Mary of Egypt reportedly converted to Christianity during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. One of the earliest pilgrim accounts of Jerusalem is that left behind by a Roman woman named Egeria: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egeria_(pilgrim)
The #Byzantine Empire wanted to make peace with the #Mongols, so emperor Michael VIII (r. 1258-82) sent an illegitimate daughter named Maria (Palaiologina) for a marriage alliance. After her husband Abaqa died in 1280, she returned to Constantinople, and eventually became head of an important monastery. The church was called "St. Mary of the Mongols," and is today the only Byzantine church in Istanbul never to have been converted into a mosque. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Palaiologina
The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in twenty-five years than the Romans did in four hundred. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.
I think I found the worst historical Critically Failed Perception Check... when the Georgians hailed Genghis Khan's invading force as Christian friends with a magical cross that could generate food endlessly.
Meanwhile, for the first time in Penguin Classics !!! Where it ought to have been decades ago... The Secret History of the Mongols. 13th century epic/history. Can we hope it becomes as well-known now in English as an Icelandic saga?
@PoisChiche pour toi https://social.sciences.re/@crideaukikuchi/110853997275992857
crideaukikuchi@sciences.re - Tout juste achevé, quelle claque ! Ca se lit comme un roman d'aventure : on suit le développement de la Horde du côté de la Volga en étant tenu en haleine du début jusqu'à la fin...
J'y ai découvert un monde dont j'ignorais à peu près tout (modulo la peste de 1348 qui arrive en Europe via Caffa et les Mongols, et la prise de Bagdad de 1258...), à travers une histoire politique qui n'oublie ni l'histoire sociale ni l'histoire environnementale...