LETTER OF POPE CLEMENT V. 381 him, in the name of the apostate Kharbende, to arm for the destruction of the abominable sect of Mahomet. The Tartar messenger came also to Poitiers, where Pope Clement V. resided, and, doubtless, used the same expressions with him as he had with the King of Eng- land ; this, at least, is what we may presume from the following letter, addressed by the sovereign pontiff to Kharbende, and dated Poitiers, March 1st 1308: — " We have received, with the habitual condescension of the holy see, your envoy, Thomas Ildoutchi*, and the letters which he brings us from you, and we have care- fully examined their contents, as well as listened with attention to what this messenger has said and proposed in your name. We have seen with pleasure, by these letters, and by the communications of your envoy, that appealing to our solicitude for the help and reco- very of the Holy Land, you have offered us 200,000 horses and 200,000 loads of wheat, to be in Armenia at the period when the Christian armies shall arrive there ; and besides that, to march in person with 100,000 horsemen, to second the efforts of the Christians, and expel from that sacred land the adverse forces of the Saracens. We have received this offer with satisfac- tion ; it has fortified our minds like a spiritual nourish- ment. We believe that this messenger came from none other than Him, who, by his angel, charged Abacuc to carry to Daniel, in the lion's den, strengthening food. It is certain that you have given us sweet sustenance by offering us the hope of your magnificent assistance.
- The real name of the envoy was Touman Ildoudji. Ildoudji
signifies " he who bears the sword," and Touman was, probably, one of the body-guard of Kharbende.
