Hulegu

Timeline

1. 1221–1230Heartlands of the Mongol Empire · Mongolian PlateauBorn in 1217 into Tolui's household, he grew up on the steppe between 1221 and 1230 under the joint upbringing of his mother Sorghaghtani and elder brothers Möngke, Kublai, and others, as one of the youngest of Tolui's sons.
2. 1231–1250Mongolian Plateau · Mongolian PlateauAfter Tolui's death in 1232 he followed his mother in maintaining the family's position through the reigns of Ögedei and Güyük; in the 1240s, as one of the princes in the alliance between the Tolui line and Batu, he took part in imperial politics, gaining experience for his later role as western campaign commander.
3. 1251–1260Persia · PersiaAfter Möngke's accession in 1251 he was ordered to lead an army west; in 1256 he destroyed the Ismaili Assassins, in 1258 captured Baghdad and extinguished the Abbasid dynasty, and after the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260 withdrew to Persia, laying the foundation of the Ilkhanate.
4. 1260–1265Maragha · AzerbaijanAfter 1260 he established the Ilkhanate in Persia, with Maragha and Tabriz as its ruling centers, patronizing observatories and a policy of religious pluralism; the state lasted until 1335 and profoundly reshaped the political landscape of West Asia.