James D. Ryan is Professor emeritus, City University of New York, USA.

• Contents: Introduction; Bibliography; Part I The Crusade and The Mission: The First Crusade and the conversion of the 'pagans', Jean Flori; The Latin Church and the Crusader states, Bernard Hamilton; Missionaries and Crusaders, 1095-1274: opponents or allies?, Elizabeth Siberry; Crusade and conversion after the Fourth Lateran Council (1215): Oliver of Paderborn's and James of Vitry's missions to the Muslims reconsidered, Jessalynn Lea Bird. Part II Discovering Asia: Eastern missions of the Hungarian Dominicans in the first half of the 13th century, Mary Dienes; Simon of Saint-Quentin and the Dominican mission to the Mongol Baiju: a reappraisal, Gregory G. Guzman; Western views of the origin of the ’Tartars’: an example of the influence of myth in the second half of the 13th century, Charles W. Connell; The opening of the land routes to Cathay, Eileen Power; Italian merchants in the Mongol empire, Luciano Petech; Brother Jordan of Sévérac, Arthur C. Moule. Part III The Missions Within the Mongol Empire: The Yangchow Latin tombstone as a landmark of medieval Christianity in China, Francis A. Rouleau; The conversion of the Alani by the Franciscan missionaries in China in the 14th century, Frank W. Ilké; The Il-khans of Persia and the princes of Europe, John Andrew Boyle; An unknown letter of Hulagu, Il-Khan of Persia, to King Louis IX of France, Paul Meyvaert; Christian wives of Mongol Khans: Tartar queens and missionary expectations in Asia, James D. Ryan; The Mongols and the faith of the conquered, Peter Jackson; The missions to the north of the Black Sea (13th-15th centuries), Jean Richard; Index.