1287–1289: Ilkhanate Mongols and Distant Diplomacy

During Philip IV’s early reign, as European powers negotiate locally, the Mongol Ilkhanate of Persia remains a distant but significant actor in the geopolitical imagination of the Christian West.

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🐴 The Ilkhanate Context

The Mongol Ilkhanate, ruling Persia and the Levant, represents a vast military power potentially hostile to Islamic sultanates. Some Latin Christian rulers—particularly those involved in Levantine crusading—consider alliance with the Ilkhanate as a way to contain Arab-Muslim expansion.

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✉️ Diplomatic Overtures

French and other European envoys explore contacts with the Ilkhanate rulers (Khans), seeking to coordinate against shared enemies. These contacts remain sporadic and produce limited concrete results, but they show the global ambitions of the era.

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🏹 Military Considerations

The possibility of Mongol-Christian alliance might provide leverage in Mediterranean and Eastern affairs. However, distance, religious distrust and political instability make lasting alliances difficult.

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📉 Limited Outcomes

By the early 14th century, these distant diplomatic initiatives have produced little strategic result. The Ilkhanate itself begins to decline in the 1330s, and European powers focus increasingly on regional rivalries—particularly the Franco-English conflict.

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🧠 Key Points to Remember

• Diplomacy with the Ilkhanate represents ambitions beyond Western Europe.
• Distance and practical obstacles limit the effectiveness of such alliances.