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The History of Mar Yahballaha and Rabban Sawma
"For anyone interested in the extraordinary journey of Rabban Sauma from 13th-century China to Latin Christian Europe, Thomas A. Carlson's The History of Mar Yabhallaha & Rabban Sawma is a godsend. Based on Pier Giorgio Borbone's and Laura E. Parodi's magisterial edition and translation, Carlson’s new text is excellent for courses in world literature, travel literature, medieval biography, church history, comparative Christianities, global pilgrimage studies, religious studies, and even hagiographic writing. The book's lively, engaging introduction supplies important background on the history of the Mongols, Eurasia, Central Asia, the Church of the East, the peoples of the steppe, the Ilkhanate of West Asia, and key historical events of the 13th and early 14th centuries, making what might seem esoteric and strange crystal clear and easy to understand. This book is indispensable for teaching, as well as a delight and pleasure for the general reader."
—Geraldine Heng, author of The Global Middle Ages: An Introduction, and The Invention of Race in the European Middle Ages
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History of Mar Yahballaha and Rabban Sawma - group
"For anyone interested in the extraordinary journey of Rabban Sauma from 13th-century China to Latin Christian Europe, Thomas A. Carlson's The History of Mar Yabhallaha & Rabban Sawma is a godsend. Based on Pier Giorgio Borbone's and Laura E. Parodi's magisterial edition and translation, Carlson’s new text is excellent for courses in world literature, travel literature, medieval biography, church history, comparative Christianities, global pilgrimage studies, religious studies, and even hagiographic writing. The book's lively, engaging introduction supplies important background on the history of the Mongols, Eurasia, Central Asia, the Church of the East, the peoples of the steppe, the Ilkhanate of West Asia, and key historical events of the 13th and early 14th centuries, making what might seem esoteric and strange crystal clear and easy to understand. This book is indispensable for teaching, as well as a delight and pleasure for the general reader."
—Geraldine Heng, author of The Global Middle Ages: An Introduction, and The Invention of Race in the European Middle Ages
"An up-to-date, approachable presentation of a complex and fascinating text. Carlson situates this extraordinary journey from East to West, Mongol China to Capetian France, in its religious, political, and social context. Drawing on the latest scholarship as well as his own expertise, he deftly handles thorny questions, from the identity of the anonymous author to the ways in which medieval Syriac conventions of politeness may affect our reading of the text today.
“My students loved the story but struggled through the previous English translations, both now almost a hundred years old. This edition will make it easier for them to understand and appreciate the extraordinary lives of Rabban Sawma and Yahballaha III.”
—Hannah Barker, Arizona State University
“The History of Mar Yahballaha & Rabban Sawma is as deserving and important as Marco Polo's Travels, and now we have an up-to-date version for the classroom. The translation is of high quality, and the editorial choices add clarity. The work is accessible to students and non-specialists but remains useful to scholars. It is an excellent book to pair with Marco Polo—travelers in the same period but going in opposite directions.”
—Timothy May, University of North Georgia
About the Author:
Thomas A. Carlson is Professor of History, Oklahoma State University.
