Niketas

Father Niketas was a Catholic priest and part of a Roman delegation sent by Pope Constantine in AD 769, to a heathen Bulgar Khan named Telerikh. The purpose was to attempt to convert him and his people to Christianity. The other two emissaries were Father Theodore and a monk named Paul. Niketas was a bitter man but surprisingly knowledgeable in the ways of the secular political world. This was because he was a grandson of Leo, the last Basileus ton Rhomaion or emperor of the Romans in Constantinople.

The evening after their arrival in the Bulgar capital of Pliska, a delegation of Muslims also arrived intending to try to convert Telerikh to Islam. Telerikh had invited both delegations in order for them to present their respective faiths and debate each other. He would then decide which, if any, he and his people would convert to.

At the first meeting, both delegations presented gifts to Telerikh, including a Bible and a Qu'ran. This led to a theological discussions between Paul and Jalal ad-Din on the differences between their religions. During the talk, one of Telerikh's nobles called out to the Khan, in his own speech, that their own gods had served them well enough for years and years and not to change now. Ad-Din replied that the extent of the Caliphate proved Allah's might and even the Christians, who knew God imperfectly, had much more extensive lands than the Bulgars. Niketas added that these false gods also isolated the Bulgars since they could not swear oaths that Christians or Muslims would find binding.

After considerable debate, the Kahn stated that these issues needed thought and dismissed the parties until another meeting three days later. He also warned the Christians and Muslims that they all were his guests and that they were not to fight one another.