Prester John
Prester John (Latin: Presbyter Ioannes) is a legendary Christian patriarch and king widely believed in medieval Europe to rule a vast Christian kingdom beyond the Islamic world, later identified with Ethiopia. The legend began in the 12th century with a purported letter to Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos describing a magnificent kingdom of riches ruled by a Nestorian Christian priest-king descended from the Three Magi. For centuries, European monarchs and explorers sought Prester John as an ally against Muslim powers. As geographical knowledge expanded, the legend became associated with th