We Found Here A
Certain Christian From Damascus, Who Said That He Came From The Sultan Of
Mons Regalis And Crax, Who Desired To Become The Ally And Tributary Of The
Great Khan.
The year before I came thither, there was a certain clerk of Aeon or
Ptolemais in Syria, who called himself Raimund, but his true name was
Theodolus.
This man went with friar Andrew from Cyprus into Persia, and
procured certain instruments from Amoricus, who remained in Persia after
Andrew returned. Theodolus went forwards with these instruments to the
khan, pretending that a certain bishop had received letters from heaven in
gold characters, saying that the khan should be king of the whole earth,
but that his horse had fled from him among woods and mountains, so that he
had lost all. And Theodolus engaged to conduct ambassadors from the khan to
the Pope and the king of France. Then Mangu caused an exceedingly strong
bow to be made, which two men could hardly bend, and two arrows made of
silver, full of holes in their heads, which whistled when they were shot;
and he chose a Moal to accompany Theodolus as his ambassador, ordering him
to present these things to the king of France, and to say, if he would have
peace with the Tartars, they would conquer the country of the Saracens, and
would grant him ail the other countries of the west. But if the king
refused, the Moal was to bring back the bow and arrows, and to inform the
king that the Tartars shot far and sharp with such bows.
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