This medieval king ruled a vast empire and inspired the pope. He also didn't exist

Despite there being no evidence that he existed, belief in an impossibly powerful and wealthy ruler of a Christian empire in the east persisted for centuries and spurred on explorers

尽管没有证据表明他存在，但对东方基督教帝国的一位不可思议的强大和富有的统治者的信仰持续了几个世纪，并激励了探险家

In 1145, the German bishop Otto of Freising published his influential work of history and philosophy, the Chronica , in which he mentioned a Christian ruler of a domain far to the east.

1145 年，德国弗赖辛主教奥托出版了他颇具影响力的历史和哲学著作《编年史》，其中他提到了远东地区的一位基督教统治者。

This priest-king had defeated the Muslims in battle and set out to capture Jerusalem, but had been unable to cross his army over the Tigris River.

这位祭司国王在战斗中击败了穆斯林，并着手占领耶路撒冷，但无法让他的军队渡过底格里斯河。

This is the first-known written reference to Prester John, a significant figure in medieval Europe, despite the fact that he never existed.

这是已知的第一个关于祭司王约翰的书面文献，他是中世纪欧洲的一位重要人物，尽管事实上他从未存在过。

Twenty years later, in 1165, a letter appeared at the court of the Byzantine emperor purporting to be from the mysterious man, the “supreme ruler of the three Indies”.

二十年后，即 1165 年，一封信出现在拜占庭皇帝的宫廷中，据称是来自神秘人、“三印度最高统治者”的信件。

In the lengthy missive, he introduced himself: “I, Prester John, am lord of lords and surpass, in all riches which are under the heaven, in virtue and in power, all the kings of the wide world.”

在这封冗长的信中，他介绍了自己：“我，祭司长约翰，是万主之主，在天下所有的财富上，在美德和权力上，超越了全世界的所有国王。”

He was a devout Christian who served as both king and religious leader (the word ‘prester’ means priest) of a vast empire where 72 kingdoms lived in peace and all crime and vice had been eliminated.

他是一位虔诚的基督徒，曾担任过一个庞大帝国的国王和宗教领袖（“prester”一词的意思是牧师），这个帝国有 72 个王国和平相处，所有犯罪和罪恶都被消除。

Riches abounded, with rivers literally flowing with precious gems, and mythical creatures such as the phoenix and cyclopes thrived.

财富丰富，河流中确实流淌着珍贵的宝石，凤凰和独眼巨人等神话生物也蓬勃发展。

Not only did the letter promise a Christian paradise on Earth that could be explored, but also the ally that Western Europe so badly needed to fight the Muslim forces in the crusades .

这封信不仅承诺在地球上建立一个可供探索的基督教天堂，而且还承诺提供西欧在十字军东征中对抗穆斯林势力所急需的盟友。

The letter was a fake written by a still-unknown author, yet it was widely circulated.

这封信是由一位身份不明的作者所写的假信，但却广为流传。

Soon, the name and reputation of Prester John spread across Europe with many having no problem in considering him to be completely genuine.

很快，祭司长约翰的名字和声誉就传遍了欧洲，许多人毫不犹豫地认为他是完全真实的。

Pope Alexander III even sent an envoy to attempt to deliver a letter to this imperious king to the east.

教皇亚历山大三世甚至派遣特使试图向东方这位专横的国王递交一封信。

Europeans had long believed that there had to be Christian kingdoms in the east, and not without reason.

欧洲人长期以来一直相信东方必定存在基督教王国，这并非没有道理。

There were indeed huge Christian communities across Asia; it was thought that Prester John – who claimed to be a descendent of one of the Magi, the three wise men who visited Christ at his birth – may have belonged to a sect called Nestorianism.

亚洲各地确实有巨大的基督教社区；人们认为，祭司长约翰——自称是在基督出生时拜访基督的三博士——三贤士之一的后裔——可能属于一个名为景教的教派。

Limited knowledge of geography beyond the Islamic world meant that Europeans simply did not know who lived there and what they were like, so why could there not be a Christian ruler of a vast empire?

伊斯兰世界以外的地理知识有限，这意味着欧洲人根本不知道谁生活在那里，也不知道他们是什么样的人，那么为什么一个庞大的帝国不能有一个基督教统治者呢？

There were enough kernels of truth on which to grow Prester John’s image too: there were indeed non-Muslim peoples making their presence known in Europe, namely the Mongols .

祭司长约翰的形象也有足够的事实核心：欧洲确实有非穆斯林民族的存在，即蒙古人。

Perhaps the most important factor in why Prester John’s existence was not questioned too strongly was that Europeans wanted to believe in him.

也许祭司长约翰的存在没有受到太强烈质疑的最重要因素是欧洲人愿意相信他。

They wanted to hold onto the possibility of an ally that would change the course of the crusades, to be evoked whenever the need was greatest.

他们希望保留一个能够改变十字军东征进程的盟友的可能性，并在最需要的时候召唤出来。

Following the disaster of the Fifth Crusade, Jacques de Vitry, bishop of Ptolemais, wrote to the pope with words of optimism, explaining how the Muslims had been attacked by David, King of India and a descendent of Prester John.

第五次十字军东征灾难发生后，托勒密主教雅克·德·维特里以乐观的态度写信给教皇，解释了穆斯林如何受到印度国王大卫和祭司约翰后裔的攻击。

Historians have speculated that this account might have been inspired by Genghis Khan.

历史学家推测这个说法可能是受到成吉思汗的启发。

The story of Prester John inspired many travellers and missionaries over the years to head into the unknown and locate his near-magical kingdom, thought for some time to be in India.

多年来，祭司长约翰的故事激励了许多旅行者和传教士前往未知世界，寻找他那近乎神奇的王国，曾一度被认为位于印度。

By the time Marco Polo went on his travels in the late 13th century nothing had been found, but he still referenced Prester John as a real figure in the region.

当马可波罗在 13 世纪末开始他的旅行时，什么也没发现，但他仍然提到祭司王约翰是该地区的真实人物。

As it became increasingly clear, however, that there was no Christian empire of the size and power related in Prester John’s letter, the story shifted to place the king in Africa instead, specifically in Ethiopia, where a Christian community had existed since the fourth century.

然而，随着人们越来越清楚地认识到，并不存在像祭司长约翰的信中所描述的那种规模和权力的基督教帝国，故事转移到了非洲，特别是埃塞俄比亚，那里自四世纪以来就存在基督教社区。

From the 14th century, embassies from Ethiopia travelled to Italy and established a presence in Rome, and Europeans quickly jumped to the conclusion that their leader must be Prester John.

从14世纪开始，埃塞俄比亚的大使馆前往意大利并在罗马建立了代表处，欧洲人很快就得出结论，他们的领导人一定是祭司长约翰。

Tales emerged of how his land contained the source of the Nile and he had the power to divert its course and wreak havoc in Egypt.

传说他的土地如何遏制尼罗河的源头，而他有能力改变尼罗河的河道并在埃及造成严重破坏。

The Portuguese committed huge resources to their exploration of Africa – which led to Vaso da Gama’s world-changing voyage to India around the Cape of Good Hope from 1497-99 – fuelled in no small part by the aim of finding Prester John once and for all.

葡萄牙人投入了大量资源来探索非洲 — — 这促成了瓦索·达·伽马 (Vaso da Gama) 于 1497 年至 99 年绕好望角前往印度的改变世界的航行 — — 在很大程度上是为了一劳永逸地找到祭司王约翰。

They did find a Christian ruler in Ethiopia, but it was clear that this was not the all-powerful, fabulously wealthy king of the legend.

他们确实在埃塞俄比亚找到了一位基督教统治者，但很明显，这并不是传说中的全能、极其富有的国王。

While belief in Prester John diminished, this mythical king had a very real legacy: it was the desire to find his empire that helped light the fires of European exploration in Asia and Africa.

虽然对祭司长约翰的信仰逐渐减弱，但这位神话般的国王却留下了一份非常真实的遗产：正是对寻找他的帝国的渴望点燃了欧洲人在亚洲和非洲的探索之火。

Jonny Wilkes is a former staff writer for BBC History Revealed, and he continues to write for both the magazine and HistoryExtra.

乔尼·威尔克斯 (Jonny Wilkes) 是《BBC History Revealed》的前特约撰稿人，他继续为该杂志和 HistoryExtra 撰稿。

He has BA in History from the University of York.

他拥有约克大学历史学学士学位。

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