Abagha died after the failed invasion of Syria, and in 1282 his brother Teguder (d. 1284) emerged as the next Ilkhan. He prevented Abagha’s son Arghun (c. 12581291) from taking over as Abagha had wanted. Teguder, a convert to Islam, then tried to forge an alliance with the Muslims of Egypt. But before he could make the Ilkhanate an Islamic state, however, Teguder was assassinated by Arghun and Mongol princes loyal to him. Historian Paul D. Buell, in his Historical Dictionary of the Mongol World Empire, writes that Arghun’s rule “began with a bloodbath,” as the new Ilkhan and his supporters killed the officials who had supported Teguder.
For most of Arghun’s reign, his empire was at peace. But like his father and grandfather before him, he was determined to capture Syria and destroy the Mamluks. And like them, he reached out to the West, hoping to unite Mongol and Christian armies against the Muslims. He wrote letters and sent diplomats, and at one point promised to provide 30,000 horses for Christian soldiers to use in Syria. In a letter to Pope Honorius IV (c. 1201-1287), the head of the Roman Catholic Church, the Ilkhan wrote (as quoted by J. A. Boyle in The Cambridge History of Iran), “[W]e from this side and you from your side shall crush [Egypt] between us with good men.” Although a wartime alliance never developed, Arghun did strengthen his business ties with West. In 1288, he signed a contract with merchants from Genoa, Italy, similar to the one his father had signed with Venice.
With Arghun’s death in 1291, the Ilkhanate entered an unstable period. The Ilkhan had not named his successor, so the next year his brother Geikhatu (c. 1271-1295) took power. He spent money lavishly and soon ran into financial trouble. Within four years, rebels led by Baidu
Chinese Adventurer
One of the diplomats Arghun sent to the West was Rabban Sauma (c. 1230-1293), a Christian priest from China who was an ethnic Turk. Khubilai Khan had sent Sauma to the Ilkhanate as his official representative. Arghun then sent him to Europe, hoping he could win support from Christian leaders for his attack on Syria. Sauma traveled in reverse almost the same route Marco Polo took on his trip to Khubi-lai's court. Sauma was the first Chinese traveler to reach Paris and other cities of Western Europe, visiting them between 1275 and 1280.
(d. 1295), a grandson of Hulegu, strangled Geikhatu. Baidu then claimed the title of Ilkhan. Almost immediately, Arghun’s son Ghazan (1271-1304) challenged Baidu’s authority. Although once a Buddhist, Ghazan followed the advice of one of his generals and converted to Islam. This made him popular with many of the local people. By the end of 1295, Ghazan had won enough support to force out Baidu and become the next Ilkhan.
World History
