Patriarch Timothy I and the Metropolitan of the Turks

MARK DICKENS1

Abstract

During the reign of Patriarch Timothy I (780–823), the Church of the East continued to expand intoAsia. Metropolitans were consecrated for various places to the east of the Patriarchal see in Baghdad.One of these was the enigmatic Metropolitan of the Turks, about whose location scholars have disagreedfor decades. This article seeks to answer the question “Which Turks received the Metropolitan appointedby Timothy?” by systematically examining the different Turkic groups living in Central Asia at thetime. Textual and archaeological evidence is considered in support of the conclusion and the variousmotives and external factors that may have played a role in the conversion are discussed.

Timothy I and his Correspondence

Timothy I (780–823)2 was one of the greatest patriarchs of the Church of the East.3 Inaddition to his administrative duties, he was also a prolific author, writing on science,theology and church law and penning numerous epistles. Many of the letters he wrote whileCatholicos are still extant,4 two of which provide fascinating insights into the history ofChristianity in Central Asia: Letter XLI to the Monks of the Monastery of Mar Maron (

) and Letter XLVII to Sergius ( ), dated to 792/93

and 795–798, respectively.5

1This article is adapted from my doctoral dissertation, ‘Turkaye: Turkic Peoples in Syriac Literature Prior to theSeljuks’. All translations from Syriac are my own. Abbreviations used for primary sources are listed at the end of thearticle. Page numbers for text and translation are separated by a slash, with volume numbers indicated by Romannumerals. Text and translation references cited individually are designated T (textus) and V (versio), following thepractice of Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium. Where the original book and chapter divisions of the textare referenced in the footnotes, page numbers are given in parentheses: e.g. Governors, IV.20 (238/448). My thanksto Rastin Mehri for the use of his Ardeshir font for Pahlavi words.

2On whom, see William Wright, A Short History of Syriac Literature (London, 1894) reprinted (Piscataway,New Jersey, 2001) pp. 191–194; also Anton Baumstark, Geschichte der syrischen Literature mit Ausschluss der christlich-palastinensichen Texte (Bonn, 1922), pp. 217–218.

3Commonly and erroneously referred to as the Nestorian Church, its full name is the Holy Apostolic CatholicAssyrian Church of the East.

4See Oskar Braun, “Der Katholikos Timotheos I und seine Briefe”, Oriens Christianus, I (1901a), pp. 146–151;Hans Putnam, L’Eglise et l’Islam sous Timothee I, (Recherches publiees sous la direction de l’Institut de lettresorientales de Beyrouth, N. S. B. Orient chretien, Tom III) (Beirut,1975), pp. 20–23.

5Raphael Bidawid, edited and translated, Les lettres du partiarche nestorien Timothee I: etude critique avec en appendicela lettre de Timothee I aux moins du couvent de Mar Maron (Studi e Testi 187) (Vatican, 1956), p. 74.

JRAS, Series 3, 20, 2 (2010), pp. 117–139 C© The Royal Asiatic Society 2010

doi:10.1017/S1356186309990460

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The first letter was written to the Maronites, a Monothelite group in northern Syria whohad experienced frequent persecution from the Syrian Orthodox,6 prompting them to askTimothy to intervene on their behalf before the caliph, Harun al-Rashid.7 The second letterwas written to Sergius, the Metropolitan of Elam, a close friend of Timothy’s and by far hismost frequent addressee.8 Both mention the appointment of a Metropolitan for the Turksby Timothy.9

Letter XLI

[1] For behold, in all of the lands of Babel [Baghdad], Pars [Persia] and Athur [Assyria], and in all of theeastern lands and amongst Beth Hinduwaye and indeed amongst Beth S. inaye, amongst Beth Tuptaye andlikewise amongst Beth T. urkaye11 and in all of the domains under this patriarchal throne – this [throne] ofwhich God commanded that we be its servants and likewise its ministers – that one who is this hypostasis –who is from eternity, without increase, who was crucified on our behalf – is proclaimed, indeed in differentand diverse lands and races and languages.

6The Syrian (or Syriac) Orthodox Church is the other main branch of Syriac Christianity, sometimesreferred to pejoratively as the Jacobites, after Jacob Baradaeus, the sixth-century Syrian monk who wasinstrumental in organising Monophysites in opposition to the official Chalcedonian Christology of the ByzantineEmpire.

7Bidawid, Timothy, pp. vi–vii. The Maronites re-united with Rome in the thirteenth century, the first easternChristians to do so.

8Braun, 1901a, p. 150.9For a discussion of these letters, see G. Uray, “Tibet’s Connections with Nestorianism and Manicheism in the

8th–10th centuries”, Contributions on Tibetan Language, History and Culture (Vienna, 1983), pp. 400–404.10Timothy (Bidawid), /117 : Jerome Labourt, De Timotheo I Nestorianorum Pariarcha (728–823) et Christianorum

Orientalium condicione sub Chaliphis Abbasidis (Paris, 1904a), p. 45.11See: Jessie Payne Smith, A Compendious Syriac Dictionary, founded upon the Thesaurus Syriacus of R. Payne Smith

(Oxford, 1903), p. 43. The Syriac word (Beth) has a broad range of meaning, including ‘house, room, family,nation, race, people’, and can refer to both a place name and those associated with that place. When combinedwith an ethnonym, as in (Beth T. urkaye), I leave it unglossed, since it is often unclear from the contextwhether an ethnic group or its territory is meant. Similarly, Syriac ethnonyms for Turkic groups with the gentilicending -aye (e.g. T. urkaye, Qumanaye) are also left unglossed.

Patriarch Timothy I and the Metropolitan of the Turks 119

.

[2] For behold, even in our days – prior to these ten years that I have been entrusted with the service ofthe administration of the church, for even now I have been thirteen13 years more or less in this service – theking of the T. urkaye, with more or less all of his territory, has left the godless error from antiquity, for he hasbecome acquainted with Christianity by the operation of the great power of the Messiah, that by which allare subject to him. And he has asked us in his writings [about] how he might appoint a Metropolitan forthe territory of his kingdom. This also we have done through [i.e. with the help of] God. And also the letterthat we wrote to him we will send to you if it is pleasing to our Lord.

Letter XLVII

The Spirit has anointed in these days a Metropolitan for Beth T. urkaye and we are also preparing to anointanother one for Beth Tuptaye.

Background on the Letters

Letter XLI is Timothy’s attempt to convince the Maronites to join themselves doctrinallyand ecclesiastically to the Church of the East.15 In light of this (and the controversy overhis election during the first two years of his patriarchate),16 it is understandable that heasserts his patriarchal authority in such clear terms in the letter. Although he couches it interms of servanthood and ministry, he is uncompromising in declaring his right to sit on

12Timothy (Bidawid), / p. 124 : Labourt, 1904a, p. 43 : Alphonse Mingana, “The Early Spread of Christianityin Central Asia and the Far East: A New Document”, Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Manchester,1925), p. 306.

13As Timothy (Bidawid), p. 124 noted, Labourt, 1904a, p. 43 translated this as duodecim, rather than tredecim.14Timothy (Braun I), 308/309–311: Labourt, 1904a, p. 43, p. 45.15It is, in the words of Cardinal Tisserant, ‘un expose de la foi nestorienne redige avec une intention

missionnaire’ [Timothy (Bidawid), p. vi].16Timothy (Bidawid), pp. 3–4; Wright, 1894, pp. 191–193.

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the patriarchal throne of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, recently relocated to Baghdad.17 However, hismotivations seem to have been as much missionary as political; he undoubtedly saw himselfas a key figure in the proclamation of “this hypostasis18 . . . who was crucified on ourbehalf . . . in different and diverse lands and races and languages”.

Although he lived his whole life in the heartland of the Arab Caliphate and thus nevervisited most of the extensive territory under his patriarchal authority, Timothy was veryconscious of ruling over a jurisdiction much larger than any other on earth, whether civilor ecclesiastical. Not only was he a trusted figure at the caliphal court, the head of thelargest dhimmi under Muslim rule (those living in “Babel”, Persia and Assyria); there werealso far-off and exotic territories beyond the pale of Islam that were “under this patriarchalthrone”, including the lands of the Indians (Beth Hinduwaye), Chinese (Beth S. inaye), Tibetans(Beth Tuptaye) and Turks (Beth T. urkaye). This undoubtedly gave him considerable prestigeand influence in the eyes of the �Abbasid caliphs.

The initial mission of the Church of the East to China took place in 635, inauguratingseveral centuries of Syriac Christian presence in the Middle Kingdom,19 and the famousXian Stele was erected in 781,20 during Timothy’s patriarchate. Reflecting on the presence ofChristianity in both China and India, he wrote in Letter XIII (795–798, also to Sergius) that

“Many monks21 have crossed the seas to Beth Hinduwaye and Beth S. inaye with only a staffand a bag”;22 in the same letter, he referred to the death of “theMetropolitan of Beth S. inaye”.23 According to Thomas of Marga’s Book of Governors (ca. 850),“the letters of Mar Timothy” also mention the election of“David, Metropolitan to Beth S. inaye”, presumably the successor to the deceasedMetropolitan.24

Both letters connect the Tibetans ( ) with the Turks ( ). Duringthe eighth and ninth centuries, the Tibetan Empire was a major power in both Central Asiaand China.25 Timothy’s enigmatic reference to the imminent appointment of a Metropolitanfor Beth Tuptaye in Letter XLVII gives a tantalising insight into the ephemeral presence ofChristianity in that empire.26 Although Jean Dauvillier concluded that it was already in

17This took place in 775, 25 years after the ‘Abbasids established their capital in Baghdad.18Syr. can be translated as either ‘hypostasis’ or simply ‘person’ [Payne Smith (1903), pp. 509–510].

Here, Timothy undoubtedly means the former, designating the second person of the Trinity, equivalent to Gk..

19See: Ian Gillman and Hans-Joachim Klimkeit, Christians in Asia before 1500 (Ann Arbor, 1999), pp. 265–305.I pass over here the history of the Church of the East in India, summarised in Gillman and Klimkeit, 1999,pp. 155–202.

20See: P. Y. Saeki, The Nestorian Documents and Relics in China (Tokyo, 1951), pp. 11–112. The writer of thestele had presumably not heard of the death of H. enanisho II (775–780) the year before, since he records that it waserected in the time of , ‘H. enanisho, Catholicos, Patriarch.’

21 can also mean ‘solitary, hermit, anchorite’ (Payne Smith, 1903), p. 191.22Timothy (Braun II), 107/70.23Timothy (Braun II), 109/72.24Governors, IV.20 (238/448). This letter does not seem to have survived.25On which, see: Christopher I. Beckwith, The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia (Princeton, 1987).26On which, see articles II–V in Jean Dauvillier, Histoire et institutions des Eglises orientales au Moyen Age (London,

1983) and Uray, 1983.

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existence before Timothy’s patriarchate,27 we know nothing more about this mysteriousmetropolitanate and the remaining evidence for Christianity in Tibet at this time is scantyat best.28

Turkic Conversions to Christianity

The date of the Turkic conversion mentioned by Timothy is unclear, partly due to theawkward grammar of the sentence, which mentions “in our days”, “ten years [ago]”and “thirteen years [ago]”. Jerome Labourt, who first translated this text, understood theconversion to have happened in 792, approximately when the letter was written.29 Mostothers, including Raphael Bidawid (who established the dates of all of Timothy’s letters) havedated it ten years earlier, in 782/83.30 The grammar seems to indicate that the conversionoccurred some time between ten and thirteen years prior to the time of writing. “Thirteenyears” presumably refers to Timothy’s enthronement in 780, “ten years” perhaps to theconsolidation of his authority that occurred after all the bishops acknowledged him as thelegitimate Patriarch at a synod held in 781/82. Thus, the conversion “in our days” couldhave occurred anytime between 780 and 783.

Writing in 1214, Mari ibn Sulayman claimed that Timothy himself led into faith “theKhaqan, king of the Turks” ( ).31 However, Timothy’s letter does not say thathe personally converted the king, but merely that the latter had “become acquainted withChristianity by the operation of the great power of the Messiah”. In truth, it is difficultto see how Timothy could have led him into faith, since there is no indication that thetwo met, unless it took place through the correspondence between them. Two other similarevents described in Syriac and Christian Arabic literature suggest that the conversion mayhave been facilitated either by someone in the church hierarchy located closer to the Turkicheartland in Central Asia or by members of the mercantile community that traded along theSilk Road.

The conversion of the Turks to Christianity mentioned by Timothy is the second ofthree such events.32 The first conversion is mentioned in the Khuzistan Chronicle (ca. 660–680), also known as the Guidi Chronicle (after Ignazio Guidi who first published the Syriactext)33 or the Anonymous East Syrian Chronicle. In it, the anonymous writer tells how “Elia,

27Jean Dauvillier, “Les provinces Chaldeennes ‘de l’Exterieur’ au Moyen Age”, Melanges offerts au R. P. FerdinandCavallera: pp. 260–316 (Toulouse, 1948), p. 292.

28Although a Sogdian inscription found adjacent to several ‘Nestorian’ crosses inscribed on a boulder in Ladakh(northern India) was previously thought to be the work of a Christian en route from Samarkand to the qaghan ofTibet in the mid-ninth century, Nicholas Sims-Williams has since shown that it was probably written by a Buddhist,although the crosses and one or two other inscriptions in the area indicate that Christians, probably Sogdian traders,did pass through this area: Nicholas Sims-Williams, “The Sogdian Inscriptions of Ladakh” Antiquities of NorthernPakistan: Reports and Studies (Rock Carvings and Inscriptions along the Karakorum Highway vol. 2. Edited by Karl Jettmar(Mainz, 1993), pp. 151–163.

29Jerome Labourt, Le Christianisme dans l’Empire Perse sous la Dynastie Sassanide (224–632), (2nd ed.), (Paris,1904b), p. 14.

30Timothy (Bidawid), 80. See the discussion in Uray, 1983, p. 402.31Majdal I, /64.32All three conversions are explored in: Erica C. D. Hunter, “The conversion of the Kerait to Christianity in

A.D. 1007” Zentralasiatische Studien Vol. 22. pp. 142–163 (1989/1991).33Ignazio Guidi, “Un nuovo testo siriaco sulla storia degli ultimi Sassanidi” Actes de Huitieme Congres International

des Orientalistes, tenu en 1889 a Stockholm et a Christiania, Section I: Semitique, Sous-section B: pp. 3–36 (Leiden,1893).

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Metropolitan of Merv, made disciples of many people from the T. urkaye and from otherpeoples”. Although no date is given, scholars usually date it to 644.34

The extract, which occurs at the end of the Khuzistan Chronicle, describes in detail how,while travelling somewhere “in the outer border areas beyond (Merv)”, Elia “encountereda minor ruler35 there who was going out to make war against another king”. The rulerdemanded that Elia “demonstrate a sign for me like the priests of my gods”. When theTurkic ‘priests’ subsequently engaged in weather magic, so that “the air became thick withclouds and wind, and thunder and lightning set in . . . then that Elia shook with divinepower and he made the sign of the heavenly cross and restrained that phantasm which therebellious demons had fabricated. And it completely vanished all at once. Then when theminor ruler saw this thing that the blessed one Elia had done, he fell down and worshippedbefore him. And he believed, and his entire cohort. And he [Elia] sent them down to a riverand baptised all of them and appointed for them priests and deacons and returned to hisregion”.36

The third conversion is recounted by the Christian Arabic writer Mari ibn Sulayman inhis Kitab al Majdal (Book of the Tower) (1214)37 and Bar �Ebroyo’s Chronicon Ecclesiasticum(1286),38 both of whom attribute the report to another Metropolitan of Merv, �Abdisho.39

Bar �Ebroyo gives the following summary in his Chronicon Syriacum (1286), dated to ah

398 (1007/08 ce): “And in that year, the members of a certain tribe from the tribes of theinner [or remote] Turkaye in the east, who are called Kerait, believed in Messiah. And theybecame disciples and were baptised through a miracle which happened with their king”.40

Bar �Ebroyo’s more extensive account in the Chronicon Ecclesiasticum specifically mentionshow, after getting lost in the mountains while hunting and then being directed back to hiscamp by a saint who appeared to him in a vision, “when he [the king] returned in safety tohis tents, he called the Christian merchants who were present there and he discussed withthem about faith”.41

Thus, the king in Timothy’s account was most likely converted through contact withSyriac Christians in Central Asia, perhaps a bishop or metropolitan or, even more likely,Christian merchants. However, unlike the earlier conversion of the Turkic minor ruler and

34Based on the fact that the narrative is preceded by a reference to Patriarch Mar Ama (646–650) and followedby mention of the Muslim general Khalid ibn al-Walid (d. 642). However, Mihaly Kmosko has noted that “wecannot state positively whether the missionary activity of Elias of Marw preceded or followed the Arab conquest . . .Thus, the exact date of the event cannot be fixed” (Karoly Czegledy, “Monographs on Syriac and Muhammadansources in the Literary Remains of M. Kmosko” Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, Vol. 4. pp. 19–91(1954), p. 58, based on Mihaky Kmosko and Felfoldi Szabolcs, Szı ırok a steppe nepeirol [Syriac sources on the peoplesof the steppe] Vol. 20 (Budapest, 2004), pp. 143–144.

35Syr. can also be translated as ‘princeling’ or ‘kinglet.’36Khuzistan, 34–35/28–29: Theodor Noldeke, Die von Guidi heausgegebene syrisch Chronik, (Vienna, 1893),

pp. 39–40: Mingana, 1925, pp. 305–306.37Following the date given in Wright, 1894, p. 255. Scholars now consider the authorship and dating of this

work to be more complex than originally thought; see: Benedicte Landron, Chretiens et Musulmans en Irak. AttitudesNestoriennes vis-a-vis de l’Islam (Paris, 1994), pp. 99–108.

38Following current academic conventions, I use Bar �Ebroyo rather than Bar Hebraeus.39Chron. Eccl. II, 279–281/280–282 : B.O. II, pp. 444–445: Mingana, 1925, pp. 308–311; Majdal I, /99–

100. Note that Section II of Chron. Eccl. is sometimes referred to as Volume III.40Chron. Syr. 204/184. As Hunter, 1989/1991 notes, there is some question as to whether the group which

converted were indeed the Kerait or this was a subsequent gloss added by Bar �Ebroyo.41Chron. Eccl. II, 279/280: Mingana, 1925, p. 309. See: Erica Hunter, “The Church of the East in Cental Asia”,

Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library, Vol. 78, No. 3 (1996), p. 140.

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the later Kerait conversion, it is unlikely that the Metropolitan of Merv was involved in thisconversion, especially if it took place in 782/83, since Timothy’s election as Patriarch hadbeen actively opposed by the incumbent in that office, Joseph. Although Timothy deposedand replaced him, his successor, Gregory was likely more concerned with bringing peace tothe metropolitanate than with any missionary activity.

However, there was already a metropolitanate of Samarkand, from which Christianmissionaries or merchants could have made contact with these Turks. It was created eitherduring the patriarchate of Isho�yahb, according to Ibn at.-T. ayyib (d. 1043) – referring toeither Isho�yahb I (582–596), Isho�yahb II (628–646) or Isho�yahb III (650–658) – or duringthe patriarchate of S. aliba-Zakha (714–728), according to �Abdisho bar Berikha’s Nomocanon(1290). �Abdisho also mentions that others ascribe its creation to the Patriarchs Ahai (410–414) or Silas (503–523).42 The existence of a Metropolitan in Samarkand in the fifth orsixth centuries is highly unlikely, since the much-closer Hephthalites did not even receive abishop until ca. 550, but a seventh-or-eighth-century date is indeed plausible.43

Identifying the Turks in Timothy’s Letters

The conversion described by Timothy was on a much larger scale than that which Elia ofMerv had facilitated 150 years earlier. The ruler involved was a “king”, as opposed toa “kinglet”, and “more or less all of his territory” followed his example, rather thanjust his army. The identity of the Turkic tribe referred to by Timothy has been the subjectof conjecture for nearly a century. Francois Nau asserted that this was the origin of themetropolitanates of Kashghar and Almaliq.44 However, this is highly speculative, since thefirst reference we have to a Metropolitan of Kashghar is four centuries later under PatriarchElia III (1176–1190), according to �Amr ibn Mattai (ca. 1350), who also included it in hislist of metropolitanates under the name (Kashghar and Navekath).45 Almaliq,based on an interpretation of the Metropolitan of Khan-baliq and al-Faliq ( )in the same list of �Amr, is even more problematic.46 It is more likely that the Metropolitanof Turkistan ( ), found in �Amr’s list and discussed below, can be equated with themetropolitanate established by Timothy.

42Ibn at.-T. ayyib VI.16 (II, 123); �Abdisho, Nom., 304/141–142 : B.O. III.2, 426. Both authorities say that theMetropolitanates of Herat and China were established at the same time as Samarkand.

43It was certainly well-established by the time of Catholicos Theodosius I (Athanasius) (853–858), who refersto it in a list of metropolitanates, as recorded in �Abdisho, Nom., 308/146. On Patriarch Mar Aba’s appointment of abishop for the Hephthalites ( ), see Histoire, 266–269 : Oskar Braun, 1915a, Ausgewahlte Akten persischer Martyrer(Bibliothek der Kirchenvater, Band 22), (Munich, 1915), pp. 217–218 : Mingana (1925), pp. 304–305. Minganagives the date as 549, but according to Paul Peeters, “Observations sur la vie syriaque de Mar Aba, Catholicos del’egkuse oerse (540–552)” Miscellanea Giovanni Mercati Vol. V. pp. 69–112 (1946), pp. 106–108, it took place in 551.

44Francois Nau, “L’expansion nestorienne en Asie”, in Annales du Musee Guimet, Bibliotheque vulgarisation,Vol. 40 (1914), pp. 247–248. Nau’s argument was based largely on the conclusion that a religious dignitary in thefamous Inscription of Karabalghasun was a ‘Nestorian’ Christian, even though Chavannes (1897), p. 85 had earlierconcluded that it was impossible to determine the religion mentioned in the inscription. See: Edouard Chavannes,“Le Nestorianisme et l’Inscription de Kara-Balgassoun” Journal Asiatique, Vol. IX (ser.) No. IX (Tom.), pp. 43–85.

45Majdal II, /64, /73. Elia consecrated two consecutive metropolitans for the city, John ( ) andSabrisho ( ).

46Majdal II, /73. See the discussion in Eduard Sachau, Zur Ausbreitung des Christentums in Asien (Berlin,1919), p. 22; Dauvillier, (1948), pp. 305–306.

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In contrast, Paul Pelliot suggested that the Metropolitan of the Turks did not have a fixedsee like that of Samarkand. Rather, being attached to a nomadic people, it was peripatetic,with its “centre de gravite” at Otrar, a city on the Syr Darya located about 250 km north-eastof Chach (Tashkent).47 Although this is possible and may have a precedent in the earlierbishopric created for the Hephthalites, Pelliot gave no specific reasons for choosing Otrarand we have no textual or archaeological evidence of Christianity in that place. Finally,Annemarie von Gabain suggested that the ruler in question was an Uighur qaghan, discussedbelow.48

Whether it happened in 782/83 or 792/93, the conversion occurred several decades aftera coalition of Uighur, Qarluq and Basmil forces overthrew the Second Turk Empire in 742,to be replaced in 744 by the Uighur Empire, also centred in Mongolia. To the south, theshort-lived Turgesh domination of the Ili River Basin and Sogdiana (716–740) had alreadydisintegrated. By 766, the remnants of the Turgesh had submitted to the Qarluq Turks,who now ruled over much of the former Western Turk territory, especially the Yeti Su orSemirechye (Seven Rivers) area.49 However, reflecting their initial relationship between 742

and 744, the Uighur ruler was called qaghan, while the Qarluq ruler used the lower titleyabghu (O.T. ).50

Perhaps significantly, two other Turkic polities converted to major world religions duringthis period. In late 762 or early 763, while in China helping to put down the An-lu-shan rebellion, the Uighur ruler Bogu Qaghan (759–779) converted to Manichaeismafter encountering some Sogdian devotees of that faith. Upon returning to his capital,Karabalghasun, he proclaimed it the official religion of his empire.51 Shortly afterwards,according to several Arabic sources, the king of the Khazars converted to Judaism duringthe caliphate of Harun al-Rashid (786–809).52

The conversion to Manichaeism necessarily rules out the Uighurs as candidates forTimothy’s T. urkaye, despite von Gabain’s thesis that the ruler in question was Alp QutlughBilga Qaghan (Tun bagha, 779–789).53 Although he murdered his cousin Bogu Qaghan,took over power and inaugurated a period of anti-Sogdian and anti-Manichean policy,

47Paul Pelliot, Recherches sur les chretiens d’Asie centrale et d’Extreme-Orient, Vol. 1 (Paris, 1973), pp. 6–7, followedby Dauvillier (1948), pp. 285–286 and Hunter (1989/1991), pp. 158–159. The latter posits that “the Oghuz appearto have been the subjects of the conversions of A.D. 644 [Elia] and 781/2 [Timothy]”, but in the light of theevidence presented here, this seems unlikely.

48The title qaghan, meaning ‘supreme ruler,’ was used first by the Juan-Juan before it was borrowed into OldTurkic (O.T. ). It was the functional equivalent of the titles and Son of Heaven used by the Greeks andChinese, respectively. In the Turkic world, it came to be used only by dynasties that were linked to the royal Ashinaclan, such as the rulers of the First and Second Turk Empires, the Khazars, the Uighurs, and the Qarluqs.

49The Tibetan capture of Beshbaliq (near modern-day Urumchi, China) in 790 resulted in the Uighurs losingcontrol of the southern and western parts of their empire, thus enabling the Qarluqs to strengthen their power basethere.

50Ibn Khurd., 12. As Clauson notes, this ancient title was “conferred by the xagan on close relatives and normallycarried with it the duty of administering part of the xagan’s dominions”. See: Gerard Clauson, An EtymologicalDictionary of Pre-Thirteenth Century Turkish (Oxford, 1972). See: EI, s.v. ‘Yabghu.’ With the collapse of the UighurEmpire in 840, it seems that the Qarluq leader inherited the title of qaghan. See: Peter B. Golden, “The Karakhanidsand early Islam”, Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia (Cambridge, 1990), pp. 349–351.

51Colin Mackerras, “The Uighurs” The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia (Cambridge, 1990), pp. 329–335.52Omeljan Pritsak, “The Khazar Kingdom’s Conversion to Judaism”, Harvard Ukrainian Studies, Vol. 2. (1978),

pp. 276–278.53G. Uray, “Tibet’s Connections with Nestorianism and Manicheism in the 8th–10th Centuries”, Contributions

on Tibetan Language, History and Culture, pp. 399–429 (Vienna, 1983), p. 403.

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this probably meant no more than “a return to the natural cults of the Turkic peoples”.54

Muslim geographical and historical accounts are uniform in asserting that Manichaeism wasthe primary faith of the Uighurs (referred to as the Toquz Oghuz in Arab accounts) atthis time.55 Although there is abundant evidence of Christianity in the subsequent UighurKingdom of Qocho (ca. 860–1284),56 we have no record of an Uighur ruler convertingto Christianity in either the Uighur Empire or the Uighur Kingdom. Gardizi (ca. 1050)specifically notes, “The Toguz Oguz Xaqan traditionally belongs to the Manichaean sect.There are, however, within his metropolis and dominions Christians [tarsa]”.57

Other Central Asian Turkic tribes mentioned in Old Turkic inscriptions and by Muslimwriters in the eighth and ninth centuries include the Basmil, Khalaj, Kimek, Kirghiz, Oghuz,Pecheneg, Qarluq, Qipchaq and Turgesh.58 Of these, we know nothing of Christianityamongst the Basmil, Kimek, Pecheneg59 or Turgesh, but there are either definite or possibleChristian connections with the Oghuz, Kirghiz, Qipchaq, Khalaj and Qarluq.

Tracing the early history of the Oghuz is very difficult; although the ethnonym occursin the eighth-century Orkhon Turkic and Uighur inscriptions (O.T. ), the referent isnot always clear, since the word itself essentially means “tribe, tribal union”.60 The earliestreference to the group that is later known as the Oghuz (Ar. , Ghuzz) occurs in Baladhuri(d. 892) and refers to events during the caliphate of al-Mu�tas.im (833–842), after the time ofTimothy,61 but there are no references to Christianity amongst them at this point, alreadytoo late for the conversion in question.

Daniel Chwolson, followed by Wilhelm Barthold,62 made much of the fact that twoof the sons of the Oghuz leader Seljuk (d. 1009) had biblical names, as recorded by Bar�Ebroyo (1286) – “Michael, Yabghu [or Payghu?],

54Colin Mackerras, “The Uighur Empire according to the T’ang Dynastic Histories: a study in Sino-Uighurrelations, 744–840 (2nd ed.) (Canberra, 1972), p. 10. See also: Mackerras (1990), p. 333.

55These accounts are all based on the report of Tamım ibn Bah. r’s journey to the Uighurs in 821, shortly afterthe conversion mentioned by Timothy took place. See: Vladimir Minorsky, “Tamım ibn Bah. r’s Journey to theUyghurs”, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. 12 (1948) pp. 275–305. See also Ibn Khurd., 22;Ibn al-Faqih, 388; Qudama, 203.

56On which, see: Li Tang, “A History of Uighur Religious Conversions (5th–16th Centruies)” Asia ResearchInstitute, Working Paper Series (2005), pp. 39–41.

57Gardizi, 134. This Persian term for Christians – M.P. (tarsag); N.P. (tarsa), from the verb ,tarsidan, ‘to fear’. See: Shlomo Pines, “The Iranian name for Christians and the ‘God-Fearers’”, Proceedings of theIsrael Academy of Sciences and Humanities II (Jerusalem, 1968).

58Ibn Khurd., 22–23; Ya�qubi, 113; Ibn al-Faqih, 388: Minorsky (1948), pp. 283–284. The earliest Muslim sourceof information on Central Asian Turkic tribes is Ibn Khurdadhbih (ca. 885), who may not necessarily reflect thesituation a century earlier, at the time of the conversion in question. Due to the geographical location in CentralAsia, the Bulghars and Khazars are not considered here. The Bashkir, Burdas, Chigil, Sarir, and Yaghma are alsodiscounted, since they are only mentioned in later sources. So too are the Tatars, mentioned in the Old Turkicrunic Orkhon inscriptions (720–735) and the Uighur runic Sine-Usu inscription (759), since it is unclear if theywere Turkic or Mongolic at this time.

59The origins of the Pechenegs are very obscure (EI, s.v. ‘Pecenegs,’ 289), so it is unclear if they were evenpresent in Central Asia at the time of the conversion.

60Talat Tekin, A Grammar of Orkhon Turkic (Bloomington, 1968), 234/267, 235/268, 237/271; G. J. Ramstedt,“Zwei Uigurische Runeninschriften in der Nord-Mongolei” Journal de la Societe Finno-Ougrienne, Vol. 13. (1913),pp. 12–13, pp. 16–17.

61Baladhuri II, pp. 205–206.62Daniel Chwolson, “Syrisch-Nestorianische Grabinschriften aus Semirjetschie” Memoires de l’Academie

imperiale des sciences de St.-Petersbourg (St Petersburg, 1890), p. 107; Wilhelm Barthold, Zur Geschichte des Christentumsin Mittel-Asien bis sur mongolischen Eroberung (Turnhout and Leipzig, 1901), p. 42.

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Moses and Arslan”63 – but this suggests the influence of the Jewish Khazar qaghan underwhom Seljuk and his Oghuz warriors served, rather than any Christian connection. Moreconcretely, as Barthold noted, the Persian writer Qazwini (d. 1283/84) says of the Oghuzthat “they are Christians who were allied to the Saljuq sultans until the time of Sanjar ibnMalikshah [1118–1157]”. Following a report of Biruni (ca. 1000), Qazwini describes a springin the land of the Kimek at which is “a rock with the imprint of a human being’s foot andthe imprint of his palms with their fingers, and the imprint of his knees, as if he werekneeling, and the imprints of a boy’s feet, and the imprint of the hoofs of a donkey. And theGhuzz Turks kneel before it when they see it because they are Christians and attribute it toJesus”.64 Although relevant to the history of Christianity amongst the steppe peoples, this islong after the conversion in question and seems to reflect the incorporation of oral traditionsabout Christianity into Turkic shamanistic practices, rather than the more structured versionof the faith, involving a clearly-defined ecclesiastical hierarchy, that is reflected in Timothy’scorrespondence.

Based on rather scarce data, Anatoly Khazanov suggests that “there was a penetrationof Christianity to the Qirghiz, although a part of the Qirghiz aristocracy converted toManichaeism”.65 However, the use of O.T. to represent the Syriac word (mar),“lord, master” in an Old Uighur inscription erected by an ethnic Kirghiz almost certainlyrefers to a Manichaean teacher, not a Christian one.66 There are certainly references to thetarsa, a Persian term for Christians,67 in the Kirghiz oral epic Manas, but these have yetto be analysed and it is unclear how far back they can be traced, given the way that oralepics evolve over time.68 Since the Kirghiz were subject to the Uighurs in the late eighthcentury, they cannot be the Turks described by Timothy. If indeed “Nestorianism becamewidespread among the Qyrghyz”, as Sergey Klyashtorny maintains, this did not happen untilthe mid-ninth century, after they had ousted the Uighurs from power.69

Christianity amongst the Qipchaq Turks (known in western sources as the Cumans) isattested by various later authorities, including Marvazi (ca. 1120) and Michael the Syrian(1195). Marvazi relates that “the Qun [part of the Qipchaq tribal confederation] . . . camefrom the land of Qitay [China] . . . they [were] Nestorian Christians, and had migratedfrom their habitat, being pressed for pastures”.70 Similarly, after describing how they movedfrom the Central Asian heartland to somewhere north of “the border of the kingdom of

63Chron. Syr. 218/196.64My thanks to Amina Elbendary for her translation from the Arabic of Qazwini II, . Biruni’s

original report does not equate the Ghuzz worshipping the imprints with Christianity (Biruni, 255). The report isalso repeated in Qazwini I, 397 and Vladimir Minorsky, “The Khazars and Turks in the Akam al-Marjan”, Bulletinof the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. IX (1937), p. 147, neither of which make the link to Christianityeither.

65Anatoly Khazanov, “The Spread of World Religions in Medieval Nomadic Societies of the Eurasian Steppes”Nomadic Diplomacy, Destruction and Religion from the Pacific to the Atlantic (Toronto, 1994), p. 20.

66Ramstedt (1913), pp. 4–9.67See the footnote above, in the discussion of Christianity amongst the Uighurs.68Manas III, 60, 61, 147, 185, 263. The use of this Persian term, applied to ‘Nestorian’ Christians throughout

Central Asia in several different literatures, suggests that this refers to Syriac Christians encountered earlier in thehistory of the Kirghiz, rather than the Russian Orthodox Christians that the Kirghiz came into contact with in thenineteenth century.

69C. Кляштоpный, “Истоpико-культуpное значение суджинской Iадписи”, Пpоблемы Восто-коведения, Vol. V, (1959), p. 169.

70Marvazi, IX.3 (29, 98).

Patriarch Timothy I and the Metropolitan of the Turks 127

the Greeks”, Michael notes of the Qumanaye that “they adhere much to the nation ofChristians that are found in the land now, although their customs are confused”.71 However,although there are clear references to Qipchaq rulers converting in the twelfth and thirteenthcenturies to Orthodox or Catholic Christianity (in Georgia, Russia and Hungary), there isno information on when they adopted Nestorian Christianity and certainly no references torulers converting in the eighth century.72

There has been speculation that the ‘Metropolitan of H. alih. ’ in �Amr ibnMattai’s list of metropolitanates, which is rendered as ‘Khalaj’ in one manuscript,refers to the Khalaj Turks, who lived in western Turkistan and Afghanistan.73 If so, thisis another example of a Metropolitan attached to a nomadic tribe, but there are no otherreferences to this enigmatic metropolitanate and the concurrent mention of a Metropolitanof Turkistan in �Amr’s list suggests that the Turks that Timothy referred to are distinctfrom the H. alih. /Khalaj. Furthermore, �Abdisho bar Berikha (1315/16) includes in his listof metropolitanates ‘H. alih. , that is H. alwan and Hamadan’,suggesting that the reading in �Amr should indeed be (H. alih. ), not (Khalaj).74

Equating this metropolitanate with H. alwan and Hamadan in western Iran clearly negatesany connection with the Khalaj in western Turkistan and Afghanistan.

The Qarluqs

However, a good case can be made for identifying the T. urkaye in Timothy’s letter with theQarluq Turks, also mentioned in the Orkhon Turkic and Uighur inscriptions (O.T. ).75

The most convincing evidence is found in Narshakhi’s History of Bukhara (943/44), wherewe read that, in Muh. arram, ah 280 (March/April, 893 ce) the Samanid Amir Isma�il wentto fight T. araz, where he experienced great difficulty. Finally the amır of T. araz came outwith many dihqans (landed gentry) and accepted Islam. T. araz was thus subjugated. A large

71Michael XIV.4 (570–571/III, 155).72The ethnic origin of the Qun, before they merged with the Qipchaqs, is unclear. see: Peter Golden,

“Religion among the Qipcaqs of Medieval Eurasia”, Central Asiatic Journal, Vol. 42. pp. 180–237 (1998), p. 185.As with the Pechenegs, we know little about the Qipchaqs or their ancestors at the time of the conversion thatTimothy describes (see EI, s.v. ‘Kipcak’). Omeljan Pritsak, “Two Migratory Movements in the Erasian Steppein the 9th–11th Centuries”, Proceedings of the 26th International Congress of Orientalists (New Delhi, 1968), p. 160

suggested that the migration in question took place ca. 900. On Christianity amongst the Qipchaqs, see Golden,(1998), pp. 217–222.

73Majdal II, /73; M. Siouffi, “Notice sur un patriarche nestorien”, Journal Asiatique, Vol. VII, No. XVII,pp. 89–96, p. 95.

74Syn. Or., 619 Jacques-Marie Voste, 1940, Ordo Iudiciorum Ecclesiasticorum, collectus, dispositus, ordinatus etcompositus a Mar ‘Abdiso‘ Metropolita Nisibis et Armenia (Vatican City, 1940), p. 56.

75Tekin, (1968), 236/270; Ramstedt, (1913), pp. 16–17, pp. 24–25. I am not the first to make thisequation. It was also made by the Russian scholar Sergey Klyashtorniy, followed by A. B. Nikitin,a fact I became aware of only after independently coming to the same conclusion [Кляштоpный(1959), p. 168; A. Никитин “Хpистианство в Центpальной Азии”, Восmочныu* Туpкесmан uСpе∂няя Азuя: uсmоpuя, кульmуpа, связи, (Moscow, 1984), p. 127]. Unfortunately, since theirpublications are in Russian, they have been overlooked by non-Russian scholars dealing with thisissue. It is also suggested in several unconnected statements found in Gillman and Klimkeit, (1999),pp. 214, 218, 222, but these are not linked together by the authors and the theme is not developed any further.See also similar statements in Hans-Joachim Klimkeit “Christian Art on the Silk Road”, Kunstlerischer Austausch.Artistic Exchange: Akten des XXVIII. International Kongresses fur Kunstgeschichte, Berlin, 15–20 Juli 1992, (Berlin, 1993),pp. 481–482.

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church was transformed into a grand mosque, and the khut.ba (sermon) was read in the nameof the Commander of the Faithful Mu�tadid bi’llah.76

T. abari (d. 923) speaks of Isma�il raiding “the land of the Turks”, conquering their capitaland capturing “their king and his wife Khatun”.77 This is further corroborated by Mas�udi(d. 956), who tells us that the Turks were the Kharlukhiyya, the Arabic term for Qarluq.78

Bar �Ebroyo also mentions this event, in an extract dependent on T. abari. Since the latterdoes not mention the Christian status of the Turks involved, neither does Bar �Ebroyo.79

Taraz (also known at various times as Talas), located 300 km north-east of Chach(Tashkent), was the Qarluq winter capital80 and the fact that the church was large enough tobe transformed into a ‘grand mosque’ suggests that it was probably a cathedral, the residenceof at least a bishop, if not a metropolitan. Although Dauvillier mentioned the conversion ofthe Talas/Taraz church into a mosque and suggested that the churches there and in Bukharawere attached to the putative metropolitanate centred on Otrar, he gave no evidence forthis.81 It seems much more likely that the metropolitanate was located in Talas/Taraz itself.As for Bukhara, where we also hear of a church being converted into a mosque,82 it probablycame under the Metropolitan of Samarkand, since both cities lay within Samanid territory.83

The Qarakhanid dynasty, which was established in Kashghar ca. 943 and whose ruler SatuqBughra Khan converted to Islam ca. 955, is now generally believed to have originated fromthe Qarluqs.84 The report of Ibn Miskawayh (d. 1030) and later Ibn al-Athir (d. 1233) that“200,000 Turkish tents adopted Islam” in ah 349 (960/61 ce)85 – probably referring to theQarluqs – seems to have completed the process. It is a curious mirror image of the 200,000

Kerait that Bar �Ebroyo describes converting to Christianity in 1007/08 CE86 and seeminglyinvolved the same process noted in Timothy’s letter, whereby the ruler was followed by“more or less all of his territory”.

If Timothy’s T. urkaye were the Qarluqs, who then ruled a Christian polity for over a century(until Isma�il ibn Ah.mad defeated them), this may help explain the later establishment of ametropolitanate in Kashghar during the period 1176–1190, mentioned above. Indeed, thelink between the former Christian dynasty and the future Muslim Qarakhanid state mayhave been quite direct, as Peter B. Golden suggests: “Isma�ıl Samanı’s [Qarluq] opponentat T. araz may have been Oghulchak Kadır Khan, son of Bilge Kul Kadır Khan . . . This

76Narshakhi, 86–87. The Samanids were a Persian Muslim dynasty based in Bukhara, loyal allies of the ArabCaliphate. The practice of turning Christian churches into mosques can be traced back at least as far as theconversion of the church of St John into the Grand Mosque of Damascus under Caliph �Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan(685–705), as recorded in Baladhuri I, pp. 191–192.

77A Turkic word (borrowed from Sogdian) originally meaning ‘lady’ or ‘wife,’ this title was used for the qaghan’swife. See: Clauson (1972), pp. 602–603.

78T. abari XXXVIII, 11; Mas�udi §3284 (V, 1319). See also the discussion in Omeljan Pritsak, “Von den Karlukzu den Karachaniden”, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft, Vol. CCI (1951), pp. 288–290; IstvanZimonyi, The Origins of the Volga Bulghars (Szeged, 1990), pp. 169–172 and Narshakhi, p. 150.

79Chron. Syr. 166/151. We may be sure that if Bar �Ebroyo had known about the church in Taraz, he wouldhave mentioned this fact.

80Ibn Khurd., 21.81Dauvillier (1948), p. 285.82Narshakhi, 53.83Not long after, Ibn al-Faqih (ca. 902) described the church at Samarkand as a well-known site, one of “le

plus dignes de demeurer sur la face du temps et le plus eloignes d’etre effaces.” (Ibn al-Faqih, pp. 296–297).84See: Pritsak (1951); Golden (1990), pp. 354–357.85Ibn Misk. V, p. 196; Golden (1990), p. 354.86Chron. Eccl. II, 281/282: Mingana (1925), p. 309.

Patriarch Timothy I and the Metropolitan of the Turks 129

defeat (893) was perhaps responsible for his withdrawal to the Kashgar region . . . it was herethat a Karakhanid prince, Satuk (perhaps his son or nephew) converted to Islam”.87 SinceKashghar was an important centre for the Eastern Qarakhanid Qaghanate (which formallysplit from the Western Qaghanate in 1041/42), perhaps the memory of the Christian pastof the ruling dynasty provided an environment favourable for the Church of the East toestablish a metropolitanate there.

Textual and Archaeological Support

This process of conversion to Islam, in many instances from Christianity, is perhaps alsoreflected in legends that circulated in the Sufi tariqah founded in Central Asia by KhojaAh.mad Yassavi (d. 1166). These legends describe the holy war waged by the descendents ofCaliph �Ali in order to bring Islam to Central Asia, in which they fought with the(tarsalar), ‘Christians’ in Uzgand (Uzgen, Kyrgyzstan), Ferghana, Chach (Tashkent), Isfijab(Sayram, Kazakhstan), Kashghar and several other cities.

Of particular interest are references to the ruler of Kashghar, “who was a Christian; he iscalled Munguzliq Aq Qarakhan, but his Christian name is given as Yuhannan [a commonname amongst Syriac Christians]” and the conversion of “Magians and Christians to Islam”at Qarghalıq, a fortress near Talas/Taraz. Although, as De Weese notes, the historicity of theaccount is highly suspect, the frequent mention of Christians in this text surely reflects somedegree of historical reality.88

There is also significant archaeological evidence for the presence of Christianity in theYeti Su area (modern day northern Kyrgyzstan and southern Kazakhstan), the heartland ofthe Qarluq realm, during the eighth and ninth centuries. In Taraz itself, various Christianartefacts have been discovered, including a Syriac inscription mentioning Peter and Gabriel,89

ossuaries with crosses on them,90 a clay vessel fragment with a cross on it,91 and a buildingwhich has been identified as a church, although this has been disputed.92

Other artefacts have been unearthed at Krasnaya Rechka (mediaeval Saryg), Aq-Beshim(mediaeval Suyab) and various other places in northern Kyrgyzstan that were formerly underQarluq rule.93 In particular, two churches have been partially excavated in Aq-Beshim. Atleast one (and possibly both) can be dated to the eighth century.94 Finally, in nearby Tokmak

87Golden (1990), p. 357, following Pritsak (1951), pp. 288–291.88Devin DeWeese “Yasavian Legends on the Islamization of Turkistan”, Aspects of Altaic Civilization

III: Proceedings of the thirtieth Meeting of the Permanent International Altaistic Conference, (Bloomington, 1990),pp. 8–12.

89A. H. Беpнштам Памятники Старины Таласской Долины (Alma-Ata, 1941), pp. 21–22.90Л. И. Ремпель “Некpополь Дpевнего Таpаза”, Кpаткие Сообщения Института Истоpии

Матеpиальной Культуpы, (1957), p. 110; Frantz Grenet Les pratiques funeraires dans l’Asie centrale sedentairede la conquete grecque a l’islamisation, (Paris, 1984), p. 180.

91K. M. Байпаков “Хpистианство Казахстана в Сpедние Века”, Из Истории Древних КультовСредней Азии: Христианство (Tashkent, 1994), p. 99.

92Marie Adelaide Lala Comneno “Nestorianism in Central Asia during the First Millennium: ArchaeologicalEvidence”, Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies, Vol. XI (1997), p. 41.

93Much of this evidence is summarised in В. Д. Гоpячева & С. Я. Пеpегудова, “ПамятникиХpистианства на Теppитоpии Кыpгызстана”, Из Исmpоpuu Дpеıнuх Кульmоı Сpе∂неu* Азuu:Хpuсmuансmво, (Tashkent, 1994); Байпаков, (1994); Grigori L. Semenov, Studien zur sogdischen Kultur ander Seidenstraße, (Wiesbaden, 1996), pp. 62–68; Lala Comneno (1997), pp. 40–45; Wassilios Klein, Das nestorianischeChristentum an den Handelswegen durch Kyrgyzstan bis zum 14 Jh (Turnhout, 2000), pp. 101–125.

94Wassilios Klein, “A Newly Excavated Church of Syriac Christianity along the Silk Road in Kyrghyzstan”,Journal of Eastern Christian Studies Vol. 56 (2004), pp. 25–47.

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and Burana, hundreds of Christian gravestones, dating from the thirteenth and fourteenthcenturies, were found in the 1880s.95 Perhaps the earlier presence of Christianity in thearea enabled the faith to flourish again when Mongol rule introduced a greater degree ofreligious tolerance.

Motivations and Factors in the Conversion

Religious conversion is a complex phenomenon, especially when rulers are involved.96

Thus, the political dimension of the conversion that Timothy reports should not be under-estimated. Although there were undoubtedly personal, even spiritual, reasons that the king ofthe Turks adopted Christianity, strategic factors were probably also involved. As Khazanov hasnoted, the rulers and aristocracy of nomadic societies understood well “the changes takingplace in the political situation and the new possibilities, or even the necessity, of adjustmentand readjustment”.97 The Qarluq yabghu would have been very aware that Manichaeismwas the state religion of the Uighurs to the north. He was probably also apprised of thegrowing status of Judaism amongst the Khazars to the west. Although, as qaghans, the othertwo Turkic rulers had more status than he did, he may well have considered that adopting aworld religion would increase his prestige in the nomadic world.

Khazanov argues that the Khazar conversion to Judaism was “a declaration of politicaland ideological independence . . . from the two major rival and partner states: the MuslimCaliphate and Christian Byzantium”. By adopting Judaism, the Khazars made a strongpolitical statement about not being assimilated or conquered by either of the empires tothe south, as well as opening their state up to Jewish merchants, scholars and craftsmen.98

Similarly, the Uighur conversion to Manichaeism constituted a “proclamation of ideologicalindependence”, along with a “demonstration of political force”, manifest in the Uighurdemand that the Chinese prohibition on Manichaeism be removed.99 Again, a Manichaeanstate undoubtedly appealed to Sogdian Manichaean merchants, scholars and craftsmen, whosesubsequent presence played a major role in the cultural elevation of the Uighurs.100

The Qarluq yabghu may well have been influenced by similar motives in his conversionto Christianity. Having already allied with the Arabs against the Chinese and Uighurs in

95Daniel Chwolson, “Syrisch-Nestorianische Grabinschriften aus Semirjetschie” Memoires de l’Academieimperiale des Science de St.-Petersbourgh (1890); Daniel Chwolson, Syrich-Nestrianische Grabinschriften aus SemirjetschieNeue Floge (St Petersburg,1897). The first gravestone in Chwolson’s initial 1886 report was originally dated to858. He later corrected this to 1258 [Daniel Chwolson “Syrisch Grabinschriften aus Semirjetschie”, Memoires del’Academie imperiale des Science de St.-Petersbourg, Vol. VII (1886), pp. 7–8; Chwolson (1890), p. 15], but the literaturecontinues to refer to the incorrect date, giving the impression that the earliest stones are from the ninth century[e.g. Mingana (1925), p. 334; Dauvillier (1948), p. 290; Lala Comneno (1997), p. 40]. A second stone, originallydated 911, was later discarded by Chwolson as too indistinct [Chwolson (1886), p. 8; Chwolson (1890), p. i].Thus, the earliest gravestone in Chwolson’s corpus can only be dated to 1201 or possibly 1186 [Chwolson (1897),pp. 5–6]. Another gravestone not included in Chwolson’s corpus has been dated to either 789 or 909, but WassiliosKlein has shown that the date should rather be read as 1114/15 (Klein (2000), pp. 163–165). Since there are onlytwo possible gravestones from the twelfth century (both with problematic readings) and the vast majority of thecorpus dates from the mid-thirteenth to the mid-fourteenth centuries, they cannot be used as direct evidence ofChristianity amongst the Qarluqs.

96For an excellent discussion of conversion to world religions in the Eurasian steppe, see: Khazanov (1994).97Khazanov (1994), p. 15.98Khazanov (1994), pp. 16, 18.99Khazanov (1994), p. 19.100Later on, the Uighurs fulfilled the same function for the Mongols.

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the Battle of Talas (751), it was natural that the Qarluqs should seek ties with a religionrepresented in the Caliphate. The rather brutal history of jihad in Central Asia probablyruled out the idea of adopting Islam. Christianity, however, posed no such military (ortaxation) threat to the Qarluqs. Though Timothy does not say what was communicated inhis correspondence with the ruler, the latter surely became aware of the Patriarch’s status inthe �Abbasid court and the extent of his jurisdiction. For his part, Timothy probably tookevery opportunity to impress these things upon the Turkic king. Additionally, parallel to theKhazars and Uighurs, conversion to Christianity would have induced more Sogdian Christianmerchants, scholars and craftsmen to visit and even move to Qarluq territory. Finally, wemay note the Qarluq-Tibetan alliance against the Uighurs and Chinese in the late eighth andearly ninth centuries, precisely when Timothy was appointing these metropolitans. Perhapstheir mutual relationship with the “patriarchal throne” of Timothy played a role in thedevelopment of their political ties (or conversely, the latter may even have facilitated theformer).

Following the example of the Hephthalite ruler ca. 550, the king of the Turks requested aMetropolitan for his people. It is unclear how much time elapsed between the conversion andthe request for (or indeed the appointment of) the first Metropolitan. Timothy’s referenceto “his writings” ( ) suggests that a certain amount of correspondence had beenexchanged between the two, presumably translated between Syriac and Old Turkic (orSogdian) along the way.101

Of special interest is the king’s request regarding “how he might appoint a Metropolitanfor the territory of his kingdom”. The statement is in the third person, suggesting thatthe king wanted to appoint his own Metropolitan, rather than leave it in Timothy’s hands.Perhaps, if significant time had elapsed since first requesting a Metropolitan, he was growingimpatient and wished to do the job himself. Furthermore, he presumably did not wantto be put under the authority of the Metropolitan of Samarkand, due to its location inMuslim Samanid territory. It was imperative that he have his own Metropolitan, located inhis territory. The Samanid conquest of the Qarluqs a century later clearly demonstrated theneed for the latter to remain independent from the former at the time of the conversion.102

This desire for independence can also be seen in T. abari’s reference to the following com-ment of al-Ma’mun, governor of Khorasan and future caliph, in the year ah 195 (810/11 ce):“Jabghuyah has abandoned obedience; Khaqan, the ruler of Tibet, is acting up . . . and I haveno strength for even one of these matters”.103 Barthold rightly identifies the ‘Jabghuyah’ asthe yabghu of the Qarluqs.104 It is perhaps no coincidence that both rulers who had recentlyacquired ‘Nestorian’ metropolitans were now causing trouble for the Caliphate.

Based on Timothy’s statement in Letter XLI that “this also we have done”, the firstMetropolitan was probably chosen sometime around 792/93. Timothy’s statement in LetterXLVII that “the Spirit has anointed in these days a Metropolitan for Beth T. urkaye” almost

101Regrettably, this correspondence has not survived.102A parallel can perhaps be seen in the example of Boris I of Bulgaria, under whom the Christianisation of

the Bulgarians proceeded apace. Although he was wooed by the Catholic Church after being baptised in 865, thePope’s refusal to grant him an independent national Patriarch ultimately convinced Boris to side with the OrthodoxChurch.

103T. abari XXXI, 71.104Wilhelm Barthold, Turkestan down to the Mongol Invasion, (London, 1968), p. 202.

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certainly refers to the same event, rather than to a subsequent Metropolitan.105 Had clergyfrom the Church of the East previously been amongst his people or would this be theirfirst contact with the church hierarchy? We have no way of knowing if the priests anddeacons appointed for the minor ruler by Elia of Merv 150 years previously had inaugurateda presence amongst the Central Asian Turks that continued down to Timothy’s time. Morelikely, any previous contact with clergy was probably with representatives of the Samarkandmetropolitanate, as suggested above.

Postscript

What evidence do we have that the metropolitanate which Timothy established for theTurks lasted beyond the Samanid conquest in 893? Lists of metropolitanates in the Church ofthe East can be found in the works of Elia Jauhari of Damascus, Ibn at.-T. ayyib, �Abdisho barBerikha and �Amr ibn Mattai.106 Elia’s list, co-incidentally compiled in 893, the same yearthat Talas/Taraz was conquered by the Muslims, mentions only the Province of(Samar)Qand,107 as does Ibn at.-T. ayyib (d. 1043).108 However, �Abdisho’s Order of EcclesiasticalJudgements (1315/16)109 includes the following text:

Description of the metropolitans of the exterior. First, the metropolitan of Persia and the maritime islands.Second, that of Damascus, Jerusalem and the sea-coast. Third, that of Merv and Nishapur. Fourth, that ofthe T. urkaye. Fifth, that of the Raziqaye,111 that is to say, Rayy, Qum and Qashan. Sixth, that of theHeratians, that is to say, Herat. Seventh, that of Aran and Alania. Its seat is Barda�ah and Shnika,112 apart of Armenia. Eighth, that of the islands of the seas and that which is beyond, of Dabag and S. in andMas.in.

These Metropolitans are listed after the six that have the right to take part in electinga Catholicos. Thus, the Metropolitan of the T. urkaye ranks tenth overall.113 Finally, �Amr,writing ca. 1350, ranks (the Metropolitan of Turkistan) 22nd in his list, right

105A reasonable assumption, given the letter was written between 795 and 798. See the discussion on this inUray (1983), p. 403, n. 415.

106Sachau (1919), pp. 21–22 contains a good summary of the relevant lists of metropolitanates.107B.O. II, pp. 458–460.108Ibn at.-T. ayyib VI.16 (II, 123). He gives the full form109Voste (1940), p. 13.110Syn. Or., 619–620: Voste (1940) pp. 56–57.111The Raziqaye were residents of the old Persian city of Ragha, now called Rayy, located near Tehran.112J.-B. Chabot suggested that this is a corruption of Armenian Sinnik (Syn. Or., 620, n. 2).113The list is contained in Canon XXI from the Synod of Ish. aq (Isaac) (410), updated by �Abdisho to reflect

the situation in his time.

Patriarch Timothy I and the Metropolitan of the Turks 133

behind the Metropolitan of Samarkand.114 Both �Abdisho and �Amr reflect the situationin the thirteenth or fourteenth century, a time when Christianity again flourished for ashort while in Turkistan, as attested to by the aforementioned gravestones found in the YetiSu region. However, it is unclear if the metropolitanate of the Turks/Turkistan mentionedby these two authors was a continuation of that established by Timothy or a subsequentcreation.

Brief as these references in Timothy’s correspondence are, they are immensely importantin the difficult task of reconstructing the history of Syriac Christianity in Central Asia.If indeed the Qarluq Turks were those who converted to Christianity during Timothy’spatriarchate, then a significant part of the Turkic world was part of the Christian oikumenefor most of the ninth century.

Abbreviations

�Abdisho, Nom. = Mai, 1838

Baladhuri I = Hitti, 1916

Baladhuri II = Murgotten, 1924

Biruni = Sachau, 1879

B.O. = Assemani, 1719–1728

Chron. Eccl. = Abbeloos & Lamy, 1872–1877

Chron. Syr., T = Bedjan, 1890

Chron. Syr., V = Budge, 1932

EI = Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second EditionGardizi = Martinez, 1982

Governors, T = Budge, 1893aGovernors, V = Budge, 1893bHistoire = Bedjan, 1895

Ibn al-Faqih = Masse, 1973

Ibn at.-T. ayyib = Hoenerbach & Spies, 1957

Ibn Khurd. = de Goeje, 1889

Ibn Misk. = Margoliouth, 1921

Khuzistan, T = Guidi, 1903aKhuzistan, V = Guidi, 1903bMajdal I = Gismondi, 1899

Majdal II = Gismondi, 1896–1897

Marvazi = Minorsky, 1942

Manas = Оpозбак & Айтматов, 1978–1982

Mas�udi = Pellat, 1962–1997

Michael = Chabot, 1899–1910

M.P. = Middle PersianNarshakhi = Frye, 1954

N.P. = New Persian

114Majdal II, /73.

134 Mark Dickens

O.T. = Old TurkicQazwini I = Ethe, 1868

Qazwini II = Wustenfeld, 1848115

Qudama = de Goeje, 1889

Syn. Or. = Chabot, 1902

T. abari = Various, 1987–1999116

Timothy (Bidawid) = Bidawid, 1956

Timothy (Braun I) = Braun, 1901bTimothy (Braun II), T = Braun, 1915bTimothy (Braun II), V = Braun, 1915cYa�qubi = Wiet, 1937

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