Ilkhanate
Early Ilkhanate
"Ilkanate" means subordinate khan and refers to the sovereign of the entire empire by the great khan, Mongke. the Ilkhanate includes Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, and Pakistan, and is centered in Persia. Hulego Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, was the founder of this khanate. Hulego and his successors ruled Ilkhanate for about 100 years. They all started off as Shamanists, and then became Buddhists, and eventually Muslims. The Chagatai Khanate and the Golden Horde threatened the Ilkhanate from expanding westward. After many attempts at a Franco-Mongol alliance, one was finally created due to their common enemy, the Malmuks, or Muslims.
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Decline
After Abu Sa'id's (an Ilkhanate ruler) death, the Ilkhanate rapidly began to decline and fall. The Ilkhanate split up into several states who were always at war with each other. They Jalayirids were the most important successor state. When it was created, it was meant to restore the old Ilkhanate.
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The Arts
Similarly to the Yuan Dynasty, the time period of the Ilkhanate was involved with many new cultural and artistic innovations and achievements. Literature became increasingly important in the culture of the citizens of the Ilkhanate. New and revised religious texts were made, motifs and other literary terms were integrated into poetry, and with the widespread use of paper and textiles, new forms and mediums of writing were invented. Some other forms of decorative arts include textiles, pottery, metalwork, and jewelry.
The people of the Yuan Dynasty were also very good builders and had great architecture. As the years passed, more and more religious temples and mosques were built. Some other famous pieces of architecture include the sumer palace at Takht-i Sulayman and the Tomb of Uljaytu. |