Sultan Mahmoud Ghazan Ilkhani

Compiled by: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On 11th of the Islamic month of Shawwal in 1304 AD, Mahmoud Ghazan, the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanid division that was based in modern-day Iran, and included Iraq and parts of Central Asia and the Caucasus, died. He was the son of Arghun and grandson of Abaqa, continuing a line of rulers who were direct descendants of Genghis Khan.
Considered the most prominent of the Ilkhans, he is best known for accepting the truth of Islam in 1295 when he ascended the throne, although he was born a Buddhist, and because of his mother was baptized and raised as a Christian.
On conversion to Islam at the hands of Ibrahim ibn Mohammad ibn Hamwayh Khorasani al-Juwaini, he changed his first name to Mahmoud, and Islam gained popularity within Mongol territories beyond Iran. His principal wife was Kokechin, a Mongol princess sent to Iran by his distant cousin Kublai Khan the ruler of China, and escorted by the famous Italian traveler Marco Polo.
Military conflicts during Ghazan's reign included war with the Egyptian Mamluks for control of Syria, and battles with the Mongol Chaghtai Khanate of Central Asia. Ghazan also pursued diplomatic contacts with Europe. The Ilkhanid capital was Maraghah in today's Zanjan Province west of Tehran.