A late-thirteenth-century traveler vastly overstated Christian numbers in the East

Evidence

It is to be noted, and it is the simple truth, though some who speak of things they have never seen say the opposite, that the whole of the East, from the Mediterranean to India and Ethiopia, confesses and proclaims the name of Christ, except only the Saracens, and certain Turks, who live in Cappadocia. I state definitely, from what I have myself seen and heard from others who know the facts, that in every place and kingdom, except in Egypt and in Arabia, where many Saracens and other followers of Mahomet live, you will always find thirty or more Christians for one Saracen. All these overseas Christians, however, belong to oriental nations who have little skill in arms. Thus, when attacked by Saracens, Tartars, and others, they become subject to them, and buy their peace and quiet by paying tribute; and the Saracens or others who rule over them place bailiffs and tax-collectors in their lands. — R. W. Southern, Western Views of Islam in the Middle…, 373

Categorization

• SEED: The claim that Eastern Christians outnumbered Saracens thirty-to-one while being militarily weak and tributary is a striking picture of dhimmi life — usable in an essay on how wishful headcounts underwrite policy.