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Rubruck
William of Rubruck ( nl, Willem van Rubroeck, la, Gulielmus de Rubruquis; ) was a Flemish Franciscan missionary and explorer. He is best known for his travels to various parts of the Middle East and Central Asia in the 13th century, including the Mongol Empire. His account of his travels is one of the masterpieces of medieval travel literature, comparable to those of Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta. Mission William was born in Rubrouck, Flanders. In 1248, he accompanied King Louis IX of France on the Seventh Crusade. On 7 May 1253, on Louis' orders, he set out on a missionary journey to convert the Tatars to Christianity. He first stopped in Constantinople to confer with Baldwin of Hainaut, who had recently returned from a trip to Karakorum, the capital of the Mongol Empire, on behalf of Baldwin II, Latin Emperor. There, William received letters to some of the Tatar chiefs from the emperor. William then followed the route of the first journey of the Hungarian Friar Julian, and in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karakorum
Karakorum (Khalkha Mongolian: Хархорум, ''Kharkhorum''; Mongolian Script:, ''Qaraqorum''; ) was the capital of the Mongol Empire between 1235 and 1260 and of the Northern Yuan dynasty in the 14–15th centuries. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Övörkhangai Province of modern-day Mongolia, near today's town of Kharkhorin and adjacent to the Erdene Zuu Monastery, the probably earliest surviving Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. They are part of the upper part of the World Heritage Site Orkhon Valley. History Foundation of empires The Orkhon valley was a center of the Xiongnu, Göktürk, and Uyghur empires. To the Göktürks, the nearby Khangai Mountains had been the location of the Ötüken (the locus of power), and the Uyghur capital Karabalgasun was located close to where later Karakorum would be erected (downstream the Orkhon River 27 km north–west from Karakorum). This area is probably also one of the oldest farming areas in Mongolia. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baldwin Of Hainaut
Baldwin of Hainaut (french: Baudouin de Hainaut, la, Balduinus de Hannonia or ''Haynaco'') was a knight and diplomat of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. He undertook important missions to the Cumans (1240) and the Mongols (1251–52). Baldwin was originally from the County of Hainaut. The historian Charles Verlinden argues that he was the same person as Baldwin of Avesnes. According to Aubrey of Trois Fontaines, Baldwin married a daughter of the Cuman king Saronius in 1241. Another daughter of Saronius married the nobleman William of Merry, while a daughter of Saronius' co-regent Jonas married Narjot III de Toucy. The daughters of Saronius were baptized Christians. Baldwin had probably been sent on a diplomatic mission to the Cumans in 1240. In 1251–52, Baldwin was sent on a diplomatic mission to the Mongol Empire. Through his Cuman wife he may have acquired knowledge of Cuman, a Turkic language, which would have been useful on any voyage into Mongol territory. He visited t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Batu Khan
Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. His '' ulus'' ruled over the Kievan Rus', Volga Bulgaria, Cumania, and the Caucasus for around 250 years. Personality and appearance According to Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, Batu was "kind enough to his own people, but he is greatly feared by them. He is, however, most cruel in fight; he is very shrewd and extremely crafty in warfare, for he has been waging war for a long time." William of Rubruck described him as about the height of his lord John de Beaumont and his entire face was covered with reddish spots. Early years After his son Jochi's death, Genghis Khan assigned Jochi's appanages to his sons. The Great Khan installed Batu as Khan of the Golden Horde (also known as the Ulus of Jochi or Kipchak Khanate). Jochi's eldest son, Or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
André De Longjumeau
André de Longjumeau (also known as Andrew of Longjumeau in English) 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 France to Güyük Khan. Well acquainted with the Middle-East, he spoke Arabic and " Chaldean" (thought to be either Syriac or Persian). Mission for the holy Crown of Thorns André's first mission to the East was when he was asked by the French king Louis IX to go to Constantinople to obtain the Crown of Thorns which had been sold to him by the Latin Emperor Baldwin II in 1238, who was anxious to obtain support for his empire. André was accompanied on this mission by a Dominican friar, brother Jacques. Papal mission to the Mongols (1245–1247) André of Longjumeau led one of four missions dispatched to the Mongols by Pope Innocent IV. He l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, extending northward into parts of the Arctic; eastward and southward into parts of the Indian subcontinent, attempted invasions of Southeast Asia and conquered the Iranian Plateau; and westward as far as the Levant and the Carpathian Mountains. The Mongol Empire emerged from the unification of several nomadic tribes in the Mongol homeland under the leadership of Temüjin, known by the more famous title of Genghis Khan (–1227), whom a council proclaimed as the ruler of all Mongols in 1206. The empire grew rapidly under his rule and that of his descendants, who sent out invading armies in every direction. The vast transcontinental empire connected the East with the West, and the Pacific to the Mediterranean, in an enforced ''Pax Mongol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marvels of the World '' and ''Il Milione'', ), a book that described to Europeans the then mysterious culture and inner workings of the Eastern world, including the wealth and great size of the Mongol Empire and China in the Yuan Dynasty, giving their first comprehensive look into China, Persia, India, Japan and other Asian cities and countries. Born in Venice, Marco learned the mercantile trade from his father and his uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, who travelled through Asia and met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time. The three of them embarked on an epic journey to Asia, exploring many places along the Silk Road until they reached Cathay (China). They were received by the royal court of Kublai Khan, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rubrouck
Rubrouck (; , once ''Ruysbroeck'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. History Rubrouck was first mentioned in 1104. It was the home of the 13th century explorer William of Rubruck. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department References Communes of Nord (French department) French Flanders {{Nord-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kipchak Khanate
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragmentation of the Mongol Empire after 1259 it became a functionally separate khanate. It is also known as the Kipchak Khanate or as the Ulus of Jochi, and replaced the earlier less organized Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the death of Batu Khan (the founder of the Golden Horde) in 1255, his dynasty flourished for a full century, until 1359, though the intrigues of Nogai instigated a partial civil war in the late 1290s. The Horde's military power peaked during the reign of Uzbeg Khan (1312–1341), who adopted Islam. The territory of the Golden Horde at its peak extended from Siberia and Central Asia to parts of Eastern Europe from the Urals to the Danube in the west, and from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea in the south, while bordering th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis IX Of France
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the death of his father Louis VIII Louis VIII (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (french: Le Lion), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As prince, he invaded England on 21 May 1216 and was excommunicated by a papal legate on 29 May 1216. On 2 June 1216 .... His mother, Blanche of Castile, ruled the kingdom as regent until he reached maturity, and then remained his valued adviser until her death. During Louis' childhood, Blanche dealt with the opposition of rebellious vassals and secured Capetian success in the Albigensian Crusade, which had started 20 years earlier. As an adult, Louis IX faced recurring conflicts with some of his realm's most powerful nobles, such as Hugh X of Lusignan and Peter of Dreux. Simult ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sartaq Khan
Sartaq (or Sartak, Sartach, mn, Сартаг, tt-Cyrl, Сартак) Khan (died 1257) was the son of Batu Khan and Regent Dowager Khatun Boraqchin of Alchi Tatar.Rashid al-Din - Universal History, see: ''Tale of Jochids'' Sartaq succeeded Batu as khan of the Golden Horde. Reign In 1252, Alexander Nevsky met with Sartaq at Sarai. Alexander received ''yarlyk'' (license) to become Grand Duke of Vladimir in vassalage to the Kipchak Khanate. According to Lev Gumilev he became Sartaq's ''anda'' (sworn brother, akin to blood brother) and an adopted son of Batu Khan. His reign as khan of the Golden Horde was short-lived. He died in 1256 before returning from Great Khan Möngke's court in Mongolia, less than one year after his father, probably having been poisoned by his uncles Berke and Berkhchir. Sartaq was succeeded by Ulaqchi briefly in 1257, before his uncle Berke succeeded to the throne. It is not clear whether Ulaqchi was his brother or his son. Sartaq's daughter Feodora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don River, Russia
The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its basin is between the Dnieper basin to the west, the lower Volga basin immediately to the east, and the Oka basin (tributary of the Volga) to the north. Native to much of the basin were Slavic nomads. The Don rises in the town of Novomoskovsk southeast of Tula (in turn south of Moscow), and flows 1,870 kilometres to the Sea of Azov. The river's upper half ribbles (meanders subtly) south; however, its lower half consists of a great eastern curve, including Voronezh, making its final stretch, an estuary, run west south-west. The main city on the river is Rostov-on-Don. Its main tributary is the Seversky Donets, centred on the mid-eastern end of Ukraine, thus the other country in the overall basin. To the east of a series of three ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bullock Cart
A bullock cart or ox cart (sometimes called a bullock carriage when carrying people in particular) is a two-wheeled or four-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen. It is a means of transportation used since ancient times in many parts of the world. They are still used today where modern vehicles are too expensive or the infrastructure favor them. Used especially for carrying goods, the bullock cart is pulled by one or several oxen. The cart is attached to an ox team by a special chain attached to yokes, but a rope may also be used for one or two animals. The driver and any other passengers sit on the front of the cart, while load is placed in the back. Traditionally, the cargo was usually agrarian goods and lumber. History The first indications for the use of a wagon (cart tracks, incisions, model wheels) are dated to around 4400 BC. The oldest wooden wheels usable for transport were found in southern Russia and dated to 3325 ± 125 BC. Evidence of wheeled vehicles appears from the mid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
