Early Image

The method of Orientalisation used by these writers was simple. Acquiring some foreign names, which were abundant in The Arabian Nights and its companion tales, they sprinkled the narrative with some exotic images or a few well-known Oriental words, and gave a last touch with the conventional description of the wealth and magnificence of the East.
In 1245 the Council of Lyons met and decided to take effective measures for converting the Mongols to Christianity. Pope Innocent IV sent two Franciscans, John of Plano Carpini and Friar Benedict, to the capital of the Great Khan, Kuyuk. Friar John's account of his travels entitled History of the Mongols was of great significance in providing Europe with a considerable amount of factual information on the geography, religion, language and ways of life of the Mongols and other Orients.