Thomas of Mancasola, or Thomas of Mancasol ( fl. 1328), was a Dominican cleric in the

Chagatai Khanate The Chagatai Khanate, or Chagatai Ulus ( xng, , translit=Čaɣatay-yin Ulus; mn, Цагаадайн улс, translit=Tsagaadain Uls; chg, , translit=Čağatāy Ulusi; fa, , translit=Xânât-e Joghatây) was a Mongol and later Turkicized kh ...

who became bishop of Samarkand. Prior to his appointment Thomas had served as a cleric in Mongol-ruled

Turkestan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turk ...

. The region, in Thomas's time ruled by

Eljigidey Eljigidey was khan of the Chagatai Khanate, a division of the Mongol Empire in 1326–1329. He was the son of Duwa. After the death of his brother Kebek, Eljigidey took control of the Chagatai Khanate. He was involved in the succession strug ...

khan, allowed local Christians significant freedom to worship, and Thomas obtained a commendation from Eljigidey for the trip to Rome that saw him granted the bishopric of Samarkand. Thomas is known from the ''Mirabilia'' of Friar

Jordanus Jordanus (-), distinguished as JordanofSeverac ( la, Iordanus de Severaco; oc, Jordan de Severac; french: Jourdain de Séverac; it, Giordano di Séverac) or JordanofCatalonia ( la, Jordanus Catalanus; ca, Jordà de Catalunya), was a Catala ...

, which describes him as bishop of "Semiscat"; this place was positively identified as Samarkand during the nineteenth century. Thomas, according to the ''Mirabilia'', accompanied Jordanus on a journey to take the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropol ...

, an ecclesiastical vestment, to John de Cora, the newly appointed archbishop of Sultaniyah in Persia. Thomas's bishopric, along with that of Jordanus, fell within the province of this new metropolitan.

References

{{Reflist Members of the Dominican Order 14th-century Roman Catholic bishops Dominican bishops