Mongols in the Middle East

Abstract The Mongols under Genghis Khan (Chinggis Khan, d. 1227) entered the Islamic world (then roughly what today is called the Middle East) in 1219, and over the next thirty years brought Iran and many of the surrounding countries under their control. Hülegü, Genghis Khan's grandson, conquered Baghdad in 1258 and exterminated the Abbasid Caliphate, moving on to north Syria in 1260; his forces, however, were checked by the Mamluks of Egypt at the famous Battle of ‘Ayn Jalut in northern Palestine in September of that year. Subsequently, Mongol rule continued in Iran and the neighboring regions until 1335; this state is known to historians as the Ilkhanate, after the titleIlkhan(usually translated as “submissive khan or ruler”) that was often used by Hülegü and his descendants. Over the years, the Ilkhans continued their war with the Mamluks, now also ruling Syria, and fought with the Mongol rulers of both southern Russia (the so‐called Golden Horde) and Central Asia (the Chaghatayid Khanate). For a generation after 1335 and the disintegration of their state, Mongol princes and generals influenced the political and military life of the region, and after 1370, there was the increasing impact of Timur or Tamerlane (Timur‐i Leng), a Turkic‐speaking leader of Mongol descent from the area today known as Uzbekistan.