AHistoryIndependent states
The Ilkhanate (1256-1335)
The Mongol state founded by Hülegü, with capitals at Maragheh, Tabriz and Soltaniyeh; its army and nomadic population were largely Turkic.
To say it plainly first: the ruling house of the Ilkhanate was Mongol, descended from Hülegü, a grandson of Genghis Khan. But much of its army and nomadic population came from Turkic tribes, and the spread of Turkic speech in Azerbaijan gathered pace in this period. The Atlas lists the Ilkhanate with this note.
Hülegü took the Ismaili fortress of Alamut in 1256 and Baghdad in 1258, ending the Abbasid caliphate. The centre of the state was South Azerbaijan: first Maragheh, then Tabriz, and under Öljeitü the new city of Soltaniyeh. Nasir al-Din Tusi's observatory was built at Maragheh.
Ghazan Khan became a Muslim in 1295 and the state turned Islamic. His vizier Rashid al-Din wrote the great history "Jami al-Tawarikh", which also contains a history of the Oghuz tribes. In 1335 Abu Sa'id died without an heir and the state broke apart.
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Updated: November 10, 2026