In 1268 the Patriarch had moved from
Baghdad, first to Oshnou in Azerbaijan and later to
Urmia and
Maragheh. He was forced to relocate to
Erbil due to
Mongol incrusions in Baghdad. Denha I was patriarch when
Rabban Bar Sauma and his companion
Rabban Markos arrived in
Persia, on their pilgrimage from China towards
Jerusalem. Denha had his seat in Baghdad at that time, and requested the two monks to visit the court of
Abaqa in order to obtain confirmation letters for Mar Denha's ordination as Patriarch. Intending to establish them as leaders of the
Church of the East in China, Denha consecrated Markos as Mar Yahballaha, Bishop of Katai and Ong, and named Rabban Bar Sauma vicar general. Later, Denha charged the monks to return to China as his messengers. However, their departure was delayed due to armed conflict along the route. When Denha died, Markos was elected as his successor. A modern assessment of Denha's reign can be found in David Wilmshurst's
The Martyred Church. Denha maintained a cordial relationship with the
maphrian of the
Syriac Orthodox Church,
Gregory Barhebraeus. Upon his death, the disciple of Rabban Bar Sauma, Markos, was ordained patriarch, taking the name
Yahballaha. ==Notes==