The Galley

The image of the Byzantine dromon from the Naval Encyclopedia

https://www.naval-encyclopedia.com/medieval-ships/

The second chapter of my new project is titled The Galley. It tells a fascinating story of the medieval watercraft and focuses on the rowing fleet in terms of its function and service. 

You can read the entire extract at my page on Scriggler: scriggler.com/Profile/michael_baizerman

More chapters are about to appear but I will limit myself as my main workload is transferred to my second book, The Enchanting Encounter with the East. I have already written about 90 percent of the draft copy and is now doing additional research on medieval travelers to the East and their accounts of the weird and wonderful world that had been hidden from European intellectuals and was worth strenuous efforts to be unveiled. 

The Black Prince

Image: The Khitans at the eagle hunt 

Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khitan_people

This chapter brings to light the life of Yelu Dashi, the first candidate on the role of Prester John.

This Khitan prince, whose dynasty was ousted from power by a rival nomadic confederation, fled to Central Asia where he carved an empire. His outstanding victory over the Seljuk emperor caused the legend of Prester John to take root among the Latin crusaders. In their view, the confrontation with the Muslim host would qualify the opponent to be a Christian. 

In reality, the Kara Khitai Empire combined the nomadic and sedentary segments who were loosely united by the imperial regime based on a standing army. The emperor declared the freedom of conscience and did not exaggerate in his demands of tribute and troops from the dependent populations. 

The man, who embraced both the Buddhist and the nomadic cultures, had never dreamed of conquering the Near East and protecting Jerusalem from Muslim imminent assault. 

Here is a short extract:

The Khitans, people of Mongolian origin known to the Muslim world as the "Turks from China", belonged to a loose tribal confederation of steppe nomads. Consolidated in Manchuria, they annexed northern China and launched an empire under the leadership of the Liao dynasty. The royal clan Yelu and the nobility adopted the Chinese language and culture and took up the trappings of the ‘Middle Kingdom’, such as the calendar, coins, and seals. However, many of them retained nomadic customs, like wearing traditional dress and haircut as well as clinging to shamanist traditions.

Ousted from power by their former vassals in the early twelfth century, the Sinicized nomads put up with the foreign rule except for a tiny band of fugitives that slipped away to the desert and found temporary shelter in a distant outpost.  This remnant of the past glory was led by Yelu Dashi, a scion of the royal clan, who put on his mettle in border conflicts as an apt military commander.  

The ringleader managed to convince the garrison to take his side, took hold of imperial herds of horses, and summoned warriors from any background to join his camp. His call proved attractive to many desperados who risked casting their lot with a charismatic leader. New followers joined in grooves, and soon the faction grew up into the private army which had no scruples to encroach on neighboring lands. When the leader's initial plans to win his homeland back cracked, he changed his strategy, casting glances to the west. Subduing nomadic tribes along with the sedentary population of Central Asia, the expatriate devoid of any territorial base embarked on a grand enterprise, carving out a successor empire.

The ruler expanded his political influence at the expense of weaker neighbors until most of the region unfolded before him like a red carpet. Called the Kara Khitai Khanate, the new empire included the core territory under the direct control of their overlord and a bunch of vassal states and dependent tribes.

To rule over this "melting pot", Yelu Dashi had to adopt a couple of titles which reflected the special role of the Kara (Turkish: ‘black’) Khitai in pacifying the sedentary and nomadic populations. The head of the state was recognized as the Chinese emperor by the former and as the Gurkhan (Mongolian: "supreme leader") by the latter. The dual image helped the founding father consolidate his power among the debris of the shattered past and the dreams of a new destiny. A glimpse of China, which he offered to his subjects, was a mysterious country that boasted of its social order, classical education, enormous wealth, and outstanding achievements.

A shrewd statesman, Yelu Dashi carried charisma which made his position of Gurkhan uncontested. According to Ibn Al-Athir, “He was a handsome and good-looking man who wore only Chinese silk. His men held him in great awe.” [The Chronicle of Ibn Al-Athir for the Crusading Period. (Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2010), 363] His powerbase constituted tens of thousands of Khitan households-a safety island in the ocean of his alien subjects. 

The Shadow Crusader

Dieric Bouts the Elder, 

Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek

Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melchizedek#/media/File:Meeting_of_abraham_and_melchizadek.jpg

This short chapter ushers in the era of Prester John, a priest-king of a gargantuan oriental realm and a potential crusader. 

The fact that Otto of Freising included this tale into his account of the world history shows its immediate impact. Whether the writer took it as a fact or fiction, this yarn helped materialize the Crusaders' anxiety and expectations on the eve of the Second Crusade. 

Here is a brief extract:

Otto von Freising, a bishop and a prolific writer, didn't intend to amuse his readers with frivolous tales. His twelfth-century chronicle of world history features a battleground where the forces of good are pitted against the swarms of evil.  Nevertheless, he is the author who baptized our character and breathed life into his somber shadow.

                Otto heard a story when he was at the attendance at the papal court which moved to Viterbo, Italy due to security issues. The curia was hosting a delegation of oriental clerics. One of the guests, Bishop Hugh of Gabala (modern-day Jableh, Syria), reported about the faltering morale of crusaders after the loss of Edessa and an imminent threat overhanging Jerusalem. The disaster highlighted the emergency: the Latin principalities in the Outremer were in dire straits, anticipating even worse calamities. They issued a desperate call for the Pope to supply reinforcements.

                The prelate was a well-versed storyteller. To change the tune, he entertained his listeners with an anecdote about a proverbial Oriental sovereign, a cut above any other ruler, who gave a resounding slap in the face of Islam. 

    

                Prester John, a monarch and a Christian priest, though of the Nestorian creed, resides in the extreme east, next to the earthly paradise. The emerald scepter that he wields epitomizes his overwhelming wealth and power. The worthy offshoot of his noble ancestors, the Biblical Magi, he has always dreamed of making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. 

Initial Sightings: John the Priest

Thanks to the summer vacations, I've got plenty of free time on my hands. 

I have started writing Unit V, The Boots on the Ground: the Dogged Courtship after Elusive Prester John.

I recount the well-known legend, trying to find out its historic core. 

In the Prologue, I emphasize the distinct features of this character. 

1. He is elusive; nobody knows his whereabouts. Besides, he is always in transit, attempting to carry out his ambitious plans.

2. He is a mix of reality and fiction. The value of this character for historians lies in the fact that the narrative taps into historical events, offering their garbled version. 

3. He is long-lasting. Officially baptized in the twelfth century, he continued to gain supporters through the seventeenth century at least and because we pick up this topic again and again, he is still relevant to our time.

 I also explain that Prester John's title, king-priest, has a Biblical origin. I allude to Melchizedek, citing the Old and the New Testaments to show the link. 

Besides, I comment on the meaning of "India" for the medieval European audience. It was considered a remote realm on the eastern rim of the inhabited world. It was adjacent to the Paradise and tapped into its wealth. It was the home of countless marvels and monsters. Finally, it was rife with the Christians, though of other persuasions. 

The title of this entry, Initial Sightings, concerns two episodes that precede the official 'birth' of the legend but explain the psychological atmosphere that facilitated the spread of the yarn and its acceptance both in clerical circles and among laymen. 

1. The attendance of John, an oriental bishop, at the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. He was a member of the Church whose jurisdiction lay outside the Roman Empire and was sent as an observer. My witness is Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea and a participant of the council.  

2. The arrival of an oriental cleric to Rome, where he enchanted his listeners with the account of India and the marvels of St. Thomas the Apostle who, according to the Church record, have baptized India. He also lectured the Roman Curia whose reaction was a little different from the common comprehension. I rely on two sources which refer to the tenure of Pope Calixtus II, specifically to the year 1122. 

 

Image: The tomb of Thomas the Apostle in San Thome Basilica.

Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mylapore#/media/File:Tomb_of_St._Thomas_in_India.JPG

The Turks in Jacob's Tents (2)

I am happy to announce that I have completed chapter 8 about the Khazars. It appeared to be one of the longest extracts in the whole book. I think that I have managed to relate the history in a non-traditional way.

To start with, we still are unaware of the flow of the Khazar history; what we have got are bits and pieces and each of us is trying to glean from them a plausible plot. 

I tried to use historical accounts of travelers who had visited Khazaria or whose opinion is supported by the archaeological record rather than be supported by legends. The problem is that few Khazar sources available are written in Hebrew and are rife in myths. It does not mean that the entire content is false; however, it is biased and cannot be related at face value. 

With the completion of this chapter, I have nearly finished Unit IV. I tend to write the conclusion called Bottom Line. This makes about seventy percent of the book. As usual, the whole unit will be sent to the publisher.

It is too early to assume when the book is finished. I still have a month of my school leave and will do my utmost. 

Here is a short extract from Unit 8:

The rumors about an overwhelming Jewish polity, which carried a latent threat to the Western Christendom, were not made out of whole cloth.   

    

Though the steppe and the sown were at frequent loggerheads, nobody could deny that Alexander Barrier marked the limit beyond which the religious oppression seemed to expire. The smiling extents of the grassy plains foreshadowed the freedom of conscience.

     The Khazar rulers tended to be lenient in their approach to religious tenets and intricacies of their subjects’ birthrights. They greeted people of any ethnos, speakers of any vernacular, adherents of any lifestyle, and adherents of any faith.

     In the following chapter, we will take a gander at an often overlooked kingdom which has recently abandoned its fixed place at the junk pile of history and embarked on unearthing its secrets and diffusing its charms. We will strive to glean facts from the thin historical record. 

The Turks in Jacob's Tents (1)

Some chapters take longer than expected. 

The last but one chapter of Unit IV, Mapping Marvels and Monsters: In the Shadow of the Iron Gate, is devoted to the Khazars. I would like to link the existence of their khaganate to European persistent rumors about the Jewish empire that would eventually liberate their coreligionists from the yoke of the Christian nations. 

There are too few facts and too much fiction surrounding the world of the Khazars. Instead of recounting the more or less known myths, I decided to collect data about this mysterious ethnic group and their polity. Much of this info is controversial and one has to approach it with loads of skepticism in case his/her conception would burst in his/her hands. 

I am checking the collected data and writing extracts based on it. I still have some work to do. Now and then, I inspect new sources and the scope of written pages is getting larger and larger. 

At the next stage, I will compare the new pieces with the old ones and I will choose the best text. I also have to rearrange the material: some info might belong to other chapters.

It is clear that even after editing every chapter I will have to reread the whole book. There are so many corrections and repetitions and even last minute's exploring. 

I will also speak about the Rus, a bunch of adventurous Vikings who preyed on tribes of Eastern Europe and managed to launch a state. The collision between this polity and the Khazars led to the disintegration of the Khaganate. 

  

Site of the Khazar fortress at Sarkel (aerial photo from excavations conducted by Mikhail Artamonov in the 1950s).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khazars#/media/File:Sarkel.jpg 

The Ten Tribes and Other Monsters

Chapter 7 of Unit IV entangles the plot even more by intertwining the blend of the Alexander Legend and the Saga of Gog-Magog with a tale of the Lost Tribes. The medieval continuation of the Jewish story connects the tribes with the host of the Antichrist on the eve of the Final Battle between good and evil. 

The European literati feel free to replace the location of the exile of the Israelites further and further East, while their numbers skyrocket, posing the threat to the expansion of the Christendom. Some authors even hint at a secret plot between the local Jews and their distant brethren to overthrow the civilized order. 

My next chapter will tell about the Khazars which many obscure observers envisioned as the Jewish kingdom.  

"Back in the Early Middle Ages, the Christian literati would make exquisite efforts to conflate the entangled Alexander legend to the no less complicated saga of the Lost Tribes.

          Well-educated Europeans would visualize Gog-Magog, an inseparable pair of the Biblical mavericks, who were enclosed by an impregnable mountain range and locked by a man-made gate or a crenelated wall, residing in a secluded location, on a remote island or on a far-flung peninsula.

Paulus Orosius, an early fifth-century Roman priest and historian, discloses a new venue, reporting that the Israelite prisoners were deported to the area adjoining the Caspian Sea and experienced a baby boom. The Persians, he fancies, "drove great numbers of Jews into exile… and ordered them to settle in Hyrcania [a historical region in modern Iran] by the Caspian Sea. There they remain to the present day and have greatly increased in numbers." The Hispanic historian hints that in the distant future the outcasts will find the way out: "It is believed that at some time they will burst forth from this place." (1) 

However, their presumed escape neither involves the revenge on the Christendom, nor is linked to the blowing up of any barrier set up by Alexander. Moreover, the king of Macedon receives a cold show of bad press, being epitomized as “a whirlpool of sufferings and ill-wind for the entire East.” (2)

The contemporary of Orosius, a priest and a chronicler Sulpicious Severus, confirms that the expatriates are still subjected to the pagans, among whom he enlists Indians and Ethiopians: “the ten… never returned to their native country, and are to this day held under the sway of barbarous nations.” (3)

The era of the Crusades put on apocalyptic candles, upgrading the notorious Ten Tribes to the status of the Satan’s henchmen. On the other hand, many late medieval writers realized that the enclosure context would make the imprisoned people too frail and timid to carry a potential threat. So they looked for another explanation for the seclusion: the deportees are bound by exercising their vassal duties.

          Hugo Ripelin, a thirteenth-century Dominican monk, places his bet for the overlord of the revengeful tribes on the Queen of Amazonia. The Amazons, who have galloped from the classical texts, are another nation lured by Satan: "the Ten Tribes enclosed within the Caspian Mountains, however in such a way that they might leave if they were permitted… by the Queen of the Amazon, under whose rule and jurisdiction they live." (4)