Ilkhans (Mongols of Persia). Mint unclear. AR dirham (2.61 g, 28 mm). Hulagu (1256-1265 CE/654-663 AH), date possibly 657 AH. Obverse: Inscription citing the "Great Khan" (Mongke) and calling Hulagu Ilkhan (subsidiary khan). Reverse: Standard Muslim religious inscriptions, tamgha of Hulagu above. Album 2122. This coin: Pars Coins eSale 23, lot 170 (August 2, 2024). Hulagu, a grandson of Chinghiz (Genghis) Khan and brother of both Mongke Khan and Kublai Khan, was born around 1217. Little is recorded of his early life. In 1251 Mongke became the Great Khan, and initially sent Hulagu to administer territory in China. However, in 1252 this land was reassigned to Kublai, and Hulagu was charged with conquering the Abbasid Caliphate and other lands in the West. Over the next few years he added territory in southern Persia and Iraq. He also started using the title Ilkhan (subsidiary khan), which would later be applied to the dynasty he founded. In early 1258 he began the siege of Baghdad, the Abbasid capital and, while not as important politically as it had been, still the cultural and intellectual center of the Islamic world. After a siege of only two weeks, the city fell, and Hulagu's troops looted and destroyed on a massive scale. Estimates of the number killed vary widely, from a low of around 100,000 to as many as a million. The last Abbasid caliph was captured alive and executed. Reportedly, as it was forbidden by Mongol law to spill the blood of nobles on the ground, the caliph was wrapped up in carpets and trampled by horses. Somehow, I doubt that was much consolation for him. Hulagu's forces next moved into Syria and were able to conquer both Aleppo and Damascus from the Ayyubids. For this he teamed up with local Christian rulers Hetoum I of Cilician Armenia and Bohemund VI of the Crusader state of Antioch. Hulagu next planned to destroy the Mamluk ruler Qutuz and capture Cairo, but first took most of his troops and horses to rest and recuperate in northwest Iran, leaving only a small force of around 10,000 behind. Qutuz and his lieutenant Baybars saw an opportunity, and at the battle of Ain Jalut in 1260 were able to completely rout the Mongol forces. Hulagu, and the Mongols, were never able to move so far west again. Hulagu was then drawn into a civil war with Berke Khan of the Golden Horde (Kipchak Khanate), another Mongol khanate which controlled Kievan Rus and adjacent territory. Hulagu died in early 1265, and Berke died a few months later, leaving the Mongol territories divided. Hulagu was succeeded by his son Abaqa, who continued the Ilkhan line. Hulagu was nominally Buddhist, but appears to have been fond of Christianity. His mother was a Christian, his favorite wife was a Christian, and he had good relations with neighboring Christian rulers. He is also known to have sent a letter proposing an alliance with Louis IX of France, though it is not certain if the letter actually reached Louis, and in any case no alliance materialized. He is also considered to have had a positive effect in uniting and reviving Persian culture. But the sack of Baghdad in 1258 had a devastating effect on the Muslim world, symbolically as well as practically; the "Golden Age" of Islamic civilization was over. Please post your coins of Hulagu, or whatever else is related.
Terrific post. Are there histories from the time that discuss the invasion? This must have been during the Latin takeover of Constantinople.
I think most of the primary sources dealing with the Mongol invasion were written a bit afterwards, as during the invasion the historians were busy with running away and hiding. I've used secondary sources for most of my write-ups of medieval Islamic history, though if anyone knows of accessible, easily-readable (for a non-specialist) English translations of relevant primary sources I'd be interested to hear. The Fourth Crusade's sack of Constantinople was in 1204, so a little earlier than the Mongol sack of Baghdad. Maybe someone could do a compare-and-contrast of the two events and their respective long-term significance?
