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Hulagu Khan

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Hulagu
Khan
Hulagu with his Kerait queen Doquz Khatun
Reign1217 - 1265
Died8 February 1265
Burial
ConsortDokuz Khatun
FatherTolui
MotherSorghaghtani Beki
ReligionBuddhism[note 1][1][2][3]

Hulagu Khan, also known as Hulagu, Hülegü or Hulegu (Хүлэгү, Khülegü; Chagatai/Persian: ہلاکو - Halaku; Arabic: هولاكو; c. 1217 – 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Southwest Asia and established the Illkhanate.

Son of Tolui and the Kerait princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan, and the brother of Arik Boke, Mongke and Kublai Khan. He was also the step-father of Absh Khatun. Hulagu's army greatly expanded the southwestern portion of the Mongol Empire, founding the Ilkhanate of Persia. Under his leadership, the Mongols destroyed the two greatest centers of Islamic power, Baghdad in the year 1258,[4] and Damascus, causing a shift of Islamic influence to the Mamluks in Cairo.

The Polos[change | change source]

Nicolò and Maffeo in Bukhara, where they stayed for three years. They were invited by a envoy of Hulagu (right) to travel east to visit the Great Khan Kubilai.

Niccolò and Maffeo Polo reportedly travelled to the realm of Hulagu and stayed in the city of Bukhara, in modern day Uzbekistan, where the family lived and traded for three years from 1261 to 1264.

Notes[change | change source]

  1. Though Hülagü Khan was a Buddhist, he was also influenced by Nestorian Christianity through his wife, as well as by traditional Tengrist beliefs of the Mongols.

References[change | change source]

  1. Martin, Dan; Samten, Jampa (2014). "Letters for the Khans: Six Tibetan Epistles for the Mongol Rulers Hulegu and Khubilai, and the Tibetan Lama Pagpa. Co-authored with Jampa Samten". In Roberto Vitali (ed.). Trails of The Tibetan Tradition: Papers for Elliot Sperling. Amnye Machen Institute. ISBN 9788186227725.
  2. Grousset, René (1970). The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia. Rutgers University Press. p. 358. ISBN 9780813513041.
  3. Vaziri, Mostafa (2012). "Buddhism during the Mongol Period in Iran". Buddhism in Iran: An Anthropological Approach to Traces and Influences. Palgrave Macmillan US. pp. 111–131. doi:10.1057/9781137022943_7. ISBN 9781137022943.
  4. "Six Essays from the Book of Commentaries on Euclid". www.wdl.org. 12 February 2019.
  • Boyle, J.A., (Editor). The Cambridge History of Iran: Volume 5, The Saljuq and Mongol Periods . Cambridge University Press; Reissue edition (January 1, 1968). ISBN 0-521-06936-X. Perhaps the best overview of the history of the il-khanate. Covers politics, economics, religion, culture and the arts and sciences. Also has a section on the Isma'ilis, Hulagu's nemesis.
  • Encyclopedia Iranica has scholar-reviewed articles on a wide range of Persian subjects, including Hulagu.
  • Morgan, David. The Mongols. Blackwell Publishers; Reprint edition, April 1990. ISBN 0-631-17563-6. Best for an overview of the wider context of medieval Mongol history and culture.
  • Atwood, Christopher P. (2004). The Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire. Facts on File, Inc. ISBN 0-8160-4671-9.

Other websites[change | change source]

Preceded by
none
Ilkhan Emperors
1256–1265
Succeeded by
Abaqa