The Abgar legend is a collection of letters purporting to be correspondence between Jesus of Nazareth and King Abgar V Ukkm of Osroene. The letters were initially published in the fourth century by Eusebius of Caesarea, who claimed to have discovered them in the archives of Edessa. They are said to have been written during Jesus' last year.
Abgar V was the king of Osroene, with Edessa, a Syrian city in upper Mesopotamia, as his capital. King Abgar V was afflicted with leprosy and had heard of Jesus' miracles. Abgar, acknowledging Jesus' divine mission, wrote a letter to Jesus Christ, requesting that he be healed of his illness. He then invited Jesus to seek refuge in Edessa, where he would be secure from persecution. In his purported response, Jesus praised the
king's faith but declined the request. He expressed remorse for not being able to visit the city because of his life's work. After Jesus went into heaven, he blessed Abgar and promised that one of his disciples would heal all of the king's and subjects' sicknesses in Edessa.
Modern Christians and scholars classify the letters as pseudepigrapha, despite the fact that they have been considered seriously in various Christian traditions for millennia.