Max Sinister
Banned
I recently read "the handbook of useless knowledge" where I found a crazy, though not entirely impossible story. The story was about the life of an English chaplain named Robert. He was sent somewhen during the reign of John Lackland with some other people to the "emperor of Spain and Africa" (i.e. the Almohad caliph) to suggest an alliance "against England's enemies" (that probably included the pope, but I'm just guessing). For the case that the caliph would support them, John Lackland promised him to convert to Islam, together with all the people in England. The caliph, however, denied. Later, the people from this delegation would return to England and repent what they had done - except for Robert himself. Even later, there was a man from Europe who worked as an advisor for Genghis Khan and suggested to him that he should attack Europe. Even later, when the Mongols were in Hungary, some European was arrested for he had spied for the Mongols, leading to their fast victory against Hungary, and burned in Budapest. The book suggested that all these men might be identical persons.
I don't want to speculate about the latter parts of this story - it sounds a bit too fantastic - but I'd like to think about the first part of it, a possible alliance between John Lackland and the caliph (let's assume that's true). What would've happened if the caliph hadn't have denied that proposal?
I don't want to speculate about the latter parts of this story - it sounds a bit too fantastic - but I'd like to think about the first part of it, a possible alliance between John Lackland and the caliph (let's assume that's true). What would've happened if the caliph hadn't have denied that proposal?
