KINGS AND QUEENS
The epic of the Kings of the East of the Nativity, known in Spanish as “Sus Majestades los Reyes de Oriente”, invites us to take a look at other “oriental” Kings and their relationship to the co-existence of cultures and religions.
JUBA II (1st century)
THE GREAT KNOWLEDGEABLE
Juba II, King of Mauritania, whose kingdom corresponded in ancient times to North Africa, was a Berber who made North Africa the epicentre of culture and knowledge. Married to Cleopatra Selene, the daughter of the great Cleopatra, who was also influential in the arts and letters, he wrote numerous works and led several expeditions, becoming the supreme authority for several centuries on world knowledge. King Juba II was the greatest connoisseur of the lands of the Magi.
KING JUBA II & THE MAGI
HEROD (1st c.)
& THE "HERODS OF TODAY”
Herod, King of Judea, imposed on the throne of Jerusalem by the Romans, considered by many Jews as an usurper, has remained in history as a bloodthirsty monarch. Herod’s anger, which the Magi had to overcome, invites us not to be impressed by obscurantism as well as by the Herods of the day. “When kings, when peoples, when tyrants would like to block our way, let us not let our ardour be extinguished by these obstacles, since this is how we will overcome them. If the Magi had not been constant to the end, they would not have avoided the evils with which they were threatened by Herod” Chrysostom (3rd century)
SALADDIN (12th c.), THE RESPECT OF BELIEFS
Several Emirs were to cross the posterity of the Magi. During the “Crusade of the Three Kings”, which began in 1189, the King of France, the King of England and the Holy Roman Emperor were the real Magi who had come to deliver Jerusalem from the Muslim caliph, Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, leader of the Jihad (12th century). When King Richard the Lionheart was wounded, Saladin offered his enemy the services of his personal physician Moses, a Jew from Cordoba. The Emir, who was the great victor, signed an agreement under which Jerusalem would remain open to Christian pilgrims. Military rivalry was not incompatible, according to Saladin, with respect for his opponents and the co-existence of religions
ISLAM & RESPECT FOR RELIGIONS
SULTANE MARA (15th c.)
THE EASING OF TENSIONS
Mara, widow of the Ottoman Sultan Murad II, is the mother-in-law of Mehmet the Conqueror, the man who made the European courts tremble. The Muslim leader conquered a large part of Eastern Europe, including Serbia, where Mara, the king’s daughter turned sultana, came from. In the course of its conquest, the Ottoman army massacred the local population. In an effort to bring about a calm, the Sultana acts as a messenger of peace and offers a reliquary of the Magi’s gifts to the Monastery of Mount Athos in Greece, which is kept in Saint Sophia. Mount Athos still holds this reliquary.
THE KINGS OF GRANADA (13th-15th c.)
& THE CONVIVENCIA
In the medieval history of Al Andalus in the Iberian Peninsula, ‘Convivencia’, which comes from the verb convivir, literally meaning ‘to live with the other’, allowed for a relative confessional peace marked by numerous cultural exchanges between Muslims, Jews and Christians. The Kingdom of Granada under Nazari rule was a constant refuge for many individuals who felt threatened.
GRANADA, THE SOUL
OF THE MAGI KINGS
KINGS & QUEENS OF THE EAST
IN MODERN TIMES
Decoding the destiny of Eastern leaders in contemporary history, models of inspiration for tolerance and/or respect for religions.
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