Cum non solum

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Cum non solum was letter written by Pope Innocent IV to the Mongols on March 13, 1245 (the Pope also wrote other letters to the Mongols, which are known as Dei patris immensa and Viam agnoscere veritatis). In it, Pope Innocent appeals to the Mongols to desist from attacking Christians and other nations, and inquires as to the Mongols' future intentions.[1] Innocent also expresses a desire for peace (possibly unaware that in the Mongol vocabulary, "peace" is a synonym for "subjection").[2]

This message was carried by the Franciscan John of Plano Carpini,[3] who successfully reached the Mongol capital of Karakorum, where he attended the election of the new Khan Güyük on August 24, 1246.[4].

Guyuk replied to the Pope's letter with a demand for his submission and a visit from the rulers of the West in homage to Mongol power:[5]

"You must say with a sincere heart: "We will be your subjects; we will give you our strength". You must in person come with your kings, all together, without exception, to render us service and pay us homage. Only then will we acknowledge your submission. And if you do not follow the order of God, and go against our orders, we will know you as our enemy."

—Letter from Güyük to Pope Innocent IV, 1246.[6][7]

[edit] Notes

Wikisource
Latin Wikisource has original text related to this article:
  1. ^ Jackson, p. 88
  2. ^ "In the Mongols' vocabulary, the terms for 'peace' and for 'subjection' were identical... The mere despatch of an embassy seemed tantamount to surrender." Jackson, p. 90
  3. ^ Monumenta Germaniae Historica; Epistolae Saeculi XIII: E Regestis Pontificum Romanorum, ed. Karl Rodenberg (Berlin, 1887), Vol. 2, No. 105, p. 75. [1]
  4. ^ Rachewiltz, p. 99.
  5. ^ Rachewiltz, p. 103.
  6. ^ Quoted in Michaud, Yahia (Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies) (2002). Ibn Taymiyya, Textes Spirituels I-XVI". Chap XI
  7. ^ Also quoted in Roux, Histoire de l'Empire Mongol, p.315

[edit] References

  • Sandra Brand-Pierach, Ungläubige im Kirchenrecht, Text of the letter p.174 [2]
  • Jackson, Peter, Mongols and the West
  • Roux, Jean-Paul, Histoire de l'Empire Mongol, 1993, Fayard, ISBN 2213031649
  • Kenneth Meyer Setton, "A History of the Crusades"
  • MGH Epp. Saec. XIII, Volume 2, pp. 72-75 (original source documents)[3]
  • Grousset, Rene, Histoire des Croisades, III, Tempus, 2006 edition, ISBN 226202569X
  • Rachewiltz, I, Papal Envoys to the Great Khans, Stanford University Press, 1971.
  • Runciman, Steven, History of the Crusades, III, Penguin Books, 2002 edition, ISBN 014013705X