Prester John: Africa's Lost King

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He sits on his jeweled throne on the Horn of Africa, observing his vast empire reflected in a palace mirror. Carrying three crosses into battle, each guarded by one hundred thousand men, he was present with St. Thomas in the third century, establishing a Christian church in India. Eight centuries later, he emerged from the East to aid the crusaders in Jerusalem and was still sought by Portuguese explorers in the fifteenth century. Known by various names—Ong Khan, Genghis Khan, Lebna Dengel—he was primarily a Christian king ruling over a realm filled with magical wonders: men with faces in their chests, others with enormous, backward-facing feet, and rivers made of sand. His lands bordered the earthly Paradise, once the Garden of Eden. He corresponded with popes and princes, offering salvation and hope to many. However, as exploration expanded and science began to replace superstition, the figure of Prester John seemed to recede, existing only in distant realms beyond the Mountains of the Moon or near the mouth of Hell. Was he real? Did he ever exist? This narrative invites you on a journey to explore worlds that could have been, but never were, daring you to enter the enigmatic realm of Prester John.