This comprehensive text provides an in-depth analysis of Hulagu Khan, a pivotal 13th-century figure who dramatically reshaped the Middle East. It examines his Mongol lineage and rise to power, emphasizing the influence of his mother, Sorghaghtani Beki. The source details Hulagu's military campaigns, including the systematic destruction of the Nizari Ismailis and the devastating sack of Baghdad, which symbolically ended the Abbasid Caliphate and the Islamic Golden Age. Furthermore, it explores the halt of Mongol expansion at the Battle of Ain Jalut and the subsequent fracturing of the Mongol Empire due to the Berke-Hulagu War. Finally, the text highlights Hulagu's paradoxical legacy as a destroyer and state-builder, particularly his founding of the Ilkhanate and his significant patronage of science, exemplified by the Maragheh Observatory.
This page was created on: August 16, 2025