ilkhans

The Ilkhans were the Mongol rulers of the Ilkhanate, a western successor state of the Mongol Empire established in Iran in the mid-13th century. The title Ilkhan, meaning a Khan’s heir or vassal, designated the rulers who governed Persia and surrounding lands from roughly 1256 to the 1330s. The empire’s domain at various times included present-day Iran, Azerbaijan, eastern Anatolia, parts of Armenia, and Syria. Hulagu Khan founded the Ilkhanate after his 1258 campaigns culminated in the fall of Baghdad and the collapse of the Abbasid Caliphate; his successors administered the realm amid expansion, reform, and periodic conflict with the Mamluks and other rivals.

Notable Ilkhans included Hulagu; Abaqa; Arghun; Gaykhatu; Baydu; Ghazan; Öljeitü (Oljeitu); and Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan. In 1295 Ghazan converted to Islam, after which Islam became the dominant faith and the Ilkhanate increasingly aligned with Persian religious and cultural institutions. Öljeitü promoted Shi‘a Islam and oversaw significant architectural projects, including the Soltaniyeh mausoleum near Zanjan, a major symbol of Ilkhanid prestige. Administratively, the Ilkhanate retained many Mongol-Bureaucratic practices while incorporating Persian governance and fiscal administration.

Decline began in the early 14th century due to succession struggles, economic strain, and plague. Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan died in 1335 without a clear heir, and the realm fragmented into rival polities, such as the Jalayirids and Kartids; later, Timurid rise further diminished Ilkhanid authority. The Ilkhans left a lasting legacy in Persian administration, Islamization, and monumental architecture.