Mongol-Crusader alliance

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Mongol_alliance

Now, WI if any of the attempts between the Franks & mongols to establish an alliance against the Saracens- perhaps even before the 13th C- had come to some sort of fruition ? Would the kingdom of Prester John- based on the influence of Nestorian Christians among the Mongol Khans- actually have been a reality to medieval Europeans ?
 
Needs a VERY early POD and Berke needs to be kept away from the reins of power in Sarai. If the Golden Horde and the Hulegids go to war, it's over for the traditionalist faction in the Ilkhanate, since they will need to increasingly rely on the local population. Say the Sartaqids (as in he has real heirs) keep power in Sarai (Berke is somehow out of the picture), and ally themselves with Abaqa (who is pretty strongly Buddhist), we could start somewhere. Maybe.

That and they cannot lose early battles, like Ain Jalut.
 
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