INDIA “FAR BEYOND EGYPT”: BARLAAM AND IOASAPH AND NUBIA IN THE 6 TH CENTURY

The famous hagiographical novel, “Barlaam and Ioasaph”, first appeared (in the 7th cent.) as a legend on the conversion of Makuria (one of the three Nubian states) in the 560s. It was not the earliest legend on this, however. The remains of the earliest legend are also traced.