モンゴル帝國＝西歐交渉史上の一問題 : 「エルケルタイ」のルイ九世宛書簡の再檢討

Abstract

In 1248 while staying at Nicosia, Louis IX received a visit of two men, who professed themselves to be emissaries sent by Erchelthay, a Mongol general. They handed over a letter to him. It is generally described by European Orientalists that it was a genuine diplomatic document of the general intending to enter into an alliance with the Franks. But judging from the contents it is hardly likely that the letter was written and entrusted to them by the general himself. The author suggests such a hypothesis as follows. The letter was written by the emissaries themselves, who were Nestorians versed in things Mongolian. In it they emphasized fictiously that in Mongol territory the Nestorians had recently come to be placed under hearty protection of the Emperor, adding that all Christians ought to be treated equally without distinction asto their religious sect. Namely they as Nestorians intimated to the king and others their intention of seeking publicity outside Mongol territory and making self-assertion. Though the letter was made to look like an official document of the Mongol Empire, it was in reality a private one fabricated by the Nestorians.