Secret Letters of Póp Cávna III and Mengu Qaghan

The secret letters of Póp Cávna III and Mengu Qaghan were an epistolary exchange involving the head of the Sanctist Church and the leader of the Noam Empire, which took place between 15 Hocalta 1243 and 8 Ricullan 1245.^† The correspondence occurred at a time of great upheaval in Heremonia, which was further exacerbated by a series of devastating military incursions and conquests by the formidable and aggressive Qaghanate. It reveals the wide and deep gulf of misunderstanding between the Póp in the West and his powerful counterpart in the East, indicative of the broader and deeper cultural tensions that have existed between the East and the West since the beginning of recorded history.

The very existence of this historically important correspondence was unknown until quite recently. The archives of the Qaghans before the fourteenth centurí have been lost, and the Universal Archive of the Pastúral See contained no record of the exchange. However, in 1951, a copy of Póp Cávna’s letter, and the original response from the Qaghan, were discovered in the Secret Archives of the Supreme Pontaif, and released to the public by Póp Píus XI, making the long-lost documents available once again for scholarly research.

Historical Background

After reuniting the Noamese people and establishing the Empire of Noam in 1193, Khamgiin Ghan embarked upon an audacious campaign of expansion and conquest. By 1200, the Krissi, the Cathairs and the other eastern nations had been subjugated as far as the Aguukhadan Escarpment, and fealty oaths secured from the coastal nations below the cliffs.

With the eastern lands pacified as far as the shores of the Cerulean Sea, Khamgiin Ghan and his descendants turned their violent attentions to the West, slaughtering their way deep into Heremonia as far as the Nevey River. By the mid-thirteenth centurí, the Empire of Noam had become the largest empire ever known, unequaled before or since.

Among the unique features of the first Noamese Empire was the remarkable tolerance they exhibited toward the people of conquered lands. Local leaders were allowed to retain a degree of their former power, and local religions were allowed to remain in place, all provided that the local political and religious leadership pledged unconditional fealty to the Qaghan, and paid the heavy taxes and levies exacted by the administrators in Samlazaz.

In many instances, however, Sanctist clergy were unwilling to pay homage to a págan king, only to find they had ransomed their stubborn fidelity to the faith with the lives of their congregants. The tragic news of these massacres soon reached Sancta Cedes, causing alarm, if not panic, among the Cúirt Naofa.

Letter from Póp Cávna III to the Qaghan

On 15 Hocalta 1243, Póp Cávna III composed a letter to the leader of the marauding foreigners, who at the time was Kültömör Qaghan, son of the Great Khamgiin. The Póp’s letter to the Qaghan was written on parchment in Ecclesiastical High Kiltic, the official language of the Sanctist clergy, and entrusted to a delegation of clerics led by Coarb Senan Phóil of Kilmore, joined by Venédiktos the Cyront, who would act as interpreter.

Departing Sancta Cedes on 18 Cesoren 1243, they arrived at the western frontier of the Noam Empire during a storm on the 1st of Hestrew, where they were received by the local king, Jaboyan Ghan. When told the purpose of their journey, and the influence of the author of the letter they carried, Jaboyan granted them safe passage, and appointed a guide named Khali Kharchu to accompany them.

With the aid of the Qaghan’s highly efficient mounted post system, the delegation of clerics, the interpreter, and the letter they carried, made swift time, arriving in Samlazaz on 24 Lunis 1244, the very day Mengu, eldest son of Kültömör, was enthroned as the new Qaghan. It is often claimed that Senan Phóil was the first westerner in over 500 years to cross the Gihondi River and return to tell about it.

Póp Cávna’s letter was first translated from Kiltic into Cyrontian by Venédiktos, and then translated into Noamese by an official of the Qaghan’s Court. In the letter, the Póp proclaimed the ultimate victory of the Good God and his dominion over the world and over kings. He decried the slaughter of innocent Sanctists, especially the clergy, who were owed the respect of their office. And he demanded that the Qaghan accept his offer of peace and end all hostilities in the West.

VIEW THE TEXT OF THE LETTER HERE

Letter from Mengu Qaghan to the Póp

The Qaghan did not respond immediately. He took several months to consider the Póp’s words, which puzzled him greatly. Centurís of war and internal conflict among the Noam had given rise to a culture with a well-defined political etiquette. The mere fact of sending a delegation to the Qaghan was seen as a sign of weakness, with the only possible purpose being to surrender. Moreover, these militaristic attitudes are also reflected in the Noamese language, in which the word for “peace” is identical to the word for “surrender.”

It was obvious to the Qaghan that the Póp and the kings of the West wanted to surrender their sovereignty to him, in compliance with the Command of Heaven, and to end the extermination of Sanctists. Yet, in the same petition, this Great Póp dared admonish the Qaghan and claim the mandate of God for himself. He determined to speak with the Póp directly, to fully understand his words and ascertain his intentions.

Early in the month of Crenyew, 1244, the Qaghan drafted his reply to Póp Cávna. The letter was composed in Noamese, with a short preamble in High Cyrontian, and written on maoilberry paper. It acknowledged the Póp’s delegation, and receipt of his letter, before ordering Póp Cávna, “and all of [his] kings and princes,” to come to Samlazaz and pay homage to the Qahghan. The letter then proceeded to defend Noam’s conquest of the western countries as the will of the Eternal God, before reprimanding the Póp for daring to assume knowledge of the will of God, and once again admonishing him to formalize his surrender in person.

VIEW THE TEXT OF THE LETTER HERE

Senan Phóil, Venédiktos, and their guide Khali Kharchu departed he Imperial City on 9 Glana 1245, arriving in Sancta Cedes on 8 Ricullan. As puzzling as the Póp’s letter was to the Great Gahn, his response must have been as much so to Póp Cávna. Between the difficulty of translation, and the deep cultural misunderstanding, Mengu Gahn’s reply must have been nearly inscrutable. It is known that a second delegation was sent to Samlazaz the following year, but no record of any associated communication, or any response thereto, has been found.

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^†All dates used in this article refer to the Amalgaidiean calendar.

The Secret Letters

Cávna III and Mengu Qaghan

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SECRET CORRESPONDENCE

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Póp Cávna III

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Mengu Qaghan

Letter From Cávna III - 15 Hocalta 1243
Secret Archives of the Supreme Pontaif

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Letter From Mengu Qaghan - Crenyew, 1244
Secret Archives of the Supreme Pontaif

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^{IMAGE CREDITS:
Póp Cávna III, by the Author, via Wombo Dream
Mengu Qaghan, by the Author, via Wombo Dream
Letter From Cávna III, by the Author, via Wombo Dream
Letter From Mengu Qaghan, by the Author, via Wombo Dream}