MARY MAGDALENE, and that stone which was laid on the grave of our Lord, when Joseph the . . . brought Him down from the Cross. Now MARY wept on that stone, and the place hereon her tears fell is wet even at the present time; and however often this moisture is wiped away the place becometh wet again. And he saw also the stone bowl in which our Lord changed the water into wine (52) at KATNE (Cana) of Galilee; and the funerary coffer of one of the holy women which is exposed to public view every year, and every sick person who is laid under it is made whole; and the coffer of MAR JOHN OF THE MOUTH OF GOLD (Chrysostom). And he saw also the stone on which SIMON PETER was sitting when the cock crew; and the tomb of King CONSTANTINE, the Conqueror, which was made of red stone (porphyry?); and also the tomb of JUSTINIAN, which was [built of] green stone; and also the BETH KAWMA (resting place) of the Three Hundred and Eighteen [orthodox] Bishops who were all laid in one great church; and their bodies have not suffered corruption because they had confirmed the [True] Faith. And he saw also many shrines of the holy Fathers, and many amulets of a magical character (talismata) and image[s] in bodily form made of bronze and stone (Eikons?).

And when RABBAN SAWMA went [back] to King BAEIAET'E he said, "May the king live

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for ever! I give thanks unto our Lord that I have been held worthy to see these things. And now, if the king will permit me, I will go and fulfil the command (53) of King ARGHON, for the command to me was to enter the territory of the Progaye [i.e. Franks]." Then the king entreated him with great kindness, and gave him gifts of gold and silver.

RABBAN SAWMA IN ITALY AND IN GREAT ROME.

And he departed from Constantinople and went down to the sea. And he saw on the sea-shore a monastery of the Romans, and there were laid up in its treasure-house two funerary coffers of silver; in the one was the head of MAR JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, and in the other that of MAR PAPA who baptized CONSTANTINE. And he went down to the sea [i.e. embarked on a ship] and came to the middle thereof, where he saw a mountain from which smoke ascended all the day long and in the night time fire showed itself on it. And no man is able to approach the neighbourhood of it because of the stench of sulphur [proceeding therefrom]. Some people say that there is a great serpent there. This sea is called the "Sea of Italy." Now it is a terrible sea, and very many thousands of (54) people have perished therein. And after two months of toil, and weariness, and exhaustion, RABBAN SAWMA

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arrived at the sea-shore, and he landed at the name of which was NAPOLI (Naples); the name of its king was IRID SHARDALO [ =IL RE SHARL DU or, the King Charles II?]. And he went to the king and showed him the reason why they had come; and the king welcomed him and paid him honour. Now it happened that there was war between him and another king, whose name was IRID ARKON [=the King of Aragon, JAMES II?]. And the troops of the one had come in many ships, and the troops of the other were ready, and they began to fight each other, and the King of ARAGON (?) conquered King CHARLES II, and slew twelve thousand his men, and sunk their ships in the sea. [According to Chabot this naval engagement took place in the Bay of Sorrento on St. John's Day, June 24, 1287, and the great eruption of Mount Etna on June I8]. 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 (55). And from that place they travelled inland on horses, and they passed through towns and villages and marvelled because they found no land which was destitute of buildings. On the road they heard that MAR PAPA [Honorius IV who died in 1287] was dead.

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And the Cardinals said unto him, "For the present rest thyself, and we will discuss the matter together later"; and they assigned to him a mansion and caused him to be taken down thereto.

Three days later the Cardinals sent and summoned RABBAN SAWMA to their presence. And when he went to them they began to ask him questions, saying, "What is thy quarter of the world, and why hast thou come?" And he replied in the selfsame words he had already spoken to them (57). And they said unto him, "Where doth the Catholicus live? And the Cardinals. And thus they did, and [their act] was pleasing to those Cardinals. And when RABBAN SAWMA went into their presence no man stood up before him, for by reason of the honourable nature of the Throne, the twelve Cardinals were not in the habit of doing this. And they made RABBAN SAWMA sit down with them, and one of them asked him, "How art thou after all the fatigue of the road?" And he made answer to him, "Through you prayers I am well and rested." And the Cardinal said unto him, "For what purpose hast thou

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come hither?" And RABBAN SAWMA said unto him, "The Mongols and the Catholicus of the East have sent me to Mar Papa concerning the matter of Jerusalem; and they have sent letters with me." And the Cardinals said unto him, "Fro the present rest thyself, and we will discuss the matter together later"; and they assigned to him a mansion and ccaused him to be taken down thereto

Three days later the Cardinals sent and summoned RABBAN SAWMA to their presence. And when he went to them they began to ask him questions, saying, "What is thy quarter of the world, and why has thou come?" And he replied in the selfsame words he had already spoden to them (57). And they said unto him, "Where doth the Catholixus live? And which of the Apostles taught the Gospel in thy quarter of the world ? " And he answered them, saying, "MAR THOMAS, and MAR ADDAI, and MAR MARI taught the Gospel in our quarter of the world, and we hold at the present time the canons [or statutes] which they delivered unto us." The Cardinals said unto him, "Where is the Throne of the Catholicus?" He said to them, "In BAGHDAD." They answered, What position hast thou there?" And he replied, " am a deacon in the Cell of the Catholicus, and the director of the disciples, and the Visitor-General." The Cardinals said, " It is a marvellous thing

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that thou who art a Christian, and a deacon of the Throne of the Patriarch of the East has come upon an embassy from the king of the Mongols."And RABBAN SAWMA said unto them, "Know ye, O our Fathers, that many of our Fathers have gone into the countries of the Mongols, and Turks, and Chinese and have taught them the Gospel, and at the present time there are many Mongols who are Christians. For many of the sons of the Mongol kings and queens (58) have been baptized and confess Christ. And they have established churches in their military camps, and they pay honour to the Christians, and there are among them many who are believers. Now the king [of the Mongols], who is joined in the bond of friendship with the Catholicus, hath the desire to take PALESTINE, and the countries of SYRIA, and he demandeth from you help in order to take JERUSALEM. He hath chosen me and hath sent me to you because, being a Christian, my word will be believed by you. "And the Cardinals said unto him, "What is thy confession of faith? To what 'way' art thou attached ? Is it that which Mar Papa holdeth to-day or some other one?" RABBAN SAWMA replied, "No man hath come to us Orientals from the Pope. The holy Apostle whose names I have mentioned taught us the Gospel, and to what they delivered unto us we have clung to the present day." The Cardinals

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Said unto him, "How dost thou believe? Recite thy belief, article by article." RABBAN SAWMA replied to them, saying:--

THE BELIEF OF RABBAN SAWMA, WHICH THE CARDINALS DEMANDED FROM HIM.

"I believe in One God, hidden, everlasting, without beginning and without (59) end, Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit: Three Persons, coequal and indivisible; among Whom there is none who is first, or last, or young, or old: in Nature they are One, in Persons they are three: the Father is the Begetter, the Son is the Begotten, the Spirit proceedeth.

"In the last time one of the Persons of the Royal Trinity, namely the Son, put on the perfect man, Jesus Christ, from MARY the holy virgin; and was united to Him Personally (parsopaith), and in him saved (or redeemed) the world. In His Divinity He is eternally of the Father; in His humanity He was born [a Being] in time of MARY; the union is inseparable and indivisible for ever; the union is without mingling, and without mixture, and without compaction. The Son of this union is perfect God (60) and perfect man, two Natures (keyanin), and two Persons (kenomin)--one parsopa (. . .)

The Cardinals said unto him, "Doth the Holy Spirit proceed from the Father or from the Son, or is it separate?" RABBAN SAWMA replied,

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"Are the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit associated in the things which appertain to the Nature (keyana) or separate?" The Cardinals answered, "They are associated in the things which concern the Nature (keyana) but are separate in respect of individual qualities."RABBAN SAWMA said, "What are their individual qualities?" The Cardinals replied, "Of the Father, the act of begetting: of the Son the being begotten: of the Spirit the going forth (proceeding). RABBAN SAWMA said, "Which of Them is the cause of that Other?" And the Cardinals replied, "The Father is the cause of the Son, and the Son is the cause of the Spirit." RABBAN SAWMA said, "If they are coequal in Nature (keyana), and in operation, and in power, and in authority (or dominion), and the Three Persons (kenome) are One, how is it possible for one of Them to be the cause of the Other? For of necessity (61) the Spirit also must be the cause of some other thing; but the discussion is extraneous to the Confession of faith of wise men. We cannot find a demonstration resembling this statement of yours.

"For behold, the soul is the cause both of the reasoning power and the act of living, but the reasoning power is not the cause of the act of living. The sphere of the sun is the cause of light and heat, and heat is not the cause of light. Thus we think that which is correct,

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namely, that the Father is the cause of the Son and the Spirit, and that both the Son and the Spirit are causations of His. Adam begot Seth, and made Eve to proceed [from him], and they are three; because in respect there is absolutely no difference between begetting and making to go forth (or proceed)."

Then the Cardinals said unto him, "We confess that the Spirit proceedeth from the Father and the Son, but not as we said, for we were only putting thy modesty [or, religious belief?] to the test. "And RABBAN SAWMA said, "It is not right that to something which is one, two, three, or four causes should be [assigned]; on the contrary I do not think that this resembleth our Confession of Faith. "Now though the Cardinals restrained (62) his speech by means of very many demonstrations, they held him in high esteem because of his power of argument.

Then RABBAN SAWMA said unto them, "I have come from remote countries neither to discuss, nor to instruct [men] in matter of the Faith, but I came that I might receive a blessing from MAR PAPA, and from the shrines of the saints and to make known the words of King [ARGHON] and the Catholicus. If it be pleasing in your eyes, let us set aside discussion, and do ye give attention and direct someone to show us the churches here and the shrines of the saints; [if ye will

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do this] ye will confer a very great favour on your servant and disciple."

Then the Cardinals summoned the Amir of the city and certain monks and commanded them to show him the churches and the holy places that were there; and they went forth straightway and saw the places which we will now mention. First of all they went into the church of PETER and PAUL. Beneath the Throne is a naos, and in this is laid (63) the body of SAINT PETER, and above the throne is an altar. The altar which is in the middle of that are, temple has four doorways, and in each of these two folding doors worked with designs in fro; MAR PAPA celebrates the Mass at this altar, and no person besides himself may stand on the bench of that altar. Afterwards they saw the Throne of MAR PETER whereon they make MAR PAPA to sit when they appoint him. And the also saw the strip of fine [or thin] linen on which our Lord impressed His image and sent to King ABHGAR of URHAI (Edessa). Now the extent of that temple and its splendour cannot be described; it stands on one hundred and eight pillars. In it is another altar at which the King of their Kings receives the laying on of hands [i.e. is consecrated and crowned], and is proclaimed "Ampror (Emperor) King of Kings," by the Pope. And they say that after the prayer Mar Papa takes up the Crown with his feet

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and clothes the Emperor with it (64), that is to say, places it upon his own head [to show], as they say, that priesthood reigneth over sovereignty[or kingship].

And when they had seen all the churches and monasteries that were in Great Rome, they went outside the city to the church of MAR PAUL the Apostle, where under the altar is his tomb. And there, too, is the chain wherewith Paul was bound when he was dragged to that place. And in that altar there are also a reliquary of gold herein is the head of MAR STEPHEN the Martyr, and the hand of MAR KHANANYA (ANANIAS) who baptized PAUL. And the staff of PAUL the Apostle is also there. And from that place they went to the spot where PAUL the Apostle, was crowned [with martyrdom]. They say that when his head was cut off it leaped up thrice into the air, and at each time cried out CHRIST! CHRIST! And that from each of the three places on which his head fell there came forth waters which were useful for healing purposes, and for giving help to all those who were afflicted. And in that place there is a great shrine (65) wherein are the bones of martyrs and famous Fathers, and they were blessed by them.

And they went also to the Church of my Lady MARYAM , and of MAR JOHN the Baptist, and saw therein the seamless tunic of our Lord. And there is also in that church the tablet [or

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slab] on which our Lord consecrated the Offering and gave it to His disciples. And each year Mar Papa consecrates on that tablet the Paschal Mysteries. There are in that church four pillars of copper [or brass], each of which is six cubits in thickness; these, they say, the kings brought from Jerusalem. They saw also there the vessel in which CONSTANTINE, the victorious king, was baptized; it is made of black stone [basalt?] polished. Now that church is very large and broad, and there are in the nave (haikla) one hundred and forty white marble pillars. They saw also the place where SIMON KIPA [i.e. Simon the Rock] disputed with SIMON [Magus], and where the latter fell down and his bones were broken.

From that place they went into the church of MART MARYAM, and [the priests] brought out for them reliquaries made of beryl (crystal?), wherein was (66) the apparel of MART MARYAM, and a piece of wood on which our Lord had lain when a child. They saw also the head of MATTHEH the Apostle, in a reliquary of silver. And they saw the foot of PHILIP, the Apostle, and the arm of JAMES, the son of ZABHDA! (ZEBEDEE}, in the Church of the Apostles, which was there. And after these [sights] they saw buildings which it is impossible to describe in words, and as the histories of those buildings would make any description of them very long I abandon [the attempt].

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After this RABBAN SAWMA and his companions returned to the Cardinals, and thanked them for having held him to be worthy to see these shrines and to receive blessings from them. And RABBAN SAWMA asked from them permission to go to the king who dwelleth in Rome; and they permitted him to go, and said, "We cannot give thee an answer until the [new] Pope is elected."

And they went from that place to the country of TUSZKAN (TUSCANY), and were honourably entreated, and thence they (67) went to GINOH (GENOA). Now the latter country has no king, but the people thereof set up to rule over it some great man with whom they are pleased.

And when the people of GENOA heard that an ambassador of King ARGHON had arrived, their Chief went forth with a great crowd of people, and they brought him into the city.

And there was there a great church with the name of SAINT SINALORNIA (SAN LORENZO), in which was the holy body of MAR JOHN the Baptist, in a coffer of pure silver. And RABBAN SAWMA and his companions saw also a six-sided paten, made of emerald, and the people there told them that it was off this paten from which our Lord ate the Passover with His disciples, and that it was brought there when Jerusalem was captured. And from that place they went to the country of ONBAR, [according to Bedjan, Lombardy] and they saw that the people there

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did not fast during the first Sabbath of Lent. And when they asked them, "Wherefore do ye do thus, and separate yourselves from all [other] Christians" (68), they replied, "This is our custom. When we were first taught the Gospel our fathers in the Faith were weakly and were unable to fast. Those who taught them the Gospel commanded them to fast forty days only."

RABBAN SAWMA IN FRANSA OR FRANGESTAN.

Afterwards they went to the country of PARIZ (Paris), to king FRANSIS [i.e. Philippe IV le Bel]. And the king sent out a large company of men to meet them, and they brought them into the city with great honour and ceremony. Now the territories of the French king were in extent more than a month's journey. And the king of France assigned to Rabban Sawma a place wherein to dwell, and three days later sent one of his Amirs to him and summoned him to his presence. And when he had come the king stood up before him and paid him honour, and said unto him, "Why hast thou come? And who sent thee?" And RABBAN SAWMA said unto him, " King ARGHON and the Catholicus of the East have sent me concerning the matter of JERUSALEM." And he showed him all the matters (69) which he knew, and he gave him the letters which he had with him, and the

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gifts, that is to say, presents which he had brought. And the king of FRANCE answered him, saying, "If it be indeed so that the MONGOLS, though they are not Christians, are going to fight against the Arabs for the capture of JERUSALEM, it is meet especially for us that we should fight [with them], and if our Lord willeth, go forth in full strength."

And RABBAN SAWMA said unto him, "Now that we have seen the glory of thy kingdom, and have looked upon the splendour of your strength with the eye of flesh, we ask you to command the men of the city to show us the churches and the shrines, and the relics of the saints, and everything else which is found with you, and is not to be seen in any other country, so that when we return we may make known in the [various] countries what we have seen with you." Then the king commanded his Amirs, saying, "Go forth and show them all the wonderful things which we have here, and afterwards I myself will show [them] what I have." And the Amirs went out with them.

(70) And RABBAN SAWMA and his companions remained for a month of days in this great city of Paris, and they saw everything that was in it. There were in it thirty thousand scholars [i.e. pupils] who were engaged in the study of ecclesiastical books of instruction, that is to say of commentaries and exegesis of all the Holy

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Scriptures, and also of profane learning; and they studied wisdom, that is to say philosophy and [the art of] speaking (rhetoric?), and [the art of] healing, geometry, arithmetic, and the science of the planets and the stars; and they engaged constantly in writing [theses], and all these pupils received money for subsistence from the king. And they also saw one Great Church wherein were the funerary coffers of dead kings, and statues of them in gold and in silver were upon their tombs. And five hundred monks were engaged in performing commemoration services in the burial-place [i.e. mausoleum] of the kings, and they all ate and drank at the expense of the king. And they fasted and prayed continually in the burial-place of those kings. And the crowns of those kings, and their armour (71), and their apparel were laid upon their tombs. In short RABBAN SAWMA and his companions saw everything which was splendid and renowned.

And after this the king sent and summoned them, and they went to him in the church, and they saw him standing by the side of the altar, and they saluted him. And he asked RABBAN SAWMA saying, "Have you seen what we have? And doth there not remain anything else for you to see?" Then RABBAN SAWMA thanked him [and said "There is not"]. Forthwith he went up with the king into an upper chamber of gold, which the king opened, and he brought

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forth from it a coffer of beryl wherein was laid the Crown of Thorns which the Jews placed upon the head of our Lord when they crucified Him. Now the Crown was visible in the coffer, which, thanks to the transparency of the beryl, remained unopened. And there was also in the coffer a piece of the wood of the Cross. And the king said to RABBAN SAWMA and his companions, "When our fathers took Constantinople, and sacked Jerusalem, they brought these blessed objects from it." And we blessed the king and besought him to give us the order to return. (72) And he said unto us, "I will send with you one of the great Amirs whom I have here with me to give an answer to King Arghon"; and the king gave RABBAN SAWMA gifts and apparel of great price.


RABBAN SAWMA GOES TO THE KING OF ENGLAND [i.e. EDWARD I].

And they went forth from that place, that is to say, from PARIS, to go to the king of England, to Kasonia (GASCONY?). And having arrived in twenty days at their city [BORDEAUX?], the inhabitants of the city went forth to meet them, and they asked them, "Who are ye?" And RABBAN SAWMA and his companions replied, "We are ambassadors, and we have come from beyond the eastern seas, and we are envoys of the King, and of the Patriarch, and the Kings

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of the Mongols." And the people made haste and went to the king and informed him [of their arrival], and the king welcomed them gladly, and the people introduced them into his presence. And those who were with RABBAN SAWMA straightway gave to the king the PUKDANA [i.e. letter of authorisation] of King Arghon, and the gifts which he had sent to him, and the Letter of Mar Catholicus (73). And [King Edward] rejoiced greatly, and he was especially glad when Rabban Sawma talked about the matter of Jerusalem. And he said, "We the kings of these cities bear upon our bodies the sign of the Cross, and we have no subject of thought except this matter. And my mind is relieved on the subject about which I have been thinking, when I hear that King Arghon thinketh as I think." And the king commanded Rabban Sawma to celebrate the Eucharist, and he performed the Glorious Mysteries; and the king and his officers of state stood up, and the king partook of the Sacrament, and made a great feast that day.

Then RABBAN SAWMA said unto the king, "We beseech thee, O king, to give [thy servants] in order to show us whatever churches and shrines there are in this country, so that when we go back to the Children of the East we may give them descriptions of them." And the king replied, "Thus shall ye say to King Arghon and unto all the Orientals: We have seen a

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thing than which there is nothing more wonderful, that is to say, that in the countries of the Franks there are not two Confessions of Faith, but only one Confession of Faith, namely, that which confesseth Jesus Christ; and all the Christians confess it." And King Edward gave us many gifts and money for the expenses of the road (74).

RABBAN SAWMA RETURNS TO ROME.

And from that place we came to the city of Genoa, in order to pass the winter there. And when we arrived there we saw a garden which resembled Paradise; its winter was not [too] cold, and its summer is not [too] hot. Green foliage is found therein all the year round, and trees, the leaves of which do not fall, and which are not stripped of their fruit. There is in the city a kind of vine which yields grapes seven times a year, but the people do not press out wine from them.

At the end of the winter there came from the country of ALMADAN (ALLEMAGNE?) a man of high degree, who was the . ., i.e. "Visitor" of MAR PAPA, and who was on his way to Rome.(1) And when he heard that RABBAN SAWMA was there, he went to visit

(1) John identfied him with John of Jerusalem, who, in 1286 went to Germany to arrange for te coronation of Rudolph of Hapsburg.

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him and salute him. And when he entered [his house] they gave each other "Peace!" and they kissed each other in the love of Christ. And the Visitor said unto RABBAN SAWMA (75), "I have come to see thee. For I have heard concerning thee, that thou art a good and wise man, and also that thou hast the desire to go to Rome." And RABBAN SAWMA said unto him, "What shall I say unto thee, O beloved and noble man? I have come on an embassy from King ARGHON, and the Catholicus of the East to MAR PAPA on the subject of Jerusalem. Behold I have been a year of days [since I came], and a Pope hath not sat. When I go back what shall I say and what answer can I make to the MONGOLS? Those, whose hearts are harder than flint, wish to take the Holy City, and those to whom it belongeth never allow the matter to occupy their minds, and moreover, they do not consider this thing to be of any importance whatsoever! We shall go and say we know not." Then the Visitor said unto him, "Thy words are true. I myself will go and show in their integrity the Cardinals all the words which thou hast spoken, and will urge them to appoint a Pope."

And that Visitor departed from him and went to Rome, and he explained the matter to the king, that is to say MAR PAPA (76), and that same day the Pope sent a messenger to RABBAN

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SAWMA and his companions [bidding] them to go to him. And as soon as ever the messenger had arrived, they set out for Rome with the greatest readiness and they arrived there in fifteen days. And they asked, "Who is this Pope whom they have appointed?" And [the people] said, "It is the bishop who held converse with you when ye came here the first time, and his name is NIKALIOS [i.e. NICHOLAS IV, who was elected Pope in February, 1288]." And RABBAN SAWMA and his companions rejoiced greatly.

And when they arrived MAR PAPA sent out a Metropolitan bishop and a large company of men to meet them. And starightway RABBAN SAWMA went into the presence of MAR PAPA, who was seated on his throne. And he drew nigh to the Pope, bowing down to the ground as he did so, and he kissed his feet and his hands, and he withdrew walking backwards, with his hands clasped [on his breast]. And he said to MAR PAPA, "May thy throne stand for ever, O our Father! And may it be blessed above all kings and nations! And may it make peace to reign in thy days (77) throughout the Church to the uttermost ends of the earth! Now that I have seen thy face mine eyes are illuminated, and I shall not go away brokenhearted to the countries [of the East]. I give thanks to the goodness of God who hath held me to be worthy

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to see thy face." Then RABBAN SAWMA presented unto him the gift of King Arghon and his Letters, and the gift of MAR YAHBH-ALLAHA the Catholicus, that is to say a blessing [i.e. gift] and his Letter. And MAR PAPA rejoiced and was glad, and he paid more honour to RABBAN SAWMA than was customary, and he said unto him, "It will be good if thou wilt keep the festival with us, for thou wilt see our use." Now that day [marked] the half of our Lord's Fast [i.e. Mid-Lent]. And RABBAN SAWMA made answer, "Your command is high and exalted." And MAR PAPA assigned to him a mansion in which to dwell, and he appointed servants to give him everything he might require.

Some days later RABBAN SAWMA said to MAR PAPA, "I wish to celebrate the Eucharist so that ye might see our use"; and the Pope commanded him to do as he had asked. And on that day a very large number of people were gathered together in order to see how the ambassador of the Mongols celebrated the Eucharist (78). And when they had seen they had rejoiced and said, "The language is different, but the use is the same." Now the day on which he celebrated was the Sunday [on which the prayer beginning] "ainaw asya" [i.e. Who is the physician"] is recited. And having performed the mysteries, he went to MAR PAPA and saluted him. And the Pope said unto RABBAN SAWMA,

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"May God receive thy offering, and bless thee, and pardon thy transgressions and sins." Then RABBAN SAWMA said, "Besides the pardon of my transgressions and sins which I have received from thee, O our Father, I beseech thy Fatherhood, O our holy Father, to let me receive the Offering from thy hands, so that the remission [of my sins] may be complete." And the Pope said, "So let it be!"

And on the following First Day of the Week, which was the Festival of Hosannas [i.e. Palm Sunday], from the break of day onwards, countless thousands and tens of thousands of people gathered together before the papal throne, and brought branches of olives, which the Pope blessed and gave to the Cardinals, and then to the Metropolitans and then to the Bishops, and then to the Amirs, and then to the nobles, and then he cast them among all the people. And he rose up from the throne (79), and they brought him into the church with great ceremony. And he went into the apse of the altar and changed his apparel, and he put on a red vestment with threads of gold [running through it], and ornamented with precious stones, and jacinths, and pearls down to the soles of his feet, that is to say, sandals. And he went to the altar, and then went forth to the pulpit, and addressed the people and admonished them. And he consecrated the Mysteries and gave the Eucharist Mystery to RABBAN SAWMA

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first of all--he having confessed his sins--and the Pope pardoned his transgressions and his sins and those of his fathers. And RABBAN SAWMA rejoiced greatly in receiving the Eucharistic Mystery from the hand of MAR PAPA. And he received it with tears and sobs, giving thanks to God and meditating upon the mercies which had been poured out upon him.

Afterwards, on the day of the Holy Passover (Thursday) MAR PAPA went to the church of MAR JOHN the Baptist, when a large number of people had gathered together. He went up into a great furnished and decorated chamber which was there--and before this chamber there was a large open space--and the Cardinals, and the Metropolitans, and the Bishops went with him; and they began (80) to recite a prayer. And when the prayer was ended, MAR PAPA addressed and admonished the congregation, according to custom; and by reason of the great multitude of people that was there not one word could be heard except "Amen." And when "Amen" was uttered, the ground shook through the outcries of the people. Then MAR PAPA came down from that place and [stood] before the altar, and he consecrated the oil of Muron, that is to say, the oil of anointing. And afterwards he consecrated the Mysteries which bestow pardon, and gave the Eucharistis Mystery to the people. And he went forth

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from that place and entered the great temple (nave?), and gave to each of his reverend Fathers two gold tarpe [i.e. "leaves" (sheets?)] and thirty silver parpare [i.e. silver coins], and then went out. And MAR PAPA gathered together the people of his Cell [i.e. his palace household], and he washed their feet, and he wiped [them] with a napkin which he had wrapped around his loins, to the end. And when he had finished all the services of the Passover, at mid-day he made a great table [i.e. feast], and the servants placed before every man his portion of food. Now those who reclined [i.e. sat at meat] were two thousand, more or less. And when they removed the bread from the table only three hours of the day were left (81).

And on the following day, which was the Passion of our Redeemer, MAR PAPA put on a black cloak, and all the reverend Fathers did likewise. And they went forth barefooted and walked to the church of my Lord, the Adorable Cross; and MAR PAPA did homage to it, and kissed it, and gave it to each one of the reverend Fathers. And when crowds of people saw it they uncovered their heads, and they knelt down on their knees and did homage before it (i.e. adored it]. Then MAR PAPA addressed and admonished the people, and at the same time he mde the sign of the Cross over the four quarters of the world. And when the service of prayer

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was concluded, he brought some of the Paschal Offering, and set wine with it, and MAR PAPA partook by himself of that Offering (now it is not customary for Christians to offer up the Offering on the day of the Passion of our Redeemer), and went back to his Cell i.e. palace)

And on the day of the Sabbath of Light MAR PAPA went to the church, and they read the Books of the Prophets, and the prophecies concerning the Messiah. And he placed in position the Wazna, i.e. baptismal font, and arranged branches of myrtle round about it, and MAR PAPA consecrated the baptism-water and baptized three children, and signed them with the sign of the Cross. Then he went to the apse and changed his apparel of the Passion (82), and he put on his ceremonial vestments, to state the price of which is beyond the power of words, and he celebrated the Holy Mysteries.

And on the day of the Sunday of the Resurrection MAR PAPA went to the holy church of my LADY MARY. And he and the Cardinals, and the Metropolitans, and the Bishops, and the members of the congregation saluted each other, and they kissed each other on the mouth, and he celebrated the Mysteries, and they receive Eucharistic Mystery, and then he returned to his Cell [i.e. palace]. And he made a great feast, and [there was] infinite gladness. And on the following Sunday Mar Papa performed

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the laying on of hands, and he consecrated three bishops And RABBAN SAWMA and his companions saw the use followed, and they celebrated the blessed festivals with them.

And when these things had taken place RABBAN SAWMA asked MAR PAPA for [his] command to return. And MAR PAPA said unto him, "We wish thee to remain with us, and to abide with us, and we will guard thee like the pupil of our eye." But RABBAN SAWMA replied, " O our Father, I came on an embassy for your service (?). If my coming had been the result of my personal wish, l would willingly (83) bring to an end the days of this my useless life in your service at the outer door of your palace. [But I must return], and believe that when I go back and show the show who are there the benefits which thou hast conferred upon my poor person, that the Christians will gain great content thereby. Now I beseech our Holiness to bestow upon me some of the relics [of the saints] which ye have with you."

And MAR PAPA said, "If we had been in the habit of giving away these relics to the people [who come] in myriads, even though the relics were as large as the mountains, they would have come to an end long ago. But since thou hast come from a far country, we will give thee a few." And he gave to RABBAN SAWMA a small piece of the apparel of our Lord Christ, and a piece of the cape (. . .) that is to say,

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kerchief of my LADY MARY, and some small fragments of the bodies of the saints that were there. And he sent to MARR YAHBH-ALLAHA a crown for his head which was of fine gold and was inlaid with precious stones; and sacred vestments made of red cloth through which ran threads of gold; and socks and sandals on which real pearls were sewn; (84) and the ring from his finger; and a "Pethikha" or Bull which authorized him to exercise Patriarchal dominion over all the Children of the East. And he gave to RABBAN SAWMA a "Pethikha" which authorized him to act as Visitor-General over all Christians. And Mar Papa blessed him and he caused to be assigned to him for expenses on the road one thousand, five hundred mathkale of red gold. And to King Arghon he sent certain gifts. And he embraced RABBAN SAWMA and kissed him and dismissed him. And RABBAN SAWMA thanked our Lord who had held him to be worthy of such blessings as these.

THE RETURN OF RABBAN SAWMA FROM ROME AND FROM MAR PAPA, THE CATHOLICUS PATRIARCH OF THE ROMANS AND OF ALL WESTERNS.

And RABBAN SAWMA returned. He crossed the seas which he crossed when he came, and he arrived (85) in peace at the place where King ARGHON was, sound in body, and with soul safely

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kept. And he gave to him the Letter of Blessings, and the gifts which he had brought from MAR PAPA and from all the kings of the Franks. And he showed him how they had welcomed him with love, and how they had hearkened gladly to the Pukdane (or Royal Dispatches) which he had carried [to them], and he related the wonderful things which he had seen, and the power of [their] kingdom[s]. And King rejoiced, and was glad, and thanked him, and said unto him; "We have made thee to suffer great fatigue, for thou art an old man. In future we shall not permit thee to leave us; nay, we will set up a church. at the Gate of our Kingdom (i.e. palace), and thou shaft minister therein and recite prayers." And RABBAN SAWMA said, "If my lord the king would command MAR YAHBH-ALLAHA, the Catholicus, to come and receive the gifts which have been sent to him by MAR PAPA, and the sacred vestments which he destined for him, he could set up the church which the king is going to set up at the Door of his Kingdom, and consecrate it." And these things took place in this way. Now because it was not our intention to relate and set out in order all the unimportant things which RABBAN SAWMA did (86) and saw, we have abridged very much of what he himself wrote in his narrative in Persian. And even the things which are mentioned here have been abridged or amplified, according to necessity.

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CHAPTER VIII. THE GOOD ACTS OF KING ARGHAN, AND HIS DEATH

In the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-eight [read one thousand six hundred of the Greeks [=A.D. 1288], King Arghon gave the command to transport MAR YAHBH-ALLAHA to the Camp, even as RABBAN SAWMA had asked. And for the honour of the Catholicus, and also to support (or sustain) the hearts of all the Christians who confessed Christ, and to increase the love for Him among them, he set up a church so close to the Door of the Throne, that the ropes of the curtains of (87) the church intermingled with those of his house. [N.B.-The church was a tent]. And he made a great feast [which lasted] three days, and King Arghon himself brought food to the Catholicus, and handed the cup of drink to him and to all the members of his company. And the king took care that reverend men, and holy Fathers (i.e. bishops) and priests, and deacons, and monks, should keep vigil in the church and recite the offices and that the beater of the board [which summed men to prayer] should never be idle in that church And thus the glory (or praise) of the Christians

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both Orientals and Occidentals, increased until at length with one mouth they cried out, "Blessed is the Lord Who hath made us rich! The Lord hath visited His people, and hath made for it redemption!" And when the Camp moved, the priests moved the church and all that belonged to it. And Rabban Sawma became the director of that church, and its chief, and steward, and he distributed food and the things necessary for the priests, and deacons, and visitors, and caretakers of the church. And King ARGH6N commanded by reason of his great affection for RABBAN SAWMA, that the recital of the Eucharistic Office for his benefit, and of prayers said on his behalf, should never cease (88).

And in the following year, which is the year of the Greeks, one thousand five hundred and ninety-nine [read one thousand six hundred and one=1289]; in the month of 'Ilul (September), King Arghon went to the Cell (i.e. palace) in the city of MARAGHA to see Mar Catholicus. He had had his son [Kharbande] born in 1281, baptized in the month of Abh (August), and he commanded him to receive the Mysteries which gave pardon. And thus the Preaching of Life increased, and the Gospel (or glad tidings) of the kingdom of heaven spread throughout the world, until at length people ere gathered together from all parts to the Patriarchal mansion to obtain help therefrom. And it was not only the Christians

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of the Faith who thronged there to be assisted by Mar Catholicus in the fulfillment of the requests. [Text defective: translation doubtful].

Now when the state of affairs which we have mentioned had remained thus for a short time, God the Lord of the Universe, the Lord of death and of going forth, removed King ARGHON to the seat of joys and to the Abrahamic bosom. And at his departure grief fettered the whole Church which is under the heavens, because the things which were done before his time (89) and were done badly were rightly straightened in his time. And who was there who did not suffer by the change of sovereignty? For how could it be otherwise? Behold it is a matter of difficulty for every man, and hard to describe especially when a man knoweth the nobles of the King and all the members of the royal household, to say nothing of the king of the time himself.

CHAPTER IX. KING KAIKHATO AND MAR YAHBH-ALLAHA.

Now the Church passed some days with matters in this state, when suddenly, a younger brother of the dead king, who was called IRNAGHIN T0NGHIN, burst forth, and was crowned king [under the name of] KAIKHATO; he took the sceptre of the kingdom and sat upon the throne of his brother. He [began to] rule (90) in the year of the Greeks, one thousand six hundred and two [=1291] in the month of Abh (August) of that year All creation was at peace, rebellion died and hid itself, the light of righteousness rose and made itself visible, for Kaikhato, the blessed king, did not turn aside from the way of his fathers. He established in his position every one of those who followed [divers] cults, he paid honour to the leaders of all religions, whether Christians, or Arabs, or Jews, or Pagans. He considered the face of no man [i.e. he was strictly impartial] and he neither turned aside nor swerved from justice, gold being accounted as dross in his sight. His alms were boundless, and there was no end to his gifts in charity. For every one who asked from him received, even as it is written (Luke xi. 10), and he who

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sought, found ; and experience showed that this was literally true.

Now he came to reign in the month of the year which has been mentioned above. On the day of the festival of the commemoration of Saint Maryam (the Virgin My Lady Mary)--may her prayer be upon (i.e. protect) the world!-- which [is celebrated] in the middle of the month of Abh, he went into the church which TAWUS (DOKUZ) KHATON [the first wife of HULAGO] had set up (91) in the blessed Camp. Now they were at that time in the mountain called ALATAK (ALA DAGH). When our Father the Catholicus celebrated the Mysteries, the king was glad and rejoiced greatly; and he gave gifts to the Catholicus, twenty thousand dinars (�10,000) and nine gorgeous dibage, i.e. vestments made of silk with gold threads interwoven. On that day the sons of the kings and the daughters of the queens, and the Amirs, and the nobles, and the troops were gathered together there. And the glory of the Holy Catholic Church became as great, nay greater, than it was before. And the hearts of the Christians gained courage and waxed strong, when they knew the mind of the victorious king and heard his words, for his good qualities and his gracious acts could be felt with hands. And from day to day the glory increased, and the splendour of their Church grew apace, and this took place through the

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great care and foresight, and the wise rule of Mar Catholicus, [in which] he used his under standing for the glorification of the children of the kingdom (i.e. the Royal Family) (92).

Now because RABBAN SAWMA had already become an old man, the hard life of the Mongols, and the prolonged sojourning in desert places, became intolerable to him. And he caused the victorious King KAIKHATO to promulgate an order for him to build a church in the city of MARAGHAH, and to place therein the vessels and the vestments for the service of the church, which the dead King Arghon had set up in the Camp. And his request was granted by the king. And as soon as he received this permission he at once set out for city of MARAGHAH, taking with him the vessels and vestments for the service of MAR Catholicus. And he laid. the foundations and built a fine church in the names of MAR MARI and MAR GEORGE, the glorious martyr. And there were placed in it the relics of forty martyrs, of MAR STEPHEN [the protomartyr], and MAR JAMES, who was cut into pieces [by the order of WARHARAN V, king of Persia A.D. 421], and MAR DEMETRIUS, the martyr. He furnished it with costly vessels and vestments for the service of every kind, and he founded a series of endowments from which the things which would be required for it could be always provided and maintained. And this [he did] with the help of the illustrious MAR

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YAHBH-ALLAHA (93), the Catholicus. And in the summer of the following year the victorious King KAIKHATO came twice to the Cell which was in MARAGHAH, and he sojourned with Mar Catholicus for three days, and rejoiced with an exceeding great joy. And he gave great gifts and presents to Mar Catholicus, viz., a Paiza of gold, that is to say, the tablet which is called "Sunkor" (see above p. 61), and seven thousand diners (3,500).

CHAPTER X. THE DEATH OF RABBAN SAWMA AND OF THE KINGS KAIKHATO AND BAID0.

RABBAN SAWMA toiled by night and by day in the church which he had built, and he arranged everything in it in a perfect manner. And the expenses incurred in building the church, and in providing the endowment, that is to say, Wakf, which was assigned to it, amounted to (94) one hundred and five thousand zuze (about �8,250?)) more or less. And he performed the service and recited the Offices regularly, and he was exceedingly zealous in performing the Eucharistic Service, which he had established in that church, continually. And he had great repose in the Cell which he had built by the side of the church, of which until now he himself is the ornament, and prayers and celebrations of the Eucharist are constant therein. May our Lord give him as the reward of his labour the happiness of the heavenly kingdom, and a portion with the saints in the exalted regions of highest heaven. And having finished the church which we have described above, RABBAN SAWMA came down in the service of Mar Catholicus to Baghdad, in the year of the Greeks, one hundred six hundred and five, in the month of the first Teshri (October) of that year [A.D. 1293].

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And King BAIDAR (read BAIDO), the son of the brother of King ABHGHA, made a great feast in a place called SIRZUR (SHAHARZUR, in KURDISTAN) in (95) honour of the Catholic and he gathered together all the officials of his Court to the banquet. And RABBAN SAWMA rose up with his temperament disordered and he fell down, being seized with fever. On the following day he bade farewell to King BIDAR (BAIDU), and he arrived in the city of ARBIL to settle urgent affairs, and [enjoy] the kindness (?) of the church folk. And the sickness of RABBAN SAwMA increased, and he was seized with severe pains, but he prolonged his life until the Catholicus arrived in the city of BAGHDAD. And his disease waxed heavy, healing took to flight, his life was despaired of, and he departed from this world of nothingness and tribulation to the world of holiness and to the City of the Saints, Jerusalem which is in the heavens, on the night of the first Sunday after Epiphany when the prayer beginning " Le'edtakh lukdam" (i.e. "to Thy Church") is said, on the tenth day of the month Kanon' Khrai (January) of that same year (A.D. 1294). And his holy body was buried in the Darath Rhomaye, on the north side of the altar, outside the inner court, on the south side (96) of the house of prayer. May his portion be with the Patriarchal Fathers among whom he was laid! And may our Lord

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give him rest and set him on His right hand on the great Day of Retribution wherein, with the reward of justice and the Scales of Truth, He will reward every man according to his labour!

Now MAR AHBH-ALLAHA, the Catholicus, suffered very great affliction at the death of RABBAN SAWMA, and his weeping reached the heavens; he mourned with the people in their grief so that none might say that he constrained himself to mourn apart from them. And the nobles and chiefs, that is to say governors, and all the Fathers of the city of Baghdad came to offer him consolation, and he received consolation only with the greatest difficulty on the third day, when he returned to his Throne. And it was meet that he should suffer, and the law of nature commanded it, for the deceased was a man of courage, for he was the strong arm and support of the Gate of the Patriarchal Cell (i.e. palace), not only of the Catholicus himself but of every Christian who came to him.

And the Catholicus passed that winter in Baghdad (97). On the day of the great festival he set out, and met the victorious King KAIKHATO at ALA TAK, where the royal Camp was. And the king honoured him with many gifts, that is to say he gave him a cloak of great price, and two splendid riding mules, and he assigned to him a "Sukur," that is to say, a parasol, and

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he gave him sixty thousand zuze [�2,500 or 5,000 dinars]. He refused nothing which MAR Catholicus asked for whenever he open his mouth. Then MAR Catholicus returned from the Camp of the victorious king, and he laid foundations of the holy monastery of Saint Mar John the Baptist, on the north side of the city of MARAGHAH, at a distance of about [two] thirds of a parasang, more or less [about two miles] from the city, in the year mentioned (A.D. 1294), at the end of the month of Khaziran (June). He built up the wall nearly to the top and the nave up as far as the spring of the roof.

Then suddenly storms broke, and the waves of confusion rose high in the kingdom; the Amirs acted treacherously towards (98) the king and the tempests of suffering waxed strong on the world, and turmoil fell on creation. And men were slain without sufficient cause, and very many villages were looted by the soldiery with violence. And in the winter of the year one thousand six hundred and six, according to [the Era of] YAWAN [1295], the road from ADHORBIJAN to BAGHDAD and to DIARBAKR were cut, and the fighters did not cease from the quarrels which they had set afoot, and at length they destroyed King KAIKHATO by violent death, and delivered the kingdom to King BAIDO. This unhappy [prince] only accepted the kingdom through fear for his life.

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He remained on the throne from the 24th day of the month of NISAN (April) until the 25th day of the month of Ilul (September) of the same year, more or less. He governed and reigned in a state of perturbation, and prolonged his days in perpetual fear. Now without making over long [our] narrative, and making [our] History, which has a definite object, become somewhat different, it is impossible to describe completely the plots, and the trickeries, and the crafty devices, and the treacherous works which the enemies [of the kingdom] set on foot during the five months of the struggle which went on between BAIDO and the victorious King KAZAN, the son of the deceased King Arghon (99). To speak briefly the murderers of the blessed King Khaikato, plotted the murder of his successor BAIDU. Then division fell (i.e. took place), and the world was in turmoil. The peoples of the Arabs roused themselves to take vengeance on the Church and its children for the destruction which the father of these kings had inflicted upon them. Then suddenly, on the Sunday [of the prayer] "la-mese puma," (i.e. "the mouth is unable") of that year (A.D. 1295), on the 25th day of the month of Ilul (September), a rumour was heard of the flight of King BAIDU and of his destruction, and with it came the proofs, that in very truth the abandonment of [the Church by] God had taken place (100).

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CHAPTER XI. THE PERSECUTION OF MAR YAHBH-ALLAHA AND THE CHRISTIANS IN MARAGHAH.

And a certain man, one of the Amirs, who was called NAWRIZ, and who feared not God bestirred himself, and sent letters by the hands of envoys, and he made to fly to the four quarters of the dominions of this kingdom, an order to this effect:--"The churches shall be uprooted and the altars overturned, and the celebrations of the Eucharist shall cease, and the hymns of praise, and the sounds of calls to prayer shall be abolished; and the heads (or chiefs) of the Christians, and the heads of the congregations [i.e. synagogues] of the Jews, and the great men among them shall be killed."

And that same night [the Arabs] seized Mar Catholicus in his Cell (i.e. palace) in MARAGHAH, and outside the building no man knew anything about the seizure of him until the day broke. And from the morning of that day, which was the second day of the week (Monday) they went into his Cell and plundered. everything that was in it, both that which was old and that which was new, and they did not leave even a nail in the walls.

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And the night of the third day of the week (Tuesday) following, which was the 27th day of Ilul (September), the (101) Catholicus was buffeted the whole night long by those who had seized him. And in respect of the venerable men who were with him, the Arabs tied some of them up naked with ropes; others cast aside their apparel and took to flight, and others cast themselves down from high places [and perished]. And they suspended the Catholicus by a rope head downwards, and they took a cloth used for cleaning, that is to say, a duster, and they put ashes in it, and tied it over his mouth, and one prodded him in the breast with skewer (bukshina) saying, "Abandon this Faith of thine that thou perish not; become a Hagaraya (Muhammadan) and thou shalt be saved." And the Catholicus, weeping, answered them never a word. And they smote him with a stick on the thighs and seat (i.e. posterior). And they also took him up on to the roof of the Cell, saying, "Give us gold and we will let thee go; point out to us they treasures, show us the things which thou had hidden away, and reveal to us thy hiding things and we will let thee go."

And Mar Catholicus because he was clothed with a body feeble and sensitive to pain, was afraid of death. And he began to cry out on the roof, "Where are the disciples? How is it that those whom I have brought up have betaken

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themselves to flight? Of what use are possessions (or riches) to us? (102). Come ye and buy me back from those who would sell me wrongfully, redeem your master. "Now the people, men, and women, and youths, and children, in the darkness of midnight were crying out with bitter tears, but no man was able to approach the Catholicus because of [his] fear. Nevertheless they received help from [their] weeping, and took refuge in [their] prayer, saying, "Yea, ye mountains fall upon us! O ye hills cover us" (Luke xxiix.30). And thus was fulfilled the prophecy of the prophet of the Syrians [Aphrem Syrus], who said "Because we have despised the way, and have regarded it with great contempt, [God] hath made us a reproach to those who are outside; that we may drink from them mockery. The filthy ones have ruined our churches, because we have not prayed in them in a right manner; they have defiled the altar which is before Him [because] we have not ministered thereto with pure service. [Bedjan's note in Syriac reads, "Mar Aphrem. Reading I. Section II. Fourth day of Rogation Week in the first half of the Reading."]

Finally, not to make our narrative too long, some of the disciples of the Patriarch's palace went and incurred a debt of fifteen thousand zuze (either £2,500 or £7,500) and gave the money little by little [to the Arabs], with the hope of (103) redeeming the Catholicus. And when those

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who had seized the Catholicus had received the sum of five thousand dinars, and the chalices, and the eucharistic patens, and everything that was in the palace, and that debt [i.e. the money which the disciple had undertaken to pay], they went forth from the palace at mid-day of the third day of the week.

And then a great tumult took place, and the peoples of the Arabs came with a great rush to destroy the great church of Mar Shalita, the holy martyr, and they destroyed it. And they took everything that was in it, the veils (or hangings), and the vessels and other objects used in the service. And the uproar made by their outcries, and the storm of their shoutings shook almost the earth itself and the inhabitants thereof. Peradventure the reader of this history, since he was not caught in the middle of that storm, may think that the writer is telling a fabulous story; but to speak the real truth, he who stateth what is here written calleth God to witness, that it is impossible for even one of the events which took place to be adequately described and written!

Then King KHETAM (or HATHOM), TAKPUR (TAKAWOR) of the ARIMNAYE (ARMENIANS), came down (104} into that church which RABBAN SAWMA had built, and by means of the greatness of his gifts (i.e. bribes), and by his soldiers, saved it from destruction. And the Catholicus

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having made his escape from the hands of those who had seized him, fled to it and hid himself therein that night. In the morning of the following day, which was the fourth day of the week (Wednesday), a certain Amir, who was one of the envoys of the Nawruz mentioned above came and brought certain letters [ordering] the murder of the Catholicus. And he seized many of the men, among whom were some belonging to the TAKPUR, i.e. king, [and said unto them "Show me the Catholicus, for I have certain business with him." When Mar Catholicus heard this his heart quaked and he fled from the church and left TAKPUR; and King TAKPUR appeased the Amir with certain gifts which he gave to him, and he departed from MARAGHAH.

After a few days, King TAKPUR himself (105) went to TABHRIZ, and Mar Catholicus changed all his apparel, and went forth by himself in the guise of one of the servants, and he accompanied TAKPUR as far as the city of Tabhriz, where King KAZAN had arrived. And the Catholicus kept himself hidden for seven days, until TAKPUR had been able to go unto the presence of King KAZAN, and make his story known to him, then TAKPUR asked him to go and see the king. Now, since the men who were in the regular service in the palace of the Catholicus were scattered, there remained with the Catholicus a certain number of poor young men 'who

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cleaved to him, and these went into the presence of King KAZAN with him. And the king did not know him. And when he had saluted him he asked him two questions: "Whence comest thou?" and "What is thy name?" and that was all. And the Catholicus answered him in a word, i.e. briefly, and blessed him, and then went forth, trembling having entered his bones. But this was not due to [his fear of] death, but to his seeing to what a pass the children of baptism (i.e. the Christians) had come! And because of the angel who consoled him, and his wakeful mind (106) admonished him, saying, "No temptation hath come to you except that which is of the children of men" (I Cor. x.13), he still kept up his courage with weeping and groaning, saying, "Who gave my head water, and my eyes fountains of tears, that I should weep by day and by night over the breaking of the daughter of my people? " (Jer. ix.1). Thus did these things happen.

Now it was cold in those days, and the Camp was removed to the winter station of MUGHAN; and NAWRUZ, the accursed one, was at TABHRIZ. And the Catholicus, without money for expenses, and without a beast to ride, and without any baggage-animal, returned to MARAGHAH. He remained a few days in [his] Cell, and then other men came seeking for him, but he escaped from their hands by flight, but, though with considerable

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risk, he went back there day after day. Now it was well known that all glory which is of this world bringeth upon itself in the end the humiliation which is from God, and that glory attaches in the end only to the abject humiliation which [is endured] for God's sake. That winter the Catholicus sent to the Camp [of the king] one of [his] disciples so that (107) he might effect a change in the orders, and make known [to the king] how matters were. And he returned as one fleeing [for his life], for there was no one who would espouse the cause of the Christians, or who would show compassion on those who were broken[hearted]. This disciple only escaped with the greatest difficulty from the hands of a man who was an unbeliever, and who had abandoned his Faith and had become a Hagaraya (i.e. Muhammadan).

After the Feast of the Nativity of the year of the Greeks, one thousand six hundred and seven (A.D. 1295), on the Sunday [when the prayer beginning] " Mare kul kadh badhemutha" (i.e. "the Lord of all in the Image") [is said], messengers of Nawruz, the accursed one, again came down against the Catholicus. They bore in their hands orders which said, "Give us, O Catholicus, the ten thousand dinars which thou didst receive in the time of King KAIKHATO. Behold the `Tamgha,' that is to say the document which is sealed with the seal of the Amir, and

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contains the order for giving them back."Now the [treasury of the] palace of the Catholicus was empty, for it had been plundered long ago. When the servants of the palace heard this they straightway dispersed and sought refuge in flight, and the Catholicus remained in the hands of the Mongols who had become Muhammadans and those who had brought them (108). And fear fell upon the sons of the Church (How [sad] wouldst thou say. How [sad] !), and even the reverend old men who were in the palace fled, Mar Catholicus remained alone in the hands of those accursed and impudent men. That night he promised to give them a village, but they would accept nothing but gold. And when straightway, they threatened to beat him, he began to borrow [money] and to give it [to them], and throughout that day, which was the first of the week (Sunday), until towards the evening they took [from him] two thousand dinars.

Then certain of [his] disciples took counsel with Mar Catholicus in order to help him to flight, and to deliver him from the hands of those [impudent men]. He was afraid [at first] of this, but when they pressed him he harkened (i.e. consented). And at cock crow they brought him out through a small opening in the chamber in which he was imprisoned. Now the size of the opening was so small that a

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person would think that not even a child could come out through it, and they lowered him down and he went to other places and kept himself hidden.

And when the day dawned the Muslim Mongols were sorely vexed and they did not know what they were to do. And they were also afraid lest someone should take vengeance on them (109), saying, "Ye have destroyed the Catholicus." Thereupon they straightway went forth from the city, and made their way to Baghdad.

And whilst these men were in the act of parting, another messenger arrived, an evil man who was more wicked than Nawruz, the accursed. And there was with him a Christian who had become a Muhammadan, and he brought with him another Order to the effect that thirty-six thousand dinars (£18,000) should be given [by the Catholicus]. And because Mar Catholicus was in hiding, those impudent messengers seized certain of the disciples in the palace, and by means of many blows and tortures they reduced the bodies of the disciples to a state of helplessness. And they hung them up head downwards [in the open air] during the days of frost and snow when the cold was more intense than any which had ever before been experienced. And after all [the people] in the city had been gathered together to obtain their release, the disciples were only delivered from the hands of these

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wicked men with the greatest difficulty by paying sixteen thousand dinars (£8,000). And the Catholicus and all those who cleaved to him, whether venerable old men, or monks, or members of the laity, were persecuted by every man, and were obliged to hide themselves (110) in the houses of the laity. And when the persecutors knew that they were in a certain house [those who were hidden therein] straightway departed to other houses. [And this state of affairs lasted] until the great Feast of the Resurrection [A.D. 1296].

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CHAPTER XII. KING KAZAN PAYS HONOUR TO MAR YAHBHA

Now when the sun had descended into the sign of the Ram, and creation was warmed a little, the Catholicus sent one of the monks of the Cell to the victorious King KAZAN, to the place called MUGHAN, the winter station of all the Mongol Kings, to bless him and to inform [him] concerning the events that had happened to him. And when that monk arrived at the Camp, and he had taken care to see all the Amirs, they introduced him into the presence of the victorious king, and he declared unto him in their entirety all the words which Mar Catholicus had spoken to him saying, "Blessed is thy throne (111), O king, and it shall stand firm forever, and thy seed shall be surely seated thereon for ever." And the king asked, "Why did not the Catholicus come to us?" and the monk replied, "Because of the confused state [of his mind]. He was hung up, and cruelly beaten and his head touched the earth. Through the severe pain which hath been roused in him, he was unable to come to do homage to the king, and it is for this reason that he hath sent me to

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pronounce his blessing upon thee, O my lord, the king. But when the victorious king shall arrive in peace at TABHRiZ, whether the Catholicus is sick or whether he be well, he will come to salute thee and do homage to thee."

And God caused these words to find mercy in the eyes of the king, and he gave to the Catholicus a Pukdana, according to custom, in which it was laid down that poll-tax,(1) should not be exacted from the Christians (112); that none of them shall abandon his Faith; that the Catholicus shall live in the state to which he hath been accustomed; that he shall be treated with the respect due to his rank; that he shall rule over

(1) Bedjan has a long note on the poll-tax (p. 111) which I translate here:--"In the year of our Lord 692, `Abd al-Malik laid a capitation tax on the Syrians. And he issued a strict edict that every man should go to his country, and to his village, and to his father's house; and that every man should be registered by name, and [should state] whose son he was, and [declare] his vineyard, and olive [trees], and his possessions, and his children, and everything that he had. From this began [the custom] of levying the tax on the skulls of men. From this began all the evils who have burst upon the people until this present. The kings took tribute from the earth, not from men. And from this the children of Hagar began to subjugate the children of Aram with the subjugation of the Egyptians. But woe be to us! for we have sinned. Slaves have dominion over us. Behold this is the first capitation tax which the Arabs levied. "Written by Mar Dionysius, the Patriarch of the Jacobites, in the year of our Lord 755.

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his Throne; and shall hold the staff of strength over his dominion [i.e. that he shall wield his sceptre with vigour and determination]. And he promulgated an Edict throughout all countries, and addressed it to all the Amirs by their names, and to the soldiers, ordering them to give back everything which they had taken from the Catholicus or from the holy old men by force, and to give back to him what those men of Baghdad and their envoys, whom we have mentioned above, had taken. Moreover, he allotted and despatched to the Catholicus five thousand dinars (£2,500) for his expenses, saying, "These will serve him as a supply until he cometh to us."

Because Christ doth not forsake His Church, He bindeth up the brokenhearted, He redeemed those who are humble in spirit, He is the refuge of the poor, and is their Helper (113) in times of tribulation. God chastiseth in mercy, and in order to possess [the sinner] He maketh him suffer. His rebuke is for the man who hath understanding, and teacheth him that he is not a stranger [to God]. And He doth not leave him that is tempted to be tempted more than his strength [will bear]. And again he envelopeth him with His mercies, and, sustaineth him; and He gathered him into the fold of life after He hath tried him. God--may His honour be adored!--turned the heart of the king

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towards His people, "for the heart of a king is set in His hands like a fountain of water; He turneth it about in whatever direction He pleaseth," (Prov. xxi.1).

And from that day the rays of salvation began to shine on the whole Church. In the districts of ARBIL the churches were laid waste long ago. In TABHRIZ and HAMADAN they were entirely destroyed, and their foundations had been uprooted from the earth. In MAWSIL (MOSUL) and its provinces, and in BAGHDAD, the churches had been ransomed at very large prices and tens of thousands of darics. But the Church which the Catholicus MAKIKHA (1257-63) built in BAGHDAD (114) by the command of HULABHU (HULAGU), the victorious king, and TUKOS KHATUN, the believing queen, and the Cell of the Catholicus were taken, and the palace which had belonged to the Arab kings. When HULABHU (see Plates VIII, IX) the father of these kings (i.e. the Mongols) had taken and looted Baghdad he gave that palace to MAR MAKIKHA, the Catholicus, in order that he might establish in it services of prayer on behalf of himself and his seed for ever. Now this was not sufficient, for those who took this church and the Cell of the Catholicus to set up [mosques upon it], but they compelled the Christians to eject from it even the bones of the two Patriarchal Fathers [MAR MAKIKHA and MAR DENHA], and those

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of the holy old men, and monks, and believers who had been buried therein. And these things were carried out by the command of that son of perdition, that accursed and damned man NAWRUZ, the hater of justice, the enemy of the truth, and the lover of falsehood.

And when that monk whom Mar Catholicus [had sent to the king] returned, and brought with him the Pukdana, [i.e. the royal Edict which restored to him his authority], and showed him the affection of the Amirs, and the greatness (115) of the victorious king's goodwill towards him, the door of the Cell was opened, and the Catholicus took his seat upon his Throne, and gathered together his scattered adherents, and brought nigh to him the members of his household who had betaken themselves afar off. And the Pukdane (Edicts) were read in the Diwan (judical assembly) and every man brought that which he had taken. From that sum of money the Catholicus took what was necessary for travelling to King KAZAN. And he went forth from Maraghah in the month of Tammuz (July) of that year, which fell in the month of Ramadhan, and was the year of the Greeks one thousand six hundred and seven (A.D. 1296), to the place which is called UGHAN (or OGHAN).

Two days after his arrival he went into the presence of the king with appropriate state and ceremony. And the king burned incense according

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to custom and made the Catholicus to sit on his right hand, and [the attendants] brought wine, and the king took the cup and presented it to the Catholicus, and also to all the holy men who were with him. And from that [time] he began [to treat him] with affection. And in proportion as the king, little [by little], was increasing the honour which he paid to the Catholicus, the hatred which was in the, hearts of the enemies [of the Catholicus] increased (116), and they forged evil plots, and they sent information about everything which took place to that son of perdition, that accursed man NAWRUZ

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CHAPTER XIII. FURTHER PILLAGE AND MURDER IN MARAGHAH

And in the year of the Greeks one thousand six hundred and eight (A.D. 1296--97), the victorious king came down to pass the winter in the city of BAGHDAD, and Mar Catholicus remained in MARAGHAH. And it fell out that a certain man, who was called by the name of SHENAKH EL-TAMUR (or SHAING EL-TAIMUR, or SHAKH EL-TAIMUR) came into MARAGHAH, and he cast about a report that he had with him an Edict ordering that every one who not abandon Christianity and deny his Faith should be killed. And he added many threats and magnified the severity of the Edict, and inserted various [penalties] which had never before been heard of in the world. Now when the people of the Arabs heard this they became like savages and they stirred themselves up to fight, and their hearts became bold (117) and cruel, and in the fierceness of their strength the whole of their people rushed to the Cell, and plundered everything which they found [there]. This took place during the Fast of Lent, on the fourth day of the week (Wednesday) following the Sunday

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on which the prayer beginning] "Tau naudhe waneshabbah" (i.e. "come ye, let us praise and glory") [is said].

And when the story went forth that this impudent fellow had done this without any royal command, and had acted solely because of the evil of his disposition, and the intensity of is wickedness, the Amirs and the governors who were in MARAGHAH gathered together, and took counsel, and decided to perform judgement on a following Sunday and to restore to the Cell the various valuable objects which those impudent men had carried off from it. Now these objects were of very great price, among them being the gold seal which the King of Kings MANGU KHAN [the eldest son of TULUI KHAN and grandson of GENGHIS KHAN] (see Plate XIX)--May our Lord give rest to his soul, and make his portion to be with the saints!--had given to the Patriarchal Cell, and that crown which Mar Papa (the Pope) had given to the Cell, (see p. 196), and another seal, made of silver, which the deceased King Arghon had given to Catholicus (see p. 155) (118).

And then [on the following Sunday] the people of the Arabs were assembled before the Amirs and Judges, and the rods for the punishment of the evil doers had been brought [and they began] to beat [them], straightway with one voice they all uttered loud cries [of protest].

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And they took stones in their hands, and, shut their ears, and chased the Amirs and the governor every man to his house. And every Christian who fell into their hands they smote and belaboured pitilessly. In the impetuosity of their attack they came to the Cell, and they pulled down all the buildings as far as the beams of the of the roof. And they smashed in with stones the heads of the monks who were in the Cell, and of the young men who had gone up to the roof to hide themselves. When one of the disciples saw these things taking place, he hurled [the stones] back on the Arabs and wounded some of them. Thereupon the Arabs became more infuriated and one of them went up behind that disciple and smote him with [his] sword and cut off his head, and threw it down to the ground. Then the monks who were there cast themselves down [from the roof], and there were some of them whose bones were broken. And one of the Christians (119), seeing that the monks had cast themselves down in order to save their lives, stretched out his hand for the knife, and smote that monk and killed him. Certain believing men grasped the other monks and dragged them into [their] houses. And the treasury of the holy church of MAR GEORGE, which RABBAN SAWMA had built, was broken open and everything that was in the Cell, the vessels of

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copper and iron, the carpets, and the chests of stores, which had escaped a previous looting, were all taken and carried off at the same time. But by the looting of those things the church itself was saved and delivered from pulling down and destruction. Those impudent men had fully intended to destroy the church, but God in His mercy on that church prevented them from doing this by means of the objects which they looted.

And to speak briefly this last looting was so much worse than the first looting which took place at the beginning [of the persecution], that neither the tongue is capable of describing it, nor the pen of the skilled scribe able to write any account of it]. If God had not shown mercy (120) and the believing woman QUEEN BURGESIN ARGI (?) had not hidden the Catholicus and the holy men in her house, and, with the help of God which supported [her], protected them, all that was left for the Church to do was to bow her head, and veil her face, for those turbulent men were determined to make a massacre.

After five days (121) they departed to a place which is called SHAKATO, and thence they removed themselves to the mountain which is called SIYA KUH, until the king returned from BAGHDAD TO HAMADAN. And in the neighborhood of this city the Catholicus went to

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him, and when the king saw him he was sorry for him, and for his broken condition. And he issued a Pukdana (Edict) and sent a messenger and gave orders that all the people of the city of Maraghah should be seized, and bound with fetters, and beaten with stripes until they gave up what they had robbed from the Cell, and also that they should rebuild the churches and restore them to their former condition, And after great toil, and the beatings and tortures which they were made to suffer, they had produced a very small part of what they had stolen. and the rest remained [with them].

CHAPTER XIV. REBELLIONS AND FIGHTINGS IN THE FORTRESS OF ARBIL.

Now this calamity which overtook the Cell did not suffice, for the believing folk of the Fortress of Arbil fell into a disaster which was even greater than that. For when the natives of the city, [who were] Arabs, were wishing to overthrow the Church [there], through the agency of the KARTEWAYE (or KURDAYA, i.e. KURDS), it happened that certain of the soldiers of the king, who were Christians and were called KAYAJYEH or KAIJAYE), that is to say, "those who go up into the mountains and their hills," shot arrows at them and killed a certain well-known man (or nobleman). And fighting and hatred followed, and revolt increased, and even grew, and fury and bitter hatred flourished in both parties, namely, in both the Christians and the Arabs (122). And they laid ambushes each party for the other, and they fought pitched battles, and the bridge of the Fortress was cut. Now this did not happen in the ordinary course of events, but because that son of perdition NAWRUZ, the accursed, had gone to KHORASAN, and wished to rebel against the

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kingdom and to seize it for himself. And he stationed allies in every place, and men who belonged to his party in every district, until God revealed his plans and laid bare his crafty designs. And whilst the Arabs were pressing in on (i.e. beleaguering) that Fortress, the brother of that impudent man, and his wives and children were captured, and the victorious King KAZAN--may his life be preserved!--put them to death on the Sunday [of the prayer] "Ainau asya" (i.e. "what physician"), during the Redeeming Fast (i.e. Lent) of the yea of the Greeks one thousand six hundred and eight (A.D. 1297). And, straightway, rebellion arose afresh. The highways and roads were cut (i.e. blocked) by the keepers of the guard who were stationed upon them, for that son of perdition' NAWRUZ, had escaped, and the troops of the king went forth to search for him; and were longing to catch him.

And whilst they were in pursuit of him, the Christians in the Fortress of ARBIL were to being pushed (i.e. attacked) by those who were outsiders; they cast up embankments and set up battering rams (123), and fixed machines for castings (maghenas), and they made fierce war against the Fortress. And the Metropolitan of ARBIL, whose name was MAR ABRAHAM, and who was an old and feeble man, was captured, together with many priests who ministered in the church, and the

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clerics and believing men; and some of them were killed and some of them were sold [as slaves] for very high prices. And the Fortress remained in the possession of the soldiers, some of them being Mongols in the service of that Amir who had brought this result about, and others, men belonging to various tribes of the KARTEWAYE (i.e. Kurds). To state the matter briefly, men came from every country to plunder the Christians; and for this reason many murders took place, and carryings off of men and women into captivity which cannot be described. And even among the Arabs many died by the mouth (i.e. edge) of the sword. And matters continued to be thus from the second day of the week (Monday) of the Prayer of the Ninevites until the Feast of My Lord the Adorable Cross, of the year which has been mentioned (A.D. 1297). Thus were these things.

Now the soldiers of the victorious King KAZAN, and a great Amir, (124) who was with him, at length confined that son of perdition [NAWRUZ, the accursed], in one of the fortresses of KHORASAN, and the men of the fortress acted treacherously in respect of him, and put him in fetters and delivered him, bound, to those soldiers. And then and there they cut off his head and sent it to the victorious king. And the messenger who brought the head arrived and came to the victorious king on the twenty-fifth day of Abh (August) of this year, when he

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was in a place which is called SHAREKHANAH (or SHARAPKHANAH), and is in the neighbourhood of ALA TAK. And the king had rest from the waves of his (i.e. NAWRUZ'S) wickedness and from the storm of his cunning desires and crafty deceits. May his portion be with Satana, his counsellor and fellow-servant!

Now the accusations (or complaints) against the Fortress of Arbil and the believers who were therein increased steadily, and the tumult because of them waxed strong in the Great Camp. It was said:--"These men have killed a large number of Arabs. They have revolted against the Government. Every Ishmaelite (i.e.Hagaraya or Muhammadan) they meet they kill without pity. Enmity increased, threats were multiplied (125), until at length they succeeded in making the reports enter the ears of the victorious king, and they were repeated before his throne. Now as we have said before [in writing of] these [Mongol] kings, God gave the Christians favour in the eyes of the king, and he knew that they were cruelly oppressed. But although he had turned aside from the way of his fathers, and had inclined to dogma [which maketh] bitter the soul, he had not changed his good disposition in respect of them.

As his answer to those men who had made him hear the accusations against the Fortress when Mar Catholicus set out with a following for the (Royal] Camp at ALA TAK, through the

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force of the circumstances which lay upon him, for there remained not to him one place in which to lay his head, the victorious king sent to him two of the nobles who [stood] before him. One of these was called KHWAJA RASHID AD DIN, and with him was TARMADADH, an Amir. And they said unto him, "The king commandeth; let Mar Catholicus hear his command!" And Mar Catholicus replied, "Most certainly, who is there that would not receive the command of the king--may he live for ever!" And the nobles said, "The king (126) commandeth, saying "If the king were to make the Christians evacuate that Fortress, and give them land, and water, and houses, and protect them from everyone who attempted to injure them, and bring them here, and release them from every burden of tax and duty, how would [this] plan work out, and how doth it appear in thy opinion? For the enmity between these two religions of the ARABS and the SYRIANS hath increased. If the matter be left in the state in which it now is, very grievous injuries will overtake the kingdom through it; if these men are left as they are, many other revolts will spring into existence. What now doth the Catholicus say to the matter, and the manner in which it is to be carried out?"

And the Catholicus made answer to them. When he heard this his eyes became filled with and his mouth showed forth his suffering,

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and with a bitter choking of his voice he said, "I have heard the command of my lord, the king, and there is no one who can evade it or change the character thereof. If only I could remember what hath happened to me, and show it forth the heavens and the earth would be forced to weep. If it pleaseth you (127), since ye demand of me an answer to declare to the victorious king, I will speak. I had a Cell in BAGHDAD, and a church and endowments which were settled upon me; they have been taken [from me]. The church and the Cell that were in MARAGHAH have been torn up by their roots and cast down, and everything which was in them hath been plundered, as ye are well aware. I have escaped being murdered, and my state is manifest. As for the church and the Cell which were in TABHRIZ, there remaineth only a flat plot of ground with no building upon it, and everything that was in them hath been plundered. The places whereon the Cell and the church stood in the city of Hamadhan it is wholly impossible to point out. There remain now the Cell and the church in the Fortress of Arbil and one hundred souls, and do ye wish to scatter them also and to plunder them? What is the good of life to me? Let my lord the king command either that I return to the East, whence I came, or that I go to the country of the PEROGAYA (Franks) and bring my life to an end there."

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(128) When the envoys heard this they were sorrowful, and their eyes also were filled with tears. And they rose up straightway and went in haste to the victorious king, and placed before him these answers, word for word. And forthwith the king--may he live for ever!--gave the command, "The Christians shall not be ejected from the Fortress, and if they are in want of food let it be given to them at the expense of the Diwan until the soldiers can come down on the approach of winter."

And a certain Amir, who was a hateful man, prevented [this order being carried out] for he wrote and acted in another manner. The matter, however, which was most necessary, was the rescue of the oppressed men and prisoners, who were shut up in the Fortress. And after much labour and constant going to and fro an Edict appeared; and envoys were permitted to go to Arbil and release the men in the Fortress And the Catholicus sent with them to the Fortress a certain holy man (a bishop?) that perhaps through his intervention [the envoys] would be able to open the gates of the Fortress [more easily], and that the people would devote themselves to concluding an arrangement for peace.

And the Catholicus said farewell to (129) the envoys and the holy men (bishops?) who were with them, and they arrived at Arbil on the

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14th day of the month of 'Ilul (September of the year already mentioned [A.D. 1297]. They tied together the [parts of the] bridge of the Fortress, and they went in and released the men in the Fortress, and after much labour and tribulation of spirit, and suffering of the heart, they made them to be friends with the Arabs. And the expense incurred by the Catholicus and the Christians who were there was not small, for it was about ten thousand dinars (£5,000) in addition to what was given from the Cell to the Amir who effected this with them, and this amounted to about fifteen hundred dinars more. The chief of the Arabs confirmed (i.e. signed or sealed) the agreement on the oars of the Arabs to keep the peace, and the Metropolitan of the Christians confirmed (i.e. signed or sealed their agreement with the Arabs to keep the peace; and one of the Amirs carried away both documents and exhibited them before the victorious king.

And another Edict was promulgated ordering that the Fortress should belong to the Christians who were empowered to demand the restoration of everything which had gone from them. Thus wickedness ceased, and peace (or goodwill) increased (130) by the help of God and the outpouring of His mercies upon His creatures.

But in spite of all this the Arabs did not cease from evil, and they found means of attacking and doing harm to the Christians as they have

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always done. And a certain man among them was a lord of the Diwan whose name was NASIR AD-DIN, obtained an Edict from the king ordering the Christians to pay the poll tax, and to tie girdles round themselves when they were walking about in the market-places.Now this calamity was the most difficult of all calamities [to endure]. And many of the Christians were slain in the "City of Peace" (i.e. BAGHDAD). And without any delay the gezitha, that is to say, the poll tax, was dragged from them, and their loins were bound round with girdles; now, to speak the truth the gezitha was not a tax but absolute plundering. And when the Christians were walking in the markets, and among the houses, the Arabs would scoff at them, and revile them and make a mock ol them saying, "See what ye look like in these girdles, O wretched people!" And there was nothing which they could do to afflict them they that did not do to them (131), until at length God had mercy upon them, and lightened all the burdens that rested upon them, and removed far from them the trials which had overtaken them and which had surrounded them on all sides.

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CHAPTER XV. MAR YAHBH-ALLAHA FLOURISHETH AND FINISHES BUILDING THE MONASTERY OF MARAGHAH

And that winter the Catholicus went with the victorious king to MUGHAN, which was the winter quarters of them [i.e. the Mongols] ; from there he came with them to there TABHRIZ, and passed the summer in the royal Camp. [This he did thinking that perhaps he might be able discreetly to supply the things necessary both for the Church and himself, and also that he might turn back the violence and strength of the opposition (?) of [his] enemies, and cool their anger. VVhilst things were thus, the victorious king commanded and a seal was made like unto that great seal' which had been stolen [from the Catholicus], and engraved with the same inscription, that was upon it, and a sukur, that is to say (I32)ashater (i.e. parasol) was given to him. Thus the sparks of love were beginning to flash forth from him.

And the Catholicus passed the winter of the year of the Greeks, one thousand six hundred and ten [A.D. 1299] in the Fortress of ARBIL, for from the year which we have mentioned that is, one thousand six hundred and five, he

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had not seen the people thereof. He rejoiced at the sigh! of them, and passed the winter happily among them. The joy of the father in his children increased, and also that of the children in their father, for they were emerging from labours, that is to say, trials, and were freeing themselves from a great disaster and from stark suffering.

And when the winter had passed, the Catholicus set out in the month of Nisan (April) for the Royal Camp, and he went to MUGHAN where the kings passed the summer. And [the king] rejoiced in him greatly and paid him honour, and commanded that whatever happened, he should enter MARAGHAH again. And in accordance with the [king's] command he went to the city [and arrived there] on the Sunday [of the prayer] "haw dabhithutheh" (i.e. "He who in His being"). And he passed that summer in [his]Cell, with great content, in MARAGHAH (133).

And in the month of the [first] Teshri, (October) of the year of the Greeks, one thousand six hundred and eleven [A.D. 1299], he went down again with the victorious King Kazan to the countries of Arbil and MAWSIL (Mosul). Now the object of the victorious king was to conquer the countries of PALESTINE and SYRIA. And the Catholicus wintered in the Fortress of ARBIL, and during the whole of that winter, he devoted himself to getting ready the money for [the building

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of the monastery of which he was laying the foundations. And when the victorious king returned from PALESTINE [and SYRIA], having conquered and broken their armies, and plundered them, and scattered, and slain and carried of the inhabitants into captivity--for he hd actually carried out what he had determined to do(1)--the Catholicus went up again with him to ADHORBIJAN. And he began to build the monastery, and he devoted his whole care and energy to the work until he completed it.

And in the month of 'Ilul (September) of the year [A.D. 1300], KAZAN, the victorious king came to Mar Catholicus at Maraghah, and he remained with him for three days. And the joy of the Christians waxed great, and the kin (134) showed great love towards them, for he knew well that they were simple and guileless, and innocent of wickedness. And he departed with a joyful heart from the Catholicus, who had ministered unto him exceedingly well.

And the king turned and went down again to the countries of ARBIL and MAWSIL in the winter of the year of the Greeks, one thousand six hundred and thirteen [read 1612--A.D. 1300-01]. And the Catholicus also went down with him and accompanied him to a place which was nigh unto the region of SHIGHAR (SINJAR). Then he

(1) He defeated the Egyptians with great slaughter at Homms and besieged Damascus.

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went back and passed the winter in the citadel of ARBIL,until the victorious king returned, when he again went up with him. And during the going up the KARTEWAYA (KURDS) made an ambush for Mar Catholicus, and as he was passing on the road, they sent arrows at him, and an arrow hit one of his fingers and wounded him slightly. The victorious king was enraged at this and he swore the full Mongol oath, saying, " I will take vengeance of those Kurds" (135).

And when the Catholicus arrived at MARAGHAH he went up to the monastery of MAR JOHN THE BAPTIST, which he had founded, and he took with him the monks whom he had gathered together. His intention was to finish that building, and he said:, "If God hath mercy upon me, and I am able to finish it and to consecrate it, this would be a great act of grace on His part towards me." And God--may His honour be adored!--helped him, and, his object, according as he wished, was accomplished. And that building was finished with everything that was beautiful, and the ornamentations thereof were such that words cannot describe their great excellence.

The buildings were handsome, the doors were things to be admired, and its superstructure was raised above on worked slabs (or pillars ?), and its foundations of dressed stones were truly laid. Thus it was, he made its doors of dressed slabs, ornamented. with designs, and its stairways

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were also of dressed stone. What wards can describe its majesty [adequately]? And the site on which the edifice was built possesseth great consolation [i.e. charm], and is full of splendour. The veils [i.e. curtains] that are before the door of the altar, and in front of the tombs and the sacristy, are most wonderful and marvellous. They are made of a woven fabric (136), with designs in hollow work, and have threads of fine gold running through them. Its wall is so high [that its height] preventeth the attainment of the scaling of it. As for the water suppIy of the monastery, water flowed through all the cells of the monks, and carried outside it by means of channels (or drains) every impurity. Recently a cell for the Patriarch has been built in the monastery, and the Throne is therein to-day, for the Patriarch doth not go out therefrom. And the greater number of the layings on of hands [i.e. ordinations] take place therein, and the decrees, that is to say, ecclesiastical cannons are confirmed therein.

There too are fixed [i.e. deposited] the relics of the saints, whose names we will mention presently and healings descend upon all those who take refuge in them. And although, strictly speaking the monastery was built [in the name of] MAR JOHN, the Baptist, there have, nevertheless been gathered together therein the relics of [many other] saints, with a care and diligence which surpasses

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And these have been laid up there for the help of believers, and as a refuge for the afflicted, and the relief of those oppressed with pain, and the consolation of those who are troubled. The holy shrine, containing relics (137) are arranged in order and are placed near each other.

The length of the temples (i.e. the two naves and aisles of the monastery, together with the altar is, according to those who have measured them say, sixty cubits (about 100 feet), and the width of the middle nave is twelve cubits [about 20 feet]. The altar, and the chamber of the holy of holies, and the treasury are very spacious. The whole of the outside of the dome of the altar is inlaid with green glazed (kashani) tiles, and on the top of it is placed a cross. The names of the saints' relics and portions of whose bodies are preserved in it are: Of the blessed Mother, my LADY MARY, a small piece of her head-cloth which the deceased RABBAN SAWMA had brought from the countries of the PEROGAYE, Franks); MAR JOHN the BAPTIST; the holy Apostles PETER and PAUL--may their prayers be with the community!; MAR THOMAS the Apostle; and MAR GEORGE; MAR ADDAI and MAR MARI, the Apostles, and preachers of the Gospel in the regions of the East; MAR STEPHEN the Protomartyr; MAR CYRIHACUS, the martyr who was martyred at TARSUS, A.D. 301], and the Forty Martyrs [who were slain by SAPOR II,

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A.D.356] ; MAR SIMON BAR-SABBA'E, martyred by Sapor II at Ledan]; (138) MAR JOHN of DAILEM; MAR SERGIUS and MAR BACHUS, [martyred by Maximian]; MAR SHALITA, (see p. 305); MAR SABHA the martyr; MAR HANAN 'ISHO; MAR SAMUEL; MAR JAMES, who was cut in pieces; MAR SELIBHA, MAR IISHO'-SABHRAN, MAR ELISHA, the tried martyr; the holy daughter of MA'YO (MANYO); and SHAMONI and her sons [who were slain by ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES]. May their prayers help the world, and may it preserve the inhabited portion of it from every harm!

[And the Catholicus] consecrated the church and set the stone of its altar in its place on the day of the holy festival of Mar (i.e. my.Lord) the Adorable Cross on the 13th day of 'Ilul (September) in the year of the Greeks one thousand six hundred and twelve (A.D. 1301). And on the day of its consecration there were gathered together all blessed believers of Adhorbijan, and they flocked thither bearing votive offerings and tithes, each one according to his ability, and every man according to his position and rank. And they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And Mar Catholicus made a great feast, and he gathered together to it men of every shade of religious belief and opinion. And he took (139) the cup and presented it to all of them, and made them to enjoy the feast. And

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blessed them even as did SOLOMON the king when he had completed that great house of God (2 Chron. vi.) and blessed the people of the Lord.

And the amount of money which the Catholicus spent on the monastery before he finished it was four hundred and twenty thousand zuze [i.e. between £40,000 and £50,000]. And he gave apparel to the holy men (bishops?) and monks, and architects, that is to say, the carpenters and the handicraftsmen, and every one had toiled on the building, to each according to his rank, and according to the service he had rendered. Behold, services of prayer, and celebrations of the Eucharist take place therein continually; it is a spectacle (or public show) for all the Orientals, and a refuge which dispenseth help. The Catholicus gave to this holy monastery a village called DHABHI, which lay in the eastern parts of MARAGHAH, and which he had bought for eleven thousand dinars. He made the village "Wakf," that is to say, he settled it as a permanent endowment for the monastery. And he settled other properties upon it, such as gardens, vineyards, plantations, fields,and other things, so that (140), the income from them, that is to say, from [the sale of] the crops which they produced, would sustain the life of the monks and provide food for them, and for lamps and candles, and defray the cost of the

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repairs and the upkeep of that holy place. And he called that holy monastery, "Malka dhe `Umre," i.e. the "King of Monasteries. May he receive [from] our Lord his reward and may He grant him the wages of his weary toil, namely, the happiness which is in the kingdom of heaven, and a sojourning with the saints, the lovers of our Lord Jesus Christ; and may our Lord place on his right hand every one who hath laboured with Mar Catholicus and been associated with him in this work! Amen.

CHAPTER XVI THE LOVE OF KING KAZAN FOR MAR YAHBH-ALLAHA, AND HIS DEATH.

And after the completion of this monastery, and the consecration of it, Mar Catholicus went to TABHRIZ, to the victorious King (141) KAZAN. And the king welcomed him gladly, and looked on him joyfully, and paid him honour more than was customary, and magnified him in an unusual manner. And he asked questions about his building [and the progress of] his work, and when Mar Catholicus said that it was entirely finished, the victorious king rejoiced and was glad; and Mar Catholicus blessed him before those who were reclining there. And the king himself set out for MUGHAN to pass the winter there, but he commanded Mar Catholicus to dwell in his monastery throughout the winter, saying, "It is a new building, and it will be agreeable and convenient for its master [to be there], because of the great labour [which he hath expended on it]."

And at the return of the year [in 1302?], when the king came back from MUGHAN, the Catholicus again went to see him, and to pronounce blessings

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upon him ; now this meeting was exceptionally joyful [to each], and the sight [of each other was most grateful to them. The king set apart for him a seat of honour on his right hand, and gave him many gifts, that is to say a Paiza (see p. 62) and costly royal apparel, and he manifested towards the Catholicus the sincere love which cometh from a very pure heart. And Mar Catholicus thanked him (142), and then returned to ARBIL in the year of the Greeks, one thousand six hundred and fourteen [A.D. 1302], that he might go from there to BAGHDAD. Now it was a long time, in fact a nine years since he had been to that Great Throne, and the chief reason for his journey thither was the determination of the victorious king to go there.

He set out from ARBIL on the day of the Friday after the Festival of the Nativity of that year (A.D. 1303], arid he entered BAGHDAD on the night of the holy Epiphany. And he made a festival in DARATH RHOMAYE, and all the congregation rejoiced in him, and his own gladness was exceedingly great. And after twenty days he departed from BAGHDAD, and went to the city of HILLAH (which lieth by the side of Babil (Babylon), which NEBUCHADNEZZAR, the Chaldean king, built), that he might see King KAZAN. When the Catholicus arrived there he went to the king on the day of the "White Festival" [i.e. the Festival of the New Year when men and women

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alike wore white apparel], which (143) the Mongols were celebrating. And the victorious king welcomed him more gladly than words can say, and he asked him questions and why he had taken the trouble to visit him; and Mar Catholicus replied to him in appropriate words.

Now the king had determined to go to Palestine [and Syria] a second time, and to subdue and conquer those countries a second time. And when after some days Mar Catholicus [went to] see the king, so that he might [obtain permission] to return to BAGHDAD, the king gave him five splendid vestments of great price, which were [usually] worn by kings, and he concluded all the matters of business which the Catholicus had to do with him according to his request. Then the king went to those countries [of Palestine and Syria], and the Catholicus went to BAGHDAD, and lodged in Darath Rhomaye. And he dwelt there for the whole of that winter, and hoped that at the end of the Lenten Fast he might go up again to ADHORBIJAN, and take up his abode in the monastery which he had built.

And on the 10th day of the month of Nisan (April) of that year [A.D. 1303] he departed from Baghdad., the City of the Throne, and on the 13th day of the month of 'Iyar (May) (144) he arrived at the city of Maraghah, and he rested in peace in the monastery which he had founded. Later, on the 10th day of the month of Haziran

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(June), the victorious king himself came to this monastery, and Mar Catholicus met him and welcomed him with pomp and ceremony. And as was befitting, he made a great feast for him and the kings, and the Amirs, and the nobles of his kingdom. And the king paid him very great honour, and he made his rank to be higher, than that of everyone else ; and he made him great and excellent promises, and taking off the cloak of his body, he arrayed him therein, and all the believers rejoiced with an exceeding great joy.

And the king passed the night in the monastery. And that night, whilst he was sleeping, he saw in his dream three angels standing above him, the apparel of one of them was red, and the two others were clad in shining green garments. And they spake words of consolation to him, and gave him reason to hope that the disease in his toes would be healed. And on the following morning, the king brought out a splendid cross made of fine gold, wherein (145) rare stones of very great price were set, and in it was a fragment of the adorable wood of the Cross of our Vivifier which had been sent to the king as a mark of honour by MAR PAPA of the Romans, and he gave it as a gift to Mar Catholicus. And the king related his dream before all those who were seated there, and confessed (or declared), saying "Through the blessings of this holy hothouse I have got healing." And he remained there all

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that day praising and magnifying Mar Catholicus. Then he set out for that place wherein he used to pass the summer, that is to say 0ghan. And on the 20th day of Haziran (June) of this year the king--may he live with victory!--sent to Mar Catholicus, by his own courier, a famous horse, on which he himself rode, and a rich and splendid robe, with salutations to Mar Catholicus, and promises of future favours of all kinds. Later in this year, in the month of Abh, the victorious king sent to Mar Catholicus vases of crystal, and vases of glazed porcelain (kashani, in Persian djini) with (146) designs on them in gold. [The king] had brought handicraftsmen from the city of DARMASUK (DAMASCUS) and from KASHAN [on the Tehran road]. By the dispatch of these vessels [the king] showed great love for [MAR CATHOLICUS.].

Any whilst the king remained in the city of TABHRIZ, Mar Catholicus went down to pass the winter, according to his wont, in the Fortress of ABRIL. In the month of the latter Teshri (November), in the year of the Greeks, one thousand six hundred and fifteen [A.D. 1303], all the Fathers and the Christian nobles who were there gathered together to him, and after the great festival of the Resurrection of our Lord [A. D. 1304], the great Amir, to whom was entrusted the direction of the affairs of the Government of DIARBAKR, came to visit Mar Catholicus, who

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went up with him quietly (or slowly) in great state to the monastery which he had built. And he arrived there on the night of the Feast of Pentecost. Five days later there came to him the bitter, horrible and truly evil report of the death of the victorious King KAZAN. He died on the Sunday (147) of Pentecost, at the turn of the day (i.e. towards the evening) on the border of the city of SAHAND [in ADHORBIJAN]. And all the inhabitants of the countries of his great dominions mourned for him. His coffin was brought to the city of TABHRIZ, on the Sunday [of the prayer] " Kul medem sa`ar," i.e. "He doeth everything," and was placed in the great vault which the deceased king himself had built.

CHAPTER XVII KING ULJAITO AND MAR YAHBH-ALLAHA.

And because the great Amirs, who held the steering oars of the Government of the kingdom [of the deceased king], ruled firmly, no rebellion broke out, and no confusion took place in any place whatsoever. They sent straightway for the brother of the deceased king on his father's side, who was called ULJAITO (148), who was in the countries of Khorasan, and they brought him and made him king on the 12th day of the month Tammuz (July) of this year [A.D. 1304]. [Oljaito was the third son of Arghon and was born in 1281. At birth he was called Oljai-Buka, and later Kharbande, i.e. the " Muleteer," which was changed to" Khudabende," i.e. "Servant of God." His mother was the daughter of Prince Saruji, the brother of Queen Dokuz Khatun]. And because he had been baptized, when he was a child, in the time of his father, King ARGHON, he used to run in and out often to see Mar Catholicus with his mother URGAU (ARGAU) Khatun, who was a Christian queen. And he enjoyed free and friendly intercourse with him, and loved him with a boundless affection. And the Catholicus rejoiced greatly at his accession [to the throne], and he thought and said, " This [king) will) honour the

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congregation more than his father and his brother when he hath seen and learned the honour in which they held it, and their love towards it." And he did not perceive that voluntary motions vanquish and overcome those which are habitual and natural, especially when they take root and flourish. Now the king had become a Hagaraya (i.e. Muhammadan) in those regions and he had acquired another kind of instruction (or education?) which had made him to forget all the things that appertained to the first (149). And through the numerous discussions which he had heard there, was found in him a kind of hatred of the Christians.

And when Mar Catholicus went to him--now he met him on two occasions--the king paid him due honour, though not heartily; but he received him with a little courtesy, which was due to his venerable position. He gave a mighty hand and a strong arm to the Muhammadans in everything--in gifts, and Pukdane (Edicts), and honours, and [permission] to build mosques--and because of this they treated the churchmen with contempt. And forthwith their wickedness grew strong, and they came at length to sow (i.e. whisper) in the ears of King ULJAITO that they should take the monastery which Mar Catholicus had built, and make the church of the town of TABHRIZ into a mosque, and that its wakf. that is to say the endowments

KING ULJAITO AND YAHBH-ALLAHA 257

should become the property of the mosque. And this proposal was all but carried into effect, and the evil would certainly have been committed, if God's help and God's grace had not stirred up the excellent Amir IRINJIN--may [his] life be preserved! --the uncle of the king, who restrained their audacity and curtailed their impudence. [IRINJIN was the son of Prince Saruji, and the nephew of Dokuz Khatun; he gave his daughter, Kutluk-shah to Oljaito in marriage.] Also they wanted to take possession of the monastery which the Catholicus had built.

And the winter of the year of the Greeks, one thousand six hundred and sixteen (150 (A. D. 1304-05) ) Mar Catholicus passed in the town of Eshnok [in ADHORBIJAN]. And when.there he escaped with the greatest difficulty from the hands of the rebels, and came to the monastery which he had built. And he set out from there for the Royal Camp at 0ghan, and went with the king to TABHRIZ, and he struggled to make prosperous the affairs of the Church, and received [from the king] a Pukdana (Edict), and returned to the monastery. From there he set out to pass the winter in the Fortress of ABRIL and as soon as he arrived there, at the beginning of the year of the Greeks, one thousand six hundred and seventeen [October, A.D. 1305), he laid the foundation of a great Cell in the Fortress, and he built it of limestone and mortar,

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and he finished it and furnished it with every kind of beautiful thing. And at the beginning of the month of 'Iyar of that same year [A.D. 1396], he went up to the monastery which he had built and passed the summer there. When heard that the king had begun to levy the poll-tax on the Christians, he went again to Oghan, and he met the king, but gained no advantage therefrom.

And the king began to build a city in the neighbourhood (151) of the borders of KAZWAN (KAZWIN), and he finished it and called it "SULTANIYAH." And he collected there handi-craftsmen from all the countries of his kingdom, and he adorned it with splendid buildings, and in a manner which it is impossible to describe.

And since Mar Catholicus was without an income from any source whatsoever, and his expenses were very great, he went again to the Cell which he had built in the Fortress of ABRIL, and he passed there the winter of the year of the Greeks one thousand six hundred and eighteen [A. D. 1306-07], and the summer also, and the winter of the year of the Greeks, one thousand six hundred and nineteen [A.D. 1308]. At the beginning of the month of 'Iyar he went up to Adhorbijan and visited the king in the city of UGHAN. And the king paid him the honour which was usually paid to him.

And the king rode forth to the chase, and he came to the holy monastery which Mar Catholicus

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had built. And the monks went out to meet him, and they brought him in with pomp and ceremony. And when he went in to the cell of the director of the monastery, that director (152) found mercy in his eyes, and he asked him questions about the Mysteries of the Christians. And the director replied to the king in noble words and most eloquently, and the king was well pleased with the same. Then he went into the Cell of the Catholicus, and sat upon the patriarchal Throne, and he made the monks to come there, and he rejoiced with them, and gave them five pieces of beautiful and valuable cloth. Thereupon the director of the monastery mentioned the poll-tax, and the king promised that he would not again levy it. And he laid no burden of any kind on the monastery (i.e. his visit cost the monks nothing].

And when the king had departed on the following day, the Catholicus having heard [of his visit] came to the monastery, and he grieved greatly that he had not been present in the monastery. And he followed the king, and overtook him by the waters of the river which is called GAKTO in Mongolian and WAKYAROD in Persian, and the holy men (bishops?) and the director of the monastery were with him, And the king paid Mar Catholicus very great honour, and permitted to be written for him, and for the Christians, the great Pukdana of the Pukdane [an Edict conferring very great privileges on the holders]

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And the Catholicus passed both the winter and the summer of the year of the Greeks, one thousand six hundred and twenty [A.D. 1308-09] in the monastery. And the king showed great mercy in the favourable Edicts which he issued and he allotted to the Catholicus the whole of the poll-tax of ARBIL, and commanded the poll-tax should never again be levied on the Christians. And immediately the Catholicus went to the Fortress of ARBIL in the month of the latter Teshri (November) of the year of the Greeks, one thousand six hundred and twenty-one [A.D. 1309] (154), he fell sick on the road of a deadly, disease, but our Lord healed him, and he went to the Fortress of ABRIL in great state and all the people of the city came out before him and brought him in with great honour.

CHAPTER XVIII. THE MASSACRE OF THE CHRISTIANS AT ARBIL.

Now because the divine decrees must of necessity be fulilled, and these decrees would never be carried out but for the causes (or works) of the marvellous government of God, He made in olden time in the mountains certain men who are called "KAYADJAYE," that it to say, "those who ascend the height of the mountains," and who quarrel with each other. And certain of these men went to the king and made accusations (155) against their Amir ZAYN AD-DIN BALO, into whose hands was committed the duty of feeding and paying [an army] of three thousand men. And the king was wroth with him and shut him up in prison for one year. And because of him the victorious king sent to the Fortress of Arbil a certain Arab, who was called NASIR, and who was evil by nature and of a bitter disposition. It was he who was the cause of the carrying into effect of that plan of the Arabs, which he began to put into execution already in the year of the Greeks, one thousand six hundred and eight [A.D. 1297]. And all the sons of HAGAR (i.e. the great and small, high and low, Amirs and soldiers,

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scribes and lawyers, governors and councilors made a plan secretly to take the Fortress of ARBIL from the Christians, and to destroy, its inhabitants.

It is meet, however, to state the truth, namely that the hearts of the inhabitants of the Fortress, and of those who were with them, had become hard. They had forsaken the way of Christianity; they had treated wholly with contempt the divine laws, and scoffed at recluses, and the priests, and robbed each other, and they had broken through the fences of the laws of our Lord; (156) neither to admonition nor instruction did there remain a place with them. Hatred had waxed great among them, envy had seized their hearts, they brought accusations against each other, and they oppressed and smote, and persecuted, and defrauded, and plundered. And they formed themselves into companies and invaded the houses of their chiefs and to speak briefly, they gave themselves place [i.e. took the opportunity] to perform wickedness of every kind. And no one let the matter enter his mind, and no one feared the fierce anger and the punishment [which was to come.

Although actions such as these are divine, it is Providence that, seizing upon the causes, maketh them complete. As, for example, the cause of the death which God decreed for Adam was the transgression of a command; it was because He had hardened the heart of Pharaoh that He could

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bring punishment, and others like unto them are mentioned as figures. But the object of Providence [was obvious], from that [which was said to Pharaoh, "I established thee for this purpose, that I might show forth my power on thee, and that my Name might be proclaimed in all the earth"; (157) and in another passage [it is said], "The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, that he might not know Him, so that He might show forth His great works and mighty deeds upon the earth" (Exod. xx.I; iv.17).

These things happened in the hearts of the dwellers in the mountain who are called KAYADJAYE. The dwellers in the Fortress of Arbil hardened [their hearts], and were [therefore] forsaken by divine help, so that the mighty deeds of Providence might be made known, and a hidden things of its glorious nature might be learned. Now although God--may His honour be adored!--knew before He brought man into being, to what object his nature would incline, in establishing him He admonished him, according to what His foreknowledge knew and provided.

Now this man NASIR, whom we have mentioned above, as soon as he had gone into the Fortress, took up his abode in a tower close to the gate, and never went forth from it. He caused to be brought up there, secretly, weapons and munitions of war and soldiers, and he sent a message to the Camp saying, " These men are Yaghaye,

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that is to say, enemies of the king, because their Amir is shut up in prison" (158). And the more he did this the more the inhabitants of the Fortress were making manifest [their] wickedness. But as for him there was no way in which anyone could do him an injury, for, with the exception of a very few, he had all the people on his side, and the gold of all the Mashlemanutha (i.e.,} Ishmaelites, or Islam). As for them, there was no opportunity (?) for one of them to help his fellow, even with a shamuna (farthing). NASIR possessed the Ahitophelian counsels (see I Chron. xxvii.33) of all the scribes and of all the chiefs, whilst they (i.e. the people of Arbil) had no man [to give them counsel], because they were drunk with wine and had passed beyond [the limits of] their minds [i.e. had gone mad], either because of the absolute abandonment of them by God, or because of the evil works which they performed. And they did not fear the just and righteous judgements of the Lord. And what happened through this? The envoys of the king were coming and going, [and they said], "Rise up, and get ye down from the Fortress, 0 Christians." But they had made up their minds absolutely, to refuse to obey, and to rebel. And in proportion as they acted in this manner, the people (159) of the Arabs rejoiced and were glad, for they knew well that their object would be fulfilled and make itself plain."

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And when the condition of things grew worse, there went forth a royal Edict addressed to the Amir, a man who was called SUTI, who was at that time in the regions about DIYAR BAKR, and [to] another man who was called HAJJI DALKANDI, who was a brother of the above-mentioned Nasir, who had taken up his abode in the Fortress. [And the Edict ordered] that, "If the KAYADJAYE are not going down from the Fortress, and if [they will not go], let it be assaulted and reduced by force, and let the troops of the king be gathered together to fight a pitched battle."

Now the Catholicus, because of his love for the kingdom (or Government), did not believe that this would be done in the Fortress whilst he was dwelling in it, and he did not think that the Christians would be treated in this way as long as he was with them. And all [the Christians] neglected to do what they ought to have done, and they were too careless to make a journey to Royal Camp, and show [the king] what had happened to them. And they continued in the sleep of negligence until there overtook them (160) certain events which they never thought could possibly take place.

On the 9th, the fourth day of the week (Wednesday) in the month of Adhar (March) of that year [A.D. 1310], during the Lenten Fast, the son of the Amir whom we have mentioned,

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and three Amirs of thousands (Chiliarchs) went up to the Catholicus to bring him down, and it was ordered that if he would not come down with them he was to be put in prison. On the following day he came down, being forced to do so, and from the that moment fear and weeping fell on the Fortress; and evil signs made themselves manifest. And they brought the Catholicus to the monastery of MAR MICHAEL of TARIL. And the Amir SUTI came to him, and the soldiers who were with him were from the Amirs of thousands, and others, and he showed him great affection. In times past he had often visited the cell, and was a first favorite with Mar Catholicus, and had been held in high honour by him in the time of the deceased KAZAN. And he said to the Catholicus, "The Edict [of the king] orders that the Mountaineers (KAYADJAYE) shall come down from the Fortress, and that the others shall remain [there]. These (161) will not go forth except at thy bidding, therefore thou shalt send one of thine own men to [make] them go down."

On the morning of the following day, which was the Eve (i.e. Friday), the Patriarch brought oxen, and lambs, and wine to the house of the Amir mentioned above, [and he made a feast], and placed the wine-cup in his hands, according to the custom of the Mongols, and he mounted him on a good horse in order to confuse his senses. [In other words the Catholicus bribed the Amir.)

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And the Arabs who were there, HAJJI DALKANDI, an the old man (Shekh) Muhammad, who ruled in ARBIL, and his brother who was called AHMAD, were complaining bitterly against the Christians, and also against the Catholicus, and saying, "Besides thyself there is no one who can bring those men down from the Fortress. "But the emir, thinking only of the bribe which had been given to him by the Catholicus, paid no heed to them.

Then they agreed to send messengers [to the Mountaineers] to advise them to come down. The Catholicus sent one of the holy men who were with him, and who was called MAR `ABHD ISHO` (162) Bishop of HANITHA, and the Amir sent one of the Amirs of thousands, who was called SATI BAG, to talk to them and bid them come down. And when they went and talked to them in very gentle words, which were coupled with promises of benefits, the Mountaineers would neither receive them nor hearken to them; so the envoys turned back and arrived from them on the Sabbath (Saturday), the 14th day of the month of Adhar. And immediately the Amir SUTI heard this, he came to the Catholicus, and held converse with him, saying, "These are YAJAYE, that is to say, enemies [of the government]; thou must send a messenger to them O Catholicus, a second time." And Mar Catholicus himself wrote an exhortation to those men to go down, and he sent it by the hands

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of the bishops, MAR ISHO'-SABHRAN, the Metropolitan, and the aforementioned Mar Abhd-Isho', and the monks RABBAN DAWID, the anchorite, and RABBAN DENHA, the director of the monastery of MAR MICHAEL of TARIL. And they departed on the night of the Sunday of the prayer "Enhu dhe-te'ol" (i..e. "If Thou wilt enter"), and when the day dawned they went into the Fortress and held converse with the dwellers therein, and they submitted and undertook to go down.

And when NASIR heard this, (163) he straightway hoisted the signal which had been agreed upon between himself and the inhabitants of the city, namely, that when he hoisted the signal on the roof of the tower in which he dwelt, they were to rush up to him and set the battle in array. Now when these wretched men who had been counselled to go down into the church they saw the swords which flashed and the sharp arrows that were falling down [upon them], they made haste to leave [the church] and went with the greatest difficulty to the door of the Fortress, and they too made war from the fourth hour of the day until the evening, and the whole night long. Three of the Arabs were killed, and twelve Christians, and if they (i.e. the Christians) had not hurled fire under the tower all night long, they would all have been slain to a man.

And when the Amir SUTI and the soldiers that were with him heard [of this] they made

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haste and went and surrounded the Fortress, and they carried the Catholicus, who wept, along with them by force. That same day they went below the Fortress, saying to him as they went, "Do-not allow them to take part in the fight." On the night of the (164) second (?) day of the week (Monday) certain men went down from the Fortress, and God delivered them; but they and the Catholicus, and the clergy who were with him, [were cast into] prison. And from daybreak or, the second day of the week (Monday), the Amir SUTI, and those who were with him, urged MAR Catholicus to send an envoy to them [telling them to let NASIR go down with everything that he had; and he sent the bishop ISHO`-SABHRAN and RABBAN DAWID, the anchorite. And when the Arabs saw them, they killed RABBAN DAWID the anchorite without mercy, and they smote ISHO'-SABHRAN with swords and staves, but God rescued him from their hands, and he fled and came [back].

And the evil condition of things became worse, because punishment had arrived, and the Arabs and the Mongol troops began to throw up mounds and to construct machines of various kinds and to wage war systematically. From the moment when NASIR hoisted that evil signal, the Christians who were in the city were slain in the streets (or bazars), and in the market-places of the city. Many of them fled and went into the houses of

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the Muslims, but even these were dragged out from them through informers; and on the second day of the week (165) (Monday), they died cruel deaths, no mercy [being shown to them]. The people who belonged to them who were in the prison of the Kadhi, were brought out and beaten cruelly until they received death. The young women were stripped of their apparel, and were made to walk about naked through the streets of the city. And also the women who were with child were ripped open, and [the soldiers] slew the unborn children, and cast their bodies before the gate of the Fortress.

And men were in the habit of going to the Amir SUTI, and saying, " O Amir, send a messenger, and see how [the Christians] are killing the Muslims, and casting [their bodies] at the of the Fortress" And he, in his simplicity believed them, and he gave the order, and the four churches, which were on the plain were pillaged (or destroyed). Two of these, that which was the name of ISHO`-SABHRAN, the glorious martyr, and that which was built in the name of MAN'O, belonged to us. The church of the JACOBITES, which was built in the name of my LADY MARY, and the church of the Armenians, were razed to the ground, and also all the houses and buildings of the Christians, and the Cell (166) of the Metropolitan Throne.

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And the Amir sent through all the country, and collected men to fight, and he brought down the KARTEWAYE (KURDS) from the mountains. And the Christians from all the villages, because they were unable to go to the city, gave no small amount of money for weapons of iron and food for the soldiers. And the war waxed strong against the Fortress, which was attacked on all four of its sides by night and by day. And many were killed, both those who were below (i.e. the attackers) and those who were above (i.e.the defenders), and many of the KURDS and ARABS; but few of the Mongols were slain, because they did not come near the Fortress, but were content to shoot arrows from a distance. And the roads were cut to the Christians in that country and everywhere else, and wherever the people saw them they killed them without pity, and said, "Ye are from the Fortress," or "These men are fugitives." And the stupefaction of death seized every man.

As for the Catholicus, no helper remained to him against those who had seized upon him as far as deeds were concerned, and very few even in the matter of words. In the night season they watched him from near, and in the daytime (167) from afar; and he did not know what was going to happen to him. His thoughts were in a tumult, both through fear for himself and fear for the Fortress. And only with the

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greatest difficulty did he find an opportunity to write a letter to the Metropolitan of ARBIL who, was a fugitive in the village of BETH SAYYADHE. This man who because he was wroth with the people of the Fortress, for they had not hearkened unto him, had betaken himself to BETH SAYYADHE, together with everything else that he had and settled himself down in that place. [The Catholicus wrote to him], saying, "What will thy escape profit thee if thou dost not go to the [Royal] Camp? " And two days later the Amir SUTI sent guards with the Catholicus, and they brought him to BETH SAYYADHE.

[Thereupon] the Metropolitan set out on the night on which the letter reached him, and in four days he arrived in BAGHDAD, together with the young men who were with him. And he went to the [Royal] Camp, and made known there what had happened to the Catholicus and the Christians. Now the Amirs who were in the Camp had already heard of (168) everything that had happened in full detail, because the Amir SUTI had sent messengers there to report what was being done by him. And the Catholicus also wrote a letter [and sent it] by a messenger to one of the servants of the Cell [saying] what had happened to him; and that servant went and made it known to the Amirs and the councillors, and explained the case to them, and also informed them about the massacre which had taken

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And the hearts of the Amirs who had no knowledge whatsoever of this event were utterly stupefied, for those who had committed this deed had held their peace. Following on this also quickly came the Metropolitan, and he repeated the story before all the Amirs. And a royal Edict was written and sent by a messenger to the Amir SUTI, saying, "Thou hast explained to us the matter in this wise, but the Catholicus in other wise; which of you are we to believe and hold as true?" Thus the [course of the] evil was restrained somewhat.

When the Amir SUTI heard of this thing, he was exceedingly grieved (169) and became furiously angry. And he sent for the Catholicus and had him brought to him, [and he said to him], "Hast thou written thus and thus? "And all the people of the Arabs were shouting abuse at the Catholicus, and each man was crying out what he wanted [to do] with him. And the Catholicus said, "I have written nothing, but a certain Metropolitan belonging to the district went and spake on behalf of his house and his flock" And they (the Amirs) said, '"Now make these rebels to come down, according to the royal Edict, and if thou wilt not do that, write thy declaration that they are Yaghaye (i.e. enemies)" Then the Catholicus sent to the Metropolitan of MAWSIL (MOSUL), and some of the young men of the Cell, and exhorted

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them [to come down], but they were afraid do so.

Now there were among them certain men who were really rebels, and they, fearing to be massacred, were strengthening the others in their rebellion so that they might not go down, Thereupon the Amir SUTI and those of his party gained an advantage over the Catholicus, and they pressed him saying, " Thou must give us thy writing (i.e. certificate) that those men are YAGHAYE (i.e. enemies), that we may send a messenger to inform the king."And they seized upon and carried off everything (179) that he had with him. Some of those men who had come down with him they killed, some they sold as slaves. And by force they obtained a certificate from the Catholicus, and the holy men who were with him, which was worded as they wished.

On that day the Amir sent HAJJI DALKANDI [to the king]. Now he was a kinsman of the king and on his arrival he exhibited the matter [i.e. the certificate of the Catholicus]. And one of the Amirs, who was called ASAN KUTLOK, rebuked him severely, and reproved his impudence because he knew the truth, and perceived that the certificate had been obtained by force; and he wished to smite HAJJI DALKANDI, who removed himself. And the aforementioned Amir, and all the councillors, went to the king and explained

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the matter. And the king issued an Edict ordering that the men in the Fortress and the Arabs should make peace, and that on neither side should reprisals be made, and that no man should fight again. This Edict was promulgated only after many exertions, and troubles and anxieties on the part of the Metropolitan and his companions, and it was committed to the care of certain of the sons of the kingdom (princes?) that they might carry it to ABRIL (171). And HAJJI DALKANDI went back in disgrace, and his face was covered with shame. With the Edict there came two of the disciples of the Cell, and they arrived at ABRIL on the day of the Eve of the Confessors (i.e. the Friday after Easter). And straightway they tied (i.e. rejoined) the bridge which had been burnt, and they made peace, and many came down from the Fortress to the plain.

Now, as has been already said, the Muhammadans gave to NASIR, and to his brother, as much gold as they wished to expend in bribes, and thus they were able to satisfy the cupidity of the messengers who had brought the Edict; and they suggested to them to go up into the Fortress. And when they had gone up no man spread a cushion for them to sit upon, and they were not offered food, not even a crust of bread, and no man gave them any money, not even a shamuna (i.e. farthing). Then those messengers repented

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concerning the peace, forsooth! which they had made, and they reverted to their evil and bitter disposition. And they wished to inflict some injury on the young men of the Cell who were with them, but one of them fled from the them secretly by the door of the Fortress to the village of BATH (172) and they pursued him but he was not to be found. Then they seized his companion and put him under restraint. And the messengers [of the king] pursued [the other] and came to the village of BETH SAYYADHE, and they brought back the Catholicus, and repeated the words, "These men will not come down except at thy word; come, hearken to the Edict."

And when he (the Catholicus) arrived at ARBIL, all the people gathered together to SUTI, and began to use violent language towards the Catholicus; but he, because of the great reliance which he placed in the Government, made answer to them in bold words. Then the Catholicus sent a message by the Amir SUTI, and ordered the men in the Fortress a second time to come down. And they were to swear by the Gospel that they would do no harm to NASIR, and he also was to swear [to do no harm] to them, and thus there would be peace [between them]. And many came down and swore that they would do him no harm, and that they would be subservient to him according as he wished

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And it being ascertained that of a surety he had gone up with three hundred men, the gate [of the Fortress] was shut, because their hearts were full of guile. When SUTI saw that it was thus, he seized those who had come down and slew them.

And the companion of the young man of the Cell who had fled (173) was questioned closely about his fellow-disciple, and beaten severely; only with the greatest difficulty did the Catholicus save his life. Then they seized the horses and mules of the Cell, and everything which the young men and the holy men had who came with the Catholicus, and they carried off even their clothes. And after this they said with deceit to the Catholicus, "We will take thee up to the street (or market) below the Fortress, and bring the chief men of the city to thee there, so that no man may quarrel again or be stirred up to make war until we can inform the victorious king."The Catholicus in his simplicity agreed, and went up into the Fortress, but he did not know of the trap which the Muslims had made (i.e. laid) to kill him.

On that same day there came to the Amir SUTI a messenger from his houses (i.e. home), who said, "The soldiers of the PALESTINIANS have invaded [thy] domains, and if thou dost delay in coming peradventure even thy house (i.e. wife and family will be carried off into captivity." And

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forthwith [he and] all the soldiers who were with him set out, although he was very ill and suffering from a serious sickness. And at the foot of the Fortress there remained only the KURDS and the natives of the city. On the following day war broke out (174) again, and on both sides massacres took place. The roads were cut, and there was none who went out or went in, and no one who carried out or took in news. Famine waxed strong in the Fortress. And every one who went out either to flee or to fetch in food for his house, was killed without mercy. Catholicus, and the three clerics who were with him, and the young men who remained with him, were imprisoned in the Fortress without a covering, without a cushion to lie on, without sustenance and without food. And the punishment became more severe, ruin increased terror waxed strong, and there remained neither a helper, nor a place of refuge, nor any one who was able to utter a word which would help [them].

As for those messengers, they returned to Camp with HAJJI DALKANDl, and they explained to the king that [the people in the Fortress] were enemies, that the Catholicus stirred them to revolt, that he had given a bribe and gone up into the Fortress, and had opened the places of treasure, and distributed gold, and had produced for them stores of wheat, and weapons of war

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and ropes and machines for fighting, and had strengthened their intention to carry on the war (175).

Thereupon evil ruled supreme in the hearts of the king and his nobles, and again Edicts were promulgated, thirteen in number, and addressed to all the Amirs, by name, to each of the Amirs of the KURDS by name, to each of the four Amirs of the King of the Mongols by name, and one to the whole country of ARBIL. [In these it was ordered] that if any man sendeth up food to the Fortress, or giveth it to the men there, his village shall be looted and [his people] slain, and any estate belonging to.him in the district shall be taken from him, and shall become the property of the king absolutely ; and it was ordered that [the Amirs] were to prosecute the war with the armour of strength, and to bring it to a triumphant end for the sake of the Ishrnaelite Faith.

And [the king] sent a separate Edict addressed to the Catholicus by name, in which it was set forth the following: "We and our fathers have paid thee honour so that thou shouldst pray for us, and give us thy blessing: but now that thou hast acted otherwise, know thou that that which is coming upon thee is due to thyself and not to us." And they handed the Edicts over to one of the men who were at the Door of the Kingdom (i.e. the palace or Camp), who was called

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TOGHAIN and to HAJJI (176) DALKANDI, both being in very truth, enemies of all Christendom, that they might go to ARBIL and work their will.

Now the Metropolitan of ARBIL remained in the Camp for three days after those messengers had been sent, with the two young men of the Cell, to make peace. And he pondered, saying, "If the natives of the Fortress and the Arabs make peace, there is nothing to be gained staying in the Camp, but if they go on fighting, it is impossible for me to speak without the advice of the Catholicus." And straightway he rose up and came in haste to the village BETH SAYYADHE, but on his arrival he found that the Catholicus had been carried off that very day, together with the holy men who were with him, even as has been shown above, and had been imprisoned in the Fortress. And all the Christians, were in a state of acute suffering, and they grieved sorely, their grief being from the heart, and not on the eyebrows and eyelids as is the case with certain people. And it dissolved the flesh and rent asunder (177) the bones, because they did not know what was going to happen to them at the hands of the Arabs, and whether they would be delivered from this persecution or not. And they were like those who have suffered shipwreck, and are being buffeted by waves and tempests, for they were afraid of sinking through the destruction of the persecution.

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Now the aforementioned Metropolitan was not able to endure [this uncertainty]. He thought that he would go back to the Camp, but was in doubt about it, because for one thing the roads were cut, and he had no companions of any kind with him, and there would remain no opportunity of taking counsel with the Catholicus. On the other hand, if he dwelt in the Cell, whilst the Catholicus and the holy men were suffering affliction and tribulation, and the Christians being put to the torture, he would be condemned by the canon of truth and the law of Christ, which saith, "Whether it be shepherd or whether it be friend, it is meet for him to lay down his life, and to give himself to death, and to think scorn of his life, and to bear tortures of all kinds for the love of Christ." (Cf. I John iii.16.) And he became emboldened, and took with him the young men of the Cell (178), who had fled and were in hiding, and they went forth from the village of BETH SAYYADHE in the evening of the sixth day of the month 'IYAR (May) of that year [A.D. 1310]. And they marched all night and all day long, over mountains, and across plains, and hills, and barren rocks, being in fear and terror of ambushes by the enemy, without any place in which to shelter, and with not enough food to satisfy [them]. And by the help of God they arrived in the city of HALMADHAN in ten days, for they had heard that the king was there.

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And when they had gone into the city [they found that] the victorious king had departed that day, and had gone to the royal city of the Mongols. On the following day the Metropolitan and the young men departed, and went to Sultaniyah and they heard [there] that those Edicts had been given to the two men who have been mentioned above, namely TOGHAN and HAJJI DALKANDI, and that they were preparing to set out and go to ARBIL. On hearing [this] their hands dropped helplessly, their knees tottered, and their eyes dripped with tears over the breaking (179 up of the Church, and what had happened to her children. And they took counsel with certain men who were friends of the Catholicus, and certain churchmen, as to what they should do And answer was made to them, saying, " If ye hesitate to spend your own moneys, and those of the Cell, the Catholicus will perish and ye yourselves also, and the churches will be pillaged, and also the Wakf (i.e. endowments) of the Christians will disappear because of the Catholicus."

Then straightway the Metropolitan took with him a certain sum of money, and he went to one of the Amirs, who was a near kinsman of the king. And they took him into the presence of the Amir, who treated him with honour, and listened to his speech about the Catholicus and also about the Christians. And the Amir

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took from him a copy, written by the hand of the Metropolitan, of everything that he had said, and showed it to the [other] Amirs and to the king, victorious in God!, as will be shown afterwards. And the Amir delivered him over to three men who were close friends of his, so that they might take him to each one of the Amirs and Wazirs, who [stand] before the king, that he might say with his mouth (180) what he had written. And those men brought him to an Amir who was called ASAN (HASAN (?)) KUTLOK, and to Khawaja SAID AD-DIN, the chief of the scribes, and to the Wazir Khwaja RASCHID AD-DIN.

And the Metropolitan spake boldly the following address: "Mar Catholicus saluteth you, saying. Ye know, O Amirs, that it is this day five and thirty years since I came from the East; and that I have been made to sit on this Throne of the East by the Will of God; and that I have served and blessed seven kings in all long suffering, and in the fear of God, and especially the father of the present victorious king, the deceased ARGHON, and his mother the believing Queen URGHO (sic) KHATON. I have deceived no man. I have coveted none of the property of the Government, and if certain gifts have been bestowed upon me by them (i,e. the kings), I have spent them again on their behalf (181). Although I was a young man once, I am now an old man; and I have no wife, no children,

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no relatives, and no kinsfolk. Am I likely to rebel against the king for the sake of the love of the world? Or shall I think of snatching away from him anything that is his? Why then should the words which mine enemies [speak] against me be believed ? Moreover, I have never experienced any evil thing from the present victorious king in God, and God forbid [that I should]! But even supposing that it could happen and that he wrought evil upon me--which God forbid! I am commanded by the Holy Gospel, the Book which I confess, to return good for evil, for it saith, `Pray for your enemies, and bless him that curseth you, and do what is good to him that hateth you,' (Matt. v. 44). And it is impossible for me to abandon that which I have been commanded by God, through Christ, for transgression of the command maketh a man, whoever he may be, a stranger to Him that laid down the command. I beseech you. If the king is convinced in his heart that I have committed evil, let him bring me (182) to the Door of the Kingdom and inform me accurately what I have done; and then, supposing I deserve death, he will be guiltless of my blood. But let him not leave me in the hands of my enemies." This was the speech of the Catholicus.

[And the Metropolitan spake saying]: "All Christians who are in the Fortress say, `We are not rebels against the victorious king. But

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are terribly afraid of our enemies the KURDS and the ARABS, who kill us unsparingly; and we have no one who will have pity upon us, and will make known to the king the state of affliction in which we live. We are the servants of the king and subject unto him, and at all times we pay the tribute and taxes at which we are assessed. Now if the king commandeth us to bring down these KAYADJAYE, on whom the king's heart rests, have we strength enough? But if he commandeth us ourselves to come down from the Fortress, let him send to us one who will deliver us from the hands of these tyrants, and let him [then] command us to go whithersoever he wisheth. We do not dwell here because of the pleasantness of the place but because of our great fear (183) of the PALESTINIANS and the KURDS. Behold, our sons and our daughters have been carried off into captivity, and the greater number of [our] men have been slain. And, O Amirs, all of you are well acquainted with these [facts], and I, the Metropolitan, your servant, pledge myself by what I have said in the document which I have written and given [to you]."

Then the Amirs accepted the statement, and showed it to the victorious and merciful king. And the king commanded that the Amir of the Amirs DJOPAN should know the matter, and should bring the Metropolitan to him that he might hold converse with him. And when they

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had brought him he spake all the things which have been recounted [above] and added, "It is through thee that all these things have been done to us." Now some bond existed between him and the Amir of the KAYADJAE-, who was called BALU. And he received the statement unhesitatingly, and stopped the journey of HAJJI DALKANDI to Arbil, and made promises of good things (184) to come. And he selected men to go as envoys besides those who had been first [chosen].

Notwithstanding these things, and not to make [our] narrative too long, HAJJI DALKANDI neither slumbered nor slept, and he gave no sleep to his eyes, and all the people of the Arabs were with him. And they gave huge bribes to the Amirs, and the nobles, and the small men, and the soldiers, and that proverb which says, "The bribe blindeth the eyes of the wise in judgement " (Eccles. xx.1) was fulfilled, and they went back on the agreement and conditions arranged. The Metropolitan was seized secretly and was handed over to TOGHAN, so that he might go and bring down the Catholicus and the Christians from the Fortress, and if he did not he was to be slain without pity. And they brought him by night outside the city to a mountain which was close by, and no man whatsoever had any knowledge of him. The suffering of all the Christians, of every sect, who were gathered together there in the

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city, waxed sore, and all the young men of the Cell fled and were scattered. And there remained none, (185) to help them or to care for them except the adorable mercy of God, who worketh according to His grace, and provideth according to his mercy.

Now the Metropolitan had a younger brother, and. he fled and went to the Amir DJOPAN--may his life be preserved!-and he showed him what had been done, saying, "The servant of the Amir of the Amirs, the Metropolitan, who came to him yesterday on account of the Fortress of ARBIL, hath by guile and force been carried off to ARBIL."And the Amir was exceedingly angry, and he sent a messenger and brought back the Metropolitan from out of the hands of the accursed ones. And he brought him into the presence of the victorious king, sand repeated to him the statements which the Metropolitan had made concerning the Catholicus and the Christians. And the king commanded that the Catholicus should be brought to the Camp, and that the Christians should come down from the Fortress, and that no harm should be done to them. And the king had TODJAIN (sic) brought and gave him orders about these matters, and also commanded him to go to ARBIL.

And the great Amir of the Amiss, the head of the Diwan, DJOPAN, took the Metropolitan (186) to his house. And he wrote for him many letters

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to all the Amirs of the Mongols who had gone to reduce the Fortress, and to the Amir GAIDJAK, a son-in-laws of the deceased king Hulagu, the father of all the Mongol kings, asking them to bring down the Catholicus with suitable honour, according to the royal Edict, and also to let the Christians come down unharmed. And he delivered it to the enemy, saying, "If any man streteheth out his hand against the Christians, thou shalt not bring them down."And he sent away the Metropolitan with due honour, and handed him over to the royal messenger, saying, " If the ARABS and KURDS will not obey this, tarry with the Catholicus and the Christians, and send me a message, and let me know."

And the Metropolitan and the messenger came first of all to the Amir GAIJAK and showed him the decree of DJOPAN, the Amir of Amirs, and GAIJAK and his wife(1) rejoiced in the deliverance of the Catholicus and the Christians. And the Amir GAIDJAK sent one hundred of his Mongol horsemen, (187) besides those who had already gone to the Fortress, to assist in this operation, and he also wrote to eight hundred Kurdish foot-soldiers, over whom he ruled, to bring down the Catholicus. Now three days before the arrival of the Metropolitan and the messenger who was with him, TODJAIN (sic) arrived,

(1) Gaidjak married Tutukai, the fourth daughter of Hulagu; her mother was a slave of Dokuz Khatun.

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and he sent a messenger to the Catholicus, and showed him the command that he was to come down. And the Catholicus without any hesitation came down, and the holy men and the priests who were with him on the day of the Eve (i.e. Friday) on the sixth and twentieth day of the month of HAZIRAN (June) [A.D. 1310]. And [thus] he heard (i.e. obeyed) the Edict.

And TODJAIN persuaded him to go up again to the Fortress and bring down the Christians. In the simplicity of his heart the Catholicus went up, and commanded them to come down, and those wretched folk hearkened [i.e. were obedient] in [their] simplicity to the command of the King and the Father (i.e. Catholicus). And they went down at daybreak on the Sabbath, with their sons, and daughters, and wives, one hundred and fifty men more or less, besides women and children, without any weapon, and without a sword, and without a knife. And when the wicked people of the Arabs saw that they had come down,
they were filled with fierce passion, (188) and worked themselves up into a rage, and they drew their swords, and slew them, from the greatest of them to the least, without pity and without fear. And the women and children they carried into captivity. And the Arabs took as their excuse, "They shot arrows at us from the Fortress." But all this was only that they might make the Catholicus afraid to go

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down, and that the accusation which had been made against him before the king might be held by the king to be true, and that peradventure he might be wroth, and command that the Catholicus and all the Christians should be massacred.

Then the Catholicus, with his hope in Christ, with weeping and sighs, and bitterness of soul came to go down. He held the sword in contempt thinking within himself, "If I die of hunger in the Fortress the name of rebel will go forth concerning me, and that would be an evil thing; it is far better for me to obey to the death. I will go down. If my Lord saveth me, it will be a glorious victory for me ; and if He doth not, I am ready to accept the crown of martyrdom for the sake of the name of Christ." And the Christians fell down at his feet weeping and saying, "We will not let thee go down" (189) and thus also [spake] the holy men (i.e. bishops who were with him. And the Catholicus made answer, saying, "There is nothing else for me to do except to go down, but I do not urge anyone whatsoever to go down with me; but the man who wisheth to be a participator in my suffering I will not prevent from doing so." And he said farewell to them.

And the three bishops who were with him clave to him, and the young men of the Cell and certain monks and priests. And they went down in (or by) the wall, treading, as they

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went upon those who had been killed and butchered, and who without offence had been hacked in pieces. And the Catholicus himself saw his sons with their bodies ripped open, and their entrails dragging loose upon the ground, and there was none to bury them or to wrap them up for the grave. He had trusted in the word of TODJAIN (sic) and thought that he was a friend, whereas in truth he was a false friend.

And then, with [the words of] the prophet in his heart, he said, "I cried to my friends, and they have deceived me. My priests and my elders have come to an end in my midst. They sought food for themselves that they might have their souls (or lives), and they are not to be found. See, O Lord, that I am sorely afflicted, and my bowels are troubled. My heart hath turned back (190) within me, because I have complained bitterly. Outside the sword hath destroyed, and death him that was in the house. Hearken for I am groaning, and there is none to console me. All mine enemies have heard of my calamity, and they have rejoiced because it is Thou who hast prepared it for me. Bring the day that Thou hast called, and they shall become ever as I am. And all the wickedness of the HAGARAYA (i.e. Muhammadans) shall come before Thee. Trouble Thou them with the trouble with which Thou hast, because of my sins, troubled me, and which Thou hast shown, through me, to

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my children, and those who are precious to me. And because my groanings are many and my heart is sick." [Lam. i.19-22; but the Syriac text is ; defective].

What next? TODJAIN (sic) came before the Catholicus, laughing like a man who had done nothing, and he brought him to his tent, and paid him honour, and presented the cup to him kneeling on his knees. And the Catholicus said unto him, "Is this the form which thy promises take? And is this the way in which the royal Edict which thou didst read to me yesterday is carried out? In that it was commanded that every man who went down was not to be harmed, and that not even the blood of his nose was to be made to flow." TODJAIN replied, "They shot arrows from the Fortress, and wounded two men (191) and they are dead."And the Catholicus said, "Those who shot the arrows ought to have been killed, and not those who obeyed the royal Edict and came down"; and TODJAIN held his peace and answered never a word.

Now although the accursed peoples of the Arabs had taken counsel in order to destroy the Catholicus, TODJAIN and NASIR, the brother [HAJJI] DALKANDI pretended that they knew nothing about it, so that [their ignorance] might be for them an excuse. But the Lord hath pleasure in His chosen ones, and He sendeth to

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them deliverance whence they know not, and with out their perceiving how [it cometh]. Now the Metropolitan pondered in his mind, and said to the Amir GAIDJAK, "O Amir, thou knowest well what manner of man this TODJAIN is. He hath arranged for us to go to Arbil, but I am afraid that he will work [some] wickedness before we arrive [there]. It will be a good thing if the Amir will send [on in advance] one of his own men, and one of the companions of the messenger who is with me." And this the Amir did without any delay (or hesitation), and he sent on one of his own men, and one of the men who were with the messenger. And [they] arrived on the day of the Sabbath mentioned above, at the turn of the day (i.e. in the evening), after the wretched people had been massacred (192). And they came and saluted the Catholicus and TODJAIN, and they showed him the copy of the Edict of the king which the Amir of the Amirs, had written on the subject of the Catholicus. And when TODJAIN and NASIR heard it the light of the face of TODJAIN became clouded, and the face of NASIR became green (or yellow), and they began whispering to each other. There remained to them no means [of exculpation], for the men who had come had seen the Catholicus. And when the darkness fell NASIR and TODJAIN rode with him (the messenger?) a mile. And he went to the village of AMKABHA [near Arbil].

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And the Metropolitan, and the messenger who was with him, arrived on the morning of Sunday, the seven and twentieth day of the month of Haziran (June) and they saw what had happened; and they were sorely grieved, and their suffering was great, but they were somewhat relieved that the Catholicus and the clergy who were with him were saved. And straightway they went to the Catholicus, and showed him the instructions of the great Amir, and the character of the royal Edict concerning him; and the Catholicus rejoiced and blessed them and the Amir.

And in the morning of the following day the messenger went to TODJAIN and asked permission to go up to the Fortress, but TODJAIN would not permit him [saying], "These (193) men, who are YAGHAYE [i.e. enemies, or rebels] would kill thee." The messenger said, "Whether they kill me or leave me [alive], I am going up to them." And when he went up TODJAIN would not let any food or drink whatsoever go up with him [saying], "Thou hast come to save the Christians, who are haters of our Confession (i.e. Faith), and are also enemies of our people. And since the Christians do not obey the royal Edicts, we will not obey the command of thy Amir." The messenger, however, paid no heed to him, and he went up to the Fortress, and showed [the Christians] the decree of the Amir ; and they agreed to go down, and all were obedient.

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And the messenger came down in the evening, and he brought down three men with him; one of these they (i.e. the Arabs) snatched from his hands and slew, and the other two they carried off as prisoners. The messenger brought with him the keys of the Fortress, which he delivered to TODJAIN, and then he came to the Catholicus sadly, and they took counsel together as to what he should do.

[And the messenger said], "Those who are at the foot of the Fortress are many and powerful. In the Fortress there is not food enough for a single day, and they stopped me from (194) taking anything up. And if I bring them down the Arabs will seize them and massacre them. I have no one here to help me, and what to do I know not. But I can gather together the men who have come with me, and the one hundred horsemen of the Amir GAIDJAK. They can bring down the women and children first of all, and carry them into the villages. And as for the men who can fight, they, and I, and the men who are with me can pass away and make our escape in the night. And if any man putteth out his hand against us, we can put out [our hands also]." And the Catholicus said, "Thou knowest [best what to do] ; according as God giveth thee [knowledge] that do."

On the third day of the week (Tuesday) the messenger went up to the Christians, and he

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gathered them together about him and held converse with them; and the greater number of them hearkened to his counsel, but, as the proverb saith, "Out of the bone cometh the worm."(1) Now certain of the people of the Fortress had long acted deceitfully, and had made themselves confederates of NASIR AD-DIN. And every day they sent messengers to him, and made him acquainted with everything that took place in the Fortress. And when these men saw that the greater number had decided to (195) go down, they went and informed NASIR. And straightway he wrote [saying], "The dwellers in the Fortress, with the exception of the Mountaineers [TURAYE] shall give nothing to any man, and they shall not come down from the Fortress, but they shall make their hearts happy. The Mountaineers shall give the messengers money for the way, and, if they wish, they may come down." At this decision the people in the Fortress broke up into two parties, and some of them went down to him (i.e. NASIR), both they and their houses (i.e. families); and they

(1) I can find no equivalent in the Bible for this proverb, But the Assyriologists have shown recently that the Babylonians believed that toothache was caused by a worm at the root of the tooth; it is possible that the proverb quoted above is connected with this belief. See the Legend of the Worm, in Thompson, R. C., Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia, vol. II, p. 160

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were unharmed, and were allowed to depart, and they came to the village of AMKABHA. And after one day they (i.e. the Arabs) came and took them away from that place, and they were massacred.

From that time onward there remained in the Fortress no chief, no governor, no counsellor, and no man who knew [affairs]. The messenger remained by himself in the Cell of the Catholicus, but finally he went down, and left them without a helper in bitter weeping and anguished groanings. Alas for that hour full of injury! Alas for that season of affliction which brought forth tribulations! Supposing they dwelt [there]--no strength remained in any man even to draw water, and who was there to do the fighting? Famine (or hunger) vanquished them completely! The, wheat was (196) already finished, and was sold at eight zuze the litya (i.e. pound). As for salt, who could find any? They had already finished the asses, the dogs, and the ferrets, and no old leather objects were left. They filled themselves with the husks of the seed of the cotton plant (`mar-kubha). Widows stretched out their hands [helplessly] and wept, and there was none to bind up what was broken. And there was absolutely no one to bury the dead. Who was there who had strength enough to dig a grave? Who was there who could show pity and affection? Who was there to give alms? Orphans died

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on the dung heaps. Others fell down [dead] in their houses and dried up, and others hurled themselves down from the wall, and those who were below received them on their swords, and hacked them in pieces.

Alas for the men of honour whom the Lord hath spurned! Alas for the men of honour whom the Lord hath rejected! Alas for the nation for whom there remaineth none to show pity, and none to extend help to it! See, O ye who hear, how violent is the punishment of our Lord of those who do not turn back (i.e. repent)! How cruel is Thy rod, O our God! How injurious is Thy stroke, O Thou who careth for us! (197). How cruel are Thy beatings, O Thou who bindest us up! Thou hast turned Thy face backwards, and the crown of their heads hath fallen, and their rejoicings have been turned back into sorrow (Lam. v. 15,16). They have wept by day and by night, their tears have furrowed their cheeks, and among all their friends there is not one to offer consolation (Ibid. 1, 2). They all heave sighs and demand bread (Ibid. i.11). Their eyes have become darkened through tears, their bowels are in a turmoil, and their honour has been turned back on the ground, through the breaking of their Fortress. Children and, babes say to their mothers, "Where is the bread? Where is the oil?" And they collapse before them, like the slain (Ibid. ii.11,12) whilst asking

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for bread; and there is none to break it and give it to them.

Behold, those who once fed sumptuously now lie in the streets; and behold, those who were reared in purple apparel, now lie down on the dung heaps (Ibid. iv. 4, 5). Their visages are blacker than ashes, and they cannot be recognized. Their skins have shrunk on their bones, and have dried up, and become like wood. Far happier are those who have been slain with the sword than those who have been slain by hunger. The women eat their own fruit, and loving hands cook their children (198) who become their food (Ibid. iv. 8-10). Children and old men lie together on the ground, and virgins and young men have suffered disgrace. The men have been butchered, and the Lord hath not had pity on them (Ibid. ii. 21); and arrows have penetrated their kidneys. And they have become a laughing stock among all the nations (Ibid. iii. 13, 14), for the Lord hath fulfilled His wrath, and hath poured out the wrath of His anger (Ibid. 10, 11), because those who have observed for them (the bishops) have observed vainly (Ibid. iv. 16). They cry out with the Prophet [Jeremiah] saying, "Our sins you have roused themselves up against us, our strength hath become sick (or weak), for the Lord hath handed us over into the hand of one against whom we can do nothing (Ibid. i.14);

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righteous, is the Lord against Whom we have rebelled."

Hear, O all ye nations, and look on our affliction. Our virgins and young men have gone into captivity (Ibid. i.18), and our strong young men and men of war have been slain. What are we to say? That our priests have led us astray, and have not laid bare before us our sins ? (Ibid. ii.14). God forbid! They exhorted, and we did not hearken; they rebuked us, and we did not incline our ears. We despised them, and showed no favour to their persons. We have shown no affection to our old men, we have oppressed the widows, and we have persecuted the poor and needy. Our iniquity is greater (199) than that of JERUSALEM, and the wickedness which is in our days surpasseth that [of the days] of NOAH. Because of this the Lord hath performed that which He meditated, and He hath fulfilled His word according to what He commanded in the days of old. He hath swept us away pitilessly, and hath girded us about with enemies, and hath raised up the horn of our oppressors (Ibid. ii.17 ). All our enemies have opened their mouths against us, they have hissed and gnashed their teeth at us. They have sold our children into a far country, they have defiled our virgins before us, and they have mocked our women before our very eyes (Ibid. v.11)saying, "We will swallow you up. This is

MASSACRE OF CHRISTIANS AT ARBIL 301

the day which we expected, and we have found it, and seen it " (Ibid . ii. 16).

And the people of the Arabs went up to the Fortress with TODJAIN and NASIR on the fourth day of the week (Wednesday), the first day of Tammuz (July), in the year of the Greeks, one thousand six hundred and twenty-one [A.D. 1310], and they conquered it. And they slew everyone they found in it, and spared none, and everyone they saw they carried off into captivity; and they looted the treasures, and pillaged what was laid up there. And those who remained there of the TURAYE KAYADJAYE (i.e. the Mountaineers) they (200) hurled from the top of the wall, and those who were down below received them on their swords until they had made an end of all of them. They sold [some of] the women and virgins, and they gave [the others] to everyone who came to them, and made gifts of them. In short, they brought into daylight all the evil that was hidden in their hearts. And we also, with that same Prophet say, "Exult ye, O men of Arbil, for the cup hath come unto you, and Ye shall be confounded and broken with troubles (Ibid. iv. 21), and there is none to save you. But the Lord will be mindful of what hath happened to His people, and how His inheritance hath been plundered (Ibid. v. 1). The Lord is good to him that awaiteth Him, and to the soul that seeketh Him (Ibid. iii. 25). He will return

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reward, according to the work of your hands. And He will give to you sorrow of heart, and His stroke shall follow after you. In His anger He will destroy you, and He will blot you out from under the heavens (Ibid. iii.65, 66), because ye have swept away His churches, and have hacked in pieces the sheep of His pasture. Those who pass on the road shall smite together their hands at you (201), and shall hiss, and wag their heads, and say, "This is ARBIL [the city] which God hath cursed!" (Ibid. ii. 15).

CHAPTER XIX THE DEATH OF MAR YAHBH-ALLAHA.

Then the Catholicus, and the Mongols, and the clergy who were with him, who had come from the Amir GAIDJAK to bring him, went to the village of BETH SAYYADHE, but with great fear, and terror, and great anguish and affliction. And they stayed in the village for .a few days until they had collected some money, which they gave to the messenger of the Amir DJOPAN, and to the one hundred men who had come from the Amir GAIDJAK, and to the KURDS, who were with them. Then they departed and went to the Camp, on the 8th day of the month Tammuz (July) of this year (A. D. 1310) .

And the Catholicus visited the princess, the wife of the Amir GAIDJAK, and she paid him great honour and also sent men (202) with him to the Camp. When he arrived he went straightway to visit the great Amir DJOPAN, who saw him, and paid him the honour which was his due, and thence he went to the city; and all the Amirs were well acquainted with his history. And he went to the victorious king and blessed him according to custom, and placed the cup in his hands, and the king likewise gave him the

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cup, but neither of them spake a word with the other. And sorely afflicted, the Catholicus went forth from the presence, for he had intended if the king had questioned him to make known to him all that had happened to himself and to his flock. At this treatment his heart was broken grievously, and he sat down there for a month of days, hoping that, peradventure, some new thing might happen, or that some one would ask him about what had happened. And when certain necessary business connected with the Cell and the Christians had been accomplished, he went back and came to the; monastery which he had built by the side MARAGHAH. And he made up his mind that he would never again go to the Camp, saying, "I am wearied (or disgusted) with the service the Mongols."

(203) And in the year of the Greeks one thousand six hundred and twenty-two (A.D. 1310-11) he passed the winter in the monastery In the summer he went to the city of TABHRIZ because he heard that the Amir IRNADJIN--may our Lord preserve his life!--had arrived there; and the Catholicus having come thither met him straightway. And IRNADJIN paid him great honour, and he and his wife [KEKHSHEK], the daughter of King AHMAD, the son of the deceased King Hulagu, gave him gifts and presents. And the princess [KEKHSHEK] was greatly honoured in the kingdom,

DEATH OF YAHBH-ALLAHA 305

because the victorious King [ULJAITO] had taken her daughter [KUTLUKSHAH KHATUN] to wife, and she was then the greatest of his wives. The amount of money which the Amir IRNADJIN and his wife gave to the Catholicus was ten thousand [dinars], which are [equal to] sixty thousand zuze (£5,000) and two riding horses. And the Amir also gave a village to the church MAR SHALITA, the holy martyr, for his dead father was laid therein, and his mother and his wives were buried therein (204).

The Catholicus passed the winter of the year of the Greeks one thousand six hundred and twenty-three (A.D. 1311-1I2) in the monastery and the summer also. And when his case was represented to the king by the Council he bestowed upon him five thousand dinars (£2,500) which came to him for his maintenance every year. And the king also gave him villages [in the neighborhood' of the city of BAGHDAD.

Now up to this year the number of the Fathers, Metropolitans and Bishops which he has ordained for flocks by layings on of hands, is seventy-five. Thus are they. He lived in the monastery which he had built until the year of the Greeks, ne e thousand six hundred and twenty-nine [A.D. 1317]. He died on the night of the [Saturday preceding] the Sunday [of the prayer] "Ma shebhih mashkenakh "How glorious is Thy habitation"), the 15th day of the month

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the latter Teshri (November), and was laid in the monastery which he had built. May his memory be for blessing ! And may the prayers of MAR YAHBH-ALLAHA, the Catholicus, and RABBAN SAWMA be upon us, and upon the world, (205), to the uttermost limit thereof, and upon the Holy Church and her children.

And to God be glory, and honour, and praise, and worship, for ever and ever. Amen and Amen.

Here endeth this "History of MAR YAHBH-ALLAHA, the Catholicus and Patriarch of the East, and of RABBAN SAWMA, the Visitor-General." And to God be constant glory, and to the sinner who wrote these lines, may there be forgiveness of debts, and remission of sins in the terrible Hall of judgement! Amen.

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ABBELOOS, J. B. " Life and Acts of Mari " (in " Analecta Bollandiana, Tome IV).

ABBELOOS, J. B., and LAMP, T. J. The Chronicon Ecclesiasticum of Bar Hebraeus, 3 vols., Syriac and Latin, Louvain, 1872-77.

ASSEMANI, J. S. Bibliotheca Orientalis, Vol. III, Part II.

AWGIN, MAR. For the Syriac version of his Life, see Bedjan, Acta Martyrum, Vol. III, Paris, 1892 (PP. 376-480).

BACHMANN, W. Kirchen and Moschen in Armenien and Kurdistan, Leipzig, 1913.

BADGER, G. P. The Nestorians and Their Rituals, 2 vols., London, 1852.

BAR HEBRAEUS, GREGORY ABU'L-FARAJ. Chyonicon Syriacum, 1789, edited and translated by P. J. Bruns and G. G. Kirsch 2 vols. Syriac and Latin, Leipzig. An edition of this Chronicle was published by Bedjan at Paris in 1890.

Chronicon Ecclesiasticum, edited and translated by J. B. Abbeloos and T. J. Lamy, 3 vols., Syriac and Latin, Louvain, 1872-77.

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BAUMSTARK, A. Geschichte der Syrischen Literatur, Bonn, 1911.

BEDJAN, P. Histoire de Mar Jab-alaha, Patriarche, et de Rabban Sauma, 2nd ed., Paris, 1895.
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BETHUNE BAKER, J. F. Nestorius and His Teaching, Cambridge, 1908,

BREHIER, L. L'Eglise et l'Orient au MoyenAge, Paris, 1921.

BRETSCHNEIDER, E. Mediaeval Researches from Eastern Asiatic Sources, 2 vols., London, 1910.

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BUDGE, E. A. WALLIS. The Book of Governors, the Historia Monastica of Thomas, Bishop of Marga, A.D. 840, 2 vols., London, 1893.
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CHABOT, J. B.Histoire de Mar Jabalaha III et du moine Rabban Cauma, Paris, 1895.

DRIVER, G. R. The Bazaar of Heracleides, Oxford, 1925.

DUVAL, R. La Litteratuye Syriaque, Paris, 1899.

ETHERIDGE, J. W. Syrian Churches, London, 1846.

GIBBON, E. History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Smith's edition), Vol. VI, London, 1855 (the sections dealing with Nestorius and the Nestorians).

GISMONDI, H. Maris, Amri et Slibae de patriarchis Nestorianorum commentaria, Rome, 1896-99.

HAMMER-PURGSTALL, J. von. Geschichte der Ilchane, Darmstadt [still a very useful book].

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JANIN, R. Les Eglises Orientales, Paris, 1922.

KRUMBACHER, K. Geschichte der Byzantinischen Litteratur (2nd edition), Munich, 1897.

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LE STRANGE, G. Mesopotamia and Persia under the Mongols in the XIVth Century, London, 1903.
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MARI, MAR. For the Syriac version of his Life, see Bedjan, Acta Martyrum, Vol. I, Paris, (pp. 45-94).

MINGANA, A. The Early Spread of Christianity in Central Asia and the Far East, Manchester, 1925.

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MONTGOMERY, J. A. History of Yaballaha III, New York, 1927. [Contains an English translation of Bedjan's Syriac text from pp. 3-99.]

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[In this work there is a full account of the founding of the American Mission to the Nestorians at Urmiyah and the establishment of the famous printing press from which so many valuable works in Syriac and Fallaelu have issued. The debt which Syriac scholars owe to Perkins and his colleagues, W. R. Stocking, A. L. Holliday, Dr. Grant, E. Breath (the printer), J. L. Merrick, Lieut.-Col. Stoddard, W. Jones, and B. Labaree, cannot be estimated.]

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YULE, H. and CORDIER, H. Cathay and the Way Thither, Hakluyt Society, London, 1913-16.

Source: Text based on Budge, E.A. Wallis. The Monk of Kublai Khan, Emperor of China; or The History of the Life and Travels of Rabban Sawma, Envoy and Plenipotentiary of the Mongol Khans to the Kings of Europe and Markos who as Yahbh-Allaha III Became Patriarch of the Nestorian Church in Asia. London: The Religious Track Society, 1928. At Internet Archive Capture of defunct Traveling to Jerusalem Site

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