Leonidas Arthur Polemious - Essay Example

Medieval Journal) My is Leonidas Arthur Polemious. I was born in Byzantium in the year 1150 AD as the illegitimate son of a Greek noblewoman andan English Christian crusader on his way to the Holy Land. Because my mother did not want to acknowledge me, I was orphaned and raised by a band of Gypsies. I spent my life traveling around the Mediterranean Basin selling wares and thus learned many of the languages of this area which bestrides both Christendom and Islam. The following are excerpted entries of my personal diary. May they teach you something of my life and world. January 1, 1200 AD With my caravan of servants I find myself in a city in the Kingdom of Georgia named Apsaros. This city is a port on the Black Sea. I traveled here to trade with another caravan of merchants which I had been told came from Persia. I met them and they took me into their tents. I could not help but notice that their women never spoke and wore garb from head to toe. Our Greek women, though not immodest, are allowed to show their faces. Not these women. Though I had little to trade, I did fortunately have a large amount of gold coins that I had acquired months prior. With these coins I bought from these Persians many silver plates (a famous Persian product) and, as luck had it, several roles of silk. The head merchant of the Persians, a man by the name of Mahbod Arsham, told me the silk came from yet another group of traders who had traveled across the Asian steppe, to the other side of the Pamir Mountains, where they had encountered a band of Mongolian nomads. March 5, 1200 AD Having traveled south, we find ourselves in the Ayyubid Caliphate city of Ar Roha. We are not here for trading purposes. Another large caravan of Muslim traders arrived in the city at about the same time we did. Some of these men were not just any Muslims, they were followers of Sufism. One of them named Abdelaziz Ibn Nasab was kind enough to tell me about his group’s beliefs. He said that they follow all the rules of Islam but also seek to control their bodily impulses. This reminded me of the ascetics in my native Byzantium. They rigorously study the Quran and the teachings of Muhammed. Muslims believe in the submission of oneself to Allah, their god. The Quran is very important, central even, to their religion. The Sufists pride themselves not only as Muslims but also as Muslims who have sought to purify themselves before god. For them the seeker of the divine path, the Dervish, must dedicate himself to fulfilling Allah’s word as expressed in the Quran. April 25, 1200 AD I now find myself in the great Arab city of Damascus. We very soon will be leaving to the Palestine coast to set sail for Venice and Western Europe. This city is a true wonder. All the riches and booty of the Arab conquest of the Holy Land, Persia, Arabia, and the north of Africa can be seen. Many dialects of Arabic are here spoken by the various traders, merchants, and nomads who have come from all corners of the world. Today I met a Muslim prince named Mahmud Ibn Balthazar who, hearing that I was a Greek, invited me into his palace to dine with him. I cordially accepted. Our conversation wandered. We spoke of the rising tensions between my own country, the Eastern Roman Empire, and the Crusader armies of Europe. He spoke of the great exploits of Islam as having expanded farther and faster than any empire that preceded it. I mentioned that the Roman Empire of old, of which my own country was the cultural and political heir, was also greatly powerful and large. He agreed but pointed out that the Christian West’s future path was one of defeat and dominance by Islam. For him Christendom was very backwards. I was delighted to learn that he had read many Arabic translations of ancient Greek authors whose works had been lost to Europe. He said that the Arabs benefitted greatly from learning from the Greeks. Whereas in Europe many believe that the world is flat, the Muslims know that it is round and that one can navigate one’s ship according to the stars. He spoke of the wonders of Arabic medicine compared to the primitive medical methods carried out in Europe. The Arabs had learned many things about mathematics from their encounters with the peoples of the Ganges River. They claimed that there was a number “0” and that negative numbers could be used to better understand the methods of arithmetic. I must say that it will probably be several centuries before any of this knowledge reaches the Latin West. Before leaving town I traded some silver plates in exchange for some spices rumored to fetch a good price in Italy. June 15, 1200 AD I find myself in the great trading city of Venice. I am told it is one of Christendom’s most beautiful cities. I must say that I am impressed by the Venetians’ ability to build a city on the water, no small feat. The main square of the city is called St. Mark’s. It lies in front of the famed basilica of the same name. While I was in the square I struck a conversation with a friar. His name was Umberto of Bologna. He was third son of a noble family. Since he could not inherit any property, he had joined the priesthood out of necessity. He boasted of the age and beauty of St. Mark’s Basilica, which stood before us. He spoke of its Byzantine architecture, which I myself had already recognized. He said the Venetians had acquired many of the materials used to build and adorn it in the East through trade and conquest. He spoke of how the Venetians, in contrast to most of European Christendom, had begun to trade vigorously and had coined and used money to that end. Umberto mentioned that much of Europe was still based upon the system of lordship, serfdom, and the manor. But in certain coastal cities of the Mediterranean, he said, trade, industry, commerce, and exchange had grown to an extent not seen for centuries. Towns had reappeared and thus, according to him, Europe had emerged from the stagnant centuries following the collapse of the Ancient Romans. Learning was on the rise. People like the Venetians were master bankers and merchants, bringing exotic goods from the East and selling them to rapacious Italian and French nobles and kings. I agreed with him, but still lauded the accomplishments of the Muslims and cautioned against an all too optimistic perspective of Europe. Much of Europe was hopelessly backwards compared to the Arab Caliphates. August 15, 1200 AD From Venice I now find myself in the city of Bologna after having been told of its wonders by Umberto. This great center of learning and political power has many beautiful cathedrals and castles. There is talk that someday the city will free its serfs and a republic will be founded. This city has many towers built for its defense. I traded with an Italian knight named Michele Buonaventura who wanted to purchase a silk dress for his mistress. He spoke of the city’s long history, the church of Santo Stefano, and the need to often choose sides between the Church and the Holy Roman Emperor. Politics in Italy are known to be a sanguine affair. Buonaventura said that this is a troubling time for the Church because many of the lords and kings of Christendom have begun to question and even challenge the power of the Pope. Control over the cities of northern Italy is a particularly strong area of conflict between the Pope and the Emperor Frederick. I bid Buonaventura goodbye and left the city. October 31 1200 AD From Bologna I set out, with my caravan of humble servants, to the Western coast of the Italian peninsula. There we sailed in a ship to the Frankish County of Toulouse. The city we are in now is called Narbonne. In this area of Christendom things are very much different from the commercial cities of Italy. Here in the Kingdom of the Franks the society is built upon a system of manors and fealty to one’s lord. The peasants here must work the lands and pay a portion of their earnings to their lord. The lords here are very powerful. Knowledge is greatly controlled and hierarchical. The priesthood seems to hold great sway over the serfs who live by their strange superstitions and fear of damnation. Hearing that I had both silk and Persian silver, a lord summoned me to his castle away from the city. Knowing that he was very rich and powerful, I made sure that I showed all the respect I could. In this area of the world, insulting ones master or host is seen as great transgression. The lord’s name was Geoffrois de Champagne. He descends from an ancient noble family with holdings all over the Frankish kingdom. From atop his castle he can see many of his lands all being worked by his many serfs. He spoke of their obligation to proffer him what he called a “corvée,” or labor as payment for use of his land. He purchased much silk and paid me handsomely for it. Where I will now go I do not yet know. My travels have taken me very far from home and they will surely continue to lead me to new places and peoples. Read More