Rubruck's mission to the Mongol Empire

Timeline

1. 1253Cyprus to the lower Volga · lower VolgaOn the orders of King Louis IX of France, Rubruck traveled from Acre to Cyprus, crossed the Black Sea to Crimea, and entered the Golden Horde. He stopped at a Byzantine trading post on the lower Volga, presented the king's letter to Saruqa Khan, was granted permission to continue eastward, and observed the multi-ethnic settlements and trade under Mongol rule.
2. 1254Karakorum · Mongolian PlateauRubruck crossed the Central Asian steppe and arrived at Karakorum, capital of the Mongol Empire, in 1254, attending a festival banquet hosted by Möngke Khan and engaging in theological debates at the khan's court. He presented the king's letter requesting a Mongol-Christian alliance and protection for missionaries, but Möngke Khan stated that the Mongols followed their own laws and that missionaries must submit to khanal authority; the political objective was not achieved.
3. 1255Tripoli · LevantRubruck returned west from the Mongolian Plateau, passing again through the Golden Horde and the Black Sea back to the Levant, arriving at Tripoli in 1255 to report his journey orally to King Louis IX. He then compiled his observations into the Latin travel account Itinerarium, detailing Mongol political institutions, religious pluralism, and the geography and peoples of Central Asia, becoming one of the most important 13th-century European documents on the East.