Thomas of Mancasola explained

Thomas of Mancasola, or Thomas of Mancasol^[1] (fl. 1328), was a Dominican cleric^[2] in the Chagatai Khanate who became bishop of Samarkand.^[3]

Prior to his appointment Thomas had served as a cleric in Mongol-ruled Turkestan. The region, in Thomas's time ruled by Eljigidey khan, allowed local Christians significant freedom to worship, and Thomas obtained a commendation from Eljigidey for the trip to Rome that saw him granted the bishopric of Samarkand.^[4]

Thomas is known from the Mirabilia of Friar Jordanus, which describes him as bishop of "Semiscat"; this place was positively identified as Samarkand during the nineteenth century.^{[5] [6]} Thomas, according to the Mirabilia, accompanied Jordanus on a journey to take the pallium, an ecclesiastical vestment, to John de Cora, the newly appointed archbishop of Sultaniyah in Persia.^[7] Thomas's bishopric, along with that of Jordanus, fell within the province of this new metropolitan.^[8]

Notes and References

1. Book: Moffett, Samuel H. . Orbis . 1998 . 1-57075-162-5 . A History of Christianity in Asia .
2. Dickens . Mark . 2000 . The Church of the East: The Rest of the Story. . . 32 . 2 . 107–125 .
3. Book: Beazley, Charles Raymond . P. Smith . 1949 . The Dawn of Modern Geography: From the middle of the thirteenth to the early years of the fifteenth century (c.A.D. 1260-1420) . 221 .
4. Book: Polo, Marco . Travels of Marco Polo . Plain Label Books . 1942 . 1-60303-300-9 . 788.
5. Book: Yule, Henry . Cathay and the way thither; a collection of medieval notices of China . 1866 . 192 . .
6. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland . . Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland . 1873 . 6 . 92 .
7. Charles Raymond . Beazley . Jordanus . 15 . 512.
8. Book: Gerson da Cunha, J. . Notes on the history and antiquities of Chaul and Bassein . 172–3 . 81-206-0845-3 . Asian Educational Services . 1993 .