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20 - The Mongols and Europe

from Volume I Part 4 - External Histories

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

By
Nicola Di Cosmo
Edited by
Michal Biran  and
Hodong Kim
Michal Biran
Affiliation:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hodong Kim
Affiliation:
Seoul National University
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Summary

The chapter covers the main aspects of the relations between the Mongol Empire and European powers in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. It first discusses the main events and assumed motivations of the Mongol invasion of Europe, which set the stage for the later development of political, diplomatic, and commercial relations. It summarizes the European efforts to gain information on the Mongols by sending missionaries to the heart of the Mongol Empire. Mutual knowledge and formal contacts led to several attempts to establish diplomatic relations between European powers (such as the Pope and the kings of France and England) and the Mongol khans. Furthermore, the chapter examines the commercial relations between European traders and Mongol rulers that flourished in the late thirteenth century and the fourteenth from the Black Sea to China. Finally, material and cultural influences in art, manufacturing, geographical knowledge, and technology are illustrated.

Keywords

Pax Mongolicamedieval contacts between Asia and EuropeMongols and tradeMongol invasion of EuropeMarco PoloMongol diplomacythe papacy and the Mongolsmissions to the Mongols
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge History of the Mongol Empire , pp. 779 - 797
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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