Hulagu Khan: a Mongol Conqueror of the Western Asia

Hulagu Khan, sometimes known as Hülegü or Hulegu, was a Mongol conqueror of Western Asia. He was the grandson of the great Genghis Khan and the brother of Ariq Böke, Möngke Khan, and Kublai Khan. Tolui and the Keraite princess Sorghaghtani Beki had a son named Sorghaghtani Beki. Hulagu's army substantially extended the Mongol Empire's southwestern sector, creating the Ilkhanate of Persia, which served as a forerunner to the future Safavid dynasty and, eventually, the current state of Iran. The siege of Baghdad (1258), led by Hulagu, damaged Baghdad's status in the Islamic Golden Age and crippled Damascus, resulting in a transfer of Islamic dominance to Cairo's Mamluk Sultanate, the Abbasid Dynasty.

Hulagu was born in 1215 to Tolui, a son of Genghis Khan, and Sorghaghtani Beki, a powerful Keraite princess and Toghrul's niece. Hulagu's childhood is only known from an anecdote written in Jami' al-Tawarikh, and he met his grandpa Genghis Khan alongside Kublai around 1224.

Möngke Khan, Hulagu's brother, was appointed as Great Khan in 1251. Möngke tasked Hulagu with leading a huge Mongol army into southwestern Asia to capture or destroy the surviving Muslim kingdoms. Hulagu's campaign aimed to subjugate the Lurs of southern Iran, destroy the Nizari Ismaili state (the Assassins), subjugate or destroy the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad, subjugate or destroy the Ayyubid states in Syria based in Damascus, and finally, subjugate or destroy the Bahri Mamluke Sultanate of Egypt. Möngke told Hulagu to treat those who submitted well and to destroy those who refused. The last portion of these orders was followed out with zeal by Hulagu. Hulagu marched out with the greatest Mongol army ever collected — two-tenths of the empire's fighting men were recruited for Hulagu's army in 1253 by Möngke's edict. In 1255, he landed in Transoxiana. The Lurs were quickly defeated, and the Assassins abandoned their formidable citadel of Alamut without a fight in early 1256, accepting a bargain that spared their people's lives. Hulagu Khan established his power base in Azerbaijan while forcing Baiju to flee to Anatolia.

In November 1257, Hulagu's Mongol army started towards Baghdad. When he got close enough to the city, he split his forces to attack it from both site on the east and west banks of the Tigris. Hulagu demanded submission, but Al-Musta'sim, the caliph, refused. A revolt in the Baghdad army occurred due to the betrayal of Abu Alquma, an advisor to Al-Muta'sim, and the Siege of Baghdad started. The invading Mongols inundated the land behind the caliph's army, trapping them. The army was largely killed or drowned. On January 29th, 1258, the Mongols, led by Chinese commander Guo Kan, laid siege to the city, erecting a wall and a trench and wheeling up siege engines and catapults. By siege standards, the fight was brief. The Mongols had taken possession of a section of the wall by February 5th. The caliph attempted to bargain but was turned down. Baghdad surrendered on February 10th. On February 13th, the Mongols stormed into the city and began a week of destruction. The Grand Library of Baghdad was burned, destroying innumerable valuable historical records and volumes on medicine to astronomy. Mongol troops intercepted citizens who sought to leave. Death tolls vary significantly and are difficult to verify: A conservative estimate puts the death toll at 90,000; higher estimates vary from 200,000 to a million.

The Mongols pillaged and then destroyed their prey. Mosques, palaces, libraries, and hospitals – magnificent structures built over centuries — were destroyed by fire. The caliph was kidnapped and forced to watch while his people were killed and his wealth was looted. Hulagu is said to have starved the caliph to death in Il Milione, a book on the travels of Venetian trader Marco Polo, although there is no proof for this. Most historians agree that the Mongol and Muslim report that the caliph was wrapped up in a rug and ridden by the Mongols because they felt royal blood would insult the soil. All of his sons were slain, except for one. For centuries, Baghdad was a deserted and destroyed city. Smaller kingdoms in the vicinity rushed to convince Hulagu of their allegiance, and in 1259, the Mongols invaded Syria, capturing the Ayyubid dynasty and sent advance patrols as far as Gaza. During the Mongol Khan Hulagu's conquest of the Middle East, many northern Chinese sappers joined him.

In 1260, the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and the Franks of Bohemond VI of Antioch combined Mongol forces with their Christian vassals in the area, led by Hethum I, King of Armenia. This force overran the Ayyubid dynasty's Muslim Syria. They besieged Aleppo and, in 1260, conquered Damascus under the Christian commander Kitbuqa. The Umayyad Mosque hosted a Christian Mass, and several mosques were profaned. Although some contemporary historians, like David Morgan, have questioned this narrative as apocryphal, many historical records mention the three Christian monarchs Hethum, Bohemond, and Kitbuqa, entering Damascus united in triumph. The Ayyubids, a strong dynasty that had governed vast sections of the Levant, Egypt, and the Arabian Peninsula until then, were effectively decimated by the invasion. Hulagu assassinated the last Ayyubid ruler, An-Nasir Yusuf, in the same year. With Baghdad destroyed and Damascus weakened, Islamic power transferred to Cairo, the Mamluk sultan's capital. Hulagu planned to move troops south via Palestine on their way to Cairo. As a result, he had a threatening letter conveyed to Mamluk Sultan Qutuz in Cairo, demanding that Qutuz open his city or face the same fate as Baghdad. Hulagu then withdrew his main force to Iran near Azerbaijan, leaving behind two tumens (20,000 men) under Kitbuqa, which Hulagu considered sufficient, because food and fodder in Syria had become insufficient to supply his full force, and because it was customary Mongol practice to move troops to the cooler highlands for the summer. Hulagu then travelled to Mongolia to take part in the imperial succession dispute sparked by Great Khan Möngke eight months before. Qutuz immediately collected his well-trained and armed 12,000-strong army in Cairo and attacked Palestine after learning how few Mongols remained in the region. He subsequently allied with Baibars, a fellow Mamluk commander in Syria. They wanted to protect themselves from the Mongols but was also keen to avenge the Mongol seizure of Damascus, plunder of Baghdad, and invasion of Syria.

The Mongols sought to create a Frankish-Mongol alliance with (or at least, demand the submission of) the remainder of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, now based on Acre. Still, Pope Alexander IV had banned such an alliance. When Julian of Sidon provoked an incident that resulted in the death of one of Kitbuqa's grandchildren, tensions between Franks and Mongols rose. Kitbuqa had sacked Sidon, enraged. The Mamluks had approached the Barons of Acre, who had been approached by the Mongols, requesting military help against the Mongols. Although the Mamluks were long-time adversaries of the Franks, the Barons of Acre saw the Mongols as a more imminent threat. Rather than taking sides, the Crusaders took a careful neutral stance between the two forces. However, in an unprecedented move, they permitted the Egyptian Mamluks to march north through Crusader territory unhindered, even allowing them to camp near Acre to restock.

When word arrived in 1260 that the Mongols had crossed the Jordan River, Sultan Qutuz and his soldiers, mostly Mamluks of Turkic descent, marched southeast toward the Jezreel Valley's 'Spring Of Goliath' (known in Arabic as 'Ain Jalut'). In the Battle of Ain Jalut, they faced a Mongol force of around 20,000 men and fought for several hours. Baibars, the Mamluk leader, mostly used hit-and-run tactics to entice the Mongol armies to pursue him. Baibars and Qutuz had positioned most of their men in the highlands to wait for the Mongols to approach. Kitbuqa, now enraged by Baibars' and his forces' continual running, resolved to march ahead with all of the troops on the trail of the fleeing Egyptians. When the Mongols arrived in the hills, Egyptians emerged from hiding, and enemy forces surrounded the Mongols as concealed warriors attacked them from all sides, and Qutuz attacked the Mongol rear. The Egyptian army's strength is estimated to be between 24,000 and 120,000 soldiers. The Mongols could break clear of the trap and even stage a brief counterattack, but their numbers had been lessen to the point where defeat was certain. That day, nearly the entire Mongol force that had stayed in the region, including Kitbuqa, was slain or captured. The battle of Ain Jalut marked the pinnacle of the Mongol conquest.

Hulagu returned to his territories in 1262 after the succession was decided and his brother Kublai Khan was installed as Great Khan. He was pulled into a civil war with Batu Khan's brother Berke when he gathered his troops to invade the Mamluks and revenge the defeat at Ayn Jalut. After Hulagu assaulted Baghdad, Berke Khan, a Muslim convert and grandson of Genghis Khan, vowed vengeance and joined himself with the Mamluks. He organized a huge number of raids on Hulagu's lands, which Nogai Khan commanded. In the year 1263, Hulagu was defeated in an attempted assault north of the Caucasus. This was the first open Mongol conflict, and it heralded the collapse of the united Mongol empire. Hulagu killed Berke's or tough in vengeance for his failure, and Berke did the same in response. Even though Berke was a Muslim, he first rejected the notion of battling Hulagu because of Mongol brotherhood. Mongol swords, he said, kill Mongols. We could have conquered the entire globe if we had unified. However, the Golden Horde's economic position deteriorated due to the Ilkhanate's activities. He declared jihad because the Ilkhanids monopolized North Iran's riches and demanded that the Golden Horde not sell slaves to the Mamluks.

Sorghaghtani, Hulagu's mother, handled Mongol politics skillfully, preparing for her sons to become Mongol leaders. Hulagu was favourable to Christianity and was a Christian of the Church of the East (commonly referred to as "Nestorianism"). Hulagu's favourite wife, Doquz Khatun, and his closest friend and general, Kitbuqa, were Christians. Hulagu attempted to form a Franco-Mongol coalition against the Muslims by sending several dispatches to Europe. In the year 1262, he dispatched his secretary Rychaldus as well as an embassy to "all monarchs and princes throughout the world." The mission was caught in Sicily by Manfred, King of Sicily, who was at war with Pope Urban IV and allied with the Mamluk Sultanate, and Rychaldus was returned by ship. Hulagu offered an alliance to Louis IX of France in a letter delivered through John the Hungarian on April 10th, 1262. Unfortunately, the only manuscript known to have survived is in Vienna, Austria; thus, it is unknown whether the letter ever holds out Louis IX in Paris.  Hulagu claimed in the letter that he intended to take Jerusalem for the Pope's sake and that Louis should send a navy against the country Egypt:

From the top of the Mongol army who is eager to annihilate the perfidious Saracen nation, with the good-will support of the Christian faith, so that you, rulers of the coastal region on the opposite side of the sea, endeavour to deny a haven for the Infidels, your enemies and ours, by having your subjects diligently patrol the seas.

Despite several attempts, Hulagu and his successors could not ally with Europe, even though Mongol culture was popular in the West in the 13th century. As a result, many newborn children in Italy were given names like Can Grande ("Great Khan"), Alone (Hulagu), Argone (Arghun), and Cassano (Ghazan).

Hulagu had fourteen (14) wives and many concubines

Principal Wives

• Guyuk Khatun: Before reaching Iran, she died in Mongolia (Toralchi Güregen of the Oirat tribe and Checheikhen Khatun's daughter)
  • Jumghur: In the period the 1270s, she had died en route to Iran.
  • Bulughan agha: Jochi (from the Tatar clan, brother of Nukdan Khatun) and Chechagan Khatun, daughter of Temüge, married Jorma Güregen.
• Qutui Khatun: A female member situated of the Khongirad tribe
  • Takshin
  • Tekuder
• Yesunchin Khatun: A woman from the tribe of Suldus
  • Abaqa
• Dokuz Khatun was the widow of Tolui and the daughter of Uyku (son of Toghrul).
• Öljei Khatun: Guyuk's half-sister, Toralchi Güregen of the Oirat tribe's daughter
  • Möngke Temür (In the year 1256 to the year 1282)
  • Jamai Khatun: After the death of her sister Bulughan, she married Jorma Güregen.
  • Manggugan Khatun: She had married her cousin Chakar Güregen (son of Buqa Timur and niece of ljei Khatun) first, and then his son Taraghai second.
  • Baba Khatun: Lagzi Güregen, son of Arghun Aqa, is her husband.

Concubines

• Nogachin Aghchi: a Cathay lady from the Qutui Khatun camp
  • Yoshmut: Shirvan and Viceroy of Arran
  • Tubshin: During Abaqa's reign, he was Viceroy of Khorasan.
• Tuqtani: Irinjin's sister, Dokuz Khatun's niece
• Boraqchin Agachi, from Qutui Khatun's camp
  • Taraghai
    • Baydu
    • Eshil: Tuq Temür was his first wife, and afterwards his brother (son of Abdullah Aqa, a general of Abaqa)
• Arighan Agachi: Tengiz Güregen's daughter, from the Qutui Khatun camp
  • Ajai: During Abaqa's reign, he was Viceroy of Anatolia, and during Arghun's reign, he was Viceroy of Georgia.
    • Ildar
• Ajuja Agachi: a Chinese or Khitan lady from the Dokuz Khatun camp
  • Qonqurtai
• Yeshichin Agachi: a woman from the Kür'lüüt tribe, from the Qutui Khatun camp
  • Yesüder: During Abaqa's reign, he was Viceroy of Khorasan.
    • A daughter (married to Esen Buqa Güregen, son of Noqai Yarghuchi)
    • Khabash
• El Agachi: a woman from the Khongirad clan, from Dokuz Khatun's camp
  • Hulachu
    • Suleiman:
    • Kuchuk: After a protracted illness, he died when he was a child.
    • Khoja: died as a child
    • Qutluq Buqa: died as a child
    • three daughters
  • Shiba'uchi
• Irqan Agachi
  • Taraghai Khatun: Temülun Khatun was married to Taghai Timur of Khongirad (son of Shigu Güregen) and Taghai Timur (renamed Musa) of Khongirad (son of Shigu Güregen) (daughter of Genghis Khan)
• Mangligach Agachi
  • Qutluqqan Khatun: Yesu Buqa Güregen, son of Urughtu Noyan of the Dörben tribe, was married first, and Tukel, son of Yesu Buqa Güregen, was married second.
• A concubine from the camp of Dokuz Khatun
  • Todogaj Khatun: married first to Tengiz Güregen, then to Sulamish, his son, and last to Chichak, Sulamish's son.
• A concubine from the camp of Qutui Khatun
  • Toqai Timur
    • Qurumushi
    • Hajji

Hulagu Khan became gravely ill in January of 1265 and died the following month on the banks of the Zarrineh River (then known as Jaghatu) in Lake Urmia, where he was buried on Shahi Island. His burial was the first in the Ilkhanate to include a human sacrifice. Unfortunately, his grave has never been discovered.

Hulagu Khan established the Ilkhanate, paving the way for the later Safavid dynasty state and, eventually, the current Iranian nation. Hulagu's conquests also exposed Iran to European and Chinese influence from the West and East, respectively. This, along with sponsorship from his successors, would help to establish Iran's unique architectural brilliance. Iranian historians began writing in Persian rather than Arabic during Hulagu's reign. He did, however, convert to Buddhism as he approached death, despite Doquz Khatun's wishes. His interest in Buddhism is evidenced by the construction of a Buddhist temple in oy. Hulagu was a lifelong Buddhist who followed the Kagyu school, according to recent translations of Tibetan monks' writings and epistles. Hulagu also patronized Nasir al-Din Tusi and his studies at the Maragheh Observatory. Ata Malik and Shams al-Din Juvayni, the Juvayni brothers, were other of his proteges. His tenure as king of the Ilkhanate was peaceful and accepting of differences.

• Kurt Katch portrayed Ali Baba in Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (In the year of 1944)
• Pran played him in the Indian film Halaku, which was released in the year 1956.
• In Cengiz Han'n Hazineleri, Öztürk Serengil plays him (In the year of 1962)
• In The Legend of Kublai Khan, Zhang Jingda and Zhang Bolun portray Kublai Khan (In the year of 2013)