Where in the World is Prester John?In the late Roman Empire and early Middle Ages there was a legend

Where in the World is Prester John?In the late Roman Empire and early Middle Ages there was a legend among European peoples that the Nestorian Christians of the East had experienced a major success in converting the peoples of India to Christianity.  After a few generations, the Nestorians had supposedly founded a mighty Christian empire in India, one that rivaled the glory of Rome itself.  However, there was little to substantiate such claims and the rumors slowly evolved into myth and legend.  Then in the early 12th century the myth was revived again when rumors were spread that ambassadors from a great Christian empire in the east visited Pope Calixtus and the Eastern Roman Emperor.  According to the rumors, the ambassadors were sent by their emperor or king, a mighty Christian ruler named “Prester John” who was a descendant of the Three Magi from The Bible.  Supposedly according to the ambassadors, Prester John ruled over a powerful and extremely wealthy empire centered in India.  Like many tall tales, the magnificence of Prester John’s supposed empire included tales of cities covered in gold and jewels and strange creatures such as people with their faces on their chests and dog headed people who communicated by barking. The kingdom of Prester John was also home to such great legendary places as the Gates of Alexander, the Garden of Eden, and the Fountain of Youth.  As it turns out, no records exist detailing visits by any ambassadors from India.As news of Prester John and his kingdom swept Europe, a series of letters were published, supposedly copies of a letter written by Prester John to Eastern Roman Emperor Manuel I Commenus.  Copies of the letter were written in a variety of languages, with each version exaggerating the power, piety, and glory of Prester John to a greater degree.  Today the Prester John letters are considered to be a grand hoax, perhaps history’s first chain letter.  But to medieval Europeans, the letters were very real and proof of the existence of Prester John.  There was no doubt, Prester John was out there, and he wanted to help Western Christendom.  As the Crusades turned against the Christians, in 1221 the Bishop of Acre reported good news to the Pope: that King David of India, Prester John’s son was leading a vast army to aid the Crusades.  In fact, he had already conquered Persia and was marching on Baghdad.  When the forces of Prester John never arrived, tales were spun that the army was forced to turn back due to flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates.  At that time, there was a great emperor from the east who had conquered Persia; Genghis Kahn.  When the Mongols made contact with Western Christians, there was much confusion when they were hailed as fellow Christians with Genghis Kahn being referred to as Prester John or King David.  Over the next two centuries, Mongol rulers scratched their heads as European envoys and explorers showed up at their courts asking, “hey, can you tell me where I can find Prester John?”.In the late 15th century Portuguese explorers first landed in India.  They were then followed by the Spanish, Dutch, French, and English, who each carved out their own colonies on the subcontinent.  As lands to the east ceased to be mysterious to Europeans, it became readily apparent that the kingdom of Prester John never was in India.  This did not mean the end of the Prester John myth, however, but instead his relocation.  Suddenly people began to believe that Prester John’s kingdom was Ethiopia, rather than India.  This seemed logical since Ethiopia has a strong Christian heritage going back to the early 4th century.  When an Ethiopian envoy attended the Council of Florence in 1441, there was much confusion when the prelates asked, “so, did Prester John send you?”.  Over the coming centuries, Europeans would refer to the Emperor of Ethiopia as “Prestor John” or one of his descendants, despite that fact that court historians tried to explain that no such name or title existed in Ethiopia’s regnal history.  Like during the Middle Ages, the myth of Prester John grew as his kingdom was expanded to include not only Ethiopia, but modern day Sudan, most of Central Africa, and the East African Coast.  He supposedly ruled from a majestic mythical city called Hamarich and once again his massive empire was filled with gold, jewels, and bizarre mythical creatures.  Official maps were even drawn depicting the location of his kingdom and the city of Hamarich (top picture).Of course all of this was a load of humbuggery, and by the 17th century as more and more of the world was mapped and explored by Europeans, it became more evident that there was no Prester John or grand Christian empire to be found.  Today, Prester John is no more real than the Ninja Turtles or Flying Spaghetti Monster.  -- source link
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