RABBAN BAR SAUMA DOCUMENTARY - THE MARCO POLO FROM CHINA

The journey of Marco Polo, famous Venetian merchant, who in the 13th century travelled from Europe to China and met with Emperor Kublai of the Mongol Yuan dynasty, is one of the most famous stories of humanity. However, in a complete parallel to Marco Polo, one religious adventurer born in China would accomplish the exact opposite, travelling to Europe and meeting several famous khans, kings and even the pope. This is the story of Rabban Bar Sauma. The early 13th century was a period of great turmoil for China. Its north was controlled by the foreign Jurchen Jin dynasty and Tangotuestan Xia empire. However, further north, the many Mongol tribes united into a great horde through the iron will of Chinggis Khan plundered and devastated all neighbouring states. The city of Zhongdu, capital of the Jin dynasty, had been utterly destroyed by the Mongol horde in 1215 and left mostly depopulated. It is shortly after this event, around 1220 or 1225, that a boy who would accomplish an unprecedented journey through the world was born. Sources describing his exact background are slightly contradictory. Historiography usually describes him as being of Onggut origin, a mongolised Turkic people, although some sources have claimed he was a Uyghur. In any case, he was born into a wealthy family to Anshirban, a supposedly influenced citizen, and his wife Keyanta. The couple had been trying to conceive for a while and, unsuccessful, turned to prayer. Like most Ongguts, they were Nestorian Christians, a form of Eastern Christianity. This faith was developed by Nestorius, Archbishop of Constantinople in the 5th century, who had clashed with the clergy of the time for his theological views, as he claimed that Jesus Christ was not entirely of divine nature, but of both tied human and divine nature. He was subsequently declared a heretic, but his beliefs were absorbed in Persia under the Independent Church of the East. During the following centuries, Nestorian missionaries would spread the religion eastwards through Asia to Turkic and Mongol peoples. The child of the Onggut couple, in their eyes a gift from God, was named Barthsauma, son of the Fast. Not much is known about his early life, other than his parents arranging for him a good education. Growing up, he deeply embraced his parents' religion, soon becoming more pious than them. Feeling a spiritual calling, Barthsauma came to embrace an ascetic lifestyle, not engaging in drink or good foods, and refusing any kind of romantic life. In his early adulthood, his parents arranged a potential wife for him. However, by 1248, more and more estranged from his family, much to their despair, Barthsauma changed the path of his life forever. The young religious man called off the wedding, gave away all his belongings to the poor, and left the family home. The approximately 25-year-old man withdrew from the world to become a Nestorian monk. He retired to southwest Fengxian County, modern-day Fangshan district of Beijing, to live as an ascetic monk in a local monastery and pursue his theological studies. Well-versed in Nestorianism, Barthsauma soon became a renowned sage and theological teacher. After several years, he decided to settle in the local mountains to fulfill his ascetic lifestyle. The monk would thereafter regularly be visited by people seeking religious advice or aspiring monks and priests. Around 1260, though, came a teenager who was to become Barthsauma's travel companion. A developing devout Nestorian himself, son of an archdeacon, the approximately 15-year-old named Marcos had left his native town of Korsang and, overcoming physical and psychological obstacles, travelled 15 hard days to meet the sage and study from him. Although the monk did his best to discourage the boy from staying, possibly testing his determination, Marcos was not deterred and Barthsauma subsequently agreed to take him as a student. During the next years, he would teach him his lifestyle, religious knowledge and eventually ordain him a monk as well. In parallel, the geopolitical world around the disconnected monks had greatly changed. Practically all of China had completely fallen under control of the Mongol Empire and was ruled by the ambitious Khan Kublai, grandson of Genghis Khan. By 1271, Kublai founded his own Chinese-influenced Yuan Dynasty, based in Hanbaliq, the former Zhongdu, birthplace of Barthsauma. As such, the ruined city underwent considerable reconstruction, gradually turning into an imperial city, hosting the Yuan Dynasty's palaces and surrounded by huge walls. Due to infighting, the great Mongol Empire had however shattered into several independent Khanates, chief amongst them being Kublai's Yuan Dynasty. Nonetheless, the Mongol conquest of Asia gave the opportunity for merchant caravans and curious explorers to travel from east to west or vice versa, as the Mongols took great care in maintaining and protecting the road, connecting one side of the former empire to the other. Around 1275, as Kublai Khan was finishing the unification of China, battling the southern Song Dynasty, the two monks started talking of an incredible religious expedition which would take them across the known world. The young and ambitious Marcos declared that they should go to Jerusalem, the heart of the Holy Land, home to the Holy Sepulchre and many other Christian sites. By then around 50 years old, Barthsauma was initially reluctant, but his student eventually convinced him to leave the mountain. Together, they went to the capital Hanbalik to organise a caravan and escort for the great endeavour. As word spread, the local Christians either encouraged or discouraged their project given the immense challenge it presented. News most likely even spread to the Yuan Emperor Kublai himself. The monarch was very interested in religions and his own mother was an historian Christian. Some sources suggest Kublai summoned the monks and asked them to sanctify clothes by soaking them in River Jordan, the most important river in the Bible, where Jesus Christ was said to have been baptised. It is not impossible that Emperor Kublai ordered Barthsauma and Marcos with the mission of going to Jerusalem in the first place, rather than it being their own project, as the monarch aimed to extend his international relations. He already had, for instance, tasked Marco Polo's father and uncle, Niccolo and Maffeo, to bring back oil from the Holy Sepulchre after their first journey to China in 1266. If this was the case, they would have received a paiza, a Khan's passport, granting them great privileges in their journey. In any case, the two Nestorian monks were able to assemble a travelling party with another ten to fourteen men and embarked on a formidable adventure towards Jerusalem. Leaving from Khan Balik around 1275, the two Nestorian monks first made their way to Khosang, the birthplace of Marcos. Soon after arriving, local Nestorians, including Marcos' parents, came to see the unusual adventurers. The young monks' parents were reportedly devastated that their son had not returned to stay, but was embarking instead on a perilous journey to the other side of the world. Some sources claim that in Khosang, two local Mongol lords of the city, related by marriage to Kublai, summoned the monks for a talk. Unable to convince the two educated men to stay for the community, the Mongols gifted them with clothes, horses, gold and silver to prepare for the expedition. The adventurers, loyal to their ascetic beliefs, had to be convinced to accept. These gifts would indeed be much needed. The caravan moved on. After a brief stop in Yinchuan, it was time for the adventurers to enter the Southern Silk Road. Their first great challenge began, as they now had to cross through the barren Taklamakan Desert. This arduous experience took them reportedly two months, during which they would have to overcome heat, sandstorms and exhaustion. Nonetheless, they successfully reached the oasis city of Khotan, a key trading city of the Silk Road. The two monks would stay there for half a year before moving on. This protracted stop is likely to have been caused by warfare, as Haidu Khan of the Chagatai Khanate and Emperor Kublai of the Yuan Dynasty had entered constant conflict since the fragmentation of the Mongol Empire after 1260. This conflict probably led to famine and banditry in the whole region. However, the devout Nestorian monk's determination was not shaken. Bar Sauma and Marcos moved on towards their next stop, the city of Kashgar. Although known to be somewhat of a Nestorian stronghold, which Marco Polo had described as a very wealthy city, filled with bustling markets selling all kinds of crafts, the place the two adventurers arrived to was a ghost town. Recent battles between Haidu and Kublai had led to devastation and the people had fled Kashgar. Despite the circumstances, the two travellers were able to rest without falling in harm's way. By then, they had already crossed thousands of kilometres since Khanbaliq, but they were only about halfway through to their destination. Bar Sauma and Marcos moved on. Sources on the exact location of their next destination are unclear, but we know that the two monks reached the encampment of Haidu himself, described as being set at Taraz. This could be along the Talas River or the city of Taraz, which was burned down during the Mongol conquests. In any case, they crossed through the Pamir or Tien Shan mountain ranges, another tremendous obstacle they successfully crossed. Once in front of Haidu, as the Khan was still at war with his cousin, Emperor Kublai of the Yuan Dynasty, Bar Sauma and his students suddenly minimised or denied any connections to him. After reportedly praying for him and his state, they obtained from Haidu a guarantee of safe passage through the Chagatai Khanate. By now, Bar Sauma had already met two of the most important world leaders of the time. He had yet to meet many more. After being granted permission to leave, it was time for him and Marcos to continue their voyage. The crossing through the Chagatai Khanate would however be arduous, described as a journey full of fatigue and fear. Nonetheless, the travellers' experience, guarantee of safe passage and probably luck, allowed them to continue unharmed through the Khorasan region, however losing on the way most of their belongings. After weeks of journey, they finally arrived into the Ilkhanate, the southwestern most fraction of the former Mongol Empire. The two religious adventurers stopped at Tus, where they were greeted by fellow Nestorians and invited to stay at the local monastery. The hardest part of their voyage was over. After a brief moment's rest, the monks moved on. Their next objective was to reach Baghdad, the Round City, to meet Mar Dinha I, the Patriarch of the Nestorian Church. However, they would not have to travel so far. Bar Sauma and Marcos reached the city of Marogeh several weeks later, the previous capital of the Ilkhanate, which was now the summer residence of the Khans. It so happened that the Patriarch Dinha I was precisely in the city at the time. The two monks were reportedly ecstatic as they met him, and the Patriarch was astonished to learn that they had come all the way from Khanbaliq. They were promptly given accommodation in Marogeh, and over the next days regularly exchanged with Dinha I, receiving his blessings to travel to Baghdad and visit the many holy Christian sites there. However, the Patriarch soon realised these unusual travellers could come in handy for him. Indeed, the Nestorian situation in the Ilkhanate was tenuous, as tensions with Muslims was strong. Furthermore, Dinha I's position as Patriarch was controversial within the Church, and it's likely he could use these two monks sent from Khanbaliq, the capital of the nominal Supreme Khan of the Empire, for his own credibility. Dinha I soon recalled Bar Sauma and Marcos, and asked them to go to the capital Tabriz to receive official confirmation by the Ilkhan Abagha of his appointment as Patriarch of the Nestorian Church. Subsequently, the two monks travelled north and met the Mongol leader at his camp. Ilkhan Abagha was the great-grandson of Chinggis Khan, and had taken over the Ilkhanate upon the death of his father Hulegu in 1265. After presenting themselves to him, they explained their purpose and received a document of confirmation from the Ilkhan's nobles. Bar Sauma and Marcos nonetheless would not return south yet. They arranged for a messenger to deliver the documents to Dinha I, and took the opportunity to continue north to the religious city of Ani, in Zakarid Armenia, nicknamed the City of One Thousand and One Churches. After a few days of religious cruising, visiting monasteries, churches and other Christian holy sites, they intended to fulfil their initial objective, and travel to Jerusalem. However, due to devastating military conflict between the Ilkhanate and the Mamluks who controlled Jerusalem, Bar Sauma and Marcos were greatly discouraged by the people they met to pursue their holy mission. Astonishingly, although they had already faced great hardships, passing many borders between battling states, and crossing mountains and deserts, the two monks gave up on their plan. Their frustration would only increase. Shortly after, Patriarch Dinha I, aiming to use the talents of the two religious figures, summoned them to Baghdad. He appointed Marcos as metropolite for northern China, naming him Yahdallah, Syriac for God-given. Bar Sauma was appointed as a visitor general for the Church of the East. These important positions meant they had to return to China. Bar Sauma and his student were devastated, claiming they were not worthy of this, and adding, We did not come from there to go back there, nor are we minded along with the difficulty we have endured again a second time to endure it. Nonetheless, the Patriarch insisted, and Bar Sauma and his friend had no choice but to accept. Despite having done their best to withdraw from the world, the two monks' holy mission had taken them to the very centre of political concerns. Luckily for the two Nestorians, war between Kubalai and Haidu had resumed even more violently than before, allowing them to remain in the Ilkhanate for the time being. They withdrew to the monastery of Saint Michael, likely near Mosul, and intended to stay there for the foreseeable future. So it was that two Christians born in China were now stuck in the Ilkhanate without having been able to accomplish their initial objective. They had travelled thousands and thousands of kilometres, met with three world leaders and a religious figurehead. One could easily think that their journey would end here. Fate, however, would have it that one would become a religious leader himself, and the other go on to Europe and meet several Christian kings and even the Pope. Their journey was not over yet. Thank you for watching my video, I hope you enjoyed it. If so, please leave a like and subscribe to the channel. If you have any questions or requests, feel free to leave them in the comment section below. I'll see you in the next video. Bye!