Ghazan

Ghazan
Khan
Pādeshāh of Iran and Islam[1]
Ghazan (center) was born as a Buddhist, and converted to Islam as part of a military agreement upon accession to the throne.
Il khan
Reign4 October 1295 – 11 May 1304
Coronation19 October 1295
PredecessorBaydu
SuccessorÖljeitü
NaibNawruz
Viceroy of Khorasan
Reign1284 - 1295
PredecessorArghun
SuccessorNirun Aqa
Born5 November 1271
Abaskun, Ilkhanate
Died11 May 1304(1304-05-11) (aged 32)
Qazvin, Ilkhanate
ConsortYedi Kurtka Khatun
Bulughan Khatun Khurasani
Kököchin
Bulughan Khatun Muazzama
Eshil Khatun
Dondi Khatun
Karamun Khatun
Khutulun
Names
Mahmud Ghazan
FatherArghun
MotherKultak Egechi
ReligionSunni Islam "after 1295", Church of the East

Mahmud Ghazan (5 November 1271 – 11 May 1304) (Persian: غازان خان, Ghazan Khan, sometimes archaically spelled as Casanus by Westerners[2]) was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of Arghun, grandson of Abaqa Khan and great-grandson of Hulegu Khan, continuing a long line of rulers who were direct descendants of Genghis Khan. Considered the most prominent of the il khans, he is perhaps best known for converting to Islam and meeting Imam Ibn Taymiyya in 1295 when he took the throne, marking a turning point for the dominant religion of the Mongols in West Asia: Iran, Iraq, Anatolia, and the South Caucasus.

One of his many principal wives was Kököchin, a Mongol princess (originally betrothed to Ghazan's father Arghun before his death) sent by his great-uncle Kublai Khan.

Military conflicts during Ghazan's reign included war with the Mamluk Sultanate for control of Syria and battles with the Turko-Mongol Chagatai Khanate. Ghazan also pursued diplomatic contacts with Europe, continuing his predecessors' unsuccessful attempts at forming a Franco-Mongol alliance. A man of high culture, Ghazan spoke multiple languages, had many hobbies, and reformed many elements of the Ilkhanate, especially in the matter of standardizing currency and fiscal policy.

  1. ^ Fragner, Bert G. (2013). "Ilkhanid rule and its contributions to Iranian political culture". In Komaroff, Linda (ed.). Beyond the legacy of Genghis Khan. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Brill. p. 73. ISBN 978-90-474-1857-3. Retrieved 6 April 2017. When Ghazan Khan embraced Islam and proclaimed himself "pādishāh-i Īrān wa Islām" at the end of the thirteenth century (...)
  2. ^ Schein, p. 806.