New Friends and New Enemies in the East: John of Solṭāniyyeh (O.P.), Timūr Barlas, and the Latin West: Diplomatic Practice, Political Interests, and Cultural Representations (1399-1404)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6093/1593-2214/14124Keywords:
14th-15th centuries, Timūr Barlas, Mongols/Tartars, Timurids, Diplomacy, Imaginative representation, Dominicans, diplomatic alliancesAbstract
This article examines the diplomatic relations between Timūr Barlas and the Latin West between 1399 and 1404, focusing on the mediating role played by the Dominican Order. Through an analysis of diplomatic correspondence and contemporary chronicles, the study shows how Timūr Barlas, initially perceived as a threat to Christians, gradually came to be represented as a potential ally against Ottoman expansion. It also highlights how this transformation was shaped by interpretative models inherited from Latin-Mongol relations: the Timurids were portrayed as heirs to the Chinggisid tradition and integrated into a political and symbolic continuity that helped legitimize the new alliance. The article argues that diplomacy, commercial interests, missionary ambitions, and cultural representations all contributed to the construction of relations between East and West at the beginning of the Fifteenth century.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Giovanni Di Bella
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