Prester John

Prester John (Latin: Presbyter Ioannes) was a legendary Christian patriarch, presbyter, and king. Stories about him, popular in Europe from the 12th to the 17th centuries, told of a Nestorian patriarch and king who ruled over a lost Christian kingdom surrounded by pagans and Muslims in the East. These accounts were often filled with medieval fantasy elements, depicting Prester John as a descendant of the Three Magi, reigning over a kingdom rich in wonders, treasures, and strange creatures.

Initially, Prester John was believed to live in India, with the legend likely inspired by tales of the Nestorian Christians' missionary work there and the travels of Thomas the Apostle, as documented in works like the Acts of Thomas. As European knowledge of the Mongol Empire grew, stories shifted, placing Prester John in Central Asia. Eventually, Portuguese explorers came to associate the legend with Ethiopia, which, by then, had been an isolated Christian kingdom far from other Christian-ruled lands.