Rabban Bar Sauma in Europe
Marco Polo in reverse: a monk from Beijing visits Paris
Rabban Bar Sauma, a Nestorian monk from Khanbaliq (Beijing), reached Europe as envoy of the Mongol Ilkhan. In 1287 he met King Philip IV of France and King Edward I of England, then the Pope.
Wikipedia (Russian) · Wikipedia (English) · 13th century
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While Marco Polo served Kublai Khan in China, a monk from Beijing toured Europe. In 1287 Rabban Bar Sauma met the kings of France and England, and in 1288 the Pope. Share →
Meanwhile around the world (±25 years)
Asia
- 1271 Kublai Khan founds the Yuan dynasty — 16 years earlier
- 1271–1295 Travels of Marco Polo — 16 years earlier
- 1281 Kamikaze, the divine wind — 6 years earlier
- 1293 Founding of Majapahit — 6 years later
Oceania
- c. 1280 Polynesians settle New Zealand — 7 years earlier
Alive at the time
- Kublai Khan (aged 72)
- Marco Polo (aged 33)
- Dante Alighieri (aged 22)
- Rudolf I (aged 69)
- Edward I Longshanks (aged 48)
- Osman I (aged 29)
- Philip IV the Fair (aged 19)
- Mansa Musa (aged 7)
- Orhan (aged 6)
- Adolf of Nassau (aged 37)