Our 15th-century traveller dodges catastrophe on the Mediterranean and drops in on late-imperial Constantinople, where there's plenty of seafood and the roots of Pedro's family tree.
Pedro Tafur 2: Busy Days in the Holy Land
Pedro Tafur 1: The Mediterranean Tour
Medieval Lives 8: Giovanni Fontana
Medieval Lives 4: Chen Cheng, his Travels, and his Troubles at Work
Detail from a 15th-century illustrated telling of a Nizami story, commissioned in Herat. (Met Museum)
A standalone episode on medieval diplomacy, on the travels, career, and narrative of a 14th and 15th century Ming Dynasty diplomat and administrator, and on the history around him. Chen Cheng would suffer professional setbacks outside of his control, as the the Jianwen Emperor would be replaced by the Yongle Emperor, and he would make the overland journey from China to see Shah Rukh, the son of Timur (Tamerlane), in Timurid Herat.
If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.
Sources:
Hecker, Felicia J. “A Fifteenth-Century Chinese Diplomat in Herat.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 3, no. 1 (1993): 85–98.
Rossabi, Morris. “Two Ming Envoys to Inner Asia.” T’oung Pao 62, no. 1/3 (1976): 1–34.
Ghiyath al-Din Naqqash 2: AM Feasting & Other Diplomatic Concerns
17th-century painting by anonymous artist - (Wikimedia)
A story of medieval travel and diplomacy, the 15th-century story of Ghiyath al-Din and the other Timurid envoys, and their visit to Yongle's Beijing on behalf of Timur's son Shah Rukh.
If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.
Sources:
"Report to Mirza Baysunghur on the Timurid Legation to the Ming Court at Peking," in A Century of Princes: Sources on Timurid History and Art, selected and translated by W. M. Thackston. Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, 1989.
Ford, Graeme. "The Uses of Persian in Imperial China: The Translation Practices of the Great Ming," in The Persianate World, edited by Nile Green. University of California Press, 2019.
Hecker, Felicia J. “A Fifteenth-Century Chinese Diplomat in Herat,” in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 3, no. 1 (1993): 85–98.
Lipman, Jonathan N. Familiar Strangers: A History of Muslims in Northwest China. University of Washington Press, 2011.
Park, Hyunhee. Mapping the Chinese and Islamic Worlds: Cross-Cultural Exchange in Pre-Modern Asia. Cambridge University Press, 2012.
Rossabi, Morris. A History of China. Wiley, 2013.
Rossabi, Morris. "Two Ming Envoys to Inner Asia," in T’oung Pao 62, no. 1/3 (1976): 1–34.
Tsai, Shih-shan Henry. Perpetual Happiness. University of Washington Press, 2011.
Ghiyath al-Din Naqqash 1: A Timurid Painter in Ming China
The Yongle Emperor
In the early 15th century, Shah Rukh, the son of Timur, sent an embassy east to the target of his father's last military campaign, Ming China. Making that journey from Timurid Herat to the home of the Yongle Emperor (with stops along the way at Samarkand, Tashkent, Hami, Ganzhou, and finally Khanbaliq) was a chronicler and painter named Ghiyāth al-Dīn. His story is one of medieval diplomacy and travel.
If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here.
Sources:
"Report to Mirza Baysunghur on the Timurid Legation to the Ming Court at Peking," in A Century of Princes: Sources on Timurid History and Art, selected and translated by W. M. Thackston. Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, 1989.
Ford, Graeme. "The Uses of Persian in Imperial China: The Translation Practices of the Great Ming," in The Persianate World, edited by Nile Green. University of California Press, 2019.
Lipman, Jonathan N. Familiar Strangers A History of Muslims in Northwest China. University of Washington Press, 2011.
Park, Hyunhee. Mapping the Chinese and Islamic Worlds: Cross-Cultural Exchange in Pre-Modern Asia. Cambridge University Press, 2012.
Rossabi, Morris. A History of China. Wiley, 2013.
Rossabi, Morris. "Two Ming Envoys to Inner Asia," in T’oung Pao 62, no. 1/3 (1976): 1–34.
Tsai, Shih-shan Henry. Perpetual Happiness. University of Washington Press, 2011.
Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 5: A Season of Feasting at Samarkand
Stanisław Chlebowski - Timur and his captive Bayezid
Our travellers from early 15th century Spain arrive at the outskirts of Samarkand and meet with their host Timur.
If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.
Sources:
Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6, translated by Clements R. Markham. Hakluyt Society, 1859.
Embassy to Tamerlane: 1403-1406, translated by Guy le Strange. Routledge, 2005.
Manz, Beatrice Forbes. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Manz, Beatrice Forbes. Power, Politics and Religion in Timurid Iran. Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Rubiés, Joan-Pau. "Late Medieval Ambassadors And The Practice Of Cross-Cultural Encounters 1250–1450," in The ‘Book’ of Travels: Genre, Ethnology, and Pilgrimage, 1250-1700, edited by Palmira Brummett.
Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 4: Sickness & Heat, Melons & Meat
Miran Shah - Brooklyn Museum
Clavijo and his Castilian fellow travellers continue the journey toward Timur, cutting across northern Iran and dealing with sickness and heat. On the upside, there will be melons and a great deal of wine. There will also be visit with Timur's potentially problematic son.
If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.
Sources:
Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6, translated by Clements R. Markham. Hakluyt Society, 1859.
Embassy to Tamerlane: 1403-1406, translated by Guy le Strange. Routledge, 2005.
Manz, Beatrice Forbes. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Manz, Beatrice Forbes. Power, Politics and Religion in Timurid Iran. Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 3: Of the Water and the Mountains
1559 map of the Black Sea by Portuguese cartographer Diego Homem
In search of Timur, the Castilian ambassadors leave Constantinople and travel east over the Black Sea and into the mountains beyond.
If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.
Sources:
Narrative of the embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6, translated by Clements R. Markham. Hakluyt Society, 1859.
Embassy to Tamerlane: 1403-1406, translated by Guy le Strange. Routledge, 2005.
King, Charles. The Black Sea: A History. Oxford University Press, 2005.
Manz, Beatrice Forbes. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press, 1999.