An Issue of Intercultural Communication: An Unknown Letter from the âSultan of Babylonâ to Pope Innocent VIII
In: Journal of the Economic and Social History of the OrientSearch for other papers by Piotr TafiÅowski in
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Abstract
In the University of Glasgow Libraryâs copy of Pius IIâs Epistolae familiares (Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 16 Sept. 1481), recorded on leaf 1â1v one can find a copy of a letter addressed to Pope Innocent VIII that starts with the heading âSoldanus pontifici Romano pro Restauracione Iunioris filii senioris Turchiâ. The letterâs sender, who is referred to in the text as the âSultan of Babylonâ, was the Caliph of Cairo, al-Mutawakkil II (Abdul Aziz ibn YaÊ¿qub ibn Muhammad). The present text discusses the content of the letter and the issues regarding the question of its authorship. To ensure a comprehensive presentation of the argumentation, the paper not only discusses the content of the letter but also explores the wider context in which it was produced, situating it against the wider history of the Mamluk state and Mamluk diplomacy as well as the late medieval tradition of the exchange of correspondence (both real and fictitious) between the Christian and Muslim worlds. It needs underlining that not only has the content of the letter in question hitherto been substantially unknown to scholars, but the letter is furthermore the first discovered correspondent from an Ê¿Abbasid Caliph sent to the head of Western Christianity.
The paper offers a contribution to research on intercultural communication.
The paper comes with three appendices: a transliteration and a translation of the letter and a facsimile of the original record.
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An Issue of Intercultural Communication: An Unknown Letter from the âSultan of Babylonâ to Pope Innocent VIII
In: Journal of the Economic and Social History of the OrientSearch for other papers by Piotr TafiÅowski in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
In the University of Glasgow Libraryâs copy of Pius IIâs Epistolae familiares (Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 16 Sept. 1481), recorded on leaf 1â1v one can find a copy of a letter addressed to Pope Innocent VIII that starts with the heading âSoldanus pontifici Romano pro Restauracione Iunioris filii senioris Turchiâ. The letterâs sender, who is referred to in the text as the âSultan of Babylonâ, was the Caliph of Cairo, al-Mutawakkil II (Abdul Aziz ibn YaÊ¿qub ibn Muhammad). The present text discusses the content of the letter and the issues regarding the question of its authorship. To ensure a comprehensive presentation of the argumentation, the paper not only discusses the content of the letter but also explores the wider context in which it was produced, situating it against the wider history of the Mamluk state and Mamluk diplomacy as well as the late medieval tradition of the exchange of correspondence (both real and fictitious) between the Christian and Muslim worlds. It needs underlining that not only has the content of the letter in question hitherto been substantially unknown to scholars, but the letter is furthermore the first discovered correspondent from an Ê¿Abbasid Caliph sent to the head of Western Christianity.
The paper offers a contribution to research on intercultural communication.
The paper comes with three appendices: a transliteration and a translation of the letter and a facsimile of the original record.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 651 | 131 | 16 |
| Full Text Views | 61 | 9 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 150 | 26 | 0 |
