"Author Gabriel Ronay discovered the existence of the Tartar Khan's English-born personal envoy, interpreter and spy in a thirteenth-century monastic chronicle. In this extraordinary biography he pieces together the remarkable career of the mysterious envoy." "The Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan (1167?-1227) built an empire stretching from the China Sea to Eastern Europe on the bones of massacred millions. Known for his ruthless carnage, he was also a brilliant ruler whose empire lasted until 1368." "It was his grandson, Batu, who carried the Mongol domination to the walls of bickering Christendom and beyond. The architect of the diplomatic drive that preceded the Tartar holocaust was a mysterious Englishman whose actions and diplomacy have left their stamp on the face of Europe." "Peppered with kings and warriors, missionary friars and mass murderers, this is the story of that intriguing individual. Gabriel Ronay lifts the cloak of anonymity to follow in his footsteps across countries and civilizations. He reconstructs his subject's adventures in King John's service, as an outcast in the Holy Land and eventually as the representative of awesome Tartar power."--BOOK JACKET