To the Renowned King Pozsony, Count of Varad, ruler of Constantinople, and king of Hungary:
My name is
Kilic Khan, chieftain of the Khaidu Pechenegs and warlord of the Volga River. Years ago, we Pechenegs were driven from our homes here in the steppes by the Cuman menace. Your forefathers offered asylum to us, bringing our tribes into your nation’s bosom and ingratiating us into its fold. My grandfather was baptized in a Hungarian temple and my father served as a mercenary in your wars with the Eastern Romans.
Alas, brighter days have seen both our peoples.
My tribe has wandered the steppes, settling along the Volga and defending against the Pagan Cumans and Muslim Volga Bulgars. Despite our situation, we have succeeded staving off our foes. By God’s grace, I have been given a people hardy and fortitudinous to the ways of war and conflict. But my people are exhausted. They are dispirited by the constant bloodshed. We are in desperate need of reprieve.
It has come to my ears that the Cumans and their Volga Bulgar allies still threaten you, as well, and that they have vowed to retrieve the city that you took from them.
Let us stand together against these foes.
I humbly submit myself and my peoples to the service of the Hungarian king. I offer my vassalage and the vassalage of my hardy people to the service of The Church and to you, her stalwart defenders.
I will submit to you my warriors and use them to defend your realm from the invaders that threaten us both. I only ask in return your patronage and resources for a time, until we can conquer land from the Cumans and become self-sufficient under your new directive.
We humbly ask these things not as brothers of heritage, but as brothers in Christ.
We submit ourselves now and humbly look forward to your reply.
Haıdü Volga büyük Kılıç Han
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