Mongols in Medieval Europe (3) (original) (raw)

At their peak, the Mongols built a large empire unprecedented in world history. At that time, the Mongol Empire covered a vast territory stretching from the Far East to Eastern Europe. Thanks to the Mongol conquest and the creation of a world empire encompassing Central Asia, Europe and Asia experienced unprecedented exchange and contact. Not only goods and people, but also ideas and diseases passed through the Mongol Empire to the north, south, east, and west. The Europeans and the Mongols directly experienced each other's worlds, and the active exchanges and contacts between them had a great influence on the development of world history. Various studies are being conducted on several aspects of East-West exchange during the period of the Pax Mongolica. These include many studies on European missionaries and merchants who traveled to Asia. Marco Polo, merchant of Venice, was the most well-known of several European merchants who traveled between East and West during the period of the Pax Mongolica, although he cannot be said to be a merchant by strict standards. Even though there are many studies on Marco Polo's travels to the East, it was in fact Genoese, not Venetian merchants who were more active in trade with the Mongol Empire. There is not much research on the commercial activities of Genoese merchants in Asia. 1 Missionaries including John of Pian di 1 A representative figure was Andaló da Savignone, a Genoese merchant, who served as a merchant and diplomatic envoy to and from Beijing and Europe on several occasions. Giovanni Meriana, Andalò da Savignone: un Genovese alla corte del Gran Khan, Genova, De Fer-52-Mongols in medieval Europe Carpine, William Rubruck, John of Montecorvino, John of Marignolli, and Odoric also left behind accounts, brief reports, and letters of their travels to the East, and many studies have analyzed these sources. 2 On the other hand, there have been relatively few studies dealing with the Mongol people who visited or permanently settled in Europe during the Mongol period. 3 This article will examine in detail the purpose for which the Mongols came to the European world, what types of people came, and whether they came temporarily or settled permanently. This study will fill the gaps in previous research that has been mainly focused on the activities of Europeans who entered Asia and provide a comprehensive understanding of exchanges and contacts between East and West during the Mongol period. This does not mean that there is no research on Mongols who came to Europe. Recently, research on European perceptions of the Mongols has been increasing. These studies specifically analyze how the Mongols were represented in European paintings, literary works, and maps. 4 These studies showed that in the mid-13th century, the Mongols were identified as denizens of hell, but European perceptions of the Mongols also changed as exchanges and contacts with the Mongol realm increased. These studies interpret that European Christians hoped for military cooperation with the Mongols against Islam, and that this hope led to a positive view of the Mongols. However, interpretations based on paintings and literary works show only one aspect of the Europeans' attitudes toward and perceptions of the Mongols. At the end of the Middle Ages, the Mongols generally came to Europe as diplomatic envoys, or were imported as slaves to Europe. Clearly, their existence directly or indirectly influenced Europeans' perceptions of the Mongols. In this context, to accurately understand the perceptions and attitudes of medieval rari.