Today the Prester John letters are considered to be a grand hoax, perhaps history’s first chain letter. Copies of the letter were written in a variety of languages, with each version exaggerating the power, piety, and glory of Prester John to a greater degree. As it turns out, no records exist detailing visits by any ambassadors from India.Īs news of Prester John and his kingdom swept Europe, a series of letters were published, supposedly copies of a letter written by Prester John to Eastern Roman Emperor Manuel I Commenus. The kingdom of Prester John was also home to such great legendary places as the Gates of Alexander, the Garden of Eden, and the Fountain of Youth. ![]() Like many tall tales, the magnificence of Prester John’s supposed empire included tales of cities covered in gold and jewels and strange creatures such as people with their faces on their chests and dog headed people who communicated by barking. Supposedly according to the ambassadors, Prester John ruled over a powerful and extremely wealthy empire centered in India. According to the rumors, the ambassadors were sent by their emperor or king, a mighty Christian ruler named “Prester John” who was a descendant of the Three Magi from The Bible. Then in the early 12th century the myth was revived again when rumors were spread that ambassadors from a great Christian empire in the east visited Pope Calixtus and the Eastern Roman Emperor. However, there was little to substantiate such claims and the rumors slowly evolved into myth and legend. ![]() After a few generations, the Nestorians had supposedly founded a mighty Christian empire in India, one that rivaled the glory of Rome itself. ![]() In the late Roman Empire and early Middle Ages there was a legend among European peoples that the Nestorian Christians of the East had experienced a major success in converting the peoples of India to Christianity.
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