Pope Honorius IV - Contacts With The Mongols

Contacts With The Mongols

The Mongol ruler Arghun sent an embassy and a letter to Pope Honorius IV in 1285, a Latin translation of which is preserved in the Vatican. It mentions the links to Christianity of Arghun's family, and proposes a combined military conquest of Muslim lands:

"As the land of the Muslims, that is, Syria and Egypt, is placed between us and you, we will encircle and strangle ("estrengebimus") it. We will send our messengers to ask you to send an army to Egypt, so that us on one side, and you on the other, we can, with good warriors, take it over. Let us know through secure messengers when you would like this to happen. We will chase the Saracens, with the help of the Lord, the Pope, and the Great Khan." —Extract from the 1285 letter from Arghun to Honorius IV, Vatican

Honorius IV was hardly capable of acting on this invasion and could not muster the military support necessary to achieve this plan.

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