Editing Eighth Crusade (section)

===Clement IV and Gregory X===
Urban IV died in October 1264 and [[Pope Clement IV|Clement IV]] was elected as pope in February 1265.<ref>William Walker Rockwell (1911). "[[wikisource:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Clement/Clement IV|Clement IV]]". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. '''6''' (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 483–484.</ref> Abaqa attempted to secure cooperation with the Western Christians against the Mamluks. Beginning in 1267, he corresponded with Clement IV and sent an ambassador to Europe in 1268, trying to form a [[Franco-Mongol alliance]] between his forces, those of the West, and those of his father-in-law Michael VIII. In 1267, the pope and [[James I of Aragon]] sent [[Jayme Alaric de Perpignan]] as an ambassador to Abaqa. In 1267, a papal letter responded positively to previous messages from the Mongols, and informed the Ilkhan of an impending Crusade:

{{blockquote|The kings of France and Navarre, taking to heart the situation in the Holy Land, and decorated with the Holy Cross, are readying themselves to attack the enemies of the Cross. You wrote to us that you wished to join your father-in-law (the Greek emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos) to assist the Latins. We abundantly praise you for this, but we cannot tell you yet, before having asked to the rulers, what road they are planning to follow. We will transmit to them your advice, so as to enlighten their deliberations, and will inform your Magnificence, through a secure message, of what will have been decided.|1267 letter from Pope Clement IV to Abaqa{{sfn|Grousset|1934|p=644|loc=Volume 3, Clement IV and Abaqa}}}}Aqaba received responses from Rome and from James I of Aragon, though it is unclear if this was what led to James' unsuccessful expedition to Acre in 1269. Abaqa is recorded as having written to the Aragonese king, saying that he was going to send his brother, Aghai, to join the Aragonese when they arrived in Cilicia. Abaqa also sent embassies to [[Edward I of England]]. Clement IV died in 1268 and, following the [[1268–1271 papal election|longest papal election]] in history, was succeeded by [[Pope Gregory X|Gregory X]] in September 1271.<ref>Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "[[wikisource:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Gregory (Popes)/Gregory X|Gregory X]]". ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. '''12''' (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 574.</ref> In 1274, Abaqa sent a Mongol delegation to Gregory X at the [[Second Council of Lyons]], where Abaqa's secretary [[Rychaldus]] read a report to the assembly, reminding them of Hulagu's friendliness towards Christians, and assuring them that Abaqa planned to drive the Muslims from Syria.{{sfn|Cahen|1969|pp=722–723|loc=Abagha}}