My Journey to the Court of the Sun King

I am Abba Gorgoryos, one of the ambassadors sent by our glorious Emperor Iyasu I of Ethiopia to the court of King Louis XIV of France. I have been asked to share with you some of the highlights of our journey and our impressions of the French kingdom. I hope you will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
We left Ethiopia in November 1681, accompanied by a large entourage of priests, scholars, artists, musicians and servants. We also brought with us many gifts for the French king, such as gold, ivory, spices, silk, coffee, and exotic animals. Our mission was to seek an alliance with France against the Ottoman Empire and the Adal Sultanate, which threatened our Christian faith and our sovereignty. We also hoped to learn from the French culture and science, and to share with them our own.

Details of My Journey
We travelled by sea from Massawa to Suez, then by land to Cairo, where we met the French consul. He arranged for us to board a French ship that took us to Marseille. The voyage was long and perilous, but we were amazed by the sight of the Mediterranean Sea and its islands. We arrived in Marseille in April 1682, after five months of travel.
We were warmly welcomed by the French authorities and the people of Marseille, who were curious and respectful towards us. They marvelled at our clothes, our language and our customs. They also admired our gifts and our animals, especially a lion cub that we named Solomon. We stayed in Marseille for a month, during which we visited the city and its surroundings. We were impressed by the architecture, the commerce, and the diversity of the people.
In May 1682, we left Marseille and travelled by coach to Paris, the capital of France. The journey took us another month, during which we passed through many towns and villages. We saw fields, forests, rivers and mountains. We also saw many castles and churches that testified to the wealth and power of France. We were greeted with hospitality and curiosity wherever we went.

The Royal City and Monarch
We arrived in Paris in June 1682, and were lodged in a magnificent palace that belonged to the king’s brother. Paris was a huge and splendid city, full of people, buildings, bridges and monuments. We visited many places of interest, such as the Louvre Palace, where we saw many paintings and sculptures; the Royal Library, where we saw many books and manuscripts; and the Royal Academy of Sciences, where we met many scholars and learned about their discoveries.
The highlight of our stay in Paris was our audience with King Louis XIV himself. He received us at his palace of Versailles on July 16th, 1682. Versailles was a marvel of art and engineering, surrounded by gardens and fountains. We were awed by its beauty and grandeur.
The king was seated on a throne at the end of a long hall filled with courtiers and nobles. He wore a magnificent robe of velvet and ermine, adorned with jewels and feathers. He had a long wig of curly hair and a pointed beard. He looked majestic and powerful.
We approached him with reverence and bowed before him. We presented him with our letter from Emperor Iyasu I, which expressed his friendship and his desire for an alliance against their common enemies. We also offered him our gifts, which he graciously accepted.
The king spoke to us through an interpreter. He thanked us for our visit and our presents. He expressed his admiration for Ethiopia and its emperor. He assured us of his support and his goodwill. He also invited us to visit his apartments and his gardens.
We were honoured by his words and his gestures. We felt that he was a true friend and a great king. We thanked him for his kindness and his generosity.

After Our Audience
We stayed in France for another year, during which we continued to visit other places and meet other people. We learned a lot from them, and they learned a lot from us. We exchanged ideas, experiences and opinions. We also shared our faiths, our prayers and our songs.
We left France in August 1683, with a sense of gratitude and friendship. We hoped that our mission would bear fruit and that our countries would remain allies in peace and war.
We returned to Ethiopia in December 1683, after another long voyage by sea and land. We were happy to see our homeland again and to report to Emperor Iyasu I about our journey.
We told him everything that we had seen and heard in France. We praised the king, the people and the culture of France. We also gave him the gifts and the letters that the king had sent him.
Emperor Iyasu I was pleased with our report and our achievements. He thanked us for our service and rewarded us for our efforts. He also wrote a letter to King Louis XIV, in which he confirmed his friendship and his alliance.
We felt proud and fulfilled by our mission. We had represented Ethiopia with dignity and honour. We had made a lasting impression on France and on Europe. We had opened a new chapter in the history of Ethiopia and France.

References

– Zewde, Bahru (2002). A History of Modern Ethiopia, 1855-1991. Oxford: James Currey.
– Pankhurst, Richard (2001). The Ethiopians: A History. Oxford: Blackwell.
– Kaplan, Steven (1994). The Beta Israel (Falasha) in Ethiopia: From Earliest Times to the Twentieth Century. New York: New York University Press.
– Reception of the Ambassador of Siam, 1686 | Palace of Versailles. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/reception-ambassador-siam-1686 
– Ethiopia–France relations – Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia%E2%80%93France_relations 
– Re-examining Foresti’s Supplementum Chronicarum and the “Ethiopian … (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-the-school-of-oriental-and-african-studies/article/reexamining-forestis-supplementum-chronicarum-and-the-ethiopian-embassy-to-europe-of-1306/215DCECAAFED18695F30D7447CF38DFB 

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