First Khan of the Ilkhanate

Hulegu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulagu, was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Western Asia. As a son of Tolui and the Keraite princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of Ariq Böke, Möngke Khan, and Kublai Khan.

Hulegu's army greatly expanded the southwestern portion of the Mongol Empire, founding the Ilkhanate in Persia. Under Hulegu's leadership, the Mongols sacked and destroyed Baghdad, ending the Islamic Golden Age and the Abbasid dynasty. They also weakened Damascus, causing a shift of Islamic influence to the Mamluk Sultanate in Cairo.

Background

Hulegu was born to Tolui, one of Genghis Khan's sons, and Sorghaghtani Beki, an influential Keraite princess and a niece of Toghrul in 1217. Not much is known of Hulegu's childhood except of an anecdote given in Jami' al-Tawarikh and he once met his grandfather Genghis Khan with Kublai in 1224.

Military campaigns

Hulegu's brother Möngke Khan had been installed as Great Khan in 1251. Möngke charged Hulegu with leading a massive Mongol army to conquer or destroy the remaining Muslim states in southwestern Asia. Hulegu's campaign sought the subjugation of the Lurs of southern Iran, the destruction of the Nizari Ismaili state (the Assassins), the submission or destruction of the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad, the submission or destruction of the Ayyubid states in Syria based in Damascus, and finally, the submission or destruction of the Bahri Mamluke Sultanate of Egypt. Möngke ordered Hulegu to treat kindly those who submitted and utterly destroy those who did not. Hulegu vigorously carried out the latter part of these instructions.

Hulegu marched out with perhaps the largest Mongol army ever assembled - by order of Möngke, two-tenths of the empire's fighting men were gathered for Hulegu's army in 1253. He arrived at Transoxiana in 1255. He easily destroyed the Lurs, and the Assassins surrendered their impregnable fortress of Alamut without a fight, accepting a deal that spared the lives of their people in early 1256. He chose Azerbaijan as his power base, while ordering Baiju to retreat to Anatolia. From at least 1257 onwards, Muslims and Christians of every major religious variety in Europe, the Middle East, and mainland Asia were a part of Hulegu's army.

Death

Hulegu Khan fell seriously ill in January 1265 and died the following month on the banks of Zarrineh River (then called Jaghatu) and was buried on Shahi Island in Lake Urmia. His funeral was the only Ilkhanate funeral to feature human sacrifice. His tomb has never been found.

Legacy

Hulegu Khan laid the foundations of the Ilkhanate and thus paved the way for the later Safavid dynastic state, and ultimately the modern country of Iran. Hulegu's conquests also opened Iran to both European influence from the west and Buddhist influence from the east. Thus, combined with patronage from his successors, would develop Iran's distinctive excellence in architecture. Under Hulegu's dynasty, Iranian historians began writing in Persian rather than Arabic. It is recorded however that he converted to Buddhism as he neared death, against the will of Doquz Khatun. The erection of a Buddhist temple at Ḵoy testifies his interest in that religion. Recent translations of various Tibetan monks' letters and epistles to Hulegu confirms that he was a lifelong Buddhist, following the Kagyu school.

Hulegu also patronized Nasir al-Din Tusi and his researches in Maragheh observatory. Another of his proteges were Juvayni brothers Ata Malik and Shams al-Din Juvayni. His reign as the ruler of Ilkhanate was peaceful and tolerant to diversity.