Franco-Mongol alliance - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Franco-Mongol relations were established in the 13th century, as attempts were made towards forming a Franco-Mongol alliance between the Christian Crusaders

Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...

and the Mongol Empire

Mongol Empire

The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...

against various Muslim empires. Such an alliance would have seemed a logical choice: the Mongols were sympathetic to Christianity as they had many influential Nestorian Christians

Church of the East

The Church of the East tāʾ d-Maḏnḥāʾ), also known as the Nestorian Church, is a Christian church, part of the Syriac tradition of Eastern Christianity. Originally the church of the Persian Sassanid Empire, it quickly spread widely through Asia...

in the Mongol court. The Franks (Europeans) were open to the idea of assistance coming from the East, due to the long-running legend of a mythical Prester John

Prester John

The legends of Prester John were popular in Europe from the 12th through the 17th centuries, and told of a Christian patriarch and king said to rule over a Christian nation lost amidst the Muslims and pagans in the Orient. Written accounts of this kingdom are variegated collections of medieval...

, an Eastern king in a magical kingdom who many believed would arrive someday to help with the Crusades in the Holy Land. They also shared a common enemy in the Muslim empires. However, despite generations of messages, gifts, and emissaries, the often-proposed alliance was never achieved.

Contact between the Europeans and Mongols began around 1220, through infrequent messages from the Papacy or European monarchs, to Mongol leaders such as the Great Khan, and later to the Ilkhans

Ilkhanate

The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Azerbaijan and Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire...

in Mongol-conquered Iran. The pattern of communications tended to repeat, with the Europeans asking the Mongols to convert to Western Christianity, and the Mongols simply responding with demands for submission and tribute. The Mongols had already conquered other Christian nations in their advance across Asia, including the Kingdoms of Georgia

History of Georgia (country)

The nation of Georgia was first unified as a kingdom under the Bagrationi dynasty in the 9th to 10th century, arising from a number of predecessor states of ancient Colchis and Iberia...

and Cilician Armenia

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia

The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia , also known as the Cilician Armenia, Kingdom of Cilician Armenia or New Armenia, was an independent principality formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia...

. The Mongols then destroyed both the Muslim Abbasid and Ayyubid

Ayyubid dynasty

The Ayyubid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin, founded by Saladin and centered in Egypt. The dynasty ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The Ayyubid family, under the brothers Ayyub and Shirkuh, originally served as soldiers for the Zengids until they...

dynasties, and for the next few generations fought against the remaining Islamic power in the region, that of the Egyptian Mamluk

Mamluk

A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...

s. Hethum I, King of Armenia, strongly encouraged European monarchs to follow his example and submit to Mongol authority, but was only able to persuade his son-in-law, Prince Bohemond VI of the Crusader state

Crusader states

The Crusader states were a number of mostly 12th- and 13th-century feudal states created by Western European crusaders in Asia Minor, Greece and the Holy Land , and during the Northern Crusades in the eastern Baltic area...

of Antioch

Principality of Antioch

The Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade.-Foundation:...

, who submitted in 1260. The Crusaders of Acre

Acre, Israel

Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....

though, saw the Mongols as a greater threat than the Muslims, and allowed the Egyptians to advance unhampered through Crusader territory to engage and defeat the Mongols at the pivotal Battle of Ain Jalut

Battle of Ain Jalut

The Battle of Ain Jalut took place on 3 September 1260 between Mamluks and the Mongols in eastern Galilee, in the Jezreel Valley, not far from Ein Harod....

(1260).

European attitudes began changing in the mid-1260s, from perceiving the Mongols as enemies to be feared, to potential allies against the Muslims. The Mongols capitalized on this, promising a re-conquered Jerusalem to the Europeans, in return for cooperation. Attempts towards an alliance continued through negotiations with multiple leaders of the Mongol Ilkhanate in Iran, from its founder Hulagu through his descendants Abaqa

Abaqa Khan

Abaqa Khan , also Abaga , or Abagha Khan, was the second Mongol ruler of the Persian Ilkhanate. The son of Hulagu Khan and Yesuncin Khatun, he reigned from 1265–1282 and was succeeded by his brother Tekuder Khan...

, Arghun

Arghun

Arghun Khan aka Argon was the fourth ruler of the Mongol empire's Ilkhanate, from 1284 to 1291. He was the son of Abaqa Khan, and like his father, was a devout Buddhist...

, Ghazan, and Öljaitü

Öljaitü

Öljeitü, Oljeitu, Olcayto or Uljeitu, Öljaitu, Ölziit , born Muhammad Khodabandeh , was the eighth Ilkhanid dynasty ruler in Iran from 1304 to 1316...

, but without success. The Mongols invaded Syria several times between 1281 and 1312, sometimes in attempts at joint operations with the Europeans; however, there were considerable logistical difficulties involved, which usually resulted in the forces arriving months apart, and being unable to satisfactorily combine their activities.

The Mongol Empire eventually dissolved into civil war, and the Egyptian Mamluks successfully recaptured all of Palestine and Syria from the Crusaders. After the Fall of Acre

Siege of Acre (1291)

The Siege of Acre took place in 1291 and resulted in the loss of the Crusader-controlled city of Acre to the Muslims. It is considered one of the most important battles of the time period. Although the crusading movement continued for several more centuries, the capture of the city marked the end...

in 1291, the remaining Crusaders retreated to the island of Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

. A final attempt was made to establish a bridgehead at the small island of Ruad

Arwad

Arwad – formerly known as Arado , Arados , Arvad, Arpad, Arphad, and Antiochia in Pieria , also called Ruad Island – located in the Mediterranean Sea, is the only inhabited island in Syria. The town of Arwad takes up the entire island...

off the coast of Tortosa, again in an attempt to coordinate military action with the Mongols. The plan for collaboration failed, the Egyptians later besieged the island, and with the Fall of Ruad

Fall of Ruad

The Fall of Ruad in 1302/3 was one of the culminating events of the Crusades in the Eastern Mediterranean. When the garrison on the tiny Isle of Ruad fell, it marked the loss of the last Crusader outpost on the coast of the Levant...

in 1302 or 1303, the Crusaders lost their last foothold in the Holy Land.

Modern historians debate whether an alliance between the Europeans and Mongols, if it had been successful, would have even been effective in shifting the balance of power in the region, and/or whether it would have been a wise choice on the part of the Europeans. Traditionally, the Mongols tended to see outside parties as either subjects or enemies, with little room in the middle for a concept such as an ally.

Early contacts (1209–1244)

Among Europeans, there had long been rumors and expectations that a great Christian ally would come from the East. These rumors circulated as early as the First Crusade

First Crusade

The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...

, and usually surged in popularity after the loss of a battle by the Crusaders. A legend developed about a figure known as Prester John

Prester John

, who lived in far off India, Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

, or perhaps even Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

. This legend fed upon itself, and some individuals who came from the East were greeted with the expectations that they might be the long-awaited Christian heroes. In 1210, news reached the West of the battles of the Mongol Kuchlug

Kuchlug

Kuchlug was a member of the Naiman tribe of western Mongolia. He was defeated by Genghis Khan and fled westward to the Kara-Khitan Khanate, where he became an advisor. In 1210, he took control of the khanate...

, leader of the largely Christian tribe of the Naimans

Naimans

The Naimans, also Naiman Turks or Naiman Mongols, was a Mongolian name given to a group of people dwelling on the steppe of Central Asia, having diplomatic relations with the Kara-Khitan, and subservient to them until 1177...

. Kuchlug's forces had been battling the powerful Khwarezmian Empire

Khwarezmian Empire

The Khwarazmian dynasty or Khwarezmian dynasty, also known as Khwarezmids, dynasty of Khwarazm Shahs or Khwarezm-Shah dynasty was a Persianate Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic mamluk origin.They ruled Greater Iran in the High Middle Ages, in the period of about 1077 to 1231, first as vassals of...

, whose leader was Muhammad II of Khwarezm. Rumors circulated in Europe that Kuchlug was the mythical Prester John, and was again battling the Muslims in the East.

During the Fifth Crusade

Fifth Crusade

The Fifth Crusade was an attempt to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering the powerful Ayyubid state in Egypt....

, as the Christians were unsuccessfully laying siege to the Egyptian city of Damietta

Damietta

Damietta , also known as Damiata, or Domyat, is a port and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the intersection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile, about north of Cairo.-History:...

, the legends of Prester John again conflated with the reality of Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....

's rapidly expanding Empire. Mongol raiding parties were beginning to invade the eastern Islamic world, in Transoxania

Transoxiana

Transoxiana is the ancient name used for the portion of Central Asia corresponding approximately with modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kyrgystan and southwest Kazakhstan. Geographically, it is the region between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers...

and Persia in 1219–1221. Rumors circulated among the Crusaders that a "Christian king of the Indies", a King David who was either Prester John or one of his descendants, had been attacking Muslims in the East, and was on his way to help the Christians in their Crusades. In a letter dated June 20, 1221, Pope Honorius III

Pope Honorius III

Pope Honorius III , previously known as Cencio Savelli, was Pope from 1216 to 1227.-Early work:He was born in Rome as son of Aimerico...

even commented about "forces coming from the Far East to rescue the Holy Land".

Genghis Khan died in 1227, and his empire was split up by his descendants into four sections, or Khanate

Khanate

Khanate, or Chanat, is a Turco-Mongol-originated word used to describe a political entity ruled by a Khan. In modern Turkish, the word used is kağanlık, and in modern Azeri of the republic of Azerbaijan, xanlıq. In Mongolian the word khanlig is used, as in "Khereidiin Khanlig" meaning the Khanate...

s, which degenerated into civil war. The northwestern Kipchak

Kipchaks

Kipchaks were a Turkic tribal confederation...

Khanate, known as the Golden Horde

Golden Horde

The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...

, expanded towards Europe, primarily via Hungary and Poland, while simultaneously opposing the rule of their cousins back at the Mongol capital. The southwestern section, known as the Ilkhanate

Ilkhanate

The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Azerbaijan and Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire...

, was under the leadership of Genghis Khan's grandson Hulagu

Hulagu Khan

Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü, Hulegu , was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Southwest Asia...

. He continued to support his brother the Great Khan, and was therefore at war with the Golden Horde, while simultaneously continuing an advance towards Persia and the Holy Land.

Papal overtures (1245–1248)

The first official communications between Europe and the Mongol Empire occurred between Pope Innocent IV

Pope Innocent IV

Pope Innocent IV , born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was pope from June 25, 1243 until his death in 1254.-Early life:...

(fl.

Floruit

Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...

1243–1254) and the Great Khans, via letters and envoys which were sent overland and could take years to arrive. The communications initiated what was to be a regular pattern in Christian–Mongol communications: the Europeans would ask for the Mongols to convert to Christianity, but the Mongols would simply respond with demands for submission.

The Mongol invasion of Europe

Mongol invasion of Europe

The resumption of the Mongol invasion of Europe, during which the Mongols attacked medieval Rus' principalities and the powers of Poland and Hungary, was marked by the Mongol invasion of Rus starting in 21 December 1237...

subsided in 1242, in part because of the death of the Great Khan Ögedei

Ögedei Khan

Ögedei Khan, born Ögedei was the third son of Genghis Khan and second Great Khan of the Mongol Empire by succeeding his father...

, successor of Genghis Khan. When one Great Khan died, Mongols from all parts of the Empire were recalled to the capital, to decide who should be the next Great Khan. However, the Mongols' relentless march westward had displaced the Khawarizmi Turks

Khwarezm

Khwarezm, or Chorasmia, is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, which borders to the north the Aral Sea, to the east the Kyzylkum desert, to the south the Karakum desert and to the west the Ustyurt Plateau...

, who themselves moved west, eventually allying with the Ayyubid

Ayyubid dynasty

Muslims in Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

. Along the way, the Turks took Jerusalem from the Christians in 1244

Siege of Jerusalem (1244)

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor led the Sixth Crusade to the Holy Land in 1228, and claimed the kingship of Jerusalem by right of his wife, Queen Yolande of Jerusalem, who had inherited the title of 'Queen of Jerusalem' from her mother, Maria of Montferrat, the wife of John of Brienne.The size of...

, which prompted Christian kings to prepare for a new Crusade (the Seventh Crusade

Seventh Crusade

The Seventh Crusade was a crusade led by Louis IX of France from 1248 to 1254. Approximately 800,000 bezants were paid in ransom for King Louis who, along with thousands of his troops, was captured and defeated by the Egyptian army led by the Ayyubid Sultan Turanshah supported by the Bahariyya...

), declared by Pope Innocent IV at the First Council of Lyon

First Council of Lyon

The First Council of Lyon was the thirteenth ecumenical council, as numbered by the Catholic Church, taking place in 1245.The First General Council of Lyon was presided over by Pope Innocent IV...

in June 1245.

The loss of Jerusalem again caused some Europeans to look to the Mongols as potential allies of Christendom, if the Mongols could be converted to Western Christianity

Western Christianity

Western Christianity is a term used to include the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church and groups historically derivative thereof, including the churches of the Anglican and Protestant traditions, which share common attributes that can be traced back to their medieval heritage...

. In March 1245, Pope Innocent IV issued multiple Papal bull

Papal bull

A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....

s, some of which were sent with an envoy, the Franciscan

Franciscan

Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

John of Plano Carpini

Giovanni da Pian del Carpine

Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, or John of Plano Carpini or John of Pian de Carpine or Joannes de Plano was one of the first Europeans to enter the court of the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. He is the author of the earliest important Western account of northern and central Asia, Rus, and other...

, to the "Emperor of the Tartars". In Cum non solum
Cum non solum
Cum non solum was a letter written by Pope Innocent IV to the Mongols on March 13, 1245. In it, Pope Innocent appeals to the Mongols to desist from attacking Christians and other nations, and inquires as to the Mongols' future intentions...

, Pope Innocent asked the Mongol ruler to become a Christian and to stop killing Christians. He also expressed a desire for peace. However, the new Mongol Great Khan Guyuk

Güyük Khan

Güyük was the third Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. As the eldest son of Ögedei Khan and a grandson of Genghis Khan, he reigned from 1246 to 1248...

, installed at Karakorum

Karakorum

Karakorum was the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, and of the Northern Yuan in the 14-15th century. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Övörkhangai Province of Mongolia, near today's town of Kharkhorin, and adjacent to the Erdene Zuu monastery...

in 1246, replied only with a demand for the submission of the Pope, and a visit from the rulers of the West in homage to Mongol power:
A second mission sent in 1245 by Pope Innocent was led by the Dominican

Dominican Order

The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...

Ascelin of Lombardia. The mission met with the Mongol commander Baiju

Baiju

Baiju was a Mongol commander in Persia appointed by Ögedei Khan to succeed Chormagan, and expand Mongol power further in that area....

near the Caspian Sea

Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...

in 1247. Baiju, who had plans to capture Baghdad, welcomed the possibility of an alliance and sent a message back via his envoys Aïbeg and Serkis

Aïbeg and Serkis

Aïbeg and Serkis, also Aibeg and Sergis or Aïbäg and Särgis, were two ambassadors sent by the Mongol ruler Baichu to Pope Innocent IV in 1247–1248...

. They accompanied Innocent's embassy back to Rome, and stayed for about a year, meeting with Innocent in 1248. The Pope replied to the Mongols with his own letter Viam agnoscere veritatis
Viam agnoscere veritatis (1248)
Viam agnoscere veritatis is the name of a letter written by Pope Innocent IV to the Mongols. It was written on November 22, 1248, and was Pope Innocent's reply to a message from Mongol commander Baiju...

, in which he appealed to the Mongols to "cease their menaces".

Christian vassals

As the Mongols of the Ilkhanate continued to move towards the Holy Land, city after city fell to the Mongols. The typical Mongol pattern was to give a region one chance to surrender. If the target acquiesced, the Mongols absorbed the populace and warriors into their own Mongol army, which they would then use to further expand the empire. If a community did not surrender, the Mongols forcefully took the settlement or settlements and slaughtered everyone they found. Faced with the option of subjugation or facing the nearby Mongol horde, many communities chose the former, including some Christian realms.

Christian Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

was repeatedly attacked starting in 1220, and in 1243 Queen Rusudan

Rusudan of Georgia

Queen Rusudan , from the Bagrationi dynasty, ruled Georgia in 1223–1245.- Life :Daughter of Queen Tamar of Georgia by David Soslan, she succeeded her brother George IV of Georgia on January 18, 1223. George’s untimely death marked the beginning of the end of the Georgian “golden age”...

formally submitted to the Mongols, turning Georgia into a vassal state which then became a regular ally in the Mongol military conquests. Hethum I, King of Armenia submitted in 1247, and became the main conduit of diplomacy between the Mongols and the Europeans, as he strongly encouraged the European monarchs to follow his own example. He sent his brother Sempad

Sempad the Constable

Sempad the Constable was a noble in Cilician Armenia, an older brother of King Hetoum I. He was an important figure in Cilicia, acting as a diplomat, judge, and military officer, holding the title of Constable or Sparapet, supreme commander of the Armenian armed forces...

to the Mongol court in Karakorum, and Sempad's positive letters about the Mongols were influential in European circles. However, the only monarch who followed Hethum's advice was his son-in-law, Prince Bohemond VI of Antioch.

Antioch

The Principality of Antioch

Principality of Antioch

The Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade.-Foundation:...

was one of the earliest Crusader states

Crusader states

, having been formed in 1098 as a result of the First Crusade

First Crusade

The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...

. At the time of the Mongol advance, it was under the rule of Bohemond VI. Under the influence of his father-in-law, King Hethum I of Cilican Armenia, Bohemond too submitted Antioch to Hulagu in 1260. A Mongol representative and a Mongol garrison were stationed in the capital city of Antioch

Antioch

Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...

, where they remained until the Principality was destroyed by the Mamluks in 1268. Bohemond was also required by the Mongols to accept the restoration of a Greek Orthodox patriarch, Euthymius, as a way of strengthening ties between the Mongols and the Byzantines

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

. In return for this loyalty, Hulagu awarded Bohemond all the Antiochene territories which had been lost to the Muslims in 1243. But for his relations with the Mongols, Bohemond was also temporarily excommunicated by Jacques Pantaléon

Pope Urban IV

Pope Urban IV , born Jacques Pantaléon, was Pope, from 1261 to 1264. He was not a cardinal, and there have been several Popes since him who have not been Cardinals, including Urban V and Urban VI.-Biography:...

, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is the title possessed by the Latin Rite Catholic Archbishop of Jerusalem. The Archdiocese of Jerusalem has jurisdiction for all Latin Rite Catholics in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan and Cyprus...

, though this was lifted in 1263.

In 1262, the Mamluk leader Baibars

Baibars

Baibars or Baybars , nicknamed Abu l-Futuh , was a Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. He was one of the commanders of the forces which inflicted a devastating defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France and he led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, which marked...

threatened Antioch for its association with the Mongols. Baibars attempted an attack, but Antioch was saved by Mongol intervention. In later years however the Mongols were not able to offer as much support. In 1264–1265 the Mongols were only able to attack the frontier fort of al-Bira

Birecik

Birecik , also formerly known as Bir and during the Crusades as Bile, is a town and district of Şanlıurfa Province of Turkey, on the River Euphrates....

, and in 1268 Baibars completely overran the area, and the 170-year-old principality was no more. In 1271, Baibars sent a letter to Bohemond threatening him with total annihilation and taunting him for his alliance with the Mongols:
Bohemond was left with no estates except the County of Tripoli

County of Tripoli

The County of Tripoli was the last Crusader state founded in the Levant, located in what today are parts of western Syria and northern Lebanon, where exists the modern city of Tripoli. The Crusader state was captured and created by Christian forces in 1109, originally held by Bertrand of Toulouse...

, which was itself to fall to the Mamluks in 1289.

Saint Louis and the Mongols

Louis IX of France

Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...

had engaged in communications with the Mongols since his first Crusade, when he was met on December 20, 1248 in Cyprus

Cyprus

by two Mongol envoys, Nestorians from Mosul

Mosul

Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...

named David and Marc, who brought a letter from the Mongol commander in Persia, Eljigidei

Eljigidei

Eljigidei was a Mongol commander in Persia, fl. He supposedly commanded a strong contingent when Chingis Khan invaded Khwarizm in 1219–1223. Ogedei was close to Eljihidey. That's why Eljigidei was given command over the Mongol forces in Persia, by the new khan Güyük in 1246, replacing Baiju...

. The letter communicated a more conciliatory tone than previous Mongol demands for submission. Eljigidei's envoys suggested that King Louis should land in Egypt, while Eljigidei attacked Baghdad, as a way of preventing the Saracens of Egypt and those of Syria from joining forces. Louis responded by sending the emissary Andrew of Longjumeau

Andrew of Longjumeau

André de Longjumeau was a 13th century Dominican missionary and diplomat and one of the most active Occidental diplomats in the East in the 13th century. He led two embassies to the Mongols: the first carried letters from Pope Innocent IV and the second bore gifts and letters from Louis IX of...

to the Great Khan Güyük

Guyuk

Guyuk may refer to:*Guyuk, Nigeria, a town*Uğurtaş, a town in Turkey, formerly called Güyük*Güyük Khan , the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire...

. However, Güyük died, from drink, before the emissary arrived at his court. Güyük's widow Oghul Qaimish

Oghul Qaimish

Oghul Qaimish was the principal wife of Güyük Khan and ruled as regent over the Mongol empire after the death of her husband in 1248. She was a descendant from the Mergid tribe. However, H.H.Howorth believed that she was an Oirat.- Life :...

simply gave the emissary a gift and a condescending letter to take back to King Louis, instructing him to continue sending tributes each year.

Louis IX's Crusade against Egypt did not go well. Despite initial success in capturing Damietta

Siege of Damietta

The Siege of Damietta of 1218 was part of the Fifth Crusade. The city, under the control of the Ayyubid Al-Kamil, was besieged by and taken by the Crusaders in 1219....

, he then lost his entire army at the Battle of Al Mansurah

Battle of Al Mansurah

The Battle of Al Mansurah was fought from February 8 to February 11, 1250 between crusaders led by Louis IX, King of France, and Ayyubid forces led by Emir Fakhr-ad-Din Yussuf, Faris ad-Din Aktai and Baibars al-Bunduqdari.-Background:...

and he was himself captured by the Egyptians. His release was eventually negotiated, in return for a ransom (some of which was a loan from the Templars), and the surrender of the city of Damietta.

A few years later, in 1252, Louis tried unsuccessfully to ally with the Egyptians, and then in 1253 he tried to seek allies from among both the Ismailian Assassins

Hashshashin

The Assassins were an order of Nizari Ismailis, particularly those of Persia that existed from around 1092 to 1265...

and again from the Mongols. When he saw a letter from Hethum's brother, the Armenian noble Sempad

Sempad the Constable

, which spoke well of the Mongols, Louis dispatched the Franciscan William of Rubruck

William of Rubruck

William of Rubruck was a Flemish Franciscan missionary and explorer. His account is one of the masterpieces of medieval geographical literature comparable to that of Marco Polo....

to the Mongol court. However, the Mongol leader Möngke

Möngke Khan

Möngke Khan , born Möngke, , was the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from July 1, 1251 – August 11, 1259. He was the first Great Khan from the Toluid line, and made significant reforms to improve the administration of the Empire during his reign...

replied only with a letter via William in 1254, asking for the King's submission to Mongol authority.

King Louis attempted a second Crusade (the Eighth Crusade

Eighth Crusade

The Eighth Crusade was a crusade launched by Louis IX, King of France, in 1270. The Eighth Crusade is sometimes counted as the Seventh, if the Fifth and Sixth Crusades of Frederick II are counted as a single crusade...

) in 1270. The Mongol Ilkhanate leader Abaqa

Abaqa Khan

wrote to Louis IX offering military support as soon as the Crusaders landed in Palestine, but Louis instead went to Tunis

Tunis

Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....

in modern Tunisia

Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

. His intention was evidently to first conquer Tunis, and then to move his troops along the coast to reach Alexandria in Egypt. The French historians Alain Demurger

Alain Demurger

Alain Demurger is a modern French historian, and a leading specialist of the history of the Knights Templar and the Crusades.Alain Demurger is honorary maître de conférences at the Université de Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne...

and Jean Richard

Jean Richard

Jean Richards was a French actor.born: Bessines, Deux-Sèvres, Franciadied: Paris, Francia-Filmography:*1947 : Six heures à perdre, directed by Alex Joffé Jean Lévitte...

suggest that this Crusade may still have been an attempt at coordination with the Mongols, in that Louis may have attacked Tunis instead of Syria following a message from Abaqa that he would not be able to commit his forces in 1270, and asking to postpone the campaign to 1271.

Envoys from the Byzantine emperor, the Armenians and the Mongols of Abaqa were present at Tunis, but events put a stop to plans for a continued Crusade, as Louis died there of illness. According to legend, his last words were "Jerusalem".

Hulagu (1256–1265)

Hulagu

Hulagu Khan

Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü, Hulegu , was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Southwest Asia...

, a grandson of Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan

, was an avowed shamanist, but was nevertheless very tolerant of Christianity. His mother Sorghaghtani Beki

Sorghaghtani Beki

Sorghaghtani Beki or Bekhi , also written Sorkaktani, Sorkhokhtani, Sorkhogtani, Siyurkuktiti; , a Kereyid princess of the Nestorian Christian faith and daughter-in-law of Temüjin , was one of the most powerful and competent women in the Mongol Empire...

, his favorite wife Doquz Khatun

Doquz Khatun

Doquz Khatun was a Turkic Kerait princess of the 13th century, who was married to the Mongol ruler Hulagu. Their son Abaqa succeeded Hulagu upon his death.She was known to accompany Hulagu on campaigns...

, and several of his closest collaborators were Nestorian Christians. One of his most important generals, Kitbuqa

Kitbuqa

Kitbuqa Noyan was a Nestorian Christian and a member of the Naiman Turks, a group that was subservient to the Mongol Empire. He was a lieutenant and confidant of the Mongol Ilkhan Hulagu, assisting him in his conquests in the Middle East...

, was a Nestorian Christian of the Naiman tribe

Naimans

.

Military collaboration between the Mongols and their Christian vassals became substantial in 1258–1260. Hulagu's army, with the forces of his Christian subjects Bohemond VI of Antioch, Hethum I of Armenia, and the Christian Georgians

History of Georgia (country)

The nation of Georgia was first unified as a kingdom under the Bagrationi dynasty in the 9th to 10th century, arising from a number of predecessor states of ancient Colchis and Iberia...

, effectively destroyed two of the most powerful Muslim dynasties of the era: both that of the Abbasids in Baghdad, and the Ayyubids in Syria.

Fall of Baghdad (1258)

The Abbasid Caliphate, founded by one of the relatives of Muhammad in the 8th century, had ruled northeastern Africa, Arabia, and the Near East. Their seat of power for 500 years was Baghdad, a city considered to be the jewel of Islam and one of the largest and most powerful cities in the world. But under attack from the Mongols, the city fell on February 15, 1258, an event often considered as the single most catastrophic event in the history of Islam. The Christian Georgians had been the first to breach the walls, and as described by historian Steven Runciman

Steven Runciman

The Hon. Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman CH — known as Steven Runciman — was a British historian known for his work on the Middle Ages...

, "were particularly fiercest in their destruction". When Hulagu conquered the city, the Mongols demolished buildings, burned entire neighborhoods, and massacred nearly 80,000 men, women, and children. But at the intervention of Hulagu's Nestorian Christian wife Doquz Khatun, the Christian inhabitants were spared.

For Asiatic Christians, the fall of Baghdad was cause for celebration. Hulagu and his Christian queen Doquz came to be considered as God's agents against the enemies of Christianity. The Mongol royal couple was described as "another Constantine

Constantine I

Constantine the Great , also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all...

, another Helen" for the Armenian Church

Armenian Apostolic Church

The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...

, by the Armenian historian Kyrakos of Ganja. The couple was even represented as Constantine and Helena in a painting. Bar Hebraeus, a bishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church

Syriac Orthodox Church

The Syriac Orthodox Church; is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to derive its origin from one of the first Christian communities, established in Antioch by the Apostle St....

, also referred to them as a Constantine and Helena, and wrote of Hulagu that nothing could compare to the "king of kings" in "wisdom, high-mindedness, and splendid deeds".

Invasion of Syria (1260)

After Baghdad, in 1260 the Mongols with their Christian subjects conquered Muslim Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

, domain of the Ayyubid dynasty

Ayyubid dynasty

. They took together the city of Aleppo

Aleppo

Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...

in January, and in March, the Mongols with the Armenians and the Franks of Antioch took Damascus

Damascus

Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...

, under the Christian Mongol general Kitbuqa

Kitbuqa

.

With both the Abbasid and Ayyubid dynasties destroyed, the Near East, as described by historian Steven Runciman, "was never again to dominate civilization." The last Ayyubid king An-Nasir Yusuf

An-Nasir Yusuf

An-Nasir Yusuf An-Nasir Yusuf (Arabic: الناصر يوسف ) An-Nasir Yusuf (Arabic: الناصر يوسف ) (Royal Name: al-Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf (Arabic: الملك الناصر صلاح الدين يوسف )(1228–1260 ) was the Ayyubid ruler of most of Syria, including Aleppo (1236–1260) and Damascus (1250–1260)...

died shortly thereafter, and with the Islamic power centers of Baghdad and Damascus gone, the center of Islamic power transferred to the Egyptian Mamluks in Cairo.

However, before the Mongols could continue their advance towards Egypt, they needed to withdraw because of other internal matters in the Mongol Empire. Hulagu departed with the bulk of his forces, leaving a small force under Kitbuqa to occupy the conquered territory. Mongol raiding parties were sent southwards into Palestine towards Egypt, with small Mongol garrisons of about 1,000 established in Gaza.

Incidents

With Mongol territory now bordering the Franks, a few incidents occurred, one of them leading to an incident in Sidon

Sidon

Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...

. Julian de Grenier, Lord of Sidon

Lordship of Sidon

The Lordship of Sidon was one of the four major fiefdoms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, one of the Crusader States. However, in reality, it appears to have been much smaller than the others and had the same level of significance as several neighbors, such as Toron and Beirut, which were...

and Beaufort

Beaufort Castle, Lebanon

Beaufort or Belfort The castle was named "bel fort" or "beau fort" by the Crusaders who occupied the castle in the twelfth century. Its Arabic name Qala'at ash-Shqif means Castle of the High Rock...

, described by his contemporaries as irresponsible and light-headed, took the opportunity to raid and plunder the area of the Beqaa Valley

Beqaa Valley

The Beqaa Valley is a fertile valley in east Lebanon. For the Romans, the Beqaa Valley was a major agricultural source, and today it remains Lebanon’s most important farming region...

in Mongol territory. When the Mongol general Kitbuqa sent his nephew with a small force to obtain redress, they were ambushed and killed by Julian. Kitbuqa responded forcefully by raiding the city of Sidon. These events generated a significant level of distrust between the Mongols and the Crusader forces, whose own center of power was now in the coastal city of Acre.

The incidents raised the ire of the Mamluk leader Baibars

Baibars

, who declared that the treaty that had been signed between the Crusaders and the Mamluks in 1240 had been invalidated when Christian forces assisted the Mongols to capture Damascus. Baibars demanded the evacuation of Saphet and Beaufort, and when the Christians balked, Baibars used that as his excuse to violate the pre-existing truce, and start launching new attacks on such settlements as Nazareth

Nazareth

Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...

, Mount Tabor

Mount Tabor

-Places:*Mount Tabor, a hill in Israel near Nazareth believed by many to be the site of the Transfiguration of ChristIn the United States:*Mount Tabor, Indiana, an unincorporated community...

, and Bethlehem

Bethlehem

Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...

Battle of Ain Jalut

The Franks of Antioch aside, other Christians worked against the Mongols. Jacques Pantaléon, the Patriarch of Jerusalem

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

, saw the Mongols as a clear threat, and had written to the Pope to warn him about them in 1256. The Franks did, however, send the Dominican David of Ashby

David of Ashby

David of Ashby was an English-born Dominican friar who was sent by the Holy Land city of Acre to the Mongol ruler Hulagu in 1260, by the Papal legate Thomas Agni de Lentino. He stayed around 15 years among the Mongols, and only returned from Iran in 1274.David of Ashby was a member of the Mongol...

to the court of Hulagu in 1260.

That same year, the Franks of Acre

Acre, Israel

Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....

maintained a position of cautious neutrality between the Mongols and the Mamluks. Though traditional enemies of the Mamluks, the Franks acknowledged that the Mongols were a greater threat, and therefore entered into a passive truce with the Egyptians. The Barons of Acre allowed the Mamluk forces to move northward through Christian territory unhampered to engage the Mongols, in exchange for an agreement to purchase captured Mongol horses at a low price.

The truce allowed the Mamluks to proceed north with their army, camp and re-supply near Acre, and engage the Mongols at the pivotal Battle of Ain Jalut

Battle of Ain Jalut

The Battle of Ain Jalut took place on 3 September 1260 between Mamluks and the Mongols in eastern Galilee, in the Jezreel Valley, not far from Ein Harod....

on September 3, 1260. The Mongol forces were already depleted, as the bulk of the Mongol army had returned with Hulagu to the Mongol capital to engage in discussions about who should be the next Great Khan. Hulagu had left a smaller force to continue the Mongol advance and occupy Syria and Palestine, under his general Kitbuqa

Kitbuqa

. With the passive assistance of the Franks, the Mamluks were able to engage Kitbuqa's force at Ain Jalut, and achieve a decisive and historic victory over the Mongols. It was the first major battle that the Mongols lost, and set the western border for what had seemed an unstoppable expansion of the Mongol Empire.

Following Ain Jalut, the remainder of the Mongol army retreated to Cilician Armenia under the commander Ilka, where the Mongols were received and re-equipped by Hethum I.

Papal communications

In the 1260s, a change occurred in the European perception of the Mongols, and they became regarded less as enemies, and more as potential allies in the fight against the Muslims.

As recently as 1259, Pope Alexander IV

Pope Alexander IV

Pope Alexander IV was Pope from 1254 until his death.Born as Rinaldo di Jenne, in Jenne , he was, on his mother's side, a member of the de' Conti di Segni family, the counts of Segni, like Pope Innocent III and Pope Gregory IX...

had been encouraging a new Crusade against the Mongols, and had been extremely disappointed in hearing that the monarchs of Antioch and Cilician Armenia had submitted to Mongol overlordship. Alexander had put the monarchs' cases on the agenda of his upcoming council, but died in 1261 just months before the Council could be convened, and before the new Crusade could be launched. For a new Pope, the choice fell to Pantaléon, the same Patriarch of Jerusalem who had earlier been warning of the Mongol threat. He took the name Pope Urban IV

Pope Urban IV

, and tried to raise money for a new crusade.

On April 10, 1262, the Mongol leader Hulagu sent through John the Hungarian a new letter to the French king Louis IX

Louis IX of France

, again offering an alliance. The letter explained that previously, the Mongols had been under the impression that the Pope was the leader of the Christians, but now they realized that the true power rested with the French monarchy. The letter mentioned Hulagu's intention to capture Jerusalem for the benefit of the Pope, and asked for Louis to send a fleet against Egypt. Hulagu promised the restoration of Jerusalem to the Christians, but also still insisted on Mongol sovereignty, in the Mongols' quest for conquering the world. It is unclear whether or not King Louis actually received the letter, but at some point it was transmitted to Pope Urban, who answered in a similar way as his predecessors. In his papal bull

Papal bull

A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....

Exultavit cor nostrum
Exultavit cor nostrum
Exultavit cor nostrum is a letter, also known as a Papal bull, from Pope Urban IV to the Mongol Ilkhanate leader Hulagu in 1263/1264.The letter was evidently in response to a message brought to Urban by John the Hungarian, who claimed to be the Mongol envoy...

, Urban congratulated Hulagu on his expression of goodwill towards the Christian faith, and encouraged him to convert to Christianity.

Historians dispute the exact meaning of Urban's actions. The mainstream view, such as that espoused by British historian Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson (historian)

Peter Jackson is a scholar and historian, specializing on the Crusades, particularly the contacts between the Europeans and the Mongols as well as medieval Muslim India...

, states that Urban still regarded the Mongols as enemies at this time, though the perception began changing a few years later, during the pontificate of Pope Clement IV

Pope Clement IV

Pope Clement IV , born Gui Faucoi called in later life le Gros , was elected Pope February 5, 1265, in a conclave held at Perugia that took four months, while cardinals argued over whether to call in Charles of Anjou, the youngest brother of Louis IX of France...

, when the Mongols were seen more as potential allies. However, the French historian Jean Richard

Jean Richard (historian)

Jean Richard is a leading French historian, who specializes in medieval history. He is an authority on the Crusades, and his work on the Latin missions in Asia has been qualified as "unsurpassed". Richard is a member of the Institut de France...

argues that Urban's act signaled a turning point in Mongol-European relations as early as 1263, after which the Mongols were considered as actual allies. Richard also argues that it was in response to this forming coalition between the Franks, Ilkhanid

Ilkhanate

The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Azerbaijan and Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire...

Mongols and Byzantines

Byzantine Empire

, that the Mongols of the Golden Horde

Golden Horde

The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...

allied with the Muslim Mamluks in return. However, the mainstream view of historians is that though there were many attempts at forming an alliance, the attempts proved unsuccessful.

Abaqa (1265–1282)

Hulagu died in 1265, and was succeeded by Abaqa

Abaqa Khan

(1234–1282), who further pursued Western cooperation. Though a Buddhist

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

, upon his succession he received the hand of Maria Palaiologina, an Orthodox Christian and the illegitimate daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos

Michael VIII Palaiologos

Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine Emperor 1259–1282. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453...

, in marriage.

Abaqa corresponded with Pope Clement IV

Pope Clement IV

through 1267 and 1268, sending envoys to both Clement and King James I of Aragon

James I of Aragon

James I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...

. In a 1268 message to Clement, Abaqa promised to send troops to aid the Christians. It is unclear if this was what led to James's unsuccessful expedition to Acre in 1269. James initiated a small crusade, but a storm descended on his fleet as they attempted their crossing, forcing most of the ships to turn back. The crusade was ultimately handled by James's two sons Fernando Sanchez and Pedro Fernandez, who arrived in Acre in December 1269. Abaqa, despite his earlier promises of assistance, was in the process of facing another threat, an invasion in Khorasan

Greater Khorasan

Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...

by Mongols from Turkestan

Turkestan

Turkestan, spelled also as Turkistan, literally means "Land of the Turks".The term Turkestan is of Persian origin and has never been in use to denote a single nation. It was first used by Persian geographers to describe the place of Turkish peoples...

, and so could only commit a small force for the Holy Land, which did little but brandish the threat of an invasion along the Syrian frontier in October 1269. He raided as far as Harim

Harem, Syria

Harem is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Idlib Governorate. Harem has an altitude of 160 meters. It has a population of 21,934. Harem is situated exactly on the border of Turkey...

and Afamiyaa

Apamea (Syria)

Apamea was a treasure city and stud-depot of the Seleucid kings, was capital of Apamene, on the right bank of the Orontes River. . Its site is found about to the northwest of Hama, Syria, overlooking the Ghab valley...

in October, but retreated as soon as Baibars' forces advanced.

Edward I's Crusade (1269–1274)

In 1269, the English Prince Edward (the future Edward I

Edward I of England

Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...

), inspired by tales of his great-uncle, Richard the Lionheart

Richard I of England

Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...

, and the second Crusade of the French King Louis, started on a Crusade of his own, the Ninth Crusade

Ninth Crusade

The Ninth Crusade, which is sometimes grouped with the Eighth Crusade, is commonly considered to be the last major medieval Crusade to the Holy Land. It took place in 1271–1272....

. The number of knights and retainers that accompanied Edward on the crusade was quite small, possibly around 230 knights, with a total complement of approximately 1,000 people, transported in a flotilla of 13 ships. Edward understood the value of an alliance with the Mongols, and upon his arrival in Acre on May 9, 1271, he immediately sent an embassy to the Mongol ruler Abaqa, requesting assistance. Abaqa answered positively to Edward's request, asking him to coordinate his activities with his general Samagar

Samagar

Samagar, also Cemakar, was a Mongol general of the Il-Khan ruler Abaqa Khan , mentioned as leading a Mongol invasion force in 1271, in attempted coordination with the Ninth Crusade.-Background:...

, whom he sent on an offensive against the Mamluks with 10,000 Mongols to join Edward's army. But Edward was able only to engage in some fairly ineffectual raids that did not actually achieve success in gaining new territory. For example, when he engaged in a raid into the Plain of Sharon, he proved unable to even take the small Mamluk fortress of Qaqun

Qaqun

Qaqun was a Palestinian Arab village located northwest of the city of Tulkarm at the only entrance to Mount Nablus from the coastal Sharon plain....

. However, Edward's military operations, limited though they were, were still of assistance in persuading the Mamluk leader Baibars to agree to a 10-year truce between the city of Acre and the Mamluks, signed in 1272. Edward's efforts were described by historian Reuven Amitai as "the nearest thing to real Mongol-Frankish military coordination that was ever to be achieved, by Edward or any other Frankish leader."

Council of Lyon (1274)

In 1274, Pope Gregory X

Pope Gregory X

Pope Blessed Gregory X , born Tebaldo Visconti, was Pope from 1271 to 1276. He was elected by the papal election, 1268–1271, the longest papal election in the history of the Roman Catholic Church....

convened the Second Council of Lyon

Second Council of Lyon

The Second Council of Lyon was the fourteenth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, convoked on 31 March 1272 and convened in Lyon, France, in 1274. Pope Gregory X presided over the council, called to act on a pledge by Byzantine emperor Michael VIII to reunite the Eastern church with the West...

. Abaqa sent a delegation of 13 to 16 Mongols to the Council, which created a great stir, particularly when three of their members underwent a public baptism

Baptism

In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...

. Abaqa's Latin secretary Rychaldus

Rychaldus

Rychaldus, Richaldus or Richardus was a clerk and translator for the Mongol Ilkhanate rulers Hulagu Khan, and then Hulagu's son Abaqa Khan...

delivered a report to the Council which outlined previous European-Ilkhanid relations under Abaqa's father, Hulagu

Hulagu Khan

Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü, Hulegu , was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Southwest Asia...

, affirming that after Hulagu had welcomed Christian ambassadors to his court, he had agreed to exempt Latin Christians from taxes and charges, in exchange for their prayers for the Khan. According to Rychaldus, Hulagu had also prohibited the molestation of Frank establishments, and had committed to return Jerusalem to the Franks. Rychaldus assured the assembly that even after Hulagu's death, his son Abaqa was still determined to drive the Mamluks from Syria.

At the Council, Pope Gregory promulgated a new Crusade, in liaison with the Mongols. The Pope put in place a vast program to launch the Crusade, which was written down in his "Constitutions for the zeal of the faith". The text put forward four main decisions to accomplish the Crusade: the imposition of a new tax during three years, the interdiction of trade with the Sarazins, the supply of ships by the Italian maritime Republics, and the alliance of the West with both Byzantium

Byzantium under the Palaiologoi

The Byzantine Empire or Byzantium, the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages, was ruled by the Palaiologoi dynasty in the period c...

and the Mongol Il-Khan Abaqa.

Following these exchanges, Abaqa sent another embassy, led by the Georgian Vassali brothers, to further notify Western leaders of military preparations. Gregory answered that his legate

Papal legate

A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....

s would accompany the Crusade, and that they would be in charge of coordinating military operations with the Il-Khan.

However, the papal plans were not supported by the other European monarchs, who had lost enthusiasm for the Crusades. Only one western monarch attended the Council, the elderly James I of Aragon

James I of Aragon

James I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...

, who could only offer a small force. There was fundraising for a new Crusade, and plans were made but never followed through. The projects essentially came to a halt with the death of Pope Gregory on January 10, 1276, and the money which had been raised to finance the expedition was instead distributed in Italy.

Invasion of Syria (1280–1281)

Without support from the Europeans, some Franks of Syria, particularly the Knights Hospitaller

Knights Hospitaller

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...

of the fortress of Marqab

Margat

Margat, also known as Marqab from the Arabic Qalaat al-Marqab is a castle near Baniyas, Syria, which was a Crusader fortress and one of the major strongholds of the Knights Hospitaller...

, and to some extent the Franks of Cyprus and Antioch, attempted to join in combined operations with the Mongols in 1280–1281.

Following the death of Baibars in 1277, and the ensuing disorganization of the Muslim realm, conditions were ripe for a new action in the Holy Land. The Mongols seized the opportunity and organized a new invasion of Syria. In September 1280, the Mongols occupied Bagras

Bagras

Bagras or Baghras is the name of a town and nearby castle in İskenderun district of present-day Turkey, in the Amanus Mountains.The castle, properly known as Gastun provided a base for a force to cover the Syrian Gates, the passes between İskenderun and Antioch...

and Darbsak, and took Aleppo on October 20. Abaqa sent envoys to Edward I of England, the Franks of Acre, King Hugh of Cyprus, and Bohemond VII of Tripoli (son of Bohemond VI), requesting their support for the campaign. But the Patriarch's Vicar indicated that the city of Acre was suffering from hunger, and that the king of Jerusalem was already embroiled in another war.

Local Knights Hospitaller from Marqab (in the area which had previously been Antioch/Tripoli) were able to make raids into the Buqaia

Beqaa Valley

The Beqaa Valley is a fertile valley in east Lebanon. For the Romans, the Beqaa Valley was a major agricultural source, and today it remains Lebanon’s most important farming region...

, as far as the Mamluk-held Krak des Chevaliers

Krak des Chevaliers

Krak des Chevaliers , also Crac des Chevaliers, is a Crusader castle in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval castles in the world. The site was first inhabited in the 11th century by a settlement of Kurds; as a result it was known as Hisn al Akrad, meaning the "Castle of the...

in 1280 and 1281. Hugh and Bohemond mobilized their armies, but the main forces of the Franks and the Mongols were prevented from joining by the new Egyptian Sultan Qalawun

Qalawun

Saif ad-Dīn Qalawun aṣ-Ṣāliḥī was the seventh Mamluk sultan of Egypt...

, who advanced north from Egypt in March 1281, and positioned his own army between them.

Qalawun further divided the potential allies by renewing a truce with the Barons of Acre on May 3, 1281, extending it for another ten years and ten months (a truce he would later breach). He also renewed a second 10-year truce with Bohemond VII of Tripoli on July 16, 1281, and affirmed pilgrim access to Jerusalem.

In September 1281 the Mongols returned, with 50,000 of their own troops, plus 30,000 others including Armenians under Leo III, Georgians, and 200 Knights Hospitaller from Marqab, who sent a contingent even though the Franks of Acre had agreed a truce with the Mamluks. The Mongols and their auxiliary troops fought against the Mamluks at the Second Battle of Hims on 30 October 1281, but the encounter was indecisive, with the Sultan suffering heavy losses. In retaliation, Qalawun later besieged and captured the Hospitaller fortress of Marqab in 1285.

Arghun (1284–1291)

Abaqa died in 1282 and was briefly replaced by his brother Tekuder

Tekuder

Ahmed Tekuder , also known as Sultan Ahmad , was the sultan of the Persia-based Ilkhanate, son of Hulegu and brother of Abaqa. He was eventually succeeded by Arghun Khan...

, a converted Muslim. Tekuder reversed Abaqa's policy of seeking an alliance with the Christian Europeans, offering instead an alliance to the Mamluk Sultan Qalawun, who continued his own advance, capturing the Hospitaller fortress of Margat

Margat

Margat, also known as Marqab from the Arabic Qalaat al-Marqab is a castle near Baniyas, Syria, which was a Crusader fortress and one of the major strongholds of the Knights Hospitaller...

in 1285, Lattakia in 1287, and the County of Tripoli

County of Tripoli

in 1289.

However, Tekuder's pro-Muslim stance was not popular, and in 1284, Abaqa's Buddhist son Arghun

Arghun

Arghun Khan aka Argon was the fourth ruler of the Mongol empire's Ilkhanate, from 1284 to 1291. He was the son of Abaqa Khan, and like his father, was a devout Buddhist...

, with the support of the Great Khan Kublai, led a revolt and had Tekuder executed. Arghun then revived the idea of an alliance with the West, and sent multiple envoys to Europe.

The first of Arghun's embassies was led by Isa Kelemechi

Isa Kelemechi

Isa Tarsah Kelemechi was a Syrian Nestorian Christian scientist, and official at the Yuan court of Kublai Khan's Mongol Empire in the 13th century.-Astrologer in China:...

, a Nestorian Syrian scientist who had been head of Kublai Khan's astrological observatory in China. Kelemechi met with Pope Honorius IV

Pope Honorius IV

Pope Honorius IV , born Giacomo Savelli, was Pope for two years from 1285 to 1287. During his unremarkable pontificate he largely continued to pursue the pro-French policy of his predecessor, Pope Martin IV...

in 1285, offering to "remove" the Saracens (Muslims) and divide "the land of Sham, namely Egypt" with the Franks. The second embassy, and probably the most famous, was that of the elderly cleric Rabban Bar Sauma

Rabban Bar Sauma

Rabban Bar Sauma , also known as Rabban Ṣawma or Rabban Çauma, , was a Turkic/Mongol monk turned diplomat of the Nestorian Christian faith. He is known for embarking on a pilgrimage from Mongol-controlled China to Jerusalem with one of his students, Rabban Markos...

, who had been visiting the Ilkhanate during a remarkable pilgrimage from China to Jerusalem.

Through Bar Sauma and other later envoys, such as Buscarello de Ghizolfi

Buscarello de Ghizolfi

Buscarello de Ghizolfi, or Buscarel of Gisolfe was a European who settled in Persia in the 13th century while it was part of the Mongol Ilkhanate. He was a Mongol ambassador to Europe from 1289 to 1305, serving the Mongol rulers Arghun, Ghazan and then Oljeitu...

, Arghun promised the European leaders that if Jerusalem were conquered, he would have himself baptised and would return Jerusalem to the Christians. Bar Sauma was greeted warmly by the European monarchs; however, Western Europe was no longer as interested in the Crusades, and the mission to form an alliance was ultimately fruitless. England did respond by sending a representative, Geoffrey of Langley

Geoffrey of Langley

Geoffrey of Langley was an English knight and ambassador of the 13th century. He participated to the crusade of Edward I of England in the Holy Land in 1270-71....

, who had been a member of Edward I's Crusade 20 years earlier, and was sent to the Mongol court as an ambassador in 1291.

Genoese shipmakers

Another link between Europe and the Mongols was attempted in 1290, when the Genoese

Republic of Genoa

The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....

endeavored to assist the Mongols with naval operations. The plan was to construct and man two galleys to attack Mamluk ships in the Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

, and operate a blockade of Egypt's trade with India. As the Genoese were traditional supporters of the Mamluks, this was a major shift in policy, apparently motivated by the attack of the Egyptian Sultan Qalawun on the Cilician Armenians in 1285.

To build and man the fleet, a squadron of 800 Genoese carpenters, sailors, and crossbowmen went to Baghdad, working on the Tigris

Tigris

The Tigris River is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.-Geography:...

. However, due to a feud between the Guelfs and Ghibellines, the Genoese soon degenerated into internal bickering, and killed each other in Basra

Basra

Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...

, putting an end to the project. Genoa finally cancelled the agreement and signed a new treaty with the Mamluks instead.

All these attempts to mount a combined offensive between the Franks and Mongols were too little and too late. On March 1291, the city of Acre

Acre, Israel

Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....

was conquered by the Egyptian Mamluks in the Siege of Acre

Siege of Acre (1291)

. When Pope Nicholas IV

Pope Nicholas IV

Pope Nicholas IV , born Girolamo Masci, was Pope from February 22, 1288 to April 4, 1292. A Franciscan friar, he had been legate to the Greeks under Pope Gregory X in 1272, succeeded Bonaventure as Minister General of his religious order in 1274, was made Cardinal Priest of Santa Prassede and...

learned of this, he wrote to Arghun, again asking him to be baptized and to fight against the Mamluks. But Arghun had died on March 10, 1291, and Pope Nicholas IV died as well in March 1292, putting an end to their efforts towards combined action.

Ghazan (1295–1304)

After Arghun's death, he was followed in rapid succession by two brief and fairly ineffective leaders, one of whom only held power for a few months. Stability was restored when Arghun's son Ghazan took power in 1295, though to secure cooperation from other influential Mongols, he made a public conversion to Islam when he took the throne, marking a major turning point in the state religion of the Ilkhanate. Despite being an official Muslim though, Ghazan remained tolerant of multiple religions, and worked to maintain good relations with his Christian vassal states such as Cilician Armenia and Georgia.

In 1299, he made the first of what were to be three attempts to invade Syria. As he launched his new invasion, he also sent letters to the Franks of Cyprus (the King of Cyprus, and the heads of the military orders), inviting them to come join him in his attack on the Mamluks in Syria.

The Mongols successfully took the city of Aleppo, and were there joined by their vassal King Hethum II, whose forces participated in the rest of the offensive. The Mongols soundly defeated the Mamluks in the Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar

Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar

The Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar, also known as the Third Battle of Homs, was a Mongol victory over the Mamluks in 1299.-Background:In 1260, Hulagu Khan had invaded the Middle East all the way to Palestine. Before he could follow up with an invasion of Egypt, he was called back to Mongolia. He left...

, on December 23 or 24, 1299. This success in Syria led to wild rumors in Europe that the Mongols had successfully re-captured the Holy Land, and had even conquered the Mamluks in Egypt and were on a mission to conquer Tunisia

Tunisia

in northern Africa. But in reality, Jerusalem had been neither taken nor even besieged. All that had been managed were some Mongol raids into Palestine

Mongol raids into Palestine

Mongol raids into Palestine took place towards the end of the Crusades, as a follow-up to the temporarily successful Mongol invasions of Syria, primarily in 1260 and 1300...

in early 1300. The raids went as far as Gaza, passing through several towns, probably including Jerusalem. But when the Egyptians again advanced from Cairo in May, the Mongols retreated without resistance.

In July 1300, the Crusaders launched naval operations to press the advantage. A fleet of sixteen galleys with some smaller vessels was equipped in Cyprus, commanded by King Henry of Cyprus and Jerusalem, accompanied by his brother Amalric, Lord of Tyre, the heads of the military orders, and Ghazan's ambassador "Chial" (Isol the Pisan

Isol the Pisan

Isol the Pisan, also known as Ciolo Bofeti di Anastasio or Zolus Bofeti de Anestasio , was an Italian merchant, diplomat, and military leader. For some time he resided at the court of the Mongol Ilkhan, Ghazan, in Persia, rising to become his ambassador or liaison to the Kingdom of Cyprus...

). The ships left Famagusta

Famagusta

Famagusta is a city on the east coast of Cyprus and is capital of the Famagusta District. It is located east of Nicosia, and possesses the deepest harbour of the island.-Name:...

on July 20, 1300, to raid the coasts of Egypt and Syria: Rosette, Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

, Acre

Acre, Israel

Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....

, Tortosa

Tortosa

-External links:* *** * * *...

, and Maraclea

Maraclea

Maraclea, also known as Khrab Marqiya or Maraqîya, was a small coastal Crusader town and a castle in the Levant, between Tortosa and Baniyas . During the middle of the 13th century, the possession of the castle was a matter of dispute between the Principality of Antioch and the Hospitallers. In...

, before returning to Cyprus.

Ruad expedition

After the naval raids, the Cypriots attempted a major operation to re-take the former Templar stronghold of Tortosa

Tortosa

-External links:* *** * * *...

.

The Cypriots prepared the largest force they could muster at the time, approximately 600 men: 300 under Amalric of Lusigan

Amalric, Prince of Tyre

Amalric de Lusignan or Amaury II de Lusignan, Prince of Tyre , of the Lusignan family, was a son of Hugh III of Cyprus and Isabella of Ibelin.-Biography:...

, son of Hugh III of Cyprus

Hugh III of Cyprus

Hugh III of Cyprus , born Hughues de Poitiers, later Hughues de Lusignan , called the Great, was the King of Cyprus from 1267 and King of Jerusalem from 1268 . He was the son of Henry of Antioch and Isabella of Cyprus, the daughter of Hugh I...

, and similar contingents from the Templars and Hospitallers. In November 1300 they attempted to occupy Tortosa on the mainland, but were unable to gain control of the city. The Mongols were delayed, and the Cypriots moved offshore to the nearby island of Ruad

Arwad

to establish a base.

The Mongols continued to be delayed, and the bulk of the Crusader forces returned to Cyprus, leaving only a garrison on Ruad. In February 1301, Ghazan's Mongols finally made a new advance into Syria. The force was commanded by the Mongol general Kutlushka, who was joined by Armenian troops, and Guy of Ibelin

Guy of Ibelin (1276-1304)

Guy of Ibelin , of the Ibelin family, was Count of Jaffa and Ascalon during the latter part of the Crusades. He was the son of John of Ibelin and Maria of Barbaron. He was Count in name only...

and John, lord of Giblet

Jean II de Giblet

Jean II de Giblet was a Christian prince of the House of Giblet, an area of the Holy Land, in the 13th-14th century. His family used to be located in the fief of Cerep in Antioch, before the area was taken by the Mamluks...

. But despite a force of 60,000, Kutluskha could do little else than engage in some raids around Syria, and then retreated.

Plans for combined operations between the Europeans and the Mongols were again made for the following winter offensives, in 1301 and 1302. But in mid-1301 the island of Ruad was attacked by the Egyptian Mamluks. After a lengthy siege, the island surrendered in 1302 or 1303

Fall of Ruad

. The Mamluks slaughtered many of the inhabitants, and captured the surviving Templars to send them to prison in Cairo.

In late 1301, Ghazan sent letters to the Pope asking him to send troops, priests, and peasants, to make the Holy Land a Frank state again.

In 1303, Ghazan sent another letter to Edward I, via Buscarello de Ghizolfi

Buscarello de Ghizolfi

, who had also been an ambassador for Arghun. The letter reiterated their ancestor Hulagu's promise that the Ilkhans would give Jerusalem to the Franks in exchange for help against the Mamluks. That year, the Mongols again attempted to invade Syria, appearing in great strength (about 80,000) together with the Armenians. But they were again defeated at Homs on March 30, 1303, and at the decisive Battle of Shaqhab, south of Damascus, on April 21, 1303. It is considered to be the last major Mongol invasion of Syria.

Ghazan died on May 10, 1304, and Frankish dreams of a rapid reconquest of the Holy Land were destroyed.

Oljeitu (1304–1316)

Oljeitu, also named Mohammad Khodabandeh, was great-grandson of Ilkhanate founder Hulagu

Hulagu Khan

Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü, Hulegu , was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Southwest Asia...

, and brother and successor of Ghazan. In his youth he at first converted to Buddhism, and then later to Sunni Islam with his brother Ghazan, and changed his first name to the Islamic Muhammad.

In April 1305, Oljeitu sent letters to Philip IV of France

Philip IV of France

Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...

, Pope Clement V

Pope Clement V

Pope Clement V, born Raymond Bertrand de Got was Pope from 1305 to his death...

, and Edward I of England

Edward I of England

. As had his predecessors, Oljeitu offered a military collaboration between the Mongols and the Christian nations of Europe, against the Mamluks.

European nations prepared a crusade, but were delayed. In the meantime Oljeitu launched a last campaign against the Mamluks (1312–13), in which he was unsuccessful. A final settlement with the Mamluks would only be found when Oljeitu's son Abu Sa'id

Abu Sa'id (Ilkhanid dynasty)

Abu Sa'id also Abusaid Bahador Khan, Abu Sayed Behauder , was the ninth ruler of the Ilkhanate state in Iran ....

signed the Treaty of Aleppo in 1322.

Last contacts

In the 14th century, diplomatic contact continued between the Europeans and the Mongols, until the Ilkhanate dissolved in the 1330s, and the ravages of the Black Death

Black Death

The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...

in Europe caused contact with the East to be severed.

A few marital alliances between the Mongols and Christian rulers continued between the Christians and the Mongols of the Golden Horde

Golden Horde

The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...

, as when the Byzantine

Byzantine

Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...

emperor Andronicus II gave daughters in marriage to the Golden Horde ruler Toqto'a

Toqta

Tokhta was a khan of the Golden Horde, son of Mengu-Timur and great grandson of Batu Khan.His name "Tokhtokh" means "hold/holding" in the Mongolian language....

, as well as his successor Uzbek

Uzbeg Khan

Sultan Mohammed Öz-Beg, better known as Uzbeg or Ozbeg , was the longest-reigning khan of the Golden Horde, under whose rule the state reached its zenith...

(1312–1341).

After Abu Sa'id, relations between Christian princes and the Mongols became very sparse. Abu Sa'id died in 1335 with neither heir nor successor, and the Mongol state lost its status after his death, becoming a plethora of little kingdoms run by Mongols, Turks, and Persians.

In 1336, an embassy to the French Pope Benedict XII

Pope Benedict XII

Pope Benedict XII , born Jacques Fournier, the third of the Avignon Popes, was Pope from 1334 to 1342.-Early life:...

in Avignon was sent by Toghun Temür, the last Yuan

Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...

emperor in Dadu. The embassy was led by two Genoese travelers in the service of the Mongol emperor, who carried letters representing that the Mongols had been eight years (since Archbishop John of Monte Corvino's death) without a spiritual guide, and earnestly desired one. Pope Benedict appointed four ecclesiastics as his legates to the khan's court. In 1338, a total of 50 ecclesiastics were sent by the Pope to Peking, among them John of Marignolli, who returned to Avignon in 1353 with a letter from the Yuan emperor to Pope Innocent VI

Pope Innocent VI

Pope Innocent VI , born Étienne Aubert; his father was Adhemar Aubert seigneur de Montel-De-Gelas in Limousin province. His niece was Catherine Aubert, Dame de Boutheon, also the wife of Randon II baron de Joyeuse; she is La Fayette's ancestor...

. But soon, the native Chinese rose up and drove out the Mongols from China, launching the Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

in 1368. By 1369, all foreign influences, from Mongols to Christians, Manichaeans, and Buddhists, were expelled by the Ming Dynasty.
In the early 15th century, Timur

Timur

Timur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...

(Tamerlane), resumed Timurid relations with Europe

Timurid relations with Europe

Timurid relations with Europe developed in the early 15th century, as the Mongol ruler Timur and European monarchs attempted to operate a rapprochement against the expansionist Ottoman Empire....

, attempting to form an alliance against the Egyptian Mamluks and the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

, and engaged in communications with Charles VI of France

Charles VI of France

Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...

and Henry III of Castile

Henry III of Castile

Henry III KG , sometimes known as Henry the Sufferer or Henry the Infirm , was the son of John I and Eleanor of Aragon, and succeeded him as King of the Castilian Crown in 1390....

, but died in 1405.

Dispute about the existence of the Franco-Mongol alliance

There is dispute among historians as to the existence, extent, or even wisdom of an alliance. The mainstream view describes the contacts as a series of attempts, missed opportunities, and failed negotiations, though a few historians have argued there was an actual alliance. Even among the latter though, there is dispute as to the details: the French historian Jean Richard

Jean Richard (historian)

argues that an alliance began around 1263, while another French historian, Alain Demurger

Alain Demurger

, says that an alliance was not sealed until 1300. Other historians lament that the lack of alliance was a "lost opportunity". According to the 20th century historian Runciman, "Had the Mongol alliance been achieved and honestly implemented by the West, the existence of Outremer

Outremer

Outremer, French for "overseas", was a general name given to the Crusader states established after the First Crusade: the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch, the County of Tripoli and especially the Kingdom of Jerusalem...

would almost certainly have been prolonged. The Mameluks would have been crippled if not destroyed; and the Ilkhanate of Persia would have survived as a power friendly to the Christians and the West". However, these historians were also writing from the benefit of hindsight.

Most other historians, however, stress that there were only attempts towards such an alliance, which ultimately ended in failure. Joshua Prawer

Joshua Prawer

Joshua Prawer was a notable Israeli historian and a scholar of the Crusades and Kingdom of Jerusalem.His work often attempted to portray Crusader society as a forerunner to later European colonialist expansion...

said simply, "The attempts of the crusaders to create an alliance with the Mongols failed." Steven Runciman

Steven Runciman

The Hon. Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman CH — known as Steven Runciman — was a British historian known for his work on the Middle Ages...

lamented that "chances of a Mongol alliance with the Christians faded out." David Nicolle

David Nicolle

David C. Nicolle is a British historian specialising in the military history of the Middle Ages, with a particular in the Middle East....

said that the Mongols were "potential allies", but that overall the major players were the Mamluks and the Mongols, and that the Christians were just "pawns in a greater game." Reuven Amitai stated that the closest thing to actual Mongol-Frankish military coordination was when Prince Edward of England attempted to coordinate activities with Abaga in 1271. Amitai also mentioned the other attempts towards cooperation, but said, "In none of these episodes, however, can we speak of Mongols and troops from the Frankish West being on the Syrian mainland at the same time." Christopher Atwood, in the 2004 Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire summed up the relations between Western Europe and the Mongols: "Despite numerous envoys and the obvious logic of an alliance against mutual enemies, the papacy and the Crusaders never achieved the often-proposed alliance against Islam."

Reasons for failure

There has been much discussion among historians as to why the Franco-Mongol alliance never came together, and why despite all the diplomatic contacts, that it stayed a chimera
Chimera (mythology)
The Chimera or Chimaera was, according to Greek mythology, a monstrous fire-breathing female creature of Lycia in Asia Minor, composed of the parts of multiple animals: upon the body of a lioness with a tail that ended in a snake's head, the head of a goat arose on her back at the center of her...

, a fantasy. Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson (historian)

Peter Jackson is a scholar and historian, specializing on the Crusades, particularly the contacts between the Europeans and the Mongols as well as medieval Muslim India...

, in his 2005 book The Mongols and the West, 1221-1410, discussed multiple reasons for the failure of an alliance.

The Mongols at that stage in their empire, were not entirely focused on expanding to the West. By the late 13th century, the Mongol leaders were several generations removed from the great Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan

, and internal disruption was brewing. The original nomadic Mongols from the day of Genghis had become more settled, and had turned into administrators instead of conquerors. Battles were springing up that were Mongol against Mongol, which took troops away from the front in Syria.

There was confusion within Europe, as to the differences between the Mongols of the Ilkhanate

Ilkhanate

The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Azerbaijan and Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire...

in the Holy Land, and the Mongols of the Golden Horde

Golden Horde

The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...

, who were making attacks on Eastern Europe, in Hungary and Poland. Within the Mongol Empire, the Ilkhanids and the Golden Horde considered each other enemies, but it took time for Western observers to be able to distinguish between the different parts of the Mongol Empire.

There was decreased interest in Europe in pursuing the Crusades. After the loss of Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187, and an increasingly bleak situation for the Crusaders in Egypt, enthusiasm for the Crusades waned. Monarchs often gave lip service to the idea of going on Crusade, as a way of making an emotional appeal to their subjects, but in reality they would take years to prepare, and sometimes never actually left to go do battle. Internal wars in Europe, such as the War of the Vespers, were also distracting attention, and making it less likely for European nobles to want to commit their military to the Crusades, when they needed them more at home.

Economics played a factor, as the cost of Crusading had been steadily increasing. Some monarchs responded positively to Mongol inquiries, but became vague and evasive when asked to actually commit troops and resources. Logistics also became more difficult – the Egyptian Mamluks were genuinely concerned about the threat of another wave of Crusader forces, so each time the Mamluks captured another castle or port, instead of occupying it, they systematically destroyed it so that it could never be used again. This both made it more difficult for the Crusaders to plan military operations, and increased the expense of those operations.

There were concerns among the Europeans about the longterm goals of the Mongols. The early Mongol diplomacy had been not a simple offer of cooperation, but a clear demand for submission. There was awareness that the Mongols would not have been content to stop at the Holy Land, but were on a clear quest for world domination. It was only in their later communications with Europe that the Mongol diplomats started to adopt a more conciliatory tone; but they still used language that more implied command than entreaty. If the Mongols had achieved a successful alliance with the West, and destroyed the Mamluk Sultanate, there is little doubt that the Mongols would have then proceeded to conquer Africa. There, no strong state could have stood in their way until Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

. The Mongols would have turned upon the Franks of Cyprus and the Byzantines. Even the Armenian King, the most enthusiastic advocate of Western-Mongol collaboration, freely admitted that the Mongol leader was not inclined to listen to European advice. His advice was that even if working together, that European armies and Mongol armies should avoid contact because of the Mongol arrogance.

Jackson further points out that the court historians of Mongol Iran made no mention whatsoever of the communications between the Ilkhans and the Christian West, and barely mentioned the Franks at all. The communications were evidently not seen as important by the Mongols, and Jackson argues that the communications may have even been seen as embarrassing. The Mongol leader Ghazan, a converted Muslim since 1295, might not have wanted to be seen as trying to gain the assistance of infidels, against his fellow Muslims in Egypt. When Mongol historians did make notes of foreign territories, the areas were usually categorized as either "enemies", "conquered", or "in rebellion." The Franks, in that context, were listed in the same category as the Egyptians, in that they were enemies to be conquered. The idea of "ally" was foreign to the Mongols.

There was not much support among the populace in Europe for a Mongol alliance. Writers in Europe were creating "recovery" literature with their ideas about how best to recover the Holy Land, but few mentioned the Mongols as a genuine possibility. In 1306, when Pope Clement V asked the leaders of the military orders, Jacques de Molay

Jacques de Molay

Jacques de Molay was the 23rd and last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, leading the Order from 20 April 1292 until it was dissolved by order of Pope Clement V in 1312...

and Fulk de Villaret, to present their proposals for how the crusades should proceed, neither of them factored in any kind of a Mongol alliance. A few later proposals talked briefly about the Mongols as being a force that could invade Syria and keep the Mamluks distracted, but not as a force that could be counted on for cooperation.

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