The “History of Mar Yahballaha and Rabban Sawma” as a source for the Ilkhanid history

The Syriac anonymous narrative known as the History of Mar Yahballaha and Rabban Sawma (written before 1319) consists in the biography of the catholicos of the Church of the East, Mar Yahballaha III (ca. 1248–1317), and his mentor, the monk Sawma (ca. 1225–1294). The author’s interests go beyond the biography of two eminent clergymen of the Church of the East, and his commitment combines with that of a chronicler. The narrative of the journey of Rabban Sawma in Europe as ambassador of the Khan Arghun (1287-1288) elicited the interest of translators, readers and scholars more than the rest of the book. Nevertheless, the author’s interest does not seem to focus on it more than on other episodes: for instance, much more space is devoted to the destiny of the Christians living in the city of Erbil, a case that from his point of view deserved a detailed explanation of the events, as it resulted in the elimination of the Christian population of the city. Church history is apparently a central issue for the author: his reports are abundantly detailed when devoted to the restorations and building of churches and monasteries, and to the relationship with the sovereigns. On the contrary, what pertains to the relations of Mar Yahballaha with Latin Christians, both in the Ilkhanid dominion and in the West, remains largely out of the narrative. Mar Yahballaha’s good relationship with the Latin missionaries, as the Dominican friar Riccoldo da Montecroce, and the contacts with the pope after the mission of Rabban Sawma, are not mentioned at all. The paper focuses on two episodes reported in the History, which provide information about the policy of the Ilkhans towards the Church of the East. The first one relates the events occurring just after the election of Aḥmad/Teguder, when two envious bishops and two Muslim officials defamed Mar Yahballaha and Rabban Sauma with false accusations, as Arghun’s supporters. The author’s qualification of Aḥmad as a persecutor of Christiany does not fit with other evidence (for instance Marco Polo’s report of Aḥmad’s reign), nor combines with the development of the affair in the narrative itself: after an enquiry and a trial, both the catholicos and Rabban Sawma are recognised as innocent, freed and reinstalled in their positions. The second episode is the report of the revolt of the Mongol garrison of the citadel of Erbil, the Christian qayajiyē, “rock climbers”, which marks the end of Christianity in the city. Comparison with the Persian narrative about the same case by Qāshānī shows interesting parallels.