus if I remember correctly in a councip they upholded a Christology that is not Nestorian.
who is nestor?
maybe say church of the east/nestorian?
seeing as Nestorian is by far the more commonly recognizable word even if it may not exactly be correct from a in denominational perspective. like how we still use the word byzantine even though it was not often used within the empire itself, or how the muslims often called the catholic crusaders franks even though many were not actually Frankish.
I thought it was weastorian?
Calling them Nestorian is a bit like calling the Catholic Church "The Petrine", because the apostolic succession of the Roman church was founded by St. Peter. I mean, it's not entirely incorrect, it's just kinda arbitrary.
Enthused Norseman yah, but the big difference here is that “nestorian” is the more widely known term from a western perspective. so from a perspective of plain recognizability there is that.
People complaining about cultural appropriation when they see two people sharing their cultures should have to watch these videos of people almost 1000 years ago being more progressive than them.
@@levitatingoctahedron922 you and those who complain of cultural appropriation have the same mindset. Technology can't be definitively attributed to one place or people. It is the product of small improvements and additions from many peoples throughout our time on this planet
@@levitatingoctahedron922 Depends on the tech, Iron working hails from sub saharen africa for instance and a lot of tech requires that knowledge
@@levitatingoctahedron922 "At Oboui they excavated an undated iron forge yielding eight consistent radiocarbon dates of 2000 BC. This would make Oboui the oldest iron-working site in the world,"
"The Lebombo bone from the mountains between Swaziland and South Africa may be the oldest known mathematical artifact.[24] It dates from 35,000 BCE and consists of 29 distinct notches that were deliberately cut into a baboon's fibula."
"Anthropologist Peter Schmidt discovered through the communication of oral tradition that the Haya in Tanzania have been forging steel for nearly 2000 years. This discovery was made accidentally while Schmidt was learning about the history of the Haya via their oral tradition. He was led to a tree which was said to rest on the spot of an ancestral furnace used to forge steel. When later tasked with the challenge of recreating the forges, a group of elders who at this time were the only ones to remember the practice, due to the disuse of the practice due in part to the abundance of steel flowing into the country from foreign sources. In spite of their lack of practice, the elders were able to create a furnace using mud and grass which when burnt provided the carbon needed to transform the iron into steel. Later investigation of the area yielded 13 other furnaces similar in design to the recreation set up by the elders. These furnaces were carbon dated and were found to be as old as 2000 years, whereas steel of this caliber did not appear in Europe until several centuries later.[62][63]
Two types of iron furnaces were used in Sub-Saharan Africa: the trench dug below ground and circular clay structures built above ground. Iron ores were crushed and placed in furnaces layered with the right proportion of hardwood. A flux such as lime sometimes from seashells was added to aid in smelting. Bellows on the side would be used to add oxygen. Clay pipes on the sides called tuyères would be used to control oxygen flow."
This is just beautiful.
"Italian Sea"
Mussolini: Yes.
Mussolini hardly represents peak Italo-nationalism.
@@0MVR_0 ok jogga
Consider the fact that Italy already counts the surrounding environs as 'Mare Nostrum'.
Furious HMS Warspite noises.
噢嗎ØMVЯ
then how deep does that Italo-nationalism go?
Do a reading of the Pilgrimage of Egeria, the oldest account of a personal christian pilgrimage (late 4th century).
That too a woman
One of the most beautiful works
5:28 - Interesting observation. So, to a Chinese, the European medieval wars looked quite tame!
Comparing to Mongolian wars.
I don't think he would have think that if he was present during the Albigensian crusade.
@@MrSafior I don’t think there is a reason to believe the Albigensian crusade was significantly different from other medieval wars
@@jurisprudens No even back in the day, the violence of the crusade were shocking.
Especially the massacre of Béziers.
@@MrSafior My impression is that the massacre of Beziers, because of how shocking it was even at the time, came to be associated in the public mind with the entire Albigensian crusade. Which is probably not a right association.
The Albigensian crusade was bloody, for sure, as the local Cathar civilians put up a stiff resistance. Still, i wonder it would be as shocking in comparison to Mongolian wars
What an amazing journey, to go so far, distant kingdoms, witnessing volcano eruption and war being waged in the field.. Yet wherever he went, he was well received. A testament to the humanity in ALL of us.
This is the closest possible experience one could imagine to being there, a time machine of sorts if you wish, whereby the narrator perfectly captures the setting and epochs of discovery through primary sources.
The word is used too often nowadays where it has lost some of its esteem, but this was "epic".
Wow, I was really expecting some terrible twist or something, but it really sounds like this man had an amazing journey. I am pleasantly surprised, honestly this kind of stuff makes my day.
I wished he described more of the architecture and clothing. Its so fascinating to see comparisons made by people of the time
Very proud to be part of this ancient church that has such an amazing history, legacy, and contributions to mankind, unfortunately forgotten by most of the world now.
I love how he describes Christianity in the land of the Franks.
The Chinese still called Europeans Franks when they met the Portuguese in the 1500s
@@lam1991hahaha and when they greeted the British ambassador just before the first Opium War they addressed him in Latin. Because that was the language they had used to communicate with the people from the west since their first contact with the Romans. I like to joke that that's why the British got mad and declared the Opium War, not because of the tea and opium, but because the ambassador was offended that the Chinese thought that the British were Catholics by talking to him in Latin. (If you don't get it it's because they were protestants)
@@lam1991hahaha Thais call Europeans "Ferenghi" which comes from "Frank" I believe.The matter is very similar to the word for "Greek" in many middle eastern and even far eastern languages-it's Yunan -or some similar word and it comes from the fact that the first Greeks that Middle Eastern cultures came into contact with were the Ionian Greeks who colonized what the coastal areas of what is now Turkey.Even the ancient Indians called the Greeks "Javana." as does the Bible in original Hebrew.
@@JBGARINGAN How did the Chinese know how to speak Latin -I would presume because of the famous highly educated Jesuit missionaries who were trying to convert the Chinese to Catholicism and almost succeeded in converting the emperor at one stage but Rome was too intransigent in insisting that converted Chinese use Latin and become europeanized as well as christianized.It's called "The rites controversy.
@@kaloarepo288 There were probably Italian priests who spoke Latin and were living in China, and they taught Chinese priests to read Latin Bible.
5:03
Irid probably comes from Italians calling them something like "Il Re" (the king) and Shardalo comes from the Charles, likely pronounced in the French Fashion (Sharlay) as French was his native toungue, whereas King James of Aragon, Irid Arkon, might have has his name spoken in some form of Latin "iaco" (yawko) for those wondering why the names seems so disimilar
or maybe Arkon is from Aragon
So, hes reverse Marco Polo?
Except Marco Polo probably never went past Persia, and just retold stories he heard as his own adventures.
A G Nah
Lopo Comar incarnate
@@AG-ig8ufYour accusations are preposterous.
Wasn't there a "marco polo bridge incident" between the japanese and the chinese right before ww2? Like i don't want to say marco polo has been to east asia or hasn't been but still. It could be named way after marco polo visited though.
He sounds like a great fellow, I’m happy things turned out so good for him
It amazes me how far and how well he seems to have communicated with peoples he never even met before. People who say ancient people are dumb dont ever look closer at this kind of stuff
There was a long standing legend in medieval Europe called "Prester John" -it was believed that there was a powerful Christian monarch somewhere in the East and one of the motives for the portuguese and other explorations was to find this monarch and enlist him in the fight against Muslims.The empire of Abyssinia a Christian power,was thought to be it at one stage but it probably refers to the Mongols many of whom were Nestorian Christians,including I believe one of the wives of Genghis Khan and key generals who were her offspring.
Wasn't Prester John usually believed to live in Africa? And isn't it generally accepted that the "real" version of that was Ethiopia?
AFAIK the legend originates with Christian Egypt and the knowledge that Christianity had spread further south but that contact had been severed by the expanse of Islam.
@hedgehog3180 This comment is 3 years old but the supposed location of prester john changed was believed to be somewhere in Central Asia until the mongol invasions. After 1250 people began to believe prester john was in Ethiopia. So during the time of the video the prester John myth would've been associated with central Asia.
Incredible! Especially given how dangerous the long journey must be!
During the Mongol rule, the Silk Road was as safe as it could've possibly be, though.
The Italian sea was the most awful part apparently
I’m impressed they didn’t encounter any thieves or highwaymen along their journey. It seemed safer than I thought it would be.
Plus disease, injury and accidents along the route!
@@JohnSmith-il6kk plus berber pirates
For a Chinese man to see these things must be like having visited another planet. Remember, there was no internet or media back then. He had no idea what Europe would look like.
Thanks for the info.
Parsya o_o
I’m surprised he didn’t comment more on what he saw, but he had already lived in foreign lands like Baghdad, so it must not have been all that strange seeing other foreign lands as he was probably use to it.
When Marco Polo came back west, he said that he would describe the things had seen but people would scarcely believe him.
no internet ?
"bro...
Magnífic.
I'd like to see what Christians and Muslims who traveled to each other's lands had to say.
Love this channel.
You mean like the Moores and Spanish?
@@SCHMALLZZZ yeh, or the germans/Hungarians/balkans anda the turks
Velkan
It makes me wonder how Christian kings in Middle Ages Europe would greet a Muslim traveller. Would they still be really nice?
@@joellaz9836 in Iberia, Christian kingdoms would ally with the moors to fight with other Christians
William of Tyre gave some observations in a previous video. ;)
Can you do a video on Captain John Smith's 1612 account of the Powhatan Indians
I have come here to discuss the matter of...
...
***looks around***
...
...Jerusalem...
« Continue »
"Hey! Let's sit on the rooftop and watch the war!" They didn't have Netflix back then after all. Can you imagine? What a journey.Even today being able to go and see all those amazing places would be incredible.
Best primary source reading yet!
Egyptian description of trades with the Minoans
Is there any?
@Ooki Cooki To be fair, papyrus doesn't keep well compared to stone tablets, parchment or even regular paper.
@@Peasant_of_Pontus *Cuneiform flex*
@@Peasant_of_Pontus what about the hieroglyphics on the walls? Those are much better than the papyrus paper and I'd argue just as good as clay tablets. We still have modern examples of both. The Rosetta Stone a stone tablet is what helped us translate their long lost language. Not many people these days know that the modern people of Egypt are not the ancient people of Egypt, they are Arabs and speak Arabic. They really should. Don't wanna end up doing the Egyptian walk dance in front of an Arab Egyptian and getting yelled at. 😲
@@JBGARINGAN You're not gonna find mercanticle journals or stories written on temple walls mate, just some religious/dynastic stuff.
That was beautiful. And your calm and discriptive voice made it so smooth and easy to hear. Thank you.
By far, this is the BEST UA-cam channel for history related content. Thanks for getting through MANY days at work 🤘
A Beautiful story, that fills my heart with joy and gladness.
For anyone wondering, "It is meet" is an archaic way of saying "It is right".
Rabban Bar Sawma: "OMG you guys, I just saw 12,000 people die!"
All of China: "Those are rookie numbers"
but wait... They only killed the soldiers and not EVERYONE!
China: Oh wow.... you can do that?
@@TheCsel ? That's not uncommon in Chinese history either
@@TheCsel The Han Chinese don't kill civilians. The Mongol army did that. He was ethnically Chinese but lived with the Mongols.
@@alanOHALAN That's wrong. Killing a city with all its civilians is common in ancient China.
@@alanOHALAN Even in Chinese classic romance of three kingdoms, you can say this act very frequently.
so which church was built for this envoy, in which he according to the king was to recite prayers?
Maybe isis burned it already
*in which
Unknown, only that it was in Baghdad. Most likely it was converted to a mosque when the city was reconquered from the Mongols; this was an easy way for a conqueror to both cater to the Muslim majority while also making the Christians dependent on the conqueror for new church plots.
Lux Borealis makes sense. that seems pretty common in history. converting the major churches to that of the new rulers.
"I could do with a spot of hiking", he thought one day in his hometown of Beijing.
The Nestorians spoke Eastern Aramaic both as part of the liturgy and as a lingua franca for communicating with other Christians.
This is extremely interesting for anyone who knows Christianity. Especially during this period, as the [Nestorian] Church of the East was, and still is, out of communion with both Greek/Eastern Orthodox and Latin Christianity since the 5 century. But he still recieved the Eucharist in Rome and served the Eucharist to the King of England. Truly intriguing.
What an absolute *mission* from deepest China to Europe. Fair play
On horse, holy shit that's tough
@@joshlewis575 arse of granite
It says he was an ambassador from Arghun, the ruler of the Ilkhanate (which spawned around Persia). Although Rabban Sawma (as I understand) was himself a Mongol from Mongolia, the mission didn't start in China.
LazCiS he was born in what is now modern day Beijing. Technically they’re posthumously correct.
@@tiffanyhendricks1860 As if place of birth determined one's nationality.
I find this story very touching. You read it very well, thank you.
3:00 at first I legit thought for a moment, wow, even ancient accounts of expeditions to foreign lands was sponsored by Square Space!
I need a nap
Someone needs to dig on this and make a moviie or something. I'm so glad I'm subscribed and I don't know what holiwood filmakers are thinkng about but your channel is a huge source of wonder and insight into ancient civilizations and connections that honestly I didn't even know they existed.
A series.
Make a movie about a old christian visiting churches?
@@George-cr6jq Medieval slice of life adventure with historical figures and events. Lots of different architecture & culture on display.
@@SA-rb5xq well they could use marco polo writings which are a lot more exciting if this is what you want
@@George-cr6jq Marco Polo has already been done more than once.
It is always fascinating what place Jerusalem had in the mind of medieavel people.
That kept going, i heard that even columbus used Jerusalem as an argument for the funding of his travel to West.
"Meanwhile, Rabban Sawma and his companions sat on the roof of the mansion of which they lived and they admired the way the Franks waged war, for they attacked none of the people except those who were actually combatants"
Oh no
Massacres of civilians were really quite rare at the time. After all you don't want to kill the workforce of the land you're trying to steal when your entire revenue's going to come from taxing it.
@@CirageNoir More just pragmatic strategy than just compassion? Cool at least
Lol this guy really hyped up the king of france for a franco-mongol crusade only to be like, nah mate we just want to see some churches innit?
After discovering this channel, history has felt so more connected than it used to be (for me at least)
Rabban Bar Sawma: "This sea is a very terrible sea, and many thousands have perished within."
The Mediterranean: "Bro, I'm just s- I'm just sitting here."
He might have been referring to the Adriatic.
Maybe one sailor was telling him about this shipwreck and that other one, and our boy might have misunderstood it, thinking that the sea was dangerous.
Problems with translation, maybe.
A lot of people did die in that sea though
I feel like this could easily be made into a travel comedy, his use of Aramaihic honorific is also very interesting, reminds me of Indian Orthodox Christians.
the church of the East was also of Syriac/Aramaic rite and language, iirc this very story is written in syriac
Wikipedia says that Rabban Sawma spoke no European languages, so the Europeans communicated with him in Persian. Is that true? How did all the Italians, French, and English monarchs, noblemen, and clergymen he met know how to speak Persian in the 13th century?
With a translator...
Now this is an Epic Journey. To go into unknown lands and cross unknown seas and learn the beliefs of the people and see with his own eyes all there was to see of the Monuments raised to pay homage to their beliefs. An undertaking that took years to accomplish with immense & unseen/unknown (at the time), danger all around him and his companions and yet he succeeded in his mission. Really incredible history, thank you for the re-telling :)
I need '3 Historical Accounts of Chickens Wearing People Clothes // Primary Sources' as the next video or I will cry
Absolute yes 👍
I'm crying because he didn't make that video already.
Voices of the Past ...I feel like I’m missing something here...take your time as always, but also please make this video...
Beautiful clear reading 😊, very enjoyable.Thank you
In 1287, Constantinople was a small shadow of what it had been. The 4th Crusade had sacked the city and carried away almost everything of value.
A quote from Speros Vryonis, historian:
For three days they murdered, raped, looted and destroyed on a scale which even the ancient Vandals and Goths would have found unbelievable. Constantinople had become a veritable museum of ancient and Byzantine art, an emporium of such incredible wealth that the Latins were astounded at the riches they found. Though the Venetians had an appreciation for the art which they discovered (they were themselves semi-Byzantines) and saved much of it, the French and others destroyed indiscriminately, halting to refresh themselves with wine, violation of nuns, and murder of Orthodox clerics. The Crusaders vented their hatred for the Greeks most spectacularly in the desecration of the greatest Church in Christendom. They smashed the silver iconostasis, the icons and the holy books of Hagia Sophia, and seated upon the patriarchal throne a whore who sang coarse songs as they drank wine from the Church's holy vessels. The estrangement of East and West, which had proceeded over the centuries, culminated in the horrible massacre that accompanied the conquest of Constantinople.
copy and paste
Sad but true. Those "legendary" crusaders were usually something like that. Robber hordes.
Completely fascinating.
Imagine Rabban Sawma's impression when seeing the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris...
I doubt that they would have been allowed to go into the main chapel. It was reserved for the king and his family.
I got a chuckle when he said he was amazed the franks only engaged enemy combatants
A joint Crusade on Jerusalem by Europe and the Mongols. That would make for some interesting alternate history.
They did actually, I don't remember full details but the Christians made a small alliance with the Mongols upon their arrival in the Middle East. Pretty sure it was with one of Genghis Khans sons.
It would seem that the arrival of Chinese Christians messed mightily with the minds of the folks they encountered. "Uh...who are you?" is a refrain here 😅 😂 🤣
Yup.
Lovely storytelling! Thanks for uploading!
So very lovely, and what courage those men of the East had to "bear the marks of Christ," likewise those in H K. Many blessing to all
This is my favorite channel on the youtube.
Imagine: at one point in time, a Mongol backed crusade was an actual possibility.
Is it possible to get cooler than that?
Christians: Go away!
Mongol: The password is Jerusalem.
Christians: Ye shall pass.
No one said go away greeting him they showed curiosity at most and he was Christian too.
These should be on Spotify
This is the only historical account I have heard describing any sea as _The Italian Sea,_ and as if that weren't surprising enough, I hear, “It is a terrible sea.”
Perceptions (and tourism) have really changed since then.
Well he was sailing during a volcanic eruption which probably made the ocean rather unpleasant to be sailing on.
@@greatalexander3820
Ocean? Lol i had a south african friend constantly calling seas "oceans". And i was calling the indian ocean and atlantic ocean surrounding south africa "seas" lol. (My country is surrounded by seas in three sides. One could say 2 and a half sides.) :D
@@briaormead4239 Yeah, the Mediterranean is a sea but it didn't really seem to fit the sentence (made the sea rather unpleasant just sounds clunky to me, I don't know why) and I figured the difference between a sea and an ocean are minor enough that it would not really matter.
THIS is History, goddamnit. Thank you
This is like a react channel, except getting reactions from different time periods.
This is unexpectedly wholesome.
This is absolutely phenomenal!!!!
I almost can't wrap my mind around this....the distances traveled, the knowledge of foreign dignitaries, the ability to communicate with said dignitaries...
I love these videos with alternate perspectives of western history. Stay well out there everybody, and Jesus Christ be with you friends.😊
Wow, I recall commenting you should do a video on this guy. Glad you did!
I don’t fully remember what I read about Rabban Sawma, but I’m pretty sure I recall that he wasn’t an ethnic Han Chinese-subject under a Mongol-ruled dynasty over the region that is China, yes, but not exactly what we think of when we think of “Chinese visitor to medieval Europe”. I think he was some sort of Sogdian or Middle Easterner? I could be wrong on the ethnicity, though.
Interesting.
ZhangK71
He wasn’t Han Chinese, but he was ‘Asian’ and born in Beijing. According to Bar Hebraeus he was of Uyghur origin. Chinese accounts describe his heritage as Öngüd, a Turkic people classified as members of the "Mongol" caste under Yuan law.
His name is probably confusing you since it’s kind of middle eastern. “The name bar Ṣawma is Aramaic for "Son of Fasting" though he was born to a wealthy family. He was a follower of the "Nestorian" faith, and became an ascetic monk around the age of 20 and then a religious teacher for decades.”
Essentially, his name is Aramaic (a middle eastern language) because the people who spread Nestorian Christianity in China were Assyrians from the Middle East and his family changed their name after converting, but he wasn’t ethnically middle eastern.
Rabban was sent by the mongol ruler (Arghun) to seek an alliance with the franks against the muslims. Arghun was a devout Buddhist, but he was pro-Christian and anti-Muslim. The mongols were increasingly more anti-Muslim due to Assyrians Christians like Isa Kelemechi who told Khubilai (the mongol emperor) the Muslim precept of "Kill the polytheists, all of them", raising the suspicion of the Mongols towards Muslims. Arghun also had christian sympathies because his mother was probably a Christian. Arghun even swore to convert to Christianity and be baptised in Jerusalem once the crusaders helped him conquer it. The franks and mongols were actually planning to do so around 1290s but it came far too late even though King Edward was enthusiastically for it, but its implementation was continuously delayed.
“In 1291, Pope Nicholas IV proclaimed a new Crusade and negotiated agreements with Arghun, Hetoum II of Armenia, the Jacobites, the Ethiopians and the Georgians. On January 5, 1291, Nicholas addressed a vibrant prayer to all the Christians to save the Holy Land, and predicators started to rally Christians to follow Edward I in a Crusade. However, the efforts were too little and too late. On May 18, 1291, Saint-Jean-d'Acre was conquered by the Mamluks in the Siege of Acre.”
I hope that explains everything about that period of history.
Abraham Girt
That’s because it’s Jewish. Rabban means master in Judaism.
@@joellaz9836 it's Semitic, not exclusively Jewish
His name is Aramic, not Hebrew. It just has the same spelling as a different Jewish name.
I love this channel so much. Thanks for this amazing work, guys