Rabban Bar Sauma
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Rabban (Master in Aramaic) Bar Sauma (Son of Fasting) |
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|---|---|
| Church | Nestorian Church |
| See | Baghdad |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1220 Zhongdu (Beijing) |
| Died | 1294 Baghdad |
| Denomination | Nestorian Christianity |
| Residence | Baghdad, Maragheh |
| Occupation | Monk, Ambassador, Writer |
Rabban Bar Sauma (c. 1220–1294) (ܪܒܢ ܒܪ ܨܘܡܐ; IPA: [rɑbbɑn bɑrsˤɑuma]), also known as Rabban Ṣawma or Rabban Çauma, (Chinese: 拉賓掃務瑪; pinyin: lābīnsǎowùmǎ), was a Turkic/Chinese monk turned diplomat of the "Nestorian" Church of the East in China. He is known for embarking on a pilgrimage from Mongol-controlled China to Jerusalem with one of his students, Rabban Markos. Due to military unrest along the way, they never reached their destination, but instead spent many years in Mongol-controlled Baghdad. The younger Markos was eventually chosen as Patriarch of the Church of the East, and later suggested his teacher Rabban Bar Sauma be sent on another mission, as Mongol ambassador to Europe. The elderly monk met with many of the European monarchs, as well as the Pope, in attempts to arrange a Franco-Mongol alliance. The mission bore no fruit, but in his later years in Baghdad, Rabban Bar Sauma documented his lifetime of travel. His written account of his journeys is of unique interest to modern historians, as it gives a picture of medieval Europe at the close of the Crusading period, painted by a keenly intelligent, broadminded and statesmanlike observer. His travels occurred prior to the return of Marco Polo to Europe, and his writings give a reverse viewpoint, of the East looking to the West.
Rabban (Master) Bar Sauma was born c. 1220 in or near modern-day Beijing, known then as Zhongdu, later as Khanbaliq under Mongol rule. According to Gregory Barhebraeus he was of Turkic Uyghur origin. Chinese accounts describe his heritage as Wanggu (Ongud), a tribe of Turkic origin classified as part of the Mongol Caste of the Yuan Dynasty. The name bar Ṣauma is Aramaic for "Son of Fasting" though he was born to a wealthy family. He was a follower of the "Nestorian" faith (see: Church of the East in China), and became an ascetic monk around the age of 20 and then a religious teacher for decades.
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