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In 1165, copies of a strange letter began
to circulate throughout Western Europe.
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It spoke of a fantastical realm,
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containing the Tower of Babel and
the Fountain of Youth –
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all ruled over by the letter’s mysterious
author: Prester John.
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Today, we know that this extraordinary
king never existed.
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But the legend of this mythical kingdom
and its powerful ruler
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would impact the decisions of European
leaders for the next 400 years.
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Prester John’s myth would propel
the age of exploration,
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inspire intercontinental diplomacy,
and indirectly begin a civil war.
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When Prester John’s letter appeared,
Europe was embroiled in the Crusades.
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In this series of religious wars,
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Europeans campaigned to seize what
they regarded as the Christian Holy Land.
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The Church vilified any faith outside
of Christianity,
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including that of the Jewish and Muslim
communities populating the region.
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Crusaders were eager to find Christian
kingdoms to serve as allies in their war.
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And they were particularly interested
in rumors of a powerful Christian king
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who had defeated an enormous
Muslim army in the Far East.
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In fact, it was a Mongol horde including
converted Christian tribes
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that had routed the army.
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But news of this victory
traveled unreliably.
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Merchants and emissaries filled gaps
in the story
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with epic poems and Biblical fragments.
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By the time the story reached Europe,
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the Mongol horde had been replaced
with a great Christian army,
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commanded by a king who shared the
Crusader’s vision
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of marching on Jerusalem.
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And when a letter allegedly written by
this so-called “Prester John” appeared,
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European rulers were thrilled.
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While the letter’s actual author
remains unknown,
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its stereotypes about the East and
alignment with European goals
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indicate it was a Western forgery.
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But despite the letter’s obvious origins
as European propaganda,
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the appeal of Prester John’s myth was too
great for the Crusaders to ignore.
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Before long,
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European mapmakers were guessing the
location of his mythical kingdom.
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In the 13th and 14th centuries, European
missionaries went East,
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along the newly revived Silk Road.
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They weren’t searching for the letter’s
author,
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who would have been over a century old;
but rather, for his descendants.
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The title of Prester John was briefly
identified
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with several Central Asian rulers,
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but it soon became clear that the Mongols
were largely non-Christian.
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And as their Empire began to decline,
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Europeans began pursuing alternate routes
to the Far East,
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and new clues to Prester John’s location.
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At the same time these explorers
went south,
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Ethiopian pilgrims began traveling north.
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In Rome, these visitors quickly
attracted the interest
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of European scholars and cartographers.
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Since Ethiopia had been converted to
Christianity in the 4th century,
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the stories of their African homeland
fit perfectly into Prester John’s legend.
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Portuguese explorers scoured Africa
for the kingdom,
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until a mix of confusion and diplomacy
finally turned myth into reality.
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The Ethiopians graciously received their
European guests,
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who were eager to do business with the
ruler they believed to be Prester John.
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Though the Ethiopians were initially
confused by the Portuguese’s
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unusual name for their Emperor,
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they were savvy enough to recognize
the diplomatic capital it afforded them.
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The Ethiopian diplomats played the part
of Prester John’s subjects,
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and the Portuguese triumphantly announced
an alliance with the fabled sovereign–
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over 350 years after the European
letter had begun the search.
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But this long-awaited partnership was
quickly tested.
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A decade later, the Sultanate of Adal,
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a regional power supported by the
Ottoman Empire, invaded Ethiopia.
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The Portuguese sent troops that helped
Ethiopians win this conflict.
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But by this time,
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it was clear that Ethiopia was not the
powerful ally Europe had hoped.
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Worse still, the increasingly intolerant
Roman Catholic Church
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now deemed the Ethiopian sect of
Christianity heretical.
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Their subsequent attempts to convert the
people they once revered
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as ideal Christians would
eventually spark a civil war,
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and in the 1630s, Ethiopia cut
ties with Europe.
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Over the next two centuries, the legend of
Prester John slowly faded into oblivion –
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ending the reign of a king who made
history despite having never existed.