Mahmoud Ghazan, the seventh ruler of the Mongol Ilkhanate Empire in Iran

Compiled by: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On May 11 in 1304 AD, Mahmoud Ghazan, the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate 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.
On 4th of the Islamic month of Sha’ban in 694 AH, Ghazan Khan, the 7th ruler of the Iran-based Ilkhanid Dynasty that included Iraq, Armenia, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and parts of Turkey, Syria and Georgia, embraced the truth of Islam along with over 100,000 Mongols. He changed his name to Mahmoud and ruled for nine years during which he demolished the temples built by the Buddhist occupiers of the Muslim lands.
He was the son of Arghun. His principal wife was Kokechin, a Mongol princess sent by Kublai Khan, and escorted to Iran from China by Marco Polo. Military conflicts during Ghazan's reign included war with the Egyptian Mamluks for control of Syria, and battles with the Mongol Chaghatai Khanate for control of Central Asia. A man of high culture, Ghazan spoke several languages, and reformed many elements of the Ilkhanid realm, especially in the matter of standardizing currency and fiscal policy.
Considered the most prominent of the Ilkhans, he is best known for accepting the truth of Islam in 1295 AD 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 Hamwaiyh Khorasani al-Juwaini, he changed his first name to Mahmoud, and as a result 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 Chaghatai Khanate of Central Asia. Ghazan also pursued diplomatic contacts with Europe. The Mongol capital was Maragheh in today's Zanjan Province west of Tehran.