Hulagu Khan
Founder of the Ilkhanate and commander of the western campaign
Biography
Hulagu Khan was a prominent Mongol ruler and general who conquered much of Western Asia. A grandson of Genghis Khan and the son of Tolui, he was the younger brother of Möngke Khan and Kublai Khan. Under the orders of Möngke Khan, Hulagu was appointed to lead a massive campaign to subdue the Islamic states in the Middle East. He systematically subdued the Assassin fortresses, conquered Iraq and Syria, and eventually founded the Ilkhanate in Persia, establishing a dynasty that ruled the region for generations.
Hulagu is most famous for leading the devastating Siege of Baghdad in 1258, which brought a tragic end to the 500-year-old Abbasid Caliphate. The conquest of Baghdad caused massive destruction and loss of life in the Islamic world. Interestingly, a unique historical legend surrounds this event regarding Hulagu's favored wife, Doquz Khatun. Because she was a devout Nestorian Christian, Hulagu ordered that the Christian population of Baghdad be protected. While the rest of the city faced ruin, the Christians were safely gathered in churches under the Empress's protection.
Another famous legend recounts the final encounter between Hulagu and the last Caliph of Baghdad. Hulagu reportedly presented the captured Caliph with a golden plate piled high with jewels and coins, telling him to eat them. When the Caliph protested that gold could not be eaten, Hulagu reprimanded him, asking why he had hoarded such useless metal instead of spending it to hire brave soldiers or reinforce the city walls to defend his people. Following the Mongol tradition that forbade shedding royal blood on the earth, Hulagu ordered the Caliph to be wrapped in a woolen rug and trampled to death by horses. Despite his reputation as a brutal conqueror, Hulagu was also a patron of science, notably funding the construction of the grand Maragheh Observatory to support astronomers from various cultures.
When news of Möngke's death arrived, Hülegü broke off his Syrian campaign and returned east with most of his army. The force he left behind was beaten by the Egyptian Mamluks at Ain Jalut in 1260, and the Mongol advance westward ended there. He was soon fighting his cousin Berke over the pastures of the Caucasus: in 1262 he pushed north through the Derbent pass, and in January 1263 he was badly beaten at the Terek River, where the ice gave way beneath his retreating men.
Hülegü died in Azerbaijan in 1265 and was succeeded by his son Abaqa. He is said to have been buried on Shahi Island in Lake Urmia, and stories long held that great treasure was placed in the tomb and the site hidden from everyone; no grave has ever been found. The Ilkhanate he founded went on to take up Persian culture and Islam and became a state rooted in that land.