John of Montecorvino

My new chapter will be devoted to John of Montecorvino, a Franciscan friar who reached China at the end of the 13th century. His letters focus on his missionary activities. He established two episcopal sees and rendered spiritual service for those in need.

I have copied a few facts, read his letters, and am now processing notes about this person and the milestones of his life.

We enter the period when the united Mongol Empire was split into four polities whose rules had to give up the demand for the world domination. The advance to the Western Europe as well as the incursion into Japan failed to materialize.

The Apostolic See with the aid of newly-created orders of mendicant friars resumed its die-hard policy of spreading the word of God among diverse nations. One of the missionaries called to the banner was an Italian priest-monk Giovanni of Montecorvino.

The Franciscan friar gained immense diplomatic experience. He was involved into negotiations between the Latin and Greek Churches about the issue of reunion. He was the man to approach the king of Armenia and the Ill-Khan of Persia who used his links with the Roman curia to pass their missives.

John's ability to get along with the representatives of sundry cultures and pick up eastern languages - a rare gift among Italian missionaries - made him an ultimate candidate to a new mission to the fringes of the known world.

John of Montecorvino on a windy path to a spiritual perfection
http://www.bdcconline.net/en/stories/img/storypics/portraits/MontecorvinoJohannes.jpg

The English Bowmen

The English were not necessarily the best bowmen in the Middle Ages though both the habit and the law demanded that able-bodied men of all walks of life should have practiced archery
on Sundays and holidays.

The English kings often hired Welsh and French archers to serve in their armies. These bowmen served as levies or contractors. The latter were often semi-professional troops who lived on the lands controlled by noblemen or the crown. They were employed in the wars overseas.

The system of low wages and irregular payments was counterbalanced by such "bonuses" as plunder and ransom. The transfer of a VIP prisoner demanded a circle negotiations; the warrior's captain, the superior commander and even the king were involved. The main sum was fairly paid for the captor.

There were no training camps for the warriors to practice archery, just holiday recreation and hunting trips. Bowmen was a privileged business and the kings were responsible for their armory and weapons. They wore helmets and had their body protected. This equipment was kept in stock to be handed in time of need.

The English longbow used in military context was standard and mass-produced. It could be crafted from a single piece of wood within a couple of hours. It stretched at 1.85 m in length and was able to strike at 250-330 m (though each researcher sticks to different values) according to modern reconstructions which enables it to rival with the Mongol composite bow.

At the end of a battle, a cry of havoc signaled the close of hostilities and the outset of plundering. However, a premature, unsanctioned call might spell a death penalty as it could throw the battle formation into confusion.
See more details  http://www.realmofhistory.com/2016/05/03/10-interesting-facts-english-longbowman/

William of Rubruck - a draft copy

The second chapter in my current research is devoted to William of Rubruck who was sent by the French king to Sartack Khan to check up on rumors of his baptism and give spiritual aid to certain German slaves captured by the Tartars. The traveler reached the khan but made sure that the steppe notable stuck to his nomadic traditional values. William had never seen the prisoners.

However, the Mongol chiefs were indecisive what to do with this weird monk and he eventually made his way to the court of the Great Khan Mongke and visited his capital city Karakorum.

His account presents a wide range of data which I classified into a few topics: Appearance, Dwellings, Religion, etc. I find that William was neither an ambassador nor a missionary but rather a spy. The Mongol leaders probably understood this and wanted to manipulate him to serve their own interests.

Now, when a draft copy is over, I will study materials connected to the life of a great missionary, John of Montecorvino, who was sent as a papal legate on the Eastern mission and stayed in China for the rest of his life, founding the first Roman Catholic agency there.

The Great Khan and his first lady sitting at the entrance to their ger 

https://threegoldbees.com/other-articles/rubruck-mongols/

William of Rubruck

My second champion is a Franciscan friar William (Guilliom) of Rubruck who insists on taking a missionary trip into the heart of the Mongol Empire.

Unlike his repeated denouncements of the association with Louis IX of France, our monk seems to be one of the royal associates. He counts the king as one of his spiritual friends. He transmits the royal letter to Sartak Khan and agrees to pass the Great Khan's missive to his royal patron.

On the other hand, Guillom is utterly unprepared to be a missionary. He is unaware of local languages and customs. He took with him an incompetent interpreter who cannot support most of spiritual dialogues but clings to bottle on every feast. He is too critical of other faiths-not exactly a kind of conversationalist you would like to have at your dinner table.

William probably acts as a royal spy disguised as a missionary. Anyway, his description of the Great Khan's entourage and the capital city Karakorum cast light on political developments within the Mongol Empire at its climax.

http://www.wanderlust.co.uk/mywanderlust/members/worldsnapper/photos/mongolia_18219/70638

End-October Update

I am through with the second leg of my FutureLearn course called "Radical Spirituality: The Early History of the Quakers". This is my third history course. Though this learning highway is not designed for professionals it transmits professional info and enables interesting discussions. I am not contented with writing my personal response and not always I have something ready. However, while looking through other replies, I can come up with an original approach. 

Before that, I finished a course, Archaeology of Portus: Exploring the Lost Harbor of Ancient Rome. These tracks are not necessarily linked to my own research but they give me an outlook of the work of historians, a glimpse of a bunch of exact sciences borrowed to pinpoint certain issues, and a chance to confront with the mainstream theories. 

I have reread the account of William of Rubruck and picked up a slew of citations which I need to lace together to finish up a draft of a current chapter. This will be chapter 2 in the last unit of my history book, The Enchanting Encounter with the East. The unit is devoted to the experience of western legates and missionaries sent to the Far East to spread the message of Roman Catholism and to spy the activities of the Mongols. The research is in full swing. My full list includes 14 names but can be cut down to 9 or even less. My next author will be John of Montecorvino, the head of the first Catholic mission to China. 

US Reviews

US Reviews published a very favorable review of my book, Dawn and Sunset.

Dawn and Sunset: A Tale of the Oldest Cities in the Near East 
Michael Baizerman
AuthorHouseUK
HISTORY
978-1-5049-3611-8 Four Stars (out of Five)

Dawn and Sunset is a well researched, nicely written, organized account of early Mesopotamian history.

Some of the world’s first cities emerge, prosper, and decline over the course of several millennia while their citizens chart remarkable advances in art, linguistics, religion, politics, warfare, and other areas. Michael Baizerman explores these developments in Dawn and Sunset: A Tale of the Oldest Cities in the Near East, a scholarly look at the history of ancient Mesopotamia.

Baizerman begins with a brief explanation of the region’s history and geography, and an outline of its different historic periods. He argues that the twelve things required for a settlement to be considered urban were all present in Mesopotamian cities. These include a dedicated religious site for worship and festivals; a temple social hierarchy with priests, administrators, worshipers, and slaves; industrial, commercial, scientific, and cultural centers; a system of record-keeping; a legal center with courts and laws; a centralized government; a military; a “melting pot” of different ethnicities; and a welfare safety net.

A series of sections in the book individually delve into Mesopotamian advances in the areas of writing, agriculture, foreign trade, laws, and warfare. The development of sailing boats, the pottery wheel, the use of irrigation, wheeled carts, kiln-fired bricks, and writing instruments all underscore the region’s growing sophistication.

Dawn and Sunset is a good, fundamental summation of Baizerman’s long-time academic focus. The book contains a wealth of information. However, much of the in-depth research was done on the Internet, and Internet sources are heavily cited. More print sources might have extended the book’s usefulness for students and other scholars, as web-based sources can be fleeting.

New Developments October 2

Not much is going on. I'm still collecting material for a new chapter about William of Rubruck. I have to describe the Mongol society as this traveler witnessed.

My page on Scriggler has reached over 12 K readers. My platform is growing in spite of the fact that I don't publish new articles. My publisher advised me not to upload the whole book on the web. You can read about nine chapters at
 https://scriggler.com/Profile/michael_baizerman
If I write some notes on other topics, I will add them to my list.

I finished the fourth leg of FutureLearn course "The Archeology of Portus". Week 4 was devoted to the development of the port in the III-IV centuries AD. In 337 AD it became a town. We explored Building 5 which is supposed to be a ship shed measuring 240 m in length and 18 m in height. It had 12 bays for ships of various widths, from 4.5 m to 20 m. The researchers are sure that its initial function was to repair and build ships. The ship shed opens both on the Claudian and Trajan basins. We also studied a copper coin minted during the tenure of Emperor Constantine during the 320s-330s AD. We understood how much info can be obtained from the image and recording on the coin and that part of this data can be restored from special digital photography.

I am still confused about scientific methods used in archaeology but they add a lot to understanding of the past events.

Dawn and Sunset: New Developments

There are two pieces of news concerning my history book, Dawn and Sunset, that I'd like to share with you.

My book entered the contest, Eric Hoffer Book Award, for independent books. The results will be published in May, 2017. It's a great honor. The book was nominated by my publishing house, Authorhouse UK.

Pacific Book Review published a review of my book and I could not expect anything better. Here is the text. 

Author: Michael Baizerman

Publisher: AuthorHouseUK

ISBN: 9781504936118

Pages: 289

Genre: Education

Reviewed by: S. Marie Vernon

Rating: 4 Star Review

Pacific Book Review

Dawn and Sunset is a compelling Tale of the Oldest Cities of the Near East written by

amateur historian and Israeli high school English teacher, Michael Baizerman. It’s

clear, Baizerman has spent countless hours researching and documenting this work.

He has compiled minute details of everyday life of the inhabitants of the old world

known as Mesopotamia and the cradle of civilization. The oldest cities encompassed

the Persian Gulf area and were referred to as Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian and

Assyrian regions. The Mesopotamia area today is known as Eastern Turkey, IRAQ,

Kuwait, Baghdad, Iran and Northern Syria. The Greek meaning of Mesopotamia is,

“land between two rivers.” The twin rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates nourished

Mesopotamia and made it possible for nomadic tribes to begin to cultivate the land for

agriculture and eventually settle into communal villages where life as we know it began.

Then much changed over the course of time. A lot of historical ground is covered in the

many millenniums referenced with some emphasis on the third and fourth millennia

BCE.

This work may be more than A Tale, perhaps it’s a social study of our earliest

ancestors? Perhaps it’s closer to a documentary of facts, yet facts that are sometimes

verified through myths, legends and the poetry of that millennium? Baizerman blazes

on undaunted by the scarcity of information for some periods and events. He gathers

his content from different angles to expose discrepancies and biases for what they

were. If there is no documentation to support the claim he will pursue other avenues;

he will find a hieroglyphic, a poem or an architectural marker of that time period so his

points are well documented. The author himself says it best, “Only artists and scholars

are entitled to examine our history through a magnifying glass with inexhaustible vigor,”

which he does very well in creating this educational volume called Dawn and Sunset.

The Gods drove every decision in the ancient world. Temples attested to their glory and

power. In the beginning, the Temples controlled the economic life of a community.

They were central to all the regions and the many Gods were worshipped and honored

constantly. Life was a battle, a consistent struggle with the hostile land and various

populations of people. Irrigation and farming allowed for communal villages to give way

to more complex societies with district states. Then pristine cities became early

empires and these gave way to dynasties with corruption and exploitation that would

bring in the Dark Ages and the eventual collapse of this early civilization that had been

“Two thousand turbulent years in the making.” The temples fell to government rule and

general’s built extravagant palaces to display power and demand respect whether they

deserved it or not. Many great leaders and warriors would rise and fall. Some were

virtuous and some were not. War was inevitable and peace was all but nonexistent.

Through it all, writing, language and technological advancement prevailed; metals,

ceramics and new building materials enhanced and changed their way of life forever.

New transportation routes and foreign trade changed the landscape, social classes, and

the expectations of the people. Division of labor and other inequities emerged that

would lead to more wars and the eventual demise of a once glorious nation known as

Mesopotamia. From pre-civilization to civilization to its very downfall, this book delivers

a lot as each chapter is organized and packed with great detail about the grueling and

difficult historical times between the Dawn and Sunset of Mesopotamia– A Tale of the

Oldest Cities of the Near East. Ironically, through this writing we can see many parallels

of modern day society as it faces some of the same indignities and dilemmas of this

historical period.

After Dawn and Sunset author Michael Baizerman emerges with a new book and is

already writing it. It’s about the attitude of the Latin West to the East on the eve of the

Age of Discovery. Both books should appeal to history lovers and educators who like a

dedicated spirit of inquiry and documented exposure of facts that may not be so factual.

Of course, any differences in opinion, by this author is well researched, well

documented and well written. These volumes are sure to be a handy resource for any

educator who would like that little extra detail when it comes to the history of ancient

civilizations.

The Summer is Over (2)

I have completed the third leg of the course "The Archeology of Portus". We discussed the events of the end of the 2nd century CE when Portus was enlarged by building spacious warehouses. We spoke about the discovery of a stunning sculptured head, probably that of a fisherman which belonged to a statue located in a gardern setting. We made acquantaince with new scientific methods of geophysics and geological coring. 

I have reviewed the beginning of the ChinaX-5 course. We made a comparison between the nomadic and cedentary lifestyles, noticed the transformation of Mongols from a marginal tribe into a warring nation, and paid attention that the Mongol rule in China was slightly different than in other parts of the world empire. Since this is my first course in a new format, I skipped several tasks and now want to restore them. 

The number of my Facebook friends has exceeded 200 and my Scriggler readership keeps growing though I rarely publish new items. 

The Summer is Over (1) 

Next week I am returning to my teaching which leaves much less time to creative work.

Anaway, I started collecting materials for the next chapter of The Witness in the Den. My next witness is William of Rubruck who composed a fascinating report about his journey to the Mongols. Writing a new item includes four major stages: after collecting enough material, I look through my dosier and attempt to do some creative writing. It might be a sentence or a paragraph, bits and pieces. Then I estimate these pieces and either drop them or combine together. Later, I try to assesss what is missing to link the extracts into a unified text. Sometimes I research a particular item to make it eloquent. I also begin to check the citations and think about accompanying images.

Sumerian Literature

This is a review of an article by D. Mandal, The World's Oldest Known Pieces of Literature Pertain to Two Ancient Sumerian Works, published in Realm of History, July 21, 2016.

According to the conventional opinion, Sumerian scribes were the group who left us the remnants of their literature. What we can lay hand is not the first attempts but part of the long written tradition. The author mentions the Kesh Temple Hymns; this is in the present state a collection of 8 hymns comprising 134 lines. Also, the hymns heap their praises to Nisaba, the goddess responsible for writing, which only emphasizes the age of recording. During the same Early Dynastic period we see a tradition of donating statuettes of believers to temples. Some of these statuettes carry short texts written on behalf of the members of the elite or even the middle class. The schools, where these literary texts were recorded, served the earliest libraries.

Another literary piece, the Instructions of Shuruppak, where the speaker is the person, not the city of the same name, is an example of wisdom literature which gives us a glimpse on the Sumerian daily life. The author is familiar with the consequences of excessive drinking. One of his pieces of advice: "Do not pass judgment when you drink beer." So we can see genres, determination, talent in service of a lengthy kiterary tradition though we cannot say how long we should hark back to its origin.

The article is not free of exaggerrations. The wheel could not be invented in Sumer as I showed in my history book "Dawn and Sunset: A Tale of the Oldest Cities in the Near East", p. 131. Due to the lack of hard wood, Sumer was an unlikely place as a testing ground for an array of experiments that should have preceeded this revolutionary invention. The glyph for a wheel appears among the earliest writing signs but the wheel may have been imported in its completed form. In Sumer it was attached to a cart dragged by oxen in religious context.

When the Summer is Nearly Over

Last week was full of little "events" which gave me great relief and comfort.

I finished the draft of the first chapter of my last unit with the working title, The Witness in the Den.

My maiden witness is John of Plano Carpini. 

The full list, which I composed before doing research, enlists 14 names. However, I'm going to curtail it significantly: it should be an actual travel, which excludes fantastic travelogs. It should be penned by the witness himself, which excludes the Travels of Marco Polo. My next item is William of Rubruck. 

I completed the second leg of the FutureLearn course in Roman history, The Archeology of Portus, led by a team from Southampton University. We focused on the reign of Emperor Trajan who enlarged Portus by digging a hexagonal harbor basin fringed by new warehouses and baths. We also reviewed the absolute dating using brick stamps and spoke about the entire port network which included canals, the Tiber, and riverine ports at Ostia and Emporium, Rome. 

I took up a new course, ChinaX, introduced by a team from the Harvard University, which concentrates on medieval China, especially the Mongol and Ming periods. The topic is partially connected to my own research and will allow me to "check the pulse" of modern science.  

The Last of the Vikings

Image: Harald in his last battle according to Matthew Paris, the English chronicler https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Hardrada        

        The well-written article harks back to the twilight of the Viking Age zooming on the life of a hopeless adventurer and eventually the king of Norway. 

        An ultimate pretender to the throne, Harald Hardrada began his career as a commander of a contingent of rebel forces assisting to no avail to his half-brother to recover the throne in his maiden Battle of Stiklestad when the young warrior was still in his teens.

        The humiliating defeat sent him into exile to the Kievan Rus. Harald found favor at the court of Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise who appointed him one of his captains. However, the young man's attempt to court the ruler's daughter ended in fiasco and he made his way to Constantinople where the Roman Emperor reserved for him a place in his elite troops dubbed the Varangian Guard.

        Gaining a well-earned military reputation, Harald was unscrupulous in politics which nearly cost him life. He managed to escape seizing a ship which took him to the Kievan Rus again. All these years the Grand Prince Yaroslav was the keeper of the adventurer's plundered fortune and now the renowned warrior received the princes as his top prize.

        The expatriate decided to return home and became a pretender to the throne occupied by his nephew. Long years of civil war would rattle the kingdom and led to the division of the Viking Empire. Harald succeeded in keeping Norway under his sway.

        Having realized that at the home front he could do no better, the fifty-year-old veteran hatched a scheme to invade Britain. After initial success, his army was routed in the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Harald declined to recognize his defeat and conducted a suicidal attack against advancing English troops. His winner, king Harold of England, agreed to deliver proverbial seven feet of English soil to bury the Viking giant. 

Source: "The Incredible Life of Harald Hardrada" http://www.realmofhistory.com/2016/08/12/harald-hardrada-last-great-viking/ 

John of Plano Carpini (2) 

I made a template for a chapter about this envoy based on reading his travel account.

John's fact-finding mission included gleaning info about the military potential of the Mongols. The clerical "spy" was sure that the Tartars were going to attack Europe again. He suggests nothing less than a new Crusade against the steppe invaders. 

My angle of research is the data about the Mongols collected by this witness. I am hopeful to finish the draft of the chapter until next weekend. It might be useful to compare the same features as John mentions in the accounts of other travelers. I still don't know how many chapters this unit will contain. Marco Polo, in my view, is a work of fiction. I have no doubts that he made a journey to China; however, it is not a genuine account but the one doctored by the literary talent of Rusticelli. 

Mongol Retreat from Europe in spring 1242

Image 1: A True Gift for a Warrior by Benny Johnson 

After staging a spectacular onslaught against the West, the Mongol army crushed the resistance and occupied Central Europe. Suddenly the Tartars, as they were commonly dubbed, folded their arms and retreated. There was no other advance on such scale and with such success. 

I am fascinated by this issue. One of the units in my new manuscript focuses on the relations between the West and the Mongol authorities. 

Historians still argue about the reasons of the Tartar withdrawal. Stephanie Papas' article "Mystery of Mongol Retreat from Hungary Solved" published in Live Science> History on May 27,2016 is the latest contribution. 

The contributor develops the "ecological theory" claiming that the steady rainfall reduced the extent of the pasture for Mongol steeds. She cites a recent research conducted by Nicola Di Cosmo from Princeton University and Ulf Buntgen from Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL. 

        The authors of a scrupulous analysis of medieval climate extrapolated from oak tree rings may be proud of its accuracy. They forecast unprecedented rainfall in spring 1242 which flooded the grassy plains of Hungary hampering the progress of mounted archers. According to this scenario, Prince Batu's contingents got bogged down.

        Determining the single factor responsible for a dramatic event poses a problem of trust. A train of evidence has to be artificially arranged to suit the purpose, often reducing the whole picture to a stroke, whatever significant and eloquent it can be. 

        The Mongol horsemen acted on various theaters winning their wars in the countries with diverse climates: China, Korea, Central Asia, Persia, India, Russia, to mention only a few. Their commanders, as a rule, used excellent strategies. Their troopers endured dangers and obstructions as well as an occasional lack of food. Neither a steady rainfall nor squishy ground would intimidate them. 

Back at home, local steeds are capable of digging layers of snow in search of frozen grass. They look bony during the winter but recover in spring. 

        I'm not sure if a unanimous explanation can agree on all the details but it should include multiple factors. Untangling climate issues is only one of them.     

Archeology of Portus

I recently joined the FutureLearn history course centered on the archaeological dig of Portus, the marine port of Rome which functioned about 500 years from mid-I century CE. 

The course is presented by Dr. Graeme Earl from the University of Southampton. It includes video mini-lectures and interviews, virtual tour of the site, scientific articles, and much more. The division of participants into study groups enables to review the remarks of other members, check new links, and read the instructors' comments.

Week 1 shows the reason for digging an artificial marine port by the emperor Claudian: the needs of the burgeoning population of Rome in foodstuffs, building materials, and luxury items. We take a glimpse of foreign trade across the Mediterranean and enjoy the terrific look of old buidings reconstructed by computer graphics.

The map of the imperial Portus http://www.archaeology.org/issues/168-1503/features/2971-rome-portus-rise-of-empire

John of Plano Carpini

The last unit of my manuscript is called "The eyewitness in the Den".

It focuses on travel narratives of European guests who happened to visit the Orient or stayed there for a while.

My first hero is John of Plano Carpini, a Franciscan friar sent by the Pope Innocent IV on a fact-finding mission. I read both his travel account and the revised version of his History of the Mongols.

Next week, I will look through my notes and write initial extracts. However, I can't go straightforward as fast as I can because there is so much subsidiary material referring to the previous chapters. I can't deny the pleasure of correcting other parts of my research.

John of Plano Carpini, head of the first Catholic mission to the Great Khan.

The image borrowed from http://window2thepast.blogspot.co.il/2012/08/carpini-there-interesting-account-of.html 

Welcome Page

Welcome to my blog!

I'm an amateur historian who is building an alternative career of a non-fiction writer.

I wrote a history book "Dawn and Sunset" about the emergence, bloom, and demise of the early Mesopotamian civilization (IV-III millennia BCE). You can view it on my websibe http://www.michaelbaizerman.com/ 

I am currently writing a second manuscript with the working title "The Enchanting Encounter with the East" which focuses on the contacts between West and East throughout the Middle Ages, especially the Late Middle Ages, xiii-xiv centuries.