Prester John 8: Ambassador Mateus and his Many Doubters

A 16th-Century Portrait of Dawit II (Wikimedia)

In the early years of the 16th-century, Ethiopia's regent, Eleni, sent an ambassador to Portugal to propose an alliance. She sent a man named Mateus. Unfortunately for Mateus, almost nobody believed him.

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Sources:

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  • Salvadore, Matteo. The African Prester John and the Birth of Ethiopian-European Relations, 1402-1555. Taylor & Francis, 2016.