Franco - Mongol alliance Several attempts at a Franco - Mongol alliance against the Islamic caliphates , their common enemy , were made by various leaders among the Frankish Crusaders and the Mongol Empire in the 1200s . Such an alliance might have seemed an obvious choice : the Mongols were already sympathetic to Christianity , given the presence of many influential Nestorian Christians in the Mongol court . The Franks ( Western Europeans and those in the Crusader States of the Levant ) were open to the idea of support from the East , in part owing to the long - running legend of the mythical Prester John , an Eastern king in a magical kingdom who many believed would one day come to the assistance of the Crusaders in the Holy Land . The Franks and Mongols also shared a common enemy in the Muslims . However , despite many messages , gifts , and emissaries over the course of several decades , the often - proposed alliance never came to fruition . Contact between Europeans and Mongols began around 1220 , with occasional messages from the papacy and European monarchs to Mongol leaders such as the Great Khan , and subsequently to the Ilkhans in Mongol - conquered Iran . Communications tended to follow a recurring pattern : the Europeans asked the Mongols to convert to Western Christianity , while the Mongols responded with demands for submission and tribute . The Mongols had already conquered many Christian and Muslim nations in their advance across Asia , and after destroying the Muslim Abbasid and Ayyubid dynasties , for the next few generations fought the remaining Islamic power in the region , the Egyptian Mamluk s . Hethum I , king of the Christian nation of Cilician Armenia , had submitted to the Mongols in 1247 , and strongly encouraged other monarchs to engage in a Christian - Mongol alliance , but was only able to persuade his son - in - law , Prince Bohemond VI of the Crusader State of Antioch , who submitted in 1260 . Other Christian leaders such as the Crusaders of Acre were more mistrustful of the Mongols , perceiving them as the most significant threat in the region . The Barons of Acre therefore engaged in an unusual passive alliance with the Muslim Mamluks , allowing Egyptian forces to advance unopposed through Crusader territory to engage and defeat the Mongols at the pivotal Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260 . European attitudes began to change in the mid - 1260s , from perceiving the Mongols as enemies to be feared , to potential allies against the Muslims . The Mongols sought to capitalize on this , promising a re - conquered Jerusalem to the Europeans in return for cooperation . Attempts to cement an alliance continued through negotiations with many leaders of the Mongol Ilkhanate in Iran , from its founder Hulagu through his descendants Abaqa , Arghun , Ghazan , and Öljaitü , but without success . The Mongols invaded Syria several times between 1281 and 1312 , sometimes in attempts at joint operations with the Franks , but the considerable logistical difficulties involved meant that forces would arrive months apart , never able to coordinate activities in any effective way . 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 in 1291 , the remaining Crusaders retreated to the island of Cyprus . They made a final attempt to establish a bridgehead at the small island of Ruad off the coast of Tortosa , again in an attempt to coordinate military action with the Mongols , but the plan failed , and the Muslims responded by besieging the island . With the Fall of Ruad in 1302 or 1303 , the Crusaders lost their last foothold in the Holy Land . Modern historians debate whether an alliance between the Franks and Mongols would have been successful in shifting the balance of power in the region , and if 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 . Background ( 1209 – 1244 ) . Among Western 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 ( 1096 – 1099 ) , and usually surged in popularity after the Crusaders lost a battle . A legend arose about a figure known as Prester John , who lived in far - off India , Central Asia , or perhaps even Ethiopia . This legend developed a life of its own , and some individuals who came from the East were greeted with expectations that they might be forces sent by the long - awaited Prester John . In 1210 , news reached the West of the battles of the Mongol Kuchlug ( d . 1218 ) , leader of the largely Christian tribe of the Naimans . Kuchlug ' s forces had been battling the powerful Khwarezmian Empire , whose leader was the Muslim Muhammad II of Khwarezm . Rumors circulated in Europe that Kuchlug was the mythical Prester John , again battling the Muslims in the East . During the Fifth Crusade ( 1213 – 1221 ) , as the Christians were unsuccessfully laying siege to the Egyptian city of Damietta , the legend of Prester John became conflated with the reality of Genghis Khan ' s rapidly expanding empire . Mongol raiding parties were beginning to invade the eastern Islamic world , in Transoxania 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 , Pope Honorius III even commented about " forces coming from the Far East to rescue the Holy Land " . After Genghis Khan ' s death in 1227 , his empire was divided by his descendants into four sections or Khanate s , which degenerated into civil war . The northwestern Kipchak Khanate , known as the Golden Horde , expanded towards Europe , primarily via Hungary and Poland , while its leaders simultaneously opposed the rule of their cousins back at the Mongol capital . The southwestern section , known as the Ilkhanate , was under the leadership of Genghis Khan ' s grandson Hulagu . He continued to support his brother , the Great Khan , and was therefore at war with the Golden Horde , while at the same time continuing an advance towards Persia and the Holy Land . Papal overtures ( 1245 – 1248 ) . The first official communications between Western Europe and the Mongol Empire occurred between Pope Innocent IV ( fl . 1243 – 1254 ) and the Great Khans , via letters and envoys that were sent overland and could take years to arrive at their destination . The communications initiated what was to become a regular pattern in European – Mongol communications : the Europeans would ask the Mongols to convert to Christianity , and the Mongols would respond with demands for submission . The Mongol invasion of Europe ended in 1242 , in part because of the death of the Great Khan Ögedei , successor to 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 . In the meantime , the Mongols ' relentless march westward had displaced the Khawarizmi Turks , who themselves moved west , eventually allying with the Ayyubid Muslims in Egypt . Along the way , the Turks took Jerusalem from the Christians in 1244 . After the subsequent loss at the Battle of La Forbie , Christian kings began to prepare for a new crusade ( the Seventh Crusade ) , declared by Pope Innocent IV in June 1245 at the First Council of Lyon . The loss of Jerusalem caused some Europeans to look to the Mongols as potential allies of Christendom , provided the Mongols could be converted to Western Christianity . In March 1245 , Pope Innocent IV had issued multiple papal bulls , some of which were sent with an envoy , the Franciscan John of Plano Carpini , to the " Emperor of the Tartars " . In a letter now called the " Cum non solum " , Pope Innocent expressed a desire for peace , and asked the Mongol ruler to become a Christian and to stop killing Christians . However , the new Mongol Great Khan Güyük , installed at Karakorum 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 Ascelin of Lombardia , who met with the Mongol commander Baiju near the Caspian Sea in 1247 . Baiju , who had plans to capture Baghdad , welcomed the possibility of an alliance and sent a message to Rome via his envoys Aïbeg and Serkis . They then returned a year later with Pope Innocent ' s letter , " Viam agnoscere veritatis " , 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 to or combat with the nearby Mongol horde , many communities chose the former , including some Christian realms . Christian Georgia was repeatedly attacked starting in 1220 , and in 1243 Queen Rusudan formally submitted to the Mongols , turning Georgia into a vassal state which then became a regular ally in the Mongol military conquests . Hethum I of Cilician Armenia submitted in 1247 , and over the following years encouraged other monarchs to enter into a Christian - Mongol alliance . He sent his brother Sempad to the Mongol court in Karakorum , and Sempad ' s positive letters about the Mongols were influential in European circles . Antioch . The Principality of Antioch was one of the earliest Crusader States , founded in 1098 during the First Crusade . At the time of the Mongol advance , it was under the rule of Bohemond VI . Under the influence of his father - in - law , Hethum I , Bohemond too submitted Antioch to Hulagu in 1260 . A Mongol representative and a Mongol garrison were stationed in the capital city of Antioch , 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 . In return for this loyalty , Hulagu awarded Bohemond all the Antiochene territories which had been lost to the Muslims in 1243 . However , for his relations with the Mongols , Bohemond was also temporarily excommunicated by Jacques Pantaléon , the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem , though this was lifted in 1263 . Around 1262 or 1263 , the Mamluk leader Baibars attempted an attack on Antioch , but the principality was saved by Mongol intervention . In later years the Mongols were not able to offer as much support . In 1264 – 1265 the Mongols were able to attack only the frontier fort of al - Bira . In 1268 Baibars completely overran the rest of Antioch , ending the 170 - year - old principality . 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 , which was itself to fall to the Mamluks in 1289 . Saint Louis and the Mongols . Louis IX of France had communications with the Mongols throughout his own crusades . During his first venture to Outremer , he was met on in Cyprus by two Mongol envoys , Nestorians from Mosul named David and Marc , who brought a letter from the Mongol commander in Persia , Eljigidei . The letter communicated a more conciliatory tone than previous Mongol demands for submission , and Eljigidei ' s envoys suggested that King Louis should land in Egypt while Eljigidei attacked Baghdad , as a way of preventing the Muslims of Egypt and those of Syria from joining forces . Louis responded by sending the emissary Andrew of Longjumeau to the Great Khan Güyük , but Güyük died from drink before the emissary arrived at his court . Güyük ' s widow Oghul Qaimish 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 ' s campaign against Egypt did not go well . He successfully captured Damietta , but lost his entire army at the Battle of Al Mansurah , and 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 sought allies among both the Ismaili Assassins and the Mongols . When he saw a letter from Hethum ' s brother , the Armenian noble Sempad , which spoke well of the Mongols , Louis dispatched the Franciscan William of Rubruck to the Mongol court . But the Mongol leader Möngke replied with only a letter via William in 1254 , asking for the King ' s submission to Mongol authority . Louis attempted a second crusade ( the Eighth Crusade ) in 1270 . The Mongol Ilkhanate leader Abaqa wrote to Louis IX offering military support as soon as the Crusaders landed in Palestine , but Louis instead went to Tunis in modern Tunisia . 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 and Jean Richard 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 when Louis died of illness . According to legend , his last word was " Jerusalem " . Relations with the Ilkhanate . Hulagu ( 1256 – 1265 ) . Hulagu Khan , a grandson of Genghis Khan , was an avowed shamanist , but was nevertheless very tolerant of Christianity . His mother Sorghaghtani Beki , his favorite wife Doquz Khatun , and several of his closest collaborators were Nestorian Christians . One of his most important generals , Kitbuqa , was a Nestorian Christian of the Naiman tribe . 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 , effectively destroyed two of the most powerful Muslim dynasties of the era : 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 , a loss often considered in the Muslim world as the single most catastrophic event in the history of Islam , the end of the Islamic Golden Age . The Christian Georgians had been the first to breach the walls , and as described by historian Steven Runciman , " were particularly fierce 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 Doquz Khatun , the Christian inhabitants were spared . For Asiatic Christians , the fall of Baghdad was cause for celebration . Hulagu and his Christian queen came to be considered as God ' s agents against the enemies of Christianity , and were compared to the influential 4th - century Christian Emperor Constantine the Great and his revered empress mother , Saint Helen , an icon of the Christian church . The Armenian historian Kyrakos of Gandzak praised the Mongol royal couple in texts for the Armenian Church , and Bar Hebraeus , a bishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church , also referred to them as a Constantine and Helena , writing 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 , domain of the Ayyubid dynasty . They took together the city of Aleppo in January , and in March , the Mongols with the Armenians and the Franks of Antioch took Damascus , under the Christian Mongol general 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 sultan An - Nasir Yusuf 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 the death of the Great Khan . Hulagu was needed back at the capital and took the bulk of his forces with him , leaving a small force under Kitbuqa to occupy Palestine during his absence . Mongol raiding parties were sent south into Palestine towards Egypt , with small Mongol garrisons of about 1 , 000 established in Gaza . Battle of Ain Jalut . Despite the cooperation between the Mongols and their Christian subjects in Antioch , other Christians in the Levant regarded the Mongol approach with unease . Jacques Pantaléon , the 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 to the court of Hulagu in 1260 . In Sidon , Julian Grenier , Lord of Sidon and Beaufort , described by his contemporaries as irresponsible and light - headed , took an opportunity to raid and plunder the area of the Beqaa Valley in Mongol territory . One of the Mongols killed was Kitbuqa ' s nephew , and in retaliation , Kitbuqa raided the city of Sidon . These events added to the level of distrust between the Mongols and the Crusader forces , whose own center of power was now in the coastal city of Acre . The Franks of Acre did their best to maintain a position of cautious neutrality between the Mongols and the Mamluks . Despite their long history of enmity with the Mamluks , the Franks acknowledged that the Mongols were a greater threat , and after careful debate , chose to enter into a passive truce with their previous adversaries . The Franks allowed the Mamluk forces to move northward through Christian territory to engage the Mongols , in exchange for an agreement that the Franks could purchase any captured Mongol horses at a low price . The truce allowed the Mamluks to camp and re - supply near Acre , and engage the Mongols at Ain Jalut on . The Mongol forces were already depleted due to their main force withdrawing , so with the passive assistance of the Franks , the Mamluks were able to achieve a decisive and historic victory over the Mongols . The remainder of the Mongol army retreated to Cilician Armenia , where they were received and re - equipped by Hethum I . Ain Jalut marked a major turning point in the history of the Mongols , as it was the first major battle that they had lost , and set the western border for what had seemed an unstoppable expansion of the Mongol Empire . 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 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 , and tried to raise money for a new crusade . On , the Mongol leader Hulagu sent through John the Hungarian a new letter to King 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 " Exultavit cor nostrum " , 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 , exemplified by British historian Peter Jackson , holds that Urban still regarded the Mongols as enemies at this time . This perception began changing a few years later , during the pontificate of Pope Clement IV ( 1265 – 68 ) , when the Mongols were seen more as potential allies . However , the French historian Jean Richard 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 Mongols and Byzantines , that the Mongols of the Golden Horde 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 ( 1234 – 1282 ) , who further pursued Western cooperation . Though a Buddhist , upon his succession he married Maria Palaiologina , an Orthodox Christian and the illegitimate daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos . Abaqa corresponded with Pope Clement IV through 1267 and 1268 , sending envoys to both Clement and King James I of Aragon . 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 by Mongols from Turkestan , 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 and Afamiyaa 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 ) , inspired by tales of his great - uncle , Richard the Lionheart , and the second crusade of the French King Louis , started on a crusade of his own , the Ninth Crusade . 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 , 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 , 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 . 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 convened the Second Council of Lyon . 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 . Abaqa ' s Latin secretary Rychaldus delivered a report to the Council which outlined previous European - Ilkhanid relations under Abaqa ' s father , Hulagu , 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 , putting in place a vast program in his " Constitutions for the zeal of the faith " , with four main elements : imposing a new tax for three years , forbidding trade with the Sarazins ( Muslims ) , arranging the supply of ships by the Italian maritime republics , and the alliance of the West with both Byzantium and the Mongol Ilkhan Abaqa . Abaqa then sent another embassy , led by the Georgian Vassali brothers , to further notify Western leaders of military preparations . Gregory answered that his legates would accompany the crusade , and that they would be in charge of coordinating military operations with the Ilkhan . 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 , 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 , 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 in Outremer , particularly the Knights Hospitaller of the fortress of Marqab , and to some extent the Franks of Cyprus and Antioch , attempted to join in combined operations with the Mongols in 1280 – 1281 . The death of the Egyptian leader Baibars in 1277 led to disorganization in the Muslim territories , making conditions ripe for a new action by other factions in the Holy Land . The Mongols seized the opportunity , organized a new invasion of Syria , and in September 1280 occupied Bagras and Darbsak , followed by Aleppo on October 20 . The Mongol leader Abaqa , taking advantage of his momentum , 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 Crusaders were not organized enough themselves to be of much help . In Acre , the Patriarch ' s Vicar replied that the city 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 Beqaa Valley , as far as the Mamluk - held Krak des Chevaliers in 1280 and 1281 . Hugh and Bohemond of Antioch mobilized their armies , but their forces were prevented from joining those of the Mongols by Baibars ' successor , the new Egyptian Sultan Qalawun . He advanced north from Egypt in March 1281 , positioned his own army between the Franks and Mongols , and then further divided the potential allies by renewing a truce with the Barons of Acre on , 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 , 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 Homs on October 30 , 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 , who had converted to Islam . Tekuder reversed Abaqa ' s policy of seeking an alliance with the Franks , offering instead an alliance to the Mamluk Sultan Qalawun , who continued his own advance , capturing the Hospitaller fortress of Margat in 1285 , Lattakia in 1287 , and the County of Tripoli in 1289 . However , Tekuder ' s pro - Muslim stance was not popular , and in 1284 , Abaqa ' s Buddhist son Arghun , 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 , a Nestorian scientist who had been head of Kublai Khan ' s Office of Western Astronomy . Kelemechi met with Pope Honorius 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 , 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 , Arghun promised the European leaders that if Jerusalem were conquered , he would have himself baptized and would return Jerusalem to the Christians . Bar Sauma was greeted warmly by the European monarchs , but 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 , 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 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 , 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 . However , due to a feud between the Guelphs and Ghibellines , the Genoese soon degenerated into internal bickering , and killed each other in Basra , 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 . In May 1291 , the city of Acre was conquered by the Egyptian Mamluks in the Siege of Acre . When Pope Nicholas IV learned of this , he wrote to Arghun , again asking him to be baptized and to fight against the Mamluks . But Arghun had died on , and Pope Nicholas 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 , however , 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 ( Henry II , King of Cyprus ; and the heads of the military order s ) , 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 , 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 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 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 , accompanied by his brother Amalric , Prince of Tyre , the heads of the military orders , and Ghazan ' s ambassador " Chial " ( Isol the Pisan ) . The ships left Famagusta on , to raid the coasts of Egypt and Syria : Rosette , Alexandria , Acre , Tortosa , and Maraclea , before returning to Cyprus . Ruad expedition . Ghazan announced that he would return by November 1300 , and sent letters and ambassadors to the West so that they could prepare themselves . After their own naval raids , the Cypriots attempted a major operation to re - take the former Syrian Templar stronghold of Tortosa . They prepared the largest force they could muster at the time , approximately 600 men : 300 under Amalric , 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 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 and John , lord of Giblet . 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 Franks 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 . 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 , 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 , and at the decisive Battle of Shaqhab , south of Damascus , on . It is considered to be the last major Mongol invasion of Syria . Ghazan died on , 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 , 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 , Pope Clement V , and 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 – 1313 ) , in which he was unsuccessful . A final settlement with the Mamluks would only be found when Oljeitu ' s son Abu Sa ' id signed the Treaty of Aleppo in 1322 . Last contacts . In the 14th century , diplomatic contact continued between the Franks and the Mongols , until the Ilkhanate dissolved in the 1330s , and the ravages of the Black Death in Europe caused contact with the East to be severed . A few marital alliances between Christian rulers and the Mongols of the Golden Horde continued , such as when the Byzantine emperor Andronicus II gave daughters in marriage to Toqto ' a ( d . 1312 ) and later to his successor Uzbek ( 1312 – 1341 ) . After Abu Sa ' id , relations between Christian princes and the Ilkhanate became very sparse . Abu Sa ' id died in 1335 with neither heir nor successor , and the Ilkhanate 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 in Avignon was sent by Toghun Temür , the last Yuan 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 Montecorvino ' 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 . But soon , the Han Chinese rose up and drove the Mongols out of China , establishing the Ming Dynasty 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 ( Tamerlane ) resumed relations with Europe , attempting to form an alliance against the Egyptian Mamluks and the Ottoman Empire , and engaged in communications with Charles VI of France and Henry III of Castile , but died in 1405 . Cultural contacts . In the cultural sphere , there were some Mongol elements in Western medieval art , especially in Italy , of which most surviving examples are from the 14th century , after the chance of a military alliance had faded . These included the depiction of textiles from the Mongol Empire and Mongol script in various contexts , the latter often anachronistic . Imports of textiles had a considerable influence on Italian textile design . Mongol military costume is sometimes worn by soldiers , typically those acting against Christian figures , as in martyrdoms or " Crucifixion " scenes . These were perhaps copied from drawings made of Mongol envoys to Europe , or ones brought back from Outremer . Views from historians . Most historians describe the contacts between the Mongol Empire and the Western Europeans as a series of attempts , missed opportunities , and failed negotiations . 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 . " A few other historians argue there was an actual alliance , but do not agree on the details : Jean Richard wrote that an alliance began around 1263 . 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 . " Timothy May described the alliance as having its peak at the Council of Lyon in 1274 , but that it began to unravel in 1275 with the death of Bohemond , and May too admitted that the forces never engaged in joint operations . Alain Demurger , in his own book " The Last Templar " , said that an alliance was not sealed until 1300 . < ref name = " demurger - 100 w / quote " > Demurger . " The Last Templar " . p . 100 . " Above all , the expedition made manifest the unity of the Cypriot Franks and , through a material act , put the seal on the Mongol alliance . " < / ref > There also continues to be debate about whether or not an alliance would have been a wise idea , and whether the Crusaders at that point in history were even relevant to the Persian - Mongol conflict . The 20th - century historian Glenn Burger said , " The refusal of the Latin Christian states in the area to follow Hethum ' s example and adapt to changing conditions by allying themselves with the new Mongol empire must stand as one of the saddest of the many failures of Outremer . " This was similar to the view of Steven Runciman , who argued , " Had the Mongol alliance been achieved and honestly implemented by the West , the existence of Outremer 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 , David Nicolle , describing the Mongols as " potential allies " , said that early historians were writing from the benefit of hindsight , and that overall the major players were the Mamluks and the Mongols , with Christians just " pawns in a greater game . " Reasons for failure . There has been much discussion among historians as to why the Franco - Mongol alliance never became a reality and why , despite all the diplomatic contacts , it stayed a " chimera " or fantasy . Many reasons have been proposed : one was that 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 , 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 also confusion within Europe as to the differences between the Mongols of the Ilkhanate in the Holy Land , and the Mongols of the Golden Horde , who were attacking 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 . From the Mongol side , there were also concerns as to just how much clout the Franks could have brought to bear , especially as there was decreased interest in Europe in pursuing the Crusades . 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 may have even been considered embarrassing . The Mongol leader Ghazan , a converted Muslim since 1295 , might not have wanted to be perceived 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 . Some European monarchs responded positively to Mongol inquiries , but became vague and evasive when asked to actually commit troops and resources . Logistics also became more complex – 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 . Monarchs in Western Europe 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 for Outremer . 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 were more needed at home . The Europeans were also concerned about the long - term goals of the Mongols . Early Mongol diplomacy had been not a simple offer of cooperation , but straightforward demands for submission . It was only in later communications that Mongol diplomats started to adopt a more conciliatory tone ; but they still used language that implied more command than entreaty . Even the Armenian historian Hayton of Corycus , the most enthusiastic advocate of Western - Mongol collaboration , freely admitted that the Mongol leadership was not inclined to listen to European advice . His recommendation was that even if working together , European armies and Mongol armies should avoid contact because of Mongol arrogance . European leaders were aware that the Mongols would not have been content to stop at the Holy Land , but were on a clear quest for world domination . If the Mongols had achieved a successful alliance with the West and destroyed the Mamluk Sultanate , they certainly would have eventually turned upon the Franks of Cyprus and the Byzantines . They also would have surely conquered Egypt , from which they could have continued an advance into Africa , where no strong state could have stood in their way until Morocco and the Islamic caliphates in the Maghreb . And lastly , there was not much support among the general 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 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 .