French Ambassador Sent to the Mongols: Louis IX Tries Diplomacy
Louis IX sent a friar to the Mongol Empire in 1249. Not a general, not a diplomat — a Dominican monk named Andrew of Longjumeau. The mission: convince the Mongols to convert to Christianity and attack the Muslims from the east while Louis attacked from the west. Andrew traveled 6,000 miles to the Mongol capital at Karakorum. The Khagan's response was blunt: send tribute or we'll invade. Andrew returned two years later with that message. Louis ignored it. The Mongols never came west. But they didn't need to — within a generation, they'd conquered Baghdad anyway, ending the Islamic Golden Age without any help from France.
February 16, 1249
777 years ago
Key Figures & Places
ambassador
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Andrew of Longjumeau
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Louis IX of France
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Mongol
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Khagan
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Mongol Empire
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Andrew of Longjumeau
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Güyük Khan
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Louis IX of France
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Mongol Empire
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Ambassador
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André de Longjumeau
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Khagan
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Ogul Caimis
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