| Doquz Khatun | |
|---|---|
 Hulagu Khan and Doquz Khatun | |
| Khatun of the Ilkhanate | |
| Tenure | 1256 – 8 February 1265 |
| Next | Buluqhan Khatun |
| Died | 16 June 1265 |
| Consort | Hulagu Khan |
| House | Keraites |
| Father | Uyku |
| Religion | Nestorianism |
Doquz Khatun (also spelled Dokuz Khatun) (died 1265) was a princess of the Keraites who was married to Hulagu Khan, founder of the Ilkhanate and a grandson of Genghis Khan. [1]
Doquz Khatun was a granddaughter of the Keraite khan Toghrul, through his son Uyku or Abaqu. [2] She was at first given to Genghis Khan and Börte's youngest son Tolui following the demise of her grandfather. After his death in 1232, she was wed to Hulagu, his step-son in levirate marriage. She was known to accompany Hulagu on campaigns. At the Siege of Baghdad (1258), the Mongols massacred tens of thousands of inhabitants, but through the influence of Doquz, the Christians were spared. [3]
Doquz Khatun was an Assyrian Christian in the Church of the East, and is often mentioned as a great benefactor of the Christian faith. When Mongol envoys were sent to Europe, they also tried to use Doquz's Christianity to their advantage, by claiming that Mongol princesses such as Doquz and her aunt Sorghaghtani Beki were daughters of the legendary Prester John. [4]
Doquz Khatun was a supporter of her step-son Abaqa and retained her influential position even after the death of her husband. [5] She secured succession of Denha I to patriarchal throne of Church of the East in her capacity. [6] She died on 16 June 1265, 4 months after her husband. Stepanos Orbelian later claimed that she was poisoned by Shams al-Din Juvayni. [5]
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of the Mongol Empire after 1259, it became a functionally separate khanate. It is also known as the Kipchak Khanate or the Ulus of Jochi, and replaced the earlier, less organized Cuman–Kipchak confederation.
Hulegu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulagu, was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Western Asia. Son of Tolui and the Keraite princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of Ariq Böke, Möngke Khan, and Kublai Khan.
Möngke Khan was the fourth khagan of the Mongol Empire, ruling from 1 July 1251, to 11 August 1259. He was the first Khagan from the Toluid line, and made significant reforms to improve the administration of the Empire during his reign. Under Möngke, the Mongols conquered Iraq and Syria as well as the kingdom of Dali.
Abaqa Khan, was the second Mongol ruler (Ilkhan) of the Ilkhanate. The son of Hulagu Khan and Lady Yesünčin and the grandson of Tolui, he reigned from 1265 to 1282 and was succeeded by his brother Ahmed Tekuder. Much of Abaqa's reign was consumed with civil wars in the Mongol Empire, such as those between the Ilkhanate and the northern khanate of the Golden Horde, and the central Asian Chagatai Khanate. Abaqa also engaged in unsuccessful attempts at invading Syria under the Mamluk Sultanate, which included the Second Battle of Homs.
Ahmed Tekuder, also known as Sultan Ahmad, was the sultan of the Ilkhanate from 1282 to 1284. He was a son of Hulegu and brother of Abaqa. He was eventually succeeded by his nephew Arghun Khan.
Sorghaghtani Beki or Bekhi, also written Sorkaktani, Sorkhokhtani, Sorkhogtani, Siyurkuktiti, posthumous name Empress Xianyi Zhuangsheng, was a Keraite princess and daughter-in-law of Genghis Khan. Married to Tolui, Genghis' youngest son, Sorghaghtani Beki became one of the most powerful and competent people in the Mongol Empire. She made policy decisions at a pivotal moment that led to the transition of the Mongol Empire towards a more cosmopolitan and sophisticated style of administration. She raised her sons to be leaders and maneuvered the family politics so that all four of her sons, Möngke Khan, Hulagu Khan, Ariq Böke, and Kublai Khan, went on to inherit the legacy of their grandfather.
The Keraites were one of the five dominant Mongol or Turkic tribal confederations (khanates) in the Altai-Sayan region during the 12th century. They had converted to the Church of the East (Nestorianism) in the early 11th century and are one of the possible sources of the European Prester John legend.
Toghrul, also known as Wang Khan or Ong Khan, was a khan of the Keraites. He was the blood brother (anda) of the Mongol chief Yesugei and served as an important early patron and ally to Yesugei's son Temüjin, later known as Genghis Khan. The main source on his life is the Secret History of the Mongols.
Starting in the 1240s, the Mongols made repeated invasions of Syria or attempts thereof. Most failed, but they did have some success in 1260 and 1300, capturing Aleppo and Damascus and destroying the Ayyubid dynasty. The Mongols were forced to retreat within months each time by other forces in the area, primarily the Egyptian Mamluks. The post-1260 conflict has been described as the Mamluk–Ilkhanid War.
Several attempts at a Franco-Mongol alliance against the Islamic caliphates, their common enemy, were made by various leaders among the Frankish Crusaders and the Mongol Empire in the 13th century. Such an alliance might have seemed an obvious choice: the Mongols were already sympathetic to Christianity, given the presence of many influential Nestorian Christians in the Mongol court. The Franks—Western Europeans, and those in the Levantine Crusader states—were open to the idea of support from the East, in part owing to the long-running legend of the mythical Prester John, an Eastern king in an Eastern kingdom who many believed would one day come to the assistance of the Crusaders in the Holy Land. The Franks and Mongols also shared a common enemy in the Muslims. However, despite many messages, gifts, and emissaries over the course of several decades, the often-proposed alliance never came to fruition.
In modern times the Mongols are primarily Tibetan Buddhists, but in previous eras, especially during the time of the Mongol empire, they were primarily shamanist, and had a substantial minority of Christians, many of whom were in positions of considerable power. Overall, Mongols were highly tolerant of most religions, and typically sponsored several at the same time. Many Mongols had been proselytized by the Church of the East since about the seventh century, and some tribes' primary religion was Christian. In the time of Genghis Khan, his sons took Christian wives of the Keraites, and under the rule of Genghis Khan's grandson, Möngke Khan, the primary religious influence was Christian.
Jayme Alaric de Perpignan was an ambassador sent by Pope Clement IV and James I of Aragon to the Mongol ruler Abaqa Khan in 1267.
Maria Palaiologina was the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos who became the wife of the Mongol ruler Abaqa Khan, and an influential Christian leader among the Mongols. After Abaqa's death she became the leader of a monastery in Constantinople which was popularly named after her as Saint Mary of the Mongols. Her monastic name was Melanie.
Makkikha II was Patriarch of the Church of the East from 1257 until his death in 1265. He succeeded the patriarch Sabrisho V ibn al-Masihi and was followed by Denha I.
Exultavit cor nostrum is a letter, also known as a Papal bull, from Pope Urban IV to the Mongol Ilkhanate leader Hulagu in 1263/1264.
The Mongols were highly tolerant of most religions during the early Mongol Empire, and typically sponsored several at the same time. At the time of Genghis Khan in the 13th century, virtually every religion had found converts, from Buddhism to Eastern Christianity and Manichaeanism to Islam. To avoid strife, Genghis Khan set up an institution that ensured complete religious freedom, though he himself was a Tengrist. Under his administration, all religious leaders were exempt from taxation, and from public service. Mongol emperors were known for organizing competitions of religious debates among clerics, and these would draw large audiences.
Mongol Armenia or Ilkhanid Armenia refers to the period beginning in the early-to-mid 13th century during which both Zakarid Armenia and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia became tributary and vassal to the Mongol Empire and the successor Ilkhanate. Armenia and Cilicia remained under Mongol influence until around 1335.
Qonqurtai was a Mongol prince and viceroy of Anatolia for the Ilkhanate khanate.
Qutui Khatun was a Mongol princess and one of the wives of Il-Khan Hulagu, founder of Ilkhanate. Their son, Tekuder, briefly served as Il-Khan from 1282 until 1284. Khatun had an important role in state affairs during Tekuder's reign, and she was known as a protector of Christians.
Qutuqa Beki — was a 13th century chief of the Oirats who played a major role in the formation of the Mongol Empire.
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