 There has been much discussion among historians as to why the Franco @-@ Mongol alliance never became a reality and why , despite all the diplomatic contacts , it stayed a chimera or fantasy . Many reasons have been proposed : one was that the Mongols at that stage in their empire were not entirely focused on expanding to the West . By the late 13th century , the Mongol leaders were several generations removed from the great Genghis Khan , and internal disruption was brewing . The original nomadic Mongols from the day of Genghis had become more settled , and had turned into administrators instead of conquerors . Battles were springing up that were Mongol against Mongol , which took troops away from the front in Syria . There was also confusion within Europe as to the differences between the Mongols of the Ilkhanate in the Holy Land , and the Mongols of the Golden Horde , who were attacking Eastern Europe in Hungary and Poland . Within the Mongol Empire , the Ilkhanids and the Golden Horde considered each other enemies , but it took time for Western observers to be able to distinguish between the different parts of the Mongol Empire . From the Mongol side , there were also concerns as to just how much clout the Franks could have brought to bear , especially as there was decreased interest in Europe in pursuing the Crusades . Court historians of Mongol Iran made no mention whatsoever of the communications between the Ilkhans and the Christian West , and barely mentioned the Franks at all . The communications were evidently not seen as important by the Mongols , and may have even been considered embarrassing . The Mongol leader Ghazan , a converted Muslim since 1295 , might not have wanted to be perceived as trying to gain the assistance of infidels against his fellow Muslims in Egypt . When Mongol historians did make notes of foreign territories , the areas were usually categorized as either " enemies " , " conquered " , or " in rebellion " . The Franks , in that context , were listed in the same category as the Egyptians , in that they were enemies to be conquered . The idea of " ally " was foreign to the Mongols . 
