Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan

Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan
Il-Khan Bahadur Khan (Valiant King) Sultan Abu Sa'id
A silver coin from the period of Abu Sa'id (1316-1335). Minted in Ankara in 1320 AD/720 AH.
Reign	1316-1335
Coronation	1316
Predecessor	Öljaitü
Successor	Arpa Ke'un
Born	June 2, 1305 Ujan
Died	December 1, 1335 (aged 30) Soltaniyeh
Consort	Bagdad Katun
Spouse	Delsad Katun
Full name Abu Said
House	Borjigin
Dynasty	Ilkhanate of the Mongol Empire
Father	Öljaitü

Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan (June 2, 1305, Ujan – December 1, 1335) (Persian, Arabic: ابو سعید بہادر خان ) also spelled Abusaid Bahador Khan, Abu Sayed Behauder (Mongolian: ᠪᠦᠰᠠᠢ ᠪᠠᠬᠠᠲᠦᠷ ᠬᠠᠨ᠂ Busayid Baghatur Khan, Бусайд баатар хаан/Busaid baatar khaan in modern Mongolian), was the ninth ruler of the Ilkhanate c. 1316-1335, which had encompassed the present day countries of Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia, as well as portions of Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In 1306 and 1322, after defeating the forces of the Golden Horde and the rebellion of the Keraites Rinchin, the Mongols had given Abu Sa'id, while still the infant heir apparent of Öljaitü, the title of Baghatur (from Mongolian "баатар" meaning "hero, warrior"). During the earlier part of Abu Sa'id's reign, the distinguished Judeo-Muslim scholar and Vizier Rashid-al-Din Hamadani was beheaded, which left the emir Chupan as the de facto ruler of the Ilkhanate. In 1325 Chupan defeated another force led by Muhammad Üzbeg Khan of the Golden Horde. The emir Chupan, in turn, even managed to invade the Golden Horde's territories.

Abu Said then fell in love with Bagdad Katun, a daughter of emir Chupan. The emir's efforts to keep Abu Sa'id from marrying his daughter, who was still married to Hasan Buzurg, another powerful kingmaker of the era, did not help the situation. In August 1327 Abu Sa'id had a son of Chupan, Demasq Kaja, killed, ostensibly for his activities with a former concubine of Öljeitü's. Later Chupan himself was killed by the Kartids, who were the lords of Herat. In the meantime the Mamluks had beheaded Timurtash, another son of Chupan, who as a governor had revolted against the Ilkhanate years before, and was shown unusual mercy.

In the 1330s, outbreaks of the Black Death had ravaged the Ilkhanate. Abu Sa'id and his sons were among those who had fallen victim to the plague.^[1]

Abu Sa'id had died without an heir or an appointed successor, thus leaving the Ilkhanate to be torn apart from within by the clash of the major families, such as the Chupanids, the Jalayirids, and by new movements like the Sarbadars. The great voyager Ibn Battuta was amazed upon discovering, on his return to Persia, that what had seemed to be such a mighty realm only twenty years before had dissolved so quickly. The Ilkhanate had lost cohesion after the death of Abu Sa'id, and that of his successor, Arpa Ke'un, becoming a plethora of little kingdoms run by Mongols, Turks, and Persians.

References

1. Continuity and Change in Medieval Persia By Ann K. S. Lambton

• Atwood, Christopher P. (2004). The Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire. Facts on File, Inc. ISBN 0-8160-4671-9.

External links