David of Ashby (
fl. 1260 – 1275) was an English-born
Dominican friar who was sent from the
Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
city of
Acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
to the Mongol ruler
Hulagu
Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulegu ( mn, Хүлэгү/ , lit=Surplus, translit=Hu’legu’/Qülegü; chg, ; Arabic: fa, هولاکو خان, ''Holâku Khân;'' ; 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of West ...
in 1260, by the Papal legate
Thomas Agni de Lentino
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the ...
. He stayed around 15 years among the Mongols, and only returned from Iran in 1274.
David of Ashby was a member of the Mongol embassy to the
Second Council of Lyon
:''The First Council of Lyon, the Thirteenth Ecumenical Council, took place in 1245.''
The Second Council of Lyon was the fourteenth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, convoked on 31 March 1272 and convened in Lyon, Kingdom of Arl ...
in 1274, sent by
Abaqa
Abaqa Khan (27 February 1234 – 4 April 1282, mn, Абаха/Абага хан (Khalkha Cyrillic), ( Traditional script), "paternal uncle", also transliterated Abaġa), was the second Mongol ruler (''Ilkhan'') of the Ilkhanate. The son of Hulag ...
. The embassy arrived on 5 July 1274. David was accompanied by the clerk
Rychaldus
Rychaldus, Richaldus or Richardus (13th century) was a clerk and translator (''notarius...ac interpreters Latinorum'')Jackson, p.173 for the Mongol Ilkhanate rulers Hulagu Khan, and then Hulagu's son Abaqa Khan. He was best known for delivering a r ...
, in the service of the Mongols, and 14 Mongol dignitaries. The leader of the Mongols underwent baptism on this occasion, on 16 July.
[Jean-Richard, p.452]
David of Ashby wrote a book ''Les fais des
Tatars
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different '' ("The facts about the Tartars") describing the culture of the Tatars and their remarkable military organization and discipline.
See also
*
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 13th century. Such an alliance might have seemed an obvious c ...
Notes
References
*Demurger, Alain (2007). Jacques de Molay (in French). Editions Payot&Rivages. .
*Grousset, René (1935). Histoire des Croisades III, 1188-1291 (in French). Editions Perrin.
*Jackson, Peter (2005). The Mongols and the West: 1221–1410. Longman. .
*Richard, Jean (1996). Histoire des Croisades. Fayard.
*Roux, Jean-Paul (1993). Histoire de l'Empire Mongol. Fayard.
13th-century English people
English Dominicans
13th-century English writers
{{UK-reli-bio-stub