Who was the Nestorian Christian monk who traveled from the Mongol Empire to Europe?

The Nestorian Christian monk who traveled from the Mongol Empire to Europe was Rabban Bar Sauma. A monk of the Church of the East, he was born around 1220 near modern Beijing and later became a diplomat and ambassador for the Mongol Ilkhanate.

Bar Sauma originally set out from Yuan China with his student Markos on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Warfare and instability prevented them from reaching their destination, so they settled in the Ilkhanate. Markos eventually became Yahballaha III, Patriarch of the Church of the East, and helped arrange Bar Sauma’s diplomatic mission to Europe.

In 1287, Bar Sauma traveled through Europe carrying letters and gifts from Ilkhan Arghun. He met rulers and church leaders, including the pope, and sought support for a possible Franco-Mongol alliance against the Mamluks. The diplomatic effort achieved no lasting military partnership.

Bar Sauma is sometimes confused with John of Plano Carpini or William of Rubruck, Latin Christian envoys who traveled eastward to the Mongol court. His journey is remarkable because it offers the reverse perspective: an observer from Mongol-ruled Asia describing medieval Europe.