{{short description|Western Asian Mongol ruler (c. 1217–1265)}}
{{about|the founder of the Ilkhanate|the Chagatai khan|Qara Hülegü|the Xiongnu chanyu|Hulugu|other uses|Halaku (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name           = Hulegu Khan
:{{MongolUnicode|ᠬᠦᠯᠡᠭᠦ ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ|lang=mn|font-size=1em|style=middle}}
| title          = 
| image          = Hulagu Khan.jpg
| caption        = Painting of Hulegu Khan by [[Rashid-al-Din Hamadani]], early 14th century
| reign          = 1256 – 8 February 1265
| coronation     = 
| full_name      = 
| predecessor    = 
| successor      = [[Abaqa Khan]]
| queen          = {{plainlist|
* Guyuk Khatun
* [[Doquz Khatun]]
* Yesuncin Khatun
* [[Qutui Khatun]]
* Öljei Khatun}}
| spouse         = 
| issue          = [[Tekuder]]<br/>[[Abaqa Khan]]<br/>[[Jumghur]]<br/>[[Möngke Temür (Ilkhanate)]]<br/>[[Yoshmut]]<br/>[[Qonqurtai]]
| house          = [[Borjigin]]
| dynasty        = [[Ilkhanate|Hulaguid]] (founder)
| father         = [[Tolui]]
| mother         = [[Sorghaghtani Beki]]
| birth_date     = {{circa}} 1217
| birth_place    = [[Mongolia]]
| death_date     = {{Death date and given age|1265|02|08|47|df=y}}
| death_place    = [[Zarrineh River]]
| burial_date    = 
| burial_place   = [[Shahi Island]], [[Lake Urmia]]
| religion       = [[Buddhism]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grousset |first1=René |title=The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia |date=1970 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=9780813513041 |url=https://archive.org/details/empireofsteppes00grou |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/empireofsteppes00grou/page/358 358] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Vaziri |first1=Mostafa |title=Buddhism in Iran: An Anthropological Approach to Traces and Influences |date=2012 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |isbn=9781137022943 |pages=111–131 |language=en |chapter=Buddhism during the Mongol Period in Iran|doi=10.1057/9781137022943_7 }}</ref>
| succession     = [[Ilkhan (title)|Ilkhan]]
| signature      = Hulagutamgha.png
| signature_type = [[Tamgha]]
}}

'''Hulegu Khan''', also known as '''Hülegü''' or '''Hulagu'''<ref group=n>{{langx|mn|[[Khalkha Mongolian|Хүлэгү]]/[[Chakhar Mongolian|{{MongolUnicode|ᠬᠦᠯᠡᠭᠦ}}]]|lit=Surplus|translit=Hu’legu’/Qülegü}}; {{langx|chg|{{Nastaliq| هلیگو}}}}; {{langx|fa|{{nq|هولاکو خان}}}}; {{langx|ar|هولاكو خان}}; {{zh|c=旭烈兀|s=|t=|p=Xùlièwù}} {{IPAc-cmn|x|u|4|.|l|ie|4|.|wu|4}}</ref> ({{nowrap|{{circa}} 1217 –}} 8 February 1265), was a [[Mongols|Mongol]] ruler who conquered much of [[West Asia]]. As a son of [[Tolui]] and the [[Keraites|Keraite]] princess [[Sorghaghtani Beki]], he was a grandson of [[Genghis Khan]] and brother of [[Ariq Böke]], [[Möngke Khan]], and [[Kublai Khan]].

Hulegu's army greatly expanded the southwestern portion of the [[Mongol Empire]], founding the [[Ilkhanate]] in [[Iran|Persia]]. Under Hulegu's leadership, the [[siege of Baghdad (1258)|Mongols sacked and destroyed Baghdad]], ending the [[Islamic Golden Age]] and the [[Abbasid dynasty]]. They also weakened [[Damascus]], causing a shift of Islamic influence to the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk Sultanate]] in [[Cairo]].

== Early life ==
{{Campaignbox Mongol invasions}}

Hulegu was born to [[Tolui]], one of Genghis Khan's sons, and [[Sorghaghtani Beki]], an influential [[Keraites|Keraite]] princess and a niece of [[Toghrul]] in 1217.<ref name=":0">{{iranica|hulagu-khan|Hulāgu Khan}}</ref> Not much is known of Hulegu's childhood except of an anecdote given in [[Jami' al-tawarikh|Jami' al-Tawarikh]] and he once met his grandfather [[Genghis Khan]] with [[Kublai Khan|Kublai]] in 1224.

== Military campaigns ==
[[File:Prise d'Alamût (1256).jpeg|thumb|The siege of Alamût in 1256]]
[[File:Khulug Khan's sige of Alamut.jpg|thumb |A [[Mughal painting]] of Hulegu's siege of [[Alamut]]]]

Hulegu's brother [[Möngke Khan]] had been installed as Great Khan in 1251. [[Möngke Khan|Möngke]] charged Hulegu with leading a massive Mongol army to conquer or destroy the remaining Muslim states in southwestern Asia. Hulegu's campaign sought the subjugation of the [[Lurs]] of southern Iran,<ref name=":0" /> the [[Mongol campaign against the Nizaris|destruction of the Nizari Ismaili state (the Assassins)]], the submission or destruction of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] in [[Baghdad]], the submission or destruction of the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid states]] in [[Syria]] based in [[Damascus]], and finally, the submission or destruction of the [[Bahri dynasty|Bahri]] [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluke Sultanate]] of Egypt.<ref name= Amitai-Preiss >Amitai-Preiss, Reuven. ''The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War''</ref> Möngke ordered Hulegu to treat kindly those who submitted and utterly destroy those who did not. Hulegu vigorously carried out the latter part of these instructions.

Hulegu marched out with perhaps the largest Mongol army ever assembled – by order of Möngke, two-tenths of the empire's fighting men were gathered for Hulegu's [[army]]<ref>[[John Joseph Saunders]], ''The History of the Mongol Conquests'', 1971.</ref> in 1253. He arrived at [[Transoxiana]] in 1255. He easily destroyed the Lurs, and the [[Order of Assassins|Assassins]] surrendered their [[Alamut_Castle|impregnable fortress of Alamut]] without a fight, accepting a deal that spared the lives of their people in early 1256. He chose [[Azerbaijan (Iran)|Azerbaijan]] as his power base, while ordering [[Baiju Noyan|Baiju]] to retreat to Anatolia. From at least 1257 onwards, [[Muslims]] and [[Christians]] of every major religious variety in [[Europe]], the [[Middle East]], and [[mainland]] [[Asia]] were a part of Hulegu's army.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Chua |first=Amy |title=Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance–and Why They Fall |publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-385-51284-8 |edition=1st |location=New York |pages=111 |oclc=123079516}}</ref>

=== Siege of Baghdad ===
{{main|Siege of Baghdad}}

Hulegu's Mongol army set out for Baghdad in November 1257. Once near the city he divided his forces to threaten the city on both the east and west banks of the Tigris. Hulegu demanded surrender, but the caliph, [[Al-Musta'sim]], refused. Due to the treason of Abu Alquma, an advisor to Al-Musta'sim, an uprising in the Baghdad army took place and Siege of Baghdad began. The attacking Mongols broke dikes and flooded the ground behind the caliph's army, trapping them. Much of the army was slaughtered or drowned.

The Mongols under Chinese general [[Guo Kan]] laid siege to the city on 29 January 1258,<ref name=WDL1>{{cite web|title=Six Essays from the Book of Commentaries on Euclid|url=https://www.wdl.org/en/item/7465|publisher=[[World Digital Library]]|access-date=21 March 2013}}</ref> constructing a palisade and a ditch and wheeling up siege engines and [[catapult]]s. The battle was short by siege standards. By 5 February the Mongols controlled a stretch of the wall. The caliph tried to negotiate but was refused. On 10 February Baghdad surrendered. The Mongols swept into the city on 13 February and began a week of destruction. The [[House of Wisdom|Grand Library of Baghdad]] (also called 'Bayt al-Hikmah), containing countless precious historical documents and books on subjects ranging from [[medicine]] to [[astronomy]], was destroyed. Citizens attempted to flee but were intercepted by Mongol soldiers.

[[File:HulaguInBagdad.JPG|thumb|left|Hulegu (left) imprisons the Caliph among his treasures to starve him to death. Medieval depiction from "Le livre des merveilles", 15th century.]]

Death counts vary widely and cannot be easily substantiated: A low estimate is about 90,000 dead;<ref>Sicker 2000, p.&nbsp;111.</ref> higher estimates range from 200,000 to a million.<ref>[https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/04/25/invaders-3 New Yorker, April 25, 2005, Ian Frazier, "Invaders - Destroying Baghdad"]</ref> The Mongols looted and then destroyed buildings. Mosques, palaces, libraries, hospitals—grand buildings that had been the work of generations—were burned to the ground. The caliph was captured and forced to watch as his citizens were murdered and his treasury plundered. ''[[The Travels of Marco Polo|Il Milione]]'', a book on the travels of [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] merchant [[Marco Polo]], states that Hulegu starved the caliph to death, but there is no corroborating evidence for that. Most historians believe the Mongol and Muslim accounts that the caliph was rolled up in a rug and the Mongols rode their horses over him, as they believed that the earth would be offended if touched by royal blood. All but one of his sons were killed. Baghdad underwent a severe decline in importance after the siege, although according to historian Michal Biran, Hulegu ordered the city rebuilt and the libraries were reopened within two years.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hodous |first=Florence |date=2020 |chapter=Guo Kan: Military Exchanges between China and the Middle East |pages=27–43 |title=Along the Silk Roads in Mongol Eurasia: Generals, Merchants, and Intellectuals |editor-last1=Biran |editor-first1=Michal |editor-last2=Brack |editor-first2=Jonathan |editor-last3=Fiaschetti |editor-first3=Francesca |edition=1st |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |location=[[Oakland, California|Oakland]] |doi=10.2307/j.ctv125jrx5.7 |jstor=j.ctv125jrx5.7 |isbn=978-0-520-29875-0}}</ref><ref>{{Cambridge History of Iran |last=Boyle |first=John Andrew |editor-first1=J. A. | editor-last1=Boyle |title=The Cambridge History of Iran |author-link=John Andrew Boyle |chapter=Dynastic and Political History of the Il-khans |volume=5 |pages=303–421 |chapter-page=303}}</ref> Smaller states in the region hastened to reassure Hulegu of their loyalty, and the Mongols turned to [[Syria]] in 1259, conquering the Ayyubid dynasty and sending advance patrols as far ahead as [[Gaza City|Gaza]].

A thousand squads of northern Chinese [[sapper]]s accompanied Hulegu during his conquest of West Asia.<ref>{{cite book |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=H-k9oc9xsuAC |page=510 }} |title=Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia |author=Josef W. Meri|editor=Josef W. Meri|access-date=28 November 2011 |year=2005 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=0-415-96690-6 |page=510 |quote=This called for the employment of engineers to engage in mining operations, to build siege engines and artillery, and to concoct and use incendiary and explosive devices. For instance, Hulegu, who led Mongol forces into the Middle East during the second wave of the invasions in 1250, had with him a thousand squads of engineers, evidently of north Chinese (or perhaps Khitan) provenance. }}</ref>

=== Conquest of Syria (1260) ===
{{see also|Mongol invasions of the Levant|Mongol raids into Palestine}}
[[File:Hulagu and Doquz-Qatun in Syriac Bible.jpg|thumb|Hulegu and Queen Doquz Qatun depicted as the new [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]] and [[Helena (empress)|Helen]] in a [[Syriac language|Syriac]] bible.<ref name="Angold 387">"In May 1260, a Syrian painter gave a new twist to the iconography of the Exaltation of the Cross by showing Constantine and Helena with the features of Hulegu and his Christian wife Doquz Khatun" in ''Cambridge History of Christianity'' Vol. 5 Michael Angold p. 387 [[Cambridge University Press]] {{ISBN|0-521-81113-9}}</ref><ref>''Le Monde de la Bible'' N. 184 July–August 2008, p. 43</ref>]]

In 1260, Mongol forces combined with those of their Christian vassals in the region, including the army of the [[Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia]] under [[Hethum I, King of Armenia]] and the Franks of [[Bohemond VI of Antioch]]. This force conquered Muslim Syria, a domain of the Ayyubid dynasty. They [[Siege of Aleppo (1260)|captured Aleppo by siege]] and, under the Christian general [[Kitbuqa]], seized [[Damascus]] on 1 March 1260.{{efn|"On 1 March Kitbuqa entered Damascus at the head of a Mongol army. With him were the King of Armenia and the Prince of Antioch. The citizens of the ancient capital of the Caliphate saw for the first time for six centuries three Christian potentates ride in triumph through their streets".{{sfn|Runciman|1987|p=307}}}} A Christian Mass was celebrated in the [[Umayyad Mosque]] and numerous mosques were profaned. Many historical accounts describe the three Christian rulers Hethum, Bohemond, and [[Kitbuqa]] entering the city of Damascus together in triumph,{{sfn|Runciman|1987|p=307}}<ref>Grousset, p. 588</ref> though some modern historians such as [[David Morgan (historian)|David Morgan]] have questioned this story as [[apocryphal]].{{sfn|Jackson|2014}}

The invasion effectively destroyed the Ayyubids, which was until then a powerful dynasty that had ruled large parts of the [[Levant]], [[Egypt]], and the [[Arabian Peninsula]]. The last Ayyubid king, [[An-Nasir Yusuf]], had been killed by Hulegu this same year.<ref>Atlas des Croisades, p. 108</ref> With Baghdad ravaged and Damascus weakened, the center of Islamic power shifted to the Mamluk sultan's capital of Cairo.

Hulegu intended to send forces southward through [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] toward Cairo. So he had a threatening letter delivered by an envoy to the Mamluk [[Qutuz|Sultan Qutuz]] in Cairo demanding that Qutuz open his city or it would be destroyed like Baghdad. Then, because food and fodder in Syria had become insufficient to supply his full force, and because it was a regular Mongol practice to move troops to the cooler highlands for the summer,<ref>{{cite thesis |first=Lindsey Stephen |last=Pow |title=Deep Ditches and Well-Built Walls: a Reappraisal of the Mongol Withdrawal from Europe in 1242 |type=Master's thesis |publisher=University of Calgary |year=2012 |page=32 |oclc=879481083 }}</ref> Hulegu withdrew his main force to Iran near Azerbaijan, leaving behind one tumen (10,000 men or less) under [[Kitbuqa]], accompanied by Armenian, Georgian, and Frankish volunteers, which Hulegu considered sufficient. Hulegu then personally departed for Mongolia to play his role in the imperial succession conflict occasioned by the death some eight months earlier of [[Möngke Khan|Great Khan Möngke]]. But upon receiving news of how few Mongols now remained in the region, [[Qutuz]] quickly assembled his well-trained and equipped 20,000-strong army at Cairo and invaded Palestine.<ref>{{cite thesis |first=James |last=Corbyn |title=In What Sense Can Ayn Jalut be Viewed as a Decisive Engagement? |type=Master's thesis |publisher=Royal Holloway University of London |year=2015 |pages=7–9 }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=December 2019}} He then allied himself with a fellow Mamluk leader, [[Baybars]] in Syria, who not only needed to protect his own future from the Mongols but was eager to avenge for Islam the Mongol capture of Damascus, looting of Baghdad, and conquest of Syria.

The Mongols, for their part, attempted to form a Frankish-Mongol alliance with (or at least, demand the submission of) the remnant of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, now centered on Acre, but [[Pope Alexander IV]] had forbidden such an alliance. Tensions between Franks and Mongols also increased when [[Julian Grenier|Julian of Sidon]] caused an incident resulting in the death of one of Kitbuqa's grandsons. Angered, [[Kitbuqa]] had sacked Sidon. The Barons of Acre, contacted by the Mongols, had also been approached by the Mamluks, seeking military assistance against the Mongols. Although the Mamluks were traditional enemies of the Franks, the Barons of Acre recognized the Mongols as the more immediate menace. Instead of taking sides, the Crusaders opted for a position of cautious neutrality between the two forces. In an unusual move, however, they allowed the Egyptian Mamluks to march northward without hindrance through Crusader territory and even let them camp near Acre to resupply.

===Battle of Ain Jalut===
{{main|Battle of Ain Jalut}}

[[File:Hülegü et son armée.jpeg|thumb|left|Hulegu leading his army]]
When news arrived that the Mongols had crossed the [[Jordan River]] in 1260, [[Qutuz|Sultan Qutuz]] and his forces proceeded southeast toward the 'Spring of Goliath' (Known in Arabic as 'Ain Jalut') in the [[Jezreel Valley]]. They met the Mongol army of about 12,000 in the [[Battle of Ain Jalut]] and fought relentlessly for many hours. The Mamluk leader Baybars mostly implemented [[hit-and-run tactics]] in an attempt to lure the Mongol forces into chasing him. Baybars and [[Qutuz]] had hidden the bulk of their forces in the hills to wait in ambush for the Mongols to come into range. The Mongol leader [[Kitbuqa]], already provoked by the constant fleeing of Baybars and his troops, decided to march forwards with all his troops on the trail of the fleeing Egyptians. When the Mongols reached the highlands, Egyptians appeared from hiding, and the Mongols found themselves surrounded by enemy forces as the hidden troops hit them from the sides and [[Qutuz]] attacked the Mongol rear. Estimates of the size of the Egyptian army range from 24,000 to 120,000. The Mongols broke free of the trap and even mounted a temporarily successful counterattack, but their numbers had been depleted to the point that the outcome was inevitable. Refusing to surrender, the whole Mongol army that had remained in the region, including [[Kitbuqa]], were cut down and killed that day. The battle of Ain Jalut established a high-water mark for the Mongol conquest.

=== Civil War with the Golden Horde ===
{{Main|Berke–Hulegu war}}

[[File:Hulagu coin.jpg|thumb|Coin of Hulegu, with the symbol of a [[hare]]]]

After the succession was settled and his brother [[Kublai Khan]] was established as Great Khan,
Hulegu returned to his lands by 1262. When he massed his armies to attack the Mamluks and avenge the defeat at Ain Jalut, however, he was instead drawn into civil war with [[Batu Khan]]'s brother [[Berke]]. Berke Khan, a Muslim convert and the grandson of Genghis Khan, had promised retribution in his rage after Hulegu's sack of Baghdad and allied himself with the Mamluks. He initiated a large series of raids on Hulegu's territories, led by [[Nogai Khan]]. Hulegu suffered a severe defeat in an attempted invasion north of the [[Caucasus]] in 1263. This was the first open war between Mongols and signaled the end of the unified empire. In retaliation for his failure, Hulegu killed Berke's [[ortogh]], and Berke did the same in return.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1080/02634937.2019.1652799|title = The role of the ortoq in the Mongol Empire in forming business partnerships|journal = Central Asian Survey|volume = 38|issue = 4|pages = 531–547|year = 2019|last1 = Enkhbold|first1 = Enerelt|s2cid = 203044817}}</ref>

Even while Berke was Muslim, out of Mongol brotherhood he at first resisted the idea of fighting Hulegu. He said, "Mongols are killed by Mongol swords. If we were united, then we would have conquered all of the world." But the economic situation of the Golden Horde due to the actions of the Ilkhanate led him to declare jihad because the Ilkhanids were hogging the wealth of North Iran and because of the Ilkhanate's demands for the Golden Horde not to sell slaves to the Mamluks.<ref name="Elverskog2011">{{cite book|author=Johan Elverskog|title=Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N7_4Gr9Q438C&pg=PA186|date= 2011|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-0531-2|pages=186–}}</ref>

== Communications with Europe ==
{{see also|Franco-Mongol alliance}}Hulegu's mother Sorghaghtani successfully navigated Mongol politics, arranging for all of her sons to become Mongol leaders. She was a [[Christians|Christian]] of the [[Church of the East]] (often referred to as "Nestorianism") and Hulegu was friendly to [[Christianity]]. Hulegu's favorite wife, [[Doquz Khatun]], was also a Christian, as was his closest friend and general, [[Kitbuqa]]. Hulegu sent multiple communications to Europe in an attempt to establish a [[Franco-Mongol alliance]] against the Muslims. In&nbsp;1262, he sent his secretary [[Rychaldus]] and an embassy to "all kings and princes overseas". The embassy was apparently intercepted in Sicily by [[Manfred, King of Sicily]], who was allied with the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk Sultanate]] and in conflict with [[Pope Urban IV]], and Rychaldus was returned by ship.{{sfn|Jackson|2014|p=173}}

On 10 April 1262, Hulegu sent a letter, through [[Exultavit cor nostrum#John the Hungarian|John the Hungarian]], to [[Louis IX of France]], offering an alliance.{{sfn|Jackson|2014|p=178}} It is unclear whether the letter ever reached Louis IX in Paris – the only manuscript known to have survived was in [[Vienna]], Austria.{{sfn|Jackson|2014|p=166}} The letter stated Hulegu's intention to capture Jerusalem for the benefit of the Pope and asked for Louis to send a fleet against Egypt:
{{blockquote|From the head of the Mongol army, anxious to devastate the perfidious nation of the Saracens, with the good-will support of the Christian faith (...) so that you, who are the rulers of the coasts on the other side of the sea, endeavor to deny a refuge for the Infidels, your enemies and ours, by having your subjects diligently patrol the seas.|Letter from Hulegu to Saint Louis.<ref>Letter from Hulegu to Saint Louis, quoted in ''Les Croisades'', Thierry Delcourt, p. 151</ref>}}

Despite many attempts, neither Hulegu nor his successors were able to form an alliance with Europe, although Mongol culture in the West was in vogue in the 13th century. Many new-born children in Italy were named after Mongol rulers, including Hulegu: names such as Can Grande ("Great Khan"), Alaone (Hulegu), Argone ([[Arghun]]), and Cassano ([[Ghazan]]) are recorded.{{sfn|Jackson|2014|p=315}}

== Family ==
Hulegu had fourteen wives and concubines with at least 21 issues with them:

Principal wives:
* Guyuk Khatun (died in [[Mongolia]] before reaching Iran) – daughter of Toralchi Güregen of the [[Oirats|Oirat]] tribe and [[Checheikhen]] Khatun
**[[Jumghur]] (died en route to Iran in 1270s) 
**Bulughan agha – married Jorma Güregen, son of Jochi (from Tatar tribe, brother of Nukdan khatun) and Chechagan Khatun, daughter of [[Temüge]] (Otchi Noyon)
* [[Qutui Khatun]] – daughter of Chigu Noyan of [[Khongirad]] tribe and Tümelün behi (daughter of [[Genghis khan]] and [[Börte]])
**Takshin (d. 12 September 1270 of [[urinary incontinence]])
**[[Tekuder]] (1246–1284)
**Todogaj Khatun<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Landa|first=Ishayahu|date=2018|title=Oirats in the Ilkhanate and the Mamluk Sultanate in the Thirteenth to the Early Fifteenth Centuries: Two Cases of Assimilation into the Muslim Environment (MSR XIX, 2016)|url=https://mamluk.uchicago.edu/MSR_XIX_2016_Landa.pdf|journal=Mamlūk Studies Review|doi=10.6082/M1B27SG2}}</ref> – married to Tengiz Güregen, married secondly to Sulamish his son, married thirdly to Chichak, son of Sulamish
* Yesunchin Khatun (d. January/February 1272) – a lady from the [[Suldus]] tribe
**[[Abaqa Khan|Abaqa]] (1234–1282)
*[[Dokuz Khatun]], daughter of Uyku (son of [[Toghrul]]) and widow of [[Tolui]]
* Öljei Khatun – half-sister of Guyuk, daughter of Toralchi Güregen of the [[Oirats|Oirat]] tribe
**[[Möngke Temür (Ilkhanate)|Möngke Temür]] (b. 23 October 1256, d. 26 April 1282)
**Jamai Khatun – married Jorma Güregen after her sister Bulughan's death
**Manggugan Khatun – married firstly to her cousin Chakar Güregen (son of Buqa Timur and niece of Öljei Khatun), married secondly to his son Taraghai
**Baba Khatun – married to Lagzi Güregen, son of [[Arghun Aqa]]

Concubines:

* Nogachin Aghchi, a lady from [[Cathay]]; from camp of [[Qutui Khatun]]
**[[Yoshmut]] – Viceroy of [[Arran (Caucasus)|Arran]] and [[Shirvan]]
**Tubshin – Viceroy of Khorasan during Abaqa's reign
*Tuqtani (or Toqiyatai) Egechi (d. 20 February 1292) – sister of [[Irinjin]], niece of Dokuz Khatun
* Boraqchin Agachi, from camp of Qutui Khatun
**Taraghai (died by [[lightning strike]] on his way to Iran in 1260s)
***[[Baydu]]
***Eshil – married to Tuq Temür and then his brother (son of Abdullah Aqa, a general of [[Abaqa Khan|Abaqa]])
* Arighan Agachi (d. 8 February 1265) – daughter of Tengiz Güregen; from camp of Qutui Khatun
**Ajai (d. February 1265) – Viceroy of [[Anatolia]] during reign of [[Abaqa Khan|Abaqa]] and of [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] during reign of [[Arghun]]
***Ildar (executed by [[Ghazan]] in 1296)<ref name=":1">{{Cite thesis|title=Mediating Sacred Kingship: Conversion and Sovereignty in Mongol Iran|year=2016|hdl=2027.42/133445|type=Thesis|last1=Brack|first1=Jonathan Z.}}</ref>
* Ajuja Agachi, a lady from [[China]] or [[Khitan people|Khitans]], from camp of Dokuz Khatun
**[[Qonqurtai]] (executed on 18 January 1284 by [[Tekuder]])
* Yeshichin Agachi, a lady from the Kür'lüüt tribe; from camp of Qutui Khatun
**Yesüder – Viceroy of [[Khorasan Province|Khorasan]] during Abaqa's reign
***A daughter (married to Esen Buqa Güregen, son of Noqai Yarghuchi)
***Khabash – posthumous son
* El Agachi – a lady from the [[Khongirad]] tribe; from camp of Dokuz Khatun
**Hulachu (executed by [[Arghun]] in October 1289)<ref name=":1" />
***Suleiman (executed with his father)
***Kuchuk (died in infancy after a long illness)
***Khoja (died in infancy)
***Qutluq Buqa (died in infancy)
***3 daughters
**Shiba'uchi (d. Winter 1282)
* Irqan Agachi (Tribe unknown)
**Taraghai Khatun – married to Taghai Timur (renamed Musa) of [[Khongirad]] (son of Shigu Güregen) and Temülun Khatun (daughter of [[Genghis Khan]])
* Mangligach Agachi (Tribe unknown)
**Qutluqqan Khatun – married firstly to Yesu Buqa Güregen, son of Urughtu Noyan of the [[Four Oirat|Dörben]] tribe, married secondly Tukel, son of Yesu Buqa
*A concubine from Qutui Khatun's camp:
**Toqai Timur (d. 1289)<ref name=":1" />
***Qurumushi
***Hajji

[[File:Funérailles de Hülegü.jpeg|thumb|The funeral of Hulegu ([[Bibliothèque nationale de France]])|alt=|282x282px]]

== Death ==
Hulegu Khan fell seriously ill in January 1265 and died the following month on the banks of [[Zarrineh River]] (then called Jaghatu) and was buried on [[Shahi Island]] in [[Lake Urmia]]. His funeral was the only Ilkhanate funeral to feature [[human sacrifice]].<ref>Morgan, p. 139</ref> His tomb has never been found.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Henry Filmer|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.77445|title=The Pageant Of Persia|date=1937|pages=224}}</ref>

== Assessment ==

Hülegü's historical legacy is complex, combining exceptionally destructive military conquest with the establishment of a durable Mongol state in Iran and Mesopotamia. He was dispatched westward by his brother, the Great Khan [[Möngke Khan|Möngke]], to extend Mongol authority over the remaining independent powers of western Asia, and his campaigns resulted in the destruction of the [[Nizari Ismaili state]], the overthrow of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] at [[Siege of Baghdad (1258)|Baghdad in 1258]], and the Mongol conquest of much of Syria before the Mongol advance was checked by the [[Mamluk Sultanate]] at [[Battle of Ain Jalut|Ain Jalut]].<ref name="IranicaHulagu">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Amitai |first=Reuven |title=Hulāgu Khan |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |year=2004 |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hulagu-khan/ |access-date=11 August 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Morgan |first=David |author-link=David Morgan (historian) |title=The Mongols |publisher=Blackwell |year=1990 |isbn=9780631175636}}</ref> The destruction accompanying these campaigns, particularly the sack of Baghdad and the termination of the Abbasid caliphate there, gave Hülegü an especially negative reputation in much of later Muslim historical memory; modern scholarship has noted that he could be portrayed, particularly outside the Ilkhanid realm, as one of the great destroyers of Islam.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Biran |first=Michal |author-link=Michal Biran |title=The Islamisation of Hülegü: Imaginary Conversion in the Ilkhanate |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |volume=26 |issue=1–2 |year=2016 |pages=77–88 |doi=10.1017/S1356186315000724}}</ref>

His rule nevertheless had consequences extending beyond military destruction. Hülegü established the political foundations of the [[Ilkhanate]], the Mongol-ruled state that dominated Iran and Mesopotamia for much of the following century.<ref name="KamolaMorgan">{{cite book |last1=Kamola |first1=Stefan |last2=Morgan |first2=David O. |chapter=The Ilkhanate, 1260–1335 |title=The Cambridge History of the Mongol Empire |volume=1 |editor-last1=Biran |editor-first1=Michal |editor-last2=Kim |editor-first2=Hodong |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2023 |pages=181–242 |doi=10.1017/9781316337424.004}}</ref> The emerging Ilkhanid state increasingly relied upon indigenous administrative elites and institutions to govern its predominantly sedentary territories, beginning a process through which Mongol rule became integrated with the political and cultural traditions of Iran.<ref name="KamolaMorgan" /> Hülegü himself employed the Persian administrator [[Shams al-Din Juvayni]] as ''sahib-divan'', while his brother, the historian [[Ata-Malik Juvayni]], governed Baghdad and was involved in repairing damage caused by the conquest.<ref name="IranicaHulagu" /> Hülegü was also an important patron of [[Nasir al-Din al-Tusi]], for whom the [[Maragheh observatory]] was established, and his court included scholars concerned with astronomy and other sciences.<ref name="IranicaHulagu" />

Consequently, historians distinguish the immediate devastation caused by Hülegü's conquests from the political and cultural development of the state that emerged from them. His campaigns destroyed established political institutions and caused severe demographic and material losses in several conquered regions, while the regime he founded subsequently contributed to the formation of a new political order in Iran in which Mongol and Persian administrative and cultural traditions increasingly interacted.<ref name="KamolaMorgan" /><ref name="IranicaHulagu" /> His legacy therefore encompasses both the violence of the Mongol conquest of western Asia and his role as the founder of an Ilkhanid state whose institutions, patronage and increasing accommodation with the society it ruled had lasting consequences for medieval Iran.<ref name="IranicaHulagu" />

=== Assessment of religious attitude ===

Hülegü's attitude toward Islam has been interpreted in different ways. His campaigns had particularly severe consequences for major Muslim political and religious institutions: he destroyed the [[Nizari Ismaili state]], overthrew the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] in the [[Siege of Baghdad (1258)|sack of Baghdad]], conquered Muslim Syria, and subsequently sought to defeat the [[Mamluk Sultanate]].<ref name="IranicaHulagu" /> Muslim writers consequently sometimes attributed anti-Muslim sentiments to Hülegü and the Mongols, particularly because the conquest ended the privileged political position previously enjoyed by Islam. ''Encyclopaedia Iranica'', however, notes that Hülegü's religious position was more complex: his sympathy toward Christians was clear, but may have reflected the influence of his Christian wife [[Doquz Khatun]] as well as traditional Mongol religious tolerance or ambivalence.<ref name="IranicaHulagu" />

Evidence nevertheless exists that Hülegü was willing to present his conflict with Muslim powers in explicitly religious terms. In a Latin letter sent in 1262 to [[Louis IX of France]] in connection with proposed cooperation against the [[Mamluk Sultanate]], Hülegü's communication described the Mongol objective in strongly anti-Muslim religious language and presented Muslims as common enemies of the Mongols and the Christian West.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Bird |editor-first1=Jessalynn |editor-last2=Peters |editor-first2=Edward |editor-last3=Powell |editor-first3=James M. |title=Crusade and Christendom: Annotated Documents in Translation from Innocent III to the Fall of Acre, 1187–1291 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=2013 |pages=342–347 |chapter=A Letter from Hülagü, Il-Khan of Persia, to Louis IX of France, 1262 |isbn=9780812244786}}</ref> [[Peter Jackson (historian)|Peter Jackson]] likewise discusses the embassy in the context of Hülegü's attempts to secure cooperation with Western Christian powers.{{sfn|Jackson|2014|pp=166, 173, 176, 178}} Such rhetoric provides evidence for an anti-Muslim dimension to Hülegü's diplomacy, although its context as an appeal for Christian cooperation against the Mamluks makes it difficult to determine from the correspondence alone the extent to which it represented Hülegü's personal religious convictions.<ref name="IranicaHulagu" />

His policies were not, however, consistently directed against Muslims as a religious community. Hülegü employed and patronized prominent Muslims, including [[Nasir al-Din al-Tusi]], [[Shams al-Din Juvayni]] and [[Ata-Malik Juvayni]], the latter becoming governor of Baghdad and participating in its reconstruction after the Mongol conquest.<ref name="IranicaHulagu" /> His religious identity was itself distinct from both Christianity and Islam: evidence of his adherence to or strong interest in Buddhism includes the construction of a Buddhist temple at [[Khoy]], while traditional Mongol religious practices remained evident at his death.<ref name="IranicaHulagu" />

Modern scholarship therefore presents a more complicated picture than either depicting Hülegü as religiously neutral or characterizing his campaigns simply as a war against Islam. His conquests dismantled some of the most important Muslim political institutions of the period; Christians received favorable treatment in certain circumstances; and his diplomacy with Christian Europe could employ explicitly anti-Muslim rhetoric.<ref name="IranicaHulagu" />{{sfn|Jackson|2014}} At the same time, Muslims continued to occupy important positions under his government and Muslim intellectuals received his patronage. The available evidence consequently supports distinguishing Hülegü's hostility toward particular Muslim powers and his occasional anti-Muslim religious rhetoric from the stronger claim that his government pursued a general policy of persecuting Muslims solely because of their religion.<ref name="IranicaHulagu" />

== Legacy ==
Hulegu Khan laid the foundations of the [[Ilkhanate]] and thus paved the way for the later [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid dynastic]] state, and ultimately the modern country of [[Iran]]. Hulegu's conquests also opened Iran to both European influence from the west and Buddhist influence from the east. Thus, combined with patronage from his successors, would develop Iran's distinctive excellence in architecture. Under Hulegu's dynasty, Iranian historians began writing in Persian rather than Arabic.<ref>Francis Robinson, ''The Mughal Emperors And The Islamic Dynasties of India, Iran and Central Asia'', pp. 19 & 36</ref> It is recorded however that he converted to [[Buddhism]] as he neared death,{{sfn|Hildinger|1997|p=148}} against the will of [[Doquz Khatun]].{{sfn|Jackson|2014|p=176}} The erection of a Buddhist temple at [[Khoy|Ḵoy]] testifies his interest in that religion.<ref name=":0" /> Recent translations of various Tibetan monks' letters and epistles to Hulegu confirms that he was a lifelong Buddhist, following the [[Kagyu|Kagyu school]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Martin |first1=Dan |last2=Samten |first2=Jampa |chapter=Letters for the Khans: Six Tibetan Epistles for the Mongol Rulers Hulegu and Khubilai, and the Tibetan Lama Pagpa. Co-authored with Jampa Samten |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/11020428 |editor=Roberto Vitali |title=Trails of The Tibetan Tradition: Papers for Elliot Sperling |date=2014 |isbn=9788186227725 |publisher=Amnye Machen Institute |language=en}}</ref>

Hulegu patronized [[Nasir al-Din al-Tusi|Nasir al-Din Tusi]] and supported the establishment of the [[Maragheh observatory]]. He also employed the Juvayni brothers: [[Shams al-Din Juvayni]] served as ''sahib-divan'', while [[Ata-Malik Juvayni]] governed Baghdad and participated in repairing damage caused by the Mongol conquest.<ref name="IranicaHulagu" />

== In popular media ==
* Portrayed by [[Kurt Katch]] in ''[[Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1944 film)|Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves]]'' (1944)
* Portrayed by [[Pran (actor)|Pran]] in the 1956 Indian film [[Halaku (film)|''Halaku'']].
* Portrayed by [[Öztürk Serengil]] in ''Cengiz Han'ın Hazineleri'' (1962)<ref>{{Citation|last=Yilmaz|first=Atif|title=Cengiz Han'in hazineleri|date=10 October 1962|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0334991/?ref_=tt_ch|type=Adventure, Comedy|others=Orhan Günsiray, Fatma Girik, Tülay Akatlar, Öztürk Serengil|publisher=Yerli Film|access-date=1 February 2021}}</ref>
* Portrayed by Zhang Jingda and Zhang Bolun in ''[[The Legend of Kublai Khan]]'' (2013)

== Notes ==
'''Language notes'''
{{reflist|group=n}}

'''General notes'''
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

===Works cited===
* Atwood, Christopher P. (2004). ''The Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire''. Facts on File, Inc. {{ISBN|0-8160-4671-9}}.
* Boyle, J.A., (Editor). ''The Cambridge History of Iran: Volume 5, The Saljuq and Mongol Periods''. Cambridge University Press; Reissue ed., (1968). {{ISBN|0-521-06936-X}}.
* {{cite book|last=Hildinger|first=Erik|author-link=Erik Hildinger|title=Warriors of the Steppe: A Military History of Central Asia, 500 B.C. to 1700 A.D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JykFBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA148|year=1997|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=0-306-81065-4}}
* Morgan, David. ''The Mongols''. Blackwell Publishers; Reprint ed., 1990. {{ISBN|0-631-17563-6}}. Best for an overview of the wider context of medieval Mongol history and culture.
* {{cite book|last=Runciman|first=Steven|title=A History of the Crusades: Volume 3, The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1987|isbn=9780521347723}}
* {{cite book|last=Jackson|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Jackson (historian)|title=The Mongols and the West: 1221–1410|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kMCCBAAAQBAJ|year=2014|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-87898-8}}
* Robinson, Francis. ''The Mughal Emperors And the Islamic Dynasties of India, Iran and Central Asia''. Thames and Hudson Limited; 2007. {{ISBN|0-500-25134-7}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/04/25/invaders-3 A long article] about Hulegu's conquest of [[Baghdad]], written by [[Ian Frazier]], appeared in the 25 April 2005 issue of ''[[The New Yorker]]''.
* [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2455845.stm An Osama bin Laden tape] in which [[Osama bin Laden]] compares Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] and Secretary of State [[Colin Powell]] to Hulegu and his attack on [[Baghdad]]. Dated 12 November 2002.
* [https://www.historytoday.com/archive/hulegu-mongol ''Hulegu the Mongol''], by Nicolas Kinloch, published in History Today, Volume 67 Issue 6 June 2017.

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[[Category:Hulegu Khan| ]]
[[Category:1210s births]]
[[Category:1265 deaths]]
[[Category:13th-century Buddhists]]
[[Category:Il-Khan emperors]]
[[Category:13th-century monarchs in Asia]]
[[Category:Kerait people]]
[[Category:Mongolian Buddhist monarchs]]
[[Category:Mongolian Buddhists]]
[[Category:Converts to Buddhism]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:Founding monarchs in Asia]]
[[Category:13th-century Mongol khans]]