correspondence with the Mongol Ilkhanate rule Abaqa. The latter proposed a Franco-Mongol alliance between his forces, those of the West, and the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaeologos (Abaqa's father-in-law). Pope Clement welcomed Abaqa's proposal in a non-committal manner, but did inform him of an upcoming Crusade. In 1267, Pope Clement IV and King James I of Aragon sent an ambassador to the Mongol ruler Abaqa in the person of Jayme Alaric de Perpignan. In his 1267 letter written from Viterbo, the Pope wrote: Although Clement's successors continued to engage in diplomatic contacts with the Mongols for the rest of the century, they were never able to coordinate an actual alliance. Death and burial Within months Clement IV was dead as well, and was buried at the Dominican convent, Santa Maria in Gradi, just outside Viterbo, where he resided throughout his pontificate. In 1885, his remains were transferred to the church, San Francesco alla Rocca, in Viterbo. Owing to irreconcilable divisions among the cardinals, the papal throne remained vacant for nearly three years. Clement IV's private character was praised by contemporaries for his asceticism, and he is especially commended for his indisposition to promote and enrich his own relatives. He also ordered the Franciscan scholar Roger Bacon to write the Opus Majus, which is addressed to him. See also List of popes References Citations Bibliography Jean Dunbabin, Charles I of Anjou: Power, Kingship and State-Making in Thirteenth-Century Europe (Addison Wesley Longman 1998; London-New York: Routledge 2014). External links "Le pape, le roy et l'alchimiste : Clémént IV – saint Louis – Roger Bacon" by Laurent Ryder 1195 births 1268 deaths People from Saint-Gilles, Gard Cardinals created by Pope Urban IV Popes French popes Diplomats of the Holy See Cardinal-bishops of Sabina Bishops of Le Puy-en-Velay Archbishops of Narbonne 13th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in France Major Penitentiaries of the Apostolic Penitentiary Viterbo Papacy Year of birth unknown 13th-century popes