Grantor

Recepient

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RRR:
Correspondence/envoy
1448
year: 1199
initiator: Patriarch Aymar Monachus of Jerusalem
recipient: Pope Innocent III
text: Jan. 1 - Sept. 1. [263] In reply to an order for a report from Pope Innocent III, Patriarch Aymar of Jerusalem describes the lineage of and the relations between the various Ayyubid princes, expressing the view that they are ready to surrender Palestine and Jerusalem to the Christians and even to convert. He refers briefly to the Assassins. He provides a geographical description of Palestine and Syria, in which he includes, besides references to the chief towns, the image and shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary outside Christian territory at Sardinia, which is served by 12 nuns and 8 monks, the image of Christ in Beirut and the castellum filii Dei, now called districtum. He then turns to the geography of Egypt, noting those places identified with the exile of the Holy Family there, and to the country’s religion, harvests, the flooding of the Nile, and to Alexandria, which he reports has no natural spring water, being dependent on its cisterns. He believes that the key to Egypt is Damietta, which is more strongly fortified. Jan. 1 - Sept. 1. [263] In reply to an order for a report from Pope Innocent III, Patriarch Aymar of Jerusalem describes the lineage of and the relations between the various Ayyubid princes, expressing the view that they are ready to surrender Palestine and Jerusalem to the Christians and even to... more
sources: [James of Vitry], Historia Orientalis, pp. 1125-9 [264] (RRH no. 762)
comments: [263] If in Graves orientalis terrae Pope Innocent III was referring to this letter from the patriarch, it cannot have been sent later than August. [264] Maintaining that James of Vitry was not the author of Book 3 of the Historia Orientalis, Jean Donnadieu (p. 9) does not include that book in his edition.

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