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Dave's Mythical Creatures and Places |
Kingdom of Prester John
The legend of Prester John arose in the mid-1100's during the Crusades. He was believed to be a powerful king, who was Christian and would be a strong ally to the Pope and the Crusaders. The early rumors were that he lived "beyond Persia and Armenia in the remote east" and that he was interested in helping to free Jerusalem. In 1165 a letter was sent to the Pope, the Emperor Comnenus of Constantinople, and the Emporer Barbarossa of Italy and Germany, allegedly from Prester John, claiming that he was a rich and powerful king. The letter starts out "I Johannes the Presbyter, Lord of Lords, am superior in virtue, riches and power to all who walk under heaven. Seventy-two kings pay tribute to us. Our might prevails in the three Indies, and our lands extend all the way to the farthest Indies where the body of Saint Thomas the Apostle lies." (there was confusion about the location of Saint Thomas's body too- many believed it was in Mailapur in southern India, but Marco Polo placed it in Abyssinia (Ethiopia.)
Originally, Prester John was thought to be in Asia, but as that area became more well-known, the location of the legendary kingdom shifted to East Africa at the beginning of the 1300's, and that is where it appeared on maps for the next hundred years. For a while, Prester John was confused with the king of Ethiopia, which had converted to Christianity in the 300's.
