Giovanni da Pian del Carpine

Giovanni da Pian del Carpine OFM was a medieval Italian diplomat, Catholic archbishop, explorer and one of the first Europeans to enter the court of the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. He was the author of the earliest important Western account of North and Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and other regions of the Mongol dominion. He served as the Primate of Serbia, based in Antivari, from 1247 to 1252.