The Polo Family

Marco Polo didn't get to China on his own; he was taken there as a young man by his father and uncle, who had been there before. Why? Because they were Venetian merchants looking for goods to bring home.

Niccolò Polo (c.1230 - c.1294) left his infant son at home and went with his brother Maffeo to Constantinople, where they lived in the Venetian quarter and established a trading post. Venetians had power in Constantinople because of their role in establishing the Latin Empire during the Fourth Crusade in 1204.

The brothers were aware of hostility toward Venetians, however, and left Constantinople in 1259/60, providentially just before it was recaptured by the Byzantine Michael Paleologus who killed or drove out the Venetians. The Polos started a trading post in Soldaia (now Sudak) in Crimea, on the north shore of the Black Sea.

At that time it was part of the Golden Horde, a Mongol state. Not wishing to return to Constantinople, they continued eastward. The spent a year at the compound of Berke Khan, ruler of the Horde, and agreed to sell items on Berke's behalf. Because, however, of hostility between Berke and his cousin Hulagu, they left that area and went farther east, reaching Bukhara (in modern Uzbekistan), where they stayed for a few years.

A man traveling from Hulagu to meet with Kublai Khan invited them to go along with him. They agreed, and in 1266 they reached the court of Kublai Khan in what is now Beijing. According to the book written by Marco years later, the two brothers were tasked by Kublai to carry a letter to the pope. The letter requested 100 men who could teach about Christianity and the Western culture. He also wanted oil from the lamp in the Holy Sepulchre. To ease their travels, he gave them a 3'x12' golden tablet, a pass that allowed the bearer food and lodging and safe passage in the Mongol Empire. (The illustration shows the granting of the tablet from a 15th century version of Marco's book.)

They made their way to Acre, capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. There was a problem delivering the letter to the pope: there was no pope at the time, there being a long pause between the death of one and the election of the next.

Tomorrow we'll talk about the delivery, the fulfillment of Kublai's request, and the return to Kublai's court.

The Book of Marvels

When Marco Polo returned to Venice after two decades of traveling in the East, he signed up to join the war between Venice and Genoa. Incarcerated in a Genoese prison, he began talking to a fellow inmate, Rustichello da Pisa, known for writing romances. The result was Il Milione ("The Million"), also known in English as The Book of the Marvels of the World, or simply The Travels of Marco Polo. It offered details of his travels from 1271 to 1295 and his time at the court of Kublai Khan.

His fantastical stories about what he saw drew amazement and skepticism in equal measure. One theory of the title Il Milione is that it was considered to contain a million lies. Modern scholars are willing to accept that he is interpreting to the best of his ability what he truly saw (or was told) in his travels. We cannot be certain what may have been embellished by Rustichello, although it is clear that he re-used some passages from his previous works (mentioned here).

In 1302 it was translated into Latin as Iter Marci Pauli Veneti, "Travels of the Venetian Marco Polo," by Francesco Pipino, a Dominican archivist. He stood behind what was in the book (although he himself had not raveled widely, only going as far as Constantinople several years later). That Latin edition was popular for years; one edition was owned by Christopher Columbus, whose copy with his notes is shown in the illustration.

Recent research suggests that Pipino's translation was not just a pet project: he might have been given the assignment as an official project of the Dominicans. The Dominican Order wished (as did many orders) to convert all folk everywhere to Christianity, and Polo's writing gave them an itinerary.

Recent communications between the popes and the Mongols were not always friendly, but prior to Marco's trip Kublai Khan had requested of Marco's father and uncle that they carry a letter to the pope requesting missionaries to teach about Roman Christianity. This correspondence also gave fuel to the idea that the East was ready for missionary work. There was even talk of a Christian-Mongol alliance against the spread of Islam.

That alliance did not bear fruit, but trade between Europe and Asia was a welcome idea for everyone, and merchants like Marco's father and uncle made lucrative deals. In fact, the elder Polos are often neglected in stories about Marco and his travels, which makes them—Niccolò and Maffeo by name—excellent subjects for this blog. Let's talk about the men responsible for Marco Polo'd fame next time.

Marco and Kublai

Marco Polo was not the first European to visit China—far from it—but he was the first to write a detailed account of his time there. And he had lots of time and opportunity to travel there and get to know different ethnic groups, their customs, and the geography of the far eastern lands.

He wasn't even the first in his family to go to China. His merchant father and uncle had been to the court of Kublai Khan, and took Marco with them on a later trip. Marco was young, but Kublai was very impressed by his personality and his knowledge.

The intellectually curious Kublai was pre-disposed to be accepting of different religions and cultures. In fact, when Marco's father and uncle returned from their first trip to Kublai's court, they brought with them a letter from Kublai to the pope, requesting 100 missionaries and oil from the lamp of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. (The three did bring oil as requested.)

Kublai Khan appointed Marco to be his foreign emissary, and sent him on trips all over China, as well as to (according to Marco's account) India and Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. In all, he spent 24 years traveling on behalf of Kublai Khan.

When he returned home to Venice, the city was at war with Genoa. Marco joined the fighting, and wound up imprisoned by the Genoese. While there he dictated his "Book of Marvels" to a fellow prisoner, Rustichello da Pisa, a professional romance author.

Rustichello took liberties, and in some places used the same descriptions and passages from his own writing to describe some of Marco's experiences. The description of Marco arriving at Kublai's court matches the description Rustichello used years earlier in an Arthurian romance in which Tristan comes to Arthur's court.

The book created a stir, and debates over its truthfulness. It had a popular supporter, however, in the Dominican Order. Tomorrow I'll explain more about the books's reception and the interest of the Dominicans.

Chinese Technology

Now we approach the part that everyone knows about Kublai Khan even if they don't know anything about Kublai Khan. Kublai was emperor of China when Marco Polo visited the place, traveling with his merchant uncles.

Marco wrote about the wonders that he had seen in China, and those wonders were thanks to Kublai's conquest of the southern Song Dynasty. Let's take a look at some of the technological advancements of the Song that were notable to anyone visiting Kublai's empire.

They had printing presses with movable type long before Gutenberg. Gutenberg's innovation was making type out of metal, while the Chinese used porcelain.

The Song had an astronomical clock tower that was powered hydraulically. The illustration here is from the original 11th-century book describing it, showing the mechanics that run the armillary sphere on top.

Air power was also known to them, since they introduced windmills to China. Water was another place where they innovated, especially in ship-building. The Song had paddle-wheel ships.

Prior to the Song defeat under Kublai, that had successfully defended themselves with weapons powered by gunpowder. They also had flame-throwers, a pumping machine that would spread flaming oil that could not be doused by water. Thy used land mines against the Mongols, and rockets.

Money printed on paper was another marvel noted by Marco Polo, and helped boost the economy. The printing involved employing thousands in mints all over the vast country. The use of paper extended to envelopes, paper bags for tea leaves (for storage, not for steeping), and even toilet paper.

These are some of the sights that were strange to travelers from Western Europe. Let's talk tomorrow about Marco and Kublai, their meeting and their relationship.

Kublai and China

With the Toluid Civil War concluded, Kublai Khan still had troubles dealing with the other khanates descended from Genghis, but I'm going to talk about his actions toward China. He had control over much of northern Han China, but the southern Song Dynasty had been unwilling to submit. In earlier fighting, an agreement had been reached that Kublai would not cross the Yangtze River, but he wanted more.

Kublai offered some autonomy to the Song Emperor Lizong, if only Lizong would surrender his dynasty. Lizong imprisoned the emissary sent to deliver this offer, and rebuffed a delegation sent to ask for the emissary's release. So Kublai had two siege machine experts prepare to destroy fortresses in Song China.

In order to be sen as a traditional Chinese emperor and gain the loyalty of millions, he started calling his regime Dai Yuan, Chinese for "Great Beginnings." He moved his capital to Khanbaliq, which is now called Beijing. Of course conservative and traditional Mongols were outraged at the changes. Many followers turned from him and looked to Kaidu of the Ögedei Khanate.

Kublai's war with the Song Dynasty lasted two decades. The imperial family surrendered in 1276, but others in southern China kept fighting. They were finally conquered in 1279 after a naval battle on 19 March. For the first time, China was a united country under a non-Chinese ruler. Kublai was generous to the remains of the imperial family: they were given tax-free property in the capital, and Kublai's wife looked after their well-being. (Kublai did eventually send the child emperor Gong away o become a monk.)

With the absorption of the Song Dynasty, Kublai's empire now included many technological advancements, the ones that Marco Polo commented on in the record of his travels. Tomorrow we'll bring Kublai, the Song, and Marco together.

The Civil War

In the lead up to the Toluid Civil War, Kublai Khan had the upper hand. He controlled most of the supply lines that would have helped his younger brother, Ariq Böke, and had resources coming from China.

One of Kublai's first successes was against an ally of Ariq in northwestern China, from whom he captured food supplies intended for Ariq's army. He also drove Ariq supporters out of their homes in several towns. Ariq's attempts to attack Kublai's territory in southwestern China was turned away by Kublai's Chinese allies, whom he rewarded handsomely with gifts of silk and silver and with administrative positions.

Ariq's allies abandoned him, except for one: Alghu of the Chagatai Khanate (Chagatai was a son of Genghis Khan; Alghu was a grandson of Chagatai). Ariq named Alghu head of the Chagatai Khanate after the previous khan died, and the Chagatai Khanate became an important source of supplies for Ariq's army.

In 1261, Ariq and Kublai's armies met in battle, during which Ariq called for a retreat. Ten days later he returned and engaged a small contingent of Kublai's army, but could not achieve victory. By this time, Kublai's army had been advancing and occupying much of Mongolia. Ariq asked for help from Alghu, but Alghu saw that the victor of the civil war was likely to be Kublai, and changed allegiance.

Back in southern China, a rebellion took place that required Kublai to take his main force to quell it. With the immediate threat of Kublai gone, Ariq chose to attack his once-ally, Alghu. Ariq's attack on the Chagatai Khanate disillusioned several of his supporters. Ürüng, son of the previous Grand Khan Möngke, had been an ally, but he left Ariq and pledged his loyalty to Kublai instead.

Ariq, running out of allies, and lacking resources to feed and arm an army, turned himself over to Kublai in 1264 at Shangdu (also known as Xanadu), ending four years of hostility. Ariq was imprisoned and ignored by Kublai for an entire year.

Kublai purged the government of officials who were loyal to Ariq, executing some. He called a kurultai to decide what Ariq's fate should be and to officially make himself Grand Khan. Of the four Khanates of Genghis Khan's four sons, none of the others attended this kurultai called by the Toluid Khanate. Two of the khanates were fighting each other, and the Ögedei Khanate was still angry that the Grand Khan position had been maneuvered away from them years earlier.

Kublai would have to deal with other internal threats from those who did not fully accept his role as Grand Khan. Although the four khanates would have ties of trade and culture, they no longer united for military purposes. A united Mongolian Empire was no longer a possible future.

Ariq Böke died of unknown causes while still in prison, in 1266.

Kublai saw soon that his influence on the other khanates was limited, though not non-existent. Tomorrow we'll see him turn to making China his empire.

The Toluid Civil War

When Kublai found out that his younger brother Ariq Böke was making plans to become Grand Khan while Kublai was off subduing the Song Dynasty in China, he was not pleased. Normally, the kurultai that met to decide the next ruler was attended by prominent members of the families of the sons of Genghis Khan (both Kublai and Ariq—pictured here—were grandsons of Genghis through Genghis' youngest son, Tolui).

I suppose the problem was that both boys' uncle Möngke, who had been Grand Khan until his death in 1259, did not nominate a successor. Kublai called a kurultai at Kaiping in China—the first time a kurultai to choose a Grand Khan was called outside of Mongol territory. At it, Kublai was elected Grand Khan. Ariq, who had been making alliances with powerful Mongol chiefs, called a kurultai in the Mongol capital Karakoram that elected him Grand Khan.

Their brother Hulagu wanted to support Kublai, but was detained fighting Mamluks and then dealing with hostility from Berke, current ruler of the Golden Horde (begun by all three brothers' uncle, Batu Khan).

Kublai had Chinese resources behind him. He had been an able administrator, and he promised the Chinese that he could be a benevolent ruler who united Chinese, Mongols, and Koreans. He made grand promises to his potential supporters: lower taxes, rule based on Chinese precedent, and that his era would be one of Zhongtong, "moderate rule."

The Song people in southern China offered no help, but northern China supported him. He had plenty of resources and managed to control three of the four supply lines to Ariq in the capital of Karakoram. Kublai advanced on Karakoram, and Ariq retreated in the only logical direction he had available to him, the way toward the Yenesei River valley in the northwest. Winter set in, forcing Ariq and Kublai to camp and wait for spring.

The Song people of southern China chose this time to rebel, crossing the agreed-upon border of the Yangtze River and recovering some of the territory that Kublai had recently taken. Kublai sent a Chinese diplomat to try to settle the matter, but the diplomat was imprisoned by the Song.

While waiting through the cold season, Kublai continued to gather supplies and recruit soldiers, preparing for civil war. Tomorrow we'll see the results of the fighting.

Kublai, the Early Years

Probably the best-known Khan to modern audiences after Genghis Khan is Kublai Khan, the one we hear about because of Marco Polo.

Kublai was the second son of Sorghaghtani Beki by Tolui, Genghis' youngest son. He was born 23 September 1215. He was raised by a Buddhist nurse at his grandfather's suggestion, a woman whom he treated well all her life.

As a nine-year-old, he was part of a ritual that Genghis performed on his grandsons following a hunt. Kublai and his brother Möngke had killed a rabbit and an antelope, and his grandfather smeared fat from the animals onto the boys' middle fingers. He made a special pronouncement about Kublai: "The words of this boy Kublai are full of wisdom, heed them well – heed them all of you."

After 1236, Kublai was given an estate with 10,000 households, but left local administrators in charge. Those local administrators filled their own pockets with heavy taxes that caused many to leave the territory, which reduced the available tax base. With tax revenue dwindling, Kublai sent new officials picked by his mother who made changes that restored the financial health of his estate.

Kublai loved to learn, and was fascinated by Chinese culture and Buddhism. In 1242 he invited China's leading Buddhist monk to be his guest in Karakorum (the Mongol capital) and teach him more about Buddhism. That monk introduced Kublai to the Buddhist monk Liu Bingzhong, an artist, poet, and mathematician whom Kublai made his advisor. Kublai was known to employ and entertain people of all nationalities.

When Möngke became Grand Khan, Kublai was made viceroy over northern China. He was an able administrator, boosting both agricultural output and social welfare spending. Local Chinese warlords praised him for this. Kublai heard that Tibetan monks had skills at healing. He made a Tibetan Buddhist the director of the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs in his administration.

Trouble arose when those jealous of Kublai's power complained to Möngke that Kublai was building his own empire. Möngke sent tax inspectors who went over the "books" and found 142 violations and executed some of the Chinese officials responsible. One of the inspectors was a close friend of Kublai's younger brother, Ariq Böke. (Ariq would become real trouble later.)

In 1258, Möngke asked Kublai to help with an attack on Sichuan. Although Kublai was not required to assist personally (he suffered from gout), he accompanied the army anyway. This meant he was present when word came that Möngke had died. He kept the news secret and continued with the attack. He negotiated with the enemy's representatives and agreed that the Yangtze River would be the border between Mongols and the Song dynasty, in exchange for 200,000 taels (1 tael = 50 grams) of silver and 200,000 bolts of silk annually.

Of course, even though the army and the Song dynasty did not know that Möngke had died, others knew. The debate over the next Great Khan had begun, and Kublai learned that his youngest brother Ariq was raising an army. Kublai hurried back to the capital to find that Ariq had been named Great Khan.

This did not suit him, and he was determined to do something about it. He did, and we'll find out what tomorrow.

The End of Güyük

Güyük Khan was making plans to conquer Europe. He had been part of the invasion of Eastern and Central Europe, and wished to continue. The Mongol Empire had already extended to Russia and Ukraine and Hungary, so Christian Western Europe saw the danger (even though Güyük himself was supposedly Christian).

He started with a warning: a letter to the pope (Innocent IV), who had requested that the Mongol Empire stop expanding westward. Claiming that Catholics had sent envoys during the time of Genghis Khan and Ögedei Khan (Güyük's grandfather and father, respectively) that had been killed, he decided on a non-compromising reply.

"You must say with a sincere heart: 'We will be your subjects; we will give you our strength'. You must in person come with your kings, all together, without exception, to render us service and pay us homage. Only then will we acknowledge your submission. And if you do not follow the order of God, and go against our orders, we will know you as our enemy."

There is no reason to believe that Güyük wouldn't keep his armies moving until he reached the Atlantic.

He had to deal with some internal issues first, however. His mother, Töregene, was one. She had been regent, and had been instrumental in getting her son elected Grand Khan, but despite her retirement to China, he wanted her potential influence neutralized. She had, during her regency, put several of her favorites in positions of authority. One of her favorites was Fatima.

Güyük's brother, Koden, accused Fatima of damaging his health through witchcraft. When Koden died some months later, Güyük insisted that Töregene turn Fatima over to him. Töregene refused. Güyük's men seized Fatima, sewed up all her orifices, and threw her in the river. Töregene died 18 months later of no apparent cause.

In 1248, Güyük summoned Batu Khan to meet him at the capital.  He had once insulted Batu, and the two had their differences, but Batu treated Güyük with the loyalty the Grand Khan deserved. Batu began the journey, but he came with an army. Güyük left the capital and moved westward to meet with Batu, also with an army. Sorghaghtani Beki, Güyük's aunt, sent Batu a warning that he should not trust Güyük.

We'll never know what would have happened, since Güyük died en route. He had been known to be a heavy drinker with poor health. William of Rubruck claimed he was killed in a brawl by Shiban, a younger brother of Batu. The widow, Oghul Qaimish, became regent while Batu and Sorghaghtani arranged to make one of Sorghaghtani's sons, Möngke, the next Grand Khan.

Güyük's death stalled the potential conquest of Europe by the Mongols. Instead, the Mongol Empire looked eastward to continue to make inroads into China. That culminated in another of Sorghaghtani's sons becoming emperor of China. That was Kublai Khan, and we'll talk about him more tomorrow.

Güyük Khan

Genghis Khan had many, many children. There were four sons (Jochi, Chagatai, Ögedei, and Tolui) from whom the future rulers of the Mongol Empire would be drawn. Those four and their sons have been mentioned a lot in the past several blog posts, along with the wives of some.

After Genghis died, the youngest, Tolui, was regent for a short time until the third, Ögedei, was elected as the Grand Khan or Great Khan of the empire. Other sons and grandsons, etc., would be khans in their own right over smaller territories, owing allegiance to the Grand Khan.

Upon Ögedei's death in 1241, one of his wives, Töregene Khatun, was regent until their son Güyük could be officially proclaimed. What was he like?

Born in 1206, he served in the military under his famous grandfather until Genghis' death in 1227, then under his own father. A historian in the Mongol Empire who was a contemporary of Güyük claimed that Güyük was a Christian. A Franciscan friar who traveled into Mongol territory on a papal mission, Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, described him as of "medium stature, very prudent and extremely shrewd, and serious and sedate in his manners."

In 1232, his uncle Tolui died, leaving a widow, Sorghaghtani Beki. It was not unusual for a Mongol widow to re-marry into the family, and Ögedei suggested that Sorghaghtani marry Güyük. She asserted that she needed to stay and raise her four sons.

His coronation did not take place until August 1246, and included 3,000 to 4,000 visitors bearing tributes from all over the empire. In response to Giovanni's letter from Pope Innocent IV, asking that the Mongols cease invading westward, Güyük had a harsh reply. In a letter to the pope, he claimed that Europe must bow down to the Mongol Empire:

"You must say with a sincere heart: 'We will be your subjects; we will give you our strength'. You must in person come with your kings, all together, without exception, to render us service and pay us homage. Only then will we acknowledge your submission. And if you do not follow the order of God, and go against our orders, we will know you as our enemy."

Although Güyük's mother Töregene had been instrumental in promoting his accession, he quickly shut her out of any more administrative work, reversing many of her decisions while she had been regent. He also eliminated many other officials, executing them for treason and replacing them with his favorites. This made him unpopular with the people, although he was a competent military commander and administrator. He managed the dispute over the kings of Georgia.

We will wrap up this summary of his life and administration—and his plans to conquer Europe—tomorrow.

They Wanted a Boy

When Güyük Khan died, Batu Khan started making decisions toward the election of the next Grand Khan. He didn't want the position himself, but he did want to take it away from the Ögedei family (Ögedei was Güyük's father and one of the sons of Genghis Khan). It was customary for Mongol widows to manage their husband's estates, and sometimes even re-marry back into the family. Batu had Güyük's widow become regent over his territories.

Her name was Oghul Qaimish, which means "We were searching for a boy," suggesting that her parents wanted a son rather than a daughter. She came from the Merkit tribe that was conquered by Genghis Khan. Male members of the ruling family were likely killed. She was given as a "secondary bride" to Güyük, a grandson of Genghis.

Güyük's mother, Töregene, was also a Merkit, and might have promoted the marriage because of their shared heritage. Otherwise, Oghul brought no political advantage to Güyük.

She was probably born in the early 1200s, and was therefore in her 40s when she became a widow; her regency lasted from 1248 to 1251.

Batu and Sorghaghtani Beki, widow of Genghis' youngest son, Tolui, were allied in making Oghul regent. This generous move on their part of Batu might have had an ulterior motive outside of following Mongol custom. Oghul had not played any particular role in the management of Güyük's administration previously. With no political experience, her regency was ineffective. She also had difficulty with her two sons who acted as "sub-rulers"; the three made pronouncements that often contradicted each other, creating chaos in their lands. Oghul apparently spent a lot of her time consulting shamans for advice.

Also Sorghaghtani Beki had four sons whom she wished to see advance, and it was her eldest, Möngke, who was put forward by her and Batu as the next Grand Khan. If Oghul thought she could manage to get one of her sons to succeed Güyük, she did not have the political skill it would take to convince the other descendants of Genghis to go along.

When Batu called a kurultai, the council that would decide, many did not attend because he held it outside primary Mongol territory. Oghul sent a representative, Bala, who tried to convince the group that Ögedei's favorite grandson Shiremun should be chosen. This failed, and Möngke was chosen (although there was opposition).

Möngke was officially recognized on 1 July 1251, and Shiremun and Naqu (one of Oghul's sons) mounted a coup. It failed, Oghul was then blamed, arrested, and imprisoned by Sorghaghtani, who had her stripped and tortured before being sentenced to execution for the crime of witchcraft. Execution was done by wrapping her in felt and casting her into the river.

It occurs to me that I don't have a definitive entry in the blog for Güyük himself. Let me tell you about him more directly next time.

The End of Batu Khan

After the death of Güyük Khan, Batu Khan saw an opportunity to take the overlordship away from the Ögedei clan and bring it to his own lineage. He had made great success in expanding the borders of the Mongol Empire westward, after all.

First, he allowed Güyük's wife, Oghul Qaimish, to act as regent while a decision was made, then he called a kurultai, the council of important members of families, to take place in 1250 in territory under his control. Those who should be there, Ögedei's clan and the Chagatai clan (the children of Genghis Khan), refused to leave primary Mongol territory to attend.

Batu did not actually want to be the Grand Khan himself, and rejected it when the kurultai offered it. Instead, he proposed his cousin Möngke, son of Genghis' son Tolui. The Tolui-descended families were in favor, but since not all descendants of Genghis were present, the election was not considered legitimate by many. So Batu sent Möngke, with an escort that included Batu's brothers and son, to meet with the other families. The other families still refused to take part in a kurultai for the purpose of ratifying Möngke.

Möngke was presented to the people at large, who accepted him, and Batu then punished the clans of Ögedei and Chagatai. Buri, a grandson of Chagatai, was outright executed as part of this punishment.

Batu was greatly respected as a kingmaker as well as a loyal subject, allowing Möngke's officers to operate in Batu's territory. Batu and Möngke stayed friendly with each other and, together, saw the Mongol Empire stretch from Afghanistan to Turkey (the illustration is a bust of Batu from Turkey).

Batu did in 1255, leaving his properties to his son Sartaq.

Since recently we have looked at Mongol women and the influence they have, I want to take a look at Oghul Qaimish, Güyük's widow. Since Batu intended to take control of the Empire away from Güyük's family, it is interesting that he put Güyük's widow in charge. Let's take a closer look at this powerful woman tomorrow.

Invading Europe

Batu Khan's military successes inspired Ögedei Khan to have him invade Europe. He had already conquered the Crimean Peninsula.

Spies were sent into Poland, Hungary, and Austria for reconnaissance. Having planned their approach, three separate armies invaded Central Europe: into Hungary, Transylvania, and Poland. The column into Poland defeated Henry II the Pious.

The second and third columns crossed the Carpathians and followed the Danube, combining with the Poland column and defeating the Hungarian army under King Béla IV of Hungary on 11 April 1241. They killed half the Hungarian population, then proceeded to German territory. Béla had sent to Pope Innocent IV for a Crusade against the Mongols, but the pope was focused on the Holy Land. (The illustration is from a 14th century history, the Chronicon Pictum, or "Illustrated Chronicle," and shows Béla fleeing.)

Austria, Dalmatia, and Moravia were occupied. While this was going on, a group led by Ögedei's son Güyük was conquering Transylvania.

Further advances in Germany were paused when the Great Khan died in 1241. Batu's thirst to continue was quenched by a reminder of Mongol law, that the chief descendants of Genghis had to return to Mongolia to elect his replacement.

Batu took his time returning, and the election was delayed for several years until Güyük was elected in 1246. Batu became the viceroy over the western empire. Batu returned to the western front and summoned the Grand prince of Vladimir, Yaroslav II. Batu put him in charge of all other Russian princes.

Around this time Batu came into contact with Europeans and their culture. Giovanni of Plano Carpini was sent by Pope Innocent IV to take a letter to Ögedei, protesting the Mongol invasion. Giovanni met with Batu, who gave him permission to continue to the court of the Great Khan. Giovanni described Batu as "kind enough to his own people, but he is greatly feared by them. He is, however, most cruel in fight; he is very shrewd and extremely crafty in warfare, for he has been waging war for a long time."

William of Rubruck also encountered Batu, describing him physically as about the same height as John de Beaumont (which tells those who never met John de Beaumont nothing useful, but other sources put him at 5'7"), and that his face was covered with red spots.

Others whose paths crossed with Batu are Queen Rusudan, who sent her son David to Batu for recognition. Sorghaghtani Beki sent Batu a warning to beware of a summons from Güyük. Before Batu reached Güyük, Güyük died mysteriously; Rubruck wrote it was one of Batu's brothers who did the deed.

The position of Great Khan was again available. What would Batu do about it? Come back tomorrow to find out.

Batu Khan

History tells stories of Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes and Kublai Khan meeting Marco Polo, but Batu Khan is a name that is less-known but quite a large part of Mongol history—and European, when it comes to it.

Batu founded the Golden Horde, a large territory on the outskirts of the Mongol Empire. His father, Jochi, was possibly a son of Genghis Khan; based on his relations with known family of Genghis, this could well have been the case. In fact, Genghis' will left 4,000 Mongol soldiers to Jochi's family. Upon Jochi's death, the remaining children agreed that Batu should succeed him.

Genghis' son and successor, Ögedei, got along with Batu, who would have been Ögedei's nephew. Together they made conquests of other peoples, including forays into China. Ögedei gave lands in northern China to Batu after successful campaigns.

By 1235, Batu had conquered the Crimean Peninsula, and Ögedei wanted Batu to continue westward and conquer Europe. Batu and several relatives (including Güyük, Möngke, and others) with an army of perhaps 130,000 crossed the Volga River and invaded Bulgaria in 1236. A year of fighting led to success.

Batu then sent men west to Vladimir-Suzdai (east of Moscow) demanding allegiance, which was refused. Batu invaded and in less than a week destroyed the city of Ryazan (it recovered; now it has a population of over a half million). The Horde burned Moscow, and made short work of any who dared oppose them. Batu divided the army and sent the subdivisions all over Kievan Rus, subduing and destroying cities. Only Smolensk and Novgorod survived, the one because it surrendered and the latter because it was too distant (and separated by marshlands) to bother with.

Trouble arose when Batu was ridiculed by his cousins, annoyed that he had claimed a large and fertile territory. They mocked him and walked out of a banquet. Batu complained to his uncle, who recalled the two chief offenders, Buri and Ögedei's son Güyük. Buri was sent home, but Güyük was reprimanded by his father and sent back to the Russian steppe.

Then they planned the invasion of Europe. We'll pick up that story tomorrow.

Mongol Women and Influence

Sorghaghtani Beki stood firm after the death of her husband: she would not re-marry into the family (as was often Mongol custom), even at the request of the current Khan, because her sons needed her to focus on them (and they would each grow up to be Khan themselves as grandsons of Genghis Khan).

Sorghaghtani was respected enough that she even shamed the Khan, Ögedei (her brother-in-law), to hand over more territory that had been her husband's. Ögedei did, however, absorb some of her territory, and also conscripted much of the military attached to those lands.

Again underscoring the power held by women, upon Ögedei's death in 1241 his widow was regent for the Mongol Empire for the next five years until she got their son Güyük elected khan over other claimants.

Güyük had not been raised to respect women sufficiently, however, and he targeted several women who were holding power that he wanted. The first was his own mother, Töregene Khatun (Khatun = queen), who had worked to get him elected; next was Sorghaghtani. Genghis Khan's third daughter, Alakhai Bekhi, who was regent for areas in China, was another target. Ebuskun, the wife of a grandson of Genghis, had been regent after her husband's death (and son's minority) over the Chagatai Khanate, an enormous region.

During Güyük's attempts to undermine these women, Sorghaghtani allied herself with Batu Khan, Güyük's cousin, ruler of the Golden Horde. In 1248, Güyük started a military campaign to the Middle East, which put him in Batu's direction; it is possible he intended to deal with Batu's opposition. Güyük died suddenly and with no particular cause. (Some insinuate that Sorghaghtani brought it about; she certainly had motive and ability).

Whatever Sorghaghtani's role in Güyük's fate, it was an opportunity for her to propose her eldest son, Möngke, as khan. He had fought alongside Batu, who organized a kurultai (Mongol political and military council) that elected Möngke to be Khan in the late 1240s.

Sorghaghtani became ill and died in the late winter in 1252, and had a Christian burial. She did not live to see three other sons become khans, nor to see her son Kublai Khan capture her youngest, Ariq Böke, in conflict and imprison him until his death. Perhaps if she were alive a little longer she might have counseled them and avoided the hostility.

What about Batu Khan? He was powerful enough that Sorghaghtani turned to him for help, but was okay with letting someone else become Great Khan. He was far more influential in history than Möngke—and better known to Europe—and we'll see how tomorrow.

Mother of Four Khans

The youngest son of Geghis Khan, Tolui, married a Christian woman named Sorghaghtani Beki. They had similarly noble backgrounds. Sorghaghtani was a Keraite princess. Keraites were one of the five dominant Turco-Mongol confederations, and they were Eastern (Assyrian) Christians.

Sorghaghtani's uncle was the very powerful Keraite leader Toghrul, and around 1203 was more powerful than Genghis (when he was still going by his original name, Temujin). Temujin proposed a marriage between their tribes. Toghrul rejected this, and even tried to kill Temujin. Not long after ,Toghrul was killed. Toghrul's brother, Jakha (Sorghaghtani's father), was on better terms with Temujin, and offered his daughters to Temujin. Temujin gave the teenage Sorghaghtani to his teenaged youngest, Tolui. (Not long after, the Keraites revolted against Temujin, and Jakha was killed.)

Because Mongol men were often away on military campaigns, Mongol wives had to manage the home and had more rights and power than women in some other cultures. Sorghaghtani could not read or write herself, but she raised her children to learn the languages of the regions they were likely to rule. She also respected other religions, and she raised her sons to be the same. The policy of the Mongol Empire was that the state was more important than religion, and could tolerate any religion that did not interfere with political matters. Sorghaghtani made donations to both Christians and Muslims.

Tolui died in 1232 under mysterious circumstances. Tolui's older brother, Ögedei Khan (he had succeeded Genghis in 1229), gave her authority to handle Tolui's estates (eastern Mongolia and parts of Iran and northern China), and put her in charge of his empire's administration. Mongol widows often re-married into the same family (keeping inheritance attached), and Ögedei suggested that she marry his son Güyük. She refused, claiming that her sons needed her.

Her sons were Möngke Khan, Kublai Khan, Hulagu Khan, and Ariq Böke.

The next Khan would not be so hospitable. We'll find out what happened afterward tomorrow.

Assyrian Christianity

In the earliest days of Christianity, there were three languages that were an important part of its development and spread: Greek, Latin, and Classical Syriac. In the Near East, a distinctive form of Syriac Christianity evolved into two branches: East and West.

The East Syriac Rite uses the so-called "Liturgy of Addai and Mari" that supposedly was outlined by Saint Addai, a disciple of "Doubting" Thomas of whom legend says he went to India to preach. The East Syriac Rite is also called the Assyrian, Chaldean, or Persian Rite. The West Syriac Rite uses the Liturgy of St. James, James the Just (and sometimes said to be the brother of Jesus) who became patriarch of Jewish Christians in Jerusalem.

The Roman conquest of the area in 116 - 118 CE created the Roman province of Assyria. Although Rome's occupation of the area waxed and waned, the city of Edessa became the major center of Syriac Christianity by the 3rd century CE. This early adoption of Christianity also made Assyria a stepping stone to spreading Christianity to the Far East, even though the later Muslim conquests made Christians a minority in their homeland.

In 410 there was a Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, located on the Tigris. (It was later destroyed by al-Mansur to reduce its prominence so he could build Baghdad and make it the greatest city.) The Council codified the East Syriac Church. It organized the area into provinces, each presided over by a bishop called a metropolitan. The archbishop in the capital of Seleucia-Ctesiphon was called the Grand Metropolitan. Because he held authority over all the provinces, he was later referred to as the Catholicos, from the word for "whole" or "universal."

This council affirmed the decisions of the First Council of Nicaea and adopted the Nicene Creed (thereby avoiding a huge fight over the nature of Jesus).

Assyrian Christians figure in previous posts, such as the wife of Hulagu Khan, Doquz Khatun. A grandson of Genghis Khan, Hulagu thought having a Christian wife would help him negotiate with Western Europe. Genghis Khan's youngest son also married an Assyrian Christian, Sorghaghtani. In fact, Sorghaghtani raised Möngke, Hulagu, Kublai, and Ariq Böke (mentioned in posts but not featured). She must have had an interesting life. Let's talk about some prominent Assyrian Christian women next time.

The Last of the Geonim

The title of gaon (plural geonim) was used for the deans of Talmudic academies. Modern Hebrew defines it as "genius." Geonim were important in the development and dissemination of Jewish scholarship. The Geonim Era lasted from 589 to 1038 CE, when the academies of Sura and Pumbedita flourished.

The last gaon of Sura was Samuel ben Hofni, who died in 1034 CE leaving behind a great many writings. At Pumbedita the last gaon was Hai ben Sherira, also called Hai Gaon. He was taught by—and assisted in teaching—his father, Sherira ben Hanina, who was also called Sherira Gaon.

This was during the Abbasid Caliphate, when the Pumbedita Academy had moved to Baghdad. Hai and his father had enemies who caused them to be imprisoned in 997 and had their property confiscated by Caliph al-Qadir. Their troubles were brief, and shortly after their release Sherira named Hai the new gaon.

Hai's promotion was very popular in the community. When Sherira died in 1006, the following Sabbath saw the passage read from Numbers in which Moses asks for an able follower. It was followed by a reading about Solomon with the words altered to read "And Hai sat on the throne of Sherira his father, and his government was firmly established."

Questions from all over where the Jewish Diaspora landed people—Anatolia, France, Germany, the Iberian Peninsula, Ethiopia and India—came to Pumbedita for advice and rulings. More than 800 responses from Hai Gaon helped to codify rules about holidays and civil law.

In his responses he quotes not only numerous Jewish sources. It is clear he was familiar with the Quran, Plato and Aristotle, Greek history, and Persian. He also consulted with the heads of the local Christians—in this case, Assyrian Christians—over the meaning of Psalms 141:5, whose literal translation is:

The righteous beat me [in] kindness. And reprove me, My head does not disallow oil of the head,  For my prayer [is] still about their distress. [source]

His death marked the end of the Geonim Era, and he has been called the last of the Geonim. (To be fair, there was one more. Hezekiah ben David was elected Gaon at Hai's death, but he was imprisoned and supposedly tortured to death. On the other hand, supposedly a contemporary in 1046 said Hezekiah was the head of Pumbedita. Still, histories of the Eras say it ended in 1038 with Hai.)

I find that I've mentioned Assyrian Christians before, but haven't gone into any detail about whence they came or what made them different. I'll rectify that starting tomorrow.

Talmudic Academies

In southern Iraq, in an area referred to as Babylonia in Jewish lore, there were two Talmudic academies (yeshiva) that for a time were the source of all important Torah decrees. They were Sura and Pumbedita.

Around 220 CE, the Jewish scholar Abba Arikha arrived in Sura city and found no organized religious Jewish community. Arikha ("the Tall") was respected by Gentiles as well as Jews. He began the Sura Academy to support the continuity of Jewish learning and community. He founded the yeshiva in 225, and the word started to spread that Sura was the site of serious Jewish scholarship.

Eventually it had a faculty of 1200 using an impressive campus, some of the remnants of which can still be seen. It had offices for rabbis and deans and classrooms and a garden that grew much of what was consumed by staff and students.

The Pumbedita Academy was founded after the death of Abba Arikha. Judah ben Ezekiel (220 - 299 CE) founded it somewhere in Iraq (the exact location is not known). Judah was so obsessed with learning that he was known to neglect daily prayer in order to study. That discipline for study and a remarkable memory helped him immensely in transmitting teachings to others, and gave Pumbedita a reputation to equal Sura.

While developing the system of learning at Pumbedita, he created Talmudic dialectics, a very critical examination of the subjects in the Talmud. This clinical approach did not please older more traditional students, but younger students embraced it.

Sura and Pumbedita lasted for hundreds of years. During the years 988 - 990, Pumbedita moved from its original location. Jews were migrating to big cities, and the current dean of Pumbedita decided to relocate the yeshiva to Baghdad, whose grandeur and reputation as a city where knowledge was celebrated was well-known. That dean was Hai Gaon, a Renaissance Man before there was a Renaissance, who crossed the boundaries of religion to interact with those of other faiths. Let's talk about him next time.

Nahshon ben Zadok

One of the men who studied the world and the Torah to make sure the Jewish calendar was accurate was Nahshon ben Zadok. He flourished in the Gaonim Era, from 589 CE to 1038 CE (Hebrew years 4349 - 4798). The Gaonim ("pride" or "splendor" but more recently translated "genius") were the heads of the great Talmudic schools Sura and Pumbedita. We do not have many dates for Nahshon, but from 874 - 882 CE he was head of the Sura Academy in southern Iraq, what Jewish texts call Babylonia. 

Nahshon was a scholar, producing a dictionary of sorts with explanations of difficult words found in the Talmud. He did not, however, list them in alphabetical order as some others did. Instead, he wrote them down in the order in which they appear, making them more like footnotes.

Looking at the calendar, he realized that there was a cycle of 247 years, after which the order of weekdays on which any particular festival would fall repeats. He created 14 tables that show this cycle.

There are some writings that are ascribed to him, although we do not know for certain about some of them. One on ritual slaughtering, the Re'umah, is usually said to be his, but authorship cannot be proven. The writings that are believed to be his are often in Aramaic, but some are in Hebrew. His writings do not always agree with prior or subsequent scholars, but he was respected enough in his time to be made head of Sura.

The illustration is a carving of one of the Gaonim teaching at the Sura Academy. Sura and Pumbedita Academies were two chief sources of Talmudic scholarship for centuries, and we will talk about them more tomorrow.

The Hebrew Calendar

One of the oldest calendars in continuous use is the Hebrew Calendar. It was not just a way of counting days to get through a solar cycle, however. It was also a constant reminder of the relationship between God and his creations, since rituals and celebrations were not to be ignored or performed arbitrarily.

Jewish scholars attempted to determine the year based on the creation of the world after counting the genealogies in the Torah. By the 4th century CE it was decided that the world began in what the Christian world would call 3761/0 BC.

Because of Genesis 1:5 ("There was evening and there was morning, one day"), it was clear that the day begins with evening, and so sunset is the start of a new day, and the day ends at the following sunset. Festival days begin at sunset the night before the daytime. (The International Date Line observed by much of the world creates some debate for the Jewish calendar.)

Because the Jewish calendar follows lunar cycles, each month begins with the new moon—easy to observe. This does not account for the extra days it takes for the Earth to go around the Sun, however, so between the years 70 and 1178 CE, a series of mathematical formulae were devised to try to keep up.

The "New Year" has more than one meaning in the Jewish calendar. The 1st day of the month of Tishrei is Rosh Hashanah and the start of the civil year. The 1st of Nisan, however is the start of the ecclesiastical year, the date from which festivals are counted. This puts Passover (14 Nisan) in the "first month" and Rosh Hashanah in the 7th, despite the previous statement.

Leap months have to be added every 19 years. Sometimes the year's length has to be altered by adding or removing a day from a month. When this is done, the danger is that Rosh Hashanah's day has shifted. There are important rules for making sure Rosh Hashanah is honored properly.

The man who studied the calendar carefully and helped determine many of its features that help decide when events take place was Nahshon ben Zadok, head of the Academy of Sura in the 9th century. We'll talk about him next time.

If you want a more detailed version of the Gregorian/Jewish image above, see this one.

Other Histories

We've been looking at the origins of the terms Anno Domini and Before Christ to mark the passing of years. Those were Christian-centric choices that did not mean a thing to the other cultures that existed adjacent to Christianity.

The Coptic Calendar (we had recently talked about Coptic Christianity) used a different system. Based on the ancient Egyptian calendar, its start date was 29 August 284 CE. The Ethiopian and Eritrean churches used it, but started its epoch on 29 August, 8 CE. It is currently year 1742. The point of the year 284 was that it was the start of the "Era of Martyrs" that started because Emperor Diocletian started the worst era of persecution of Christians. Dionysius Exiguus specifically created Anno Domini in order to separate the calendar from memories of such a terrible enemy to Christianity.

With the rise of Islam, there was another date used for the "start" of reckoning: 622 CE became AH 1 (Anno Hegirae, "In the year of the Hijrah") when Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Medina and established a community. It is currently year 1447.

Although today is 10 October 2025 in the Gregorian calendar, had we retained the Julian calendar with its flaws regarding Leap Years, the date would be 27 September 2025.

The Hebrew calendar was based on the number of days since the creation of the world, calculated by looking at the genealogy presented in the Torah/Old Testament. This date was (in modern reckoning) 3761 BCE. It is currently year 5786.

The Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar and one of the oldest continuously used. Let's look at it a little more tomorrow.

Making History

After Dionysius Exiguus used the phrase anno Domini to describe the year (525) in which he was writing a table of dates for Easter, the convention took awhile to catch on.

There were many ways to identify the present year. Rome could use the years "since the founding of the city" (AUC, standing for ab urbe condita), or by whomever was proconsul that year. Lots of local kingdoms counted years by the reign of the king, so that each new king dated records and event starting with year "1"; even more confusing since a king could start his reign on any date of the year.

The Anglo-Saxon historian known as the Venerable Bede knew the work of Dionysius and used AD for dating in his history that went up to the year 731 (Bede died a few years later).

For years prior to AD, he use the elaborate phrase ante incarnationis dominicae tempus ("before the time of the Lord's incarnation") followed by a number. The Latin phrases used by scholars to refer to dates prior to Christ eventually came to be known in the English-speaking world simply as "BC": Before Christ.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, they did not explain if by incarnation they meant conception or birth. In the 9th century, theologians chose conception as the starting point of the era, the date of the Annunciation, 25 March, celebrated sometimes as Lady Day.

Alcuin started using Anno Domini during the Carolingian Renascence, which helped spread the convention throughout much of Western Europe and beyond. Popes, who also used regnal years the way kings would, started using the neutral AD starting in the 11th century. When Portugal switched officially to AD for dating documents as of 1422, all Christian countries were now on board.

Note that there in no Year Zero. The first year of the present era is AD1; the year preceding is 1BC. Yes, AD is traditionally printed before the number because you are saying "The year of Our Lord 2025." Otherwise you are saying it is "Year 1 Before Christ."

Because there are other cultures with their own calendars, a modern convention has arisen of using CE and BCE (Common Era, Before Common Era) in western culture to remove the religious facet. These other calendars, still adhered to, will be a topic for tomorrow.

Anno Domini

When Pope John I in 525 asked Dionysius Exiguus to write a chronology to tabulate future dates of Easter, Dionysius looked at how years were numbered and wanted something he considered more appropriate. Of course there was the Roman Empire numbering of AUC, which stood for abs urbe condita, "from the founding of the city." Dionysius wanted something a little more appropriate for a Christian world.

At the time, years in Rome were designated by the terms of the Roman consuls. Other methods of keeping track of years included Olympiads or the regnal years of Caesars. In various countries, years were called by the regnal years of the king. When a new king was crowned, his records began with Year 1 of his reign. 

Christians were using the "Diocletian era," which was calculated since the last big persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian. Dionysius did not want to use a calendar based on someone who was hostile to Christians. There had been a previously calculated set of dates by Victorius of Aquitaine c.457 that Dionysius ignored as being "off" and developed his own system, laying down dates for the years 532-626.

Dionysius wrote that the "present year" was the "consulship of Probus Junior," which he also claimed was 525 years since the birth of Christ. (We assume he looked at various historical records and counted them up to determine that year.) 

His solution to keep track of years was the phrase anno Domini, "year of [our] Lord." This divided time into two sections: everything that happened prior to the Incarnation, and then everything that happened starting at the Incarnation.

Problems arose, of course. One question was what defined the "Incarnation": was it birth, or conception? The Diocletian Year began on 1 September, but consulships began on 1 January, so were we adding up years correctly? Lists of consuls were not always complete, nor were the dates of emperors.

We are not sure how Dionysius determined the year of the Incarnation. It may have been based on the Gospel of Luke, where he says Jesus was about 30 shortly after the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.

The use of AD was not adopted universally. Tomorrow we'll look at other conventions and the slow rise of AD's popularity. We should also mention "Phantom Time."

Dionysius Exiguus

We learned a lot about St. Pachomius and his development of the Eastern Coptic Christian monasteries from a biography written over a hundred years after his death by an Eastern Roman monk named Dionysius Exiguus, which means "Dionysius the Humble."

Born c.470 in Scythia Minor—a Roman province north of Constantinople, between the Danube and the Black Sea—he was a "true Roman" by inclination (according to Cassiodorus).  He was a mathematician and astronomer, a theologian, and was well-versed in canon law. He was fluent in both Greek and Latin. This skill allowed him to translate hundreds of important Greek works into Latin, including the "Life of St. Pachomius." He also translated a history of the discovery of the head of John the Baptist. Some translations attributed to him seem to be the earlier work of Marius Mercator (mentioned previously in a post about forgeries).

He came to Rome when Pope Gelasius I summoned him to organize the papal archives. (Gelasius died 496CE, so Dionysius must have been in Rome by that year.) He translated into Latin 401 ecclesiastical canons, including the apostolic canons and the decrees of the councils of Nicaea, Constantinople, Chalcedon, and Sardis, all of which were recorded in Greek, having taken place in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Pope John I in 525 asked him to create a chronology, which he did, using the Julian calendar and tabulating the dates of Easter, that "floating Holy Day" that caused much consternation in the early Church. In the process, Dionysius created a—let's call it a "convention"—that has lasted until today: the use of Anno Domini to describe years since the birth of Christ.

Tomorrow we take a deep dive into those two simple words, what came before, and how they were determined.

Theodorus of Tabannese

After the death of St. Pachomius, the popular Theodorus of Tabannese was passed over as a successor for Petronius, who died three months later, appointing Horsiesius. Horsiesius was perceived as a weak leader, drawing opposition from many of the more tenured monks.

Theodorus, who had always been known for the camaraderie he inspired—early in his time at the Pachomian monasteries he had been nicknamed the "brothers' comforter"—went to the monastery at Tabannese, where there were many monks in rebellion against Horsiesius' authority, and tried to calm them down.

Horsiesius resigned in 350, and Theodorus became the leader of the family of the nine Pachomian monasteries (although he called himself the "vicar" of Horsiesius). Although he had been demoted in his youth by Pachomius for a combination of ambition and insufficient discipline over the monks under him—or perhaps because he was aware of these qualities—he ran the monasteries effectively for 18 years by frequently re-organizing them and moving ambitious leaders around to new posts.

Some of Theodorus' sermons have survived, recorded by his followers, as well as some of his letters, written in Coptic. Three letters that we believe he wrote himself have survived, in which he quotes Scripture and gives advice to the monasteries on topics such as maintaining asceticism, vigilance against sin, and celebrating Passover.

We also know about him from other references. St. Athanasius (c.298 - 373), patriarch of Alexandria, writing a letter to Horsiesius, said of Theodorus:

I have seen your fellow-worker and father of the brethren, Theodore, and in him the master of our father Pachomios. And I rejoiced to see the sons of the Church, and they made me glad by their presence. But the Lord is their recompenser. And as Theodore was about to leave me for you, he said to me: "Remember me." And I said to him: "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten, yea let my tongue cleave to my throat if I remember thee not" [Ps. 137:6, LXX.].

It might have comforted Horsiesius that Athanasius thought so highly of Theodorus. When Theodorus died in 568, Athanasius wrote another letter to Horsiesius, praising the deceased, and talking about how the two of them worked well together. In fact, Horsiesius was Theodorus' successor. Horsiesius ran the monasteries until his death in 387.

A lot of what we know about Pachomius and the monastery system he created comes from a later writer, Dionysius Exiguus, who took it upon himself to translate hundreds of religious works into Latin. He was also the man who created the "modern calendar"; I'll explain further tomorrow.

Pachomius' Successors

When St. Pachomius was dying, his followers at the monastery were concerned because he had not yet chosen a successor. Many of them wanted Theodorus of Tabennese (c.314 - 368).

Born into a wealthy Christian family, Theodorus joined a monastery at 14 in Egypt until he heard about the success of Pachomius from a friend and determined that he wanted to go there. He was told that his wealthy background made him unsuitable for the atmosphere that Pachomius was creating in his monasteries, but Theodorus went anyway to Tabannese, one of the Pachomian monasteries.

Admired by Pachomius and his fellow monks, Theodorus came to be called the "brothers' comforter" because of his kindness and support toward his peers. Pachomius eventually made him the steward of Tabennese when Pachomius retired to another of his monasteries, Pbow. While keeping tabs on Theodorus, Pachomius saw that monks who did not follow the strict rules set down by Pachomius were being allowed to do so without any discipline, so Pachomius demoted him from authority.

Theodorus became Pachomius' assistant, behaving himself and maintaining the popularity he had with his fellow monks.

When Pachomius became ill, several monks wanted Theodorus to agree to assume control of the monastery. Theodorus agreed that he would do so, but Pachomius recovered and found out that Theodorus had been ready to take control. He exiled Theodorus, but eventually forgave him and allowed him to return without any special rank.

When Pachomius died in 348CE, he had named as his successor Petronius, who had been overseeing some of the Pachomian family of monasteries. Petronius died three months after Pachomius, however, and appointed Horsiesius, who had been overseeing the monastery at Sheneset. Horsiesius, however, resigned in 350, and finally Theodorus was placed in charge.

Tomorrow I'll tell you a little more about Theodorus, and that the story of Horsiesius wasn't finished when he resigned.

St. Pachomius

St. Anthony the Great is credited with being the first monk in that he did not just live an ascetic life, but also he removed himself from civilization and went into the desert. The eremitical (hermit) life appealed to many in the years to follow, but not everyone had the self-discipline to lead that kind of life. This is where Pachomius was needed.

St. Pachomius (c.292 - 348) was born a pagan in Egypt. Drafted into military service by the Roman army at the age of 21, he was put on a ship with several other conscripts heading toward Thebes. There he noticed how Christians kindly brought food daily to the conscripts.

When he left the army a few years later, he investigated Christianity and converted in 314. After seven years as a hermit, he traveled to where St. Anthony was living, modeling his life after Anthony's solitary example. Then, however, a vision told him to create a community where others could join him.

Hermits had clustered together in the same area before, but Pachomius created an organized structure for monks who actually lived and worked together, holding their possessions in common and following a similar schedule. This style of monastic tradition is called cenobitic, a Latin word from the Greek words for "common" [κοινός] and "life" [βίος].

He created the first community shortly after this vision; the first person to join him was his brother John. Many more were to follow. Pachomius built eight monasteries, and the trend caught on: by the time of his death there were hundreds of monks in Egypt following his guidance. He was referred to as "Abba" ("father"), from which the terms "abbot" and "abbey" come. He also wrote the Rule of Pachomius, creating guidelines for communities. It is written in the Coptic (Egyptian) language. He is also given credit for inventing the Prayer Rope to aid in repetitively reciting prayers.

Pachomius never was ordained as a priest. St. Athanasius visited him and wanted to ordain him in 333—Pachomius, like Athanasius, had proven to be a vocal opponent of Arianism—but Pachomius did not want ordination. He died on 9 May 348, we assume from plague.

When he had fallen ill and the end seemed near, he had not named a successor. Many of his followers wanted one monk—a man who was looked up to by many—to assert himself, but Pachomius had different ideas. The succession got a little tricky over the next few years. I'll talk tomorrow about dissent that might have ended the monastery.

A Personal Note

Just jumping in for a post that is personal as well as related to this blog.

To the right of these words you can see the advertisements to the two medieval mystery novels I self-published on Amazon many years ago. Knowing that no one would necessarily trust an unknown author, I priced the first at $1.99 and the second at $2.99 (assuming that if you're buying the second you've read the first and liked it and would be willing to take a bigger gamble).

I was absolutely surprised and delighted to find that someone recently not only bought them, not only read them, but also liked them enough to write a glowing review in which she accurately describes what I was trying to accomplish when I wrote them.

If you've ever glanced at the covers to the right and wondered if they were worth the risk of $1.99, or even $2.99, the review on Daily Kos by Dr. Lori, who has a Ph.D. in medieval manuscripts, might entice you.

The link is here.

Thanks (as always) for reading.