← Annalium map

Hulegu Khan

1217 CE – 1265 CE

Retrace Hulegu Khan's life across the map — 8 events in chronological order, from a cinematic flythrough to a full timeline.

Life journey

1. Mongol campaign against the Nizaris1253 CE
   The Mongol campaign against the Nizaris of the Alamut period began in 1253 after the Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire and a series of Nizari–Mongol conflicts. The campaign was ordered by the Great Khan Möngke and was led by his brother, Hülegü. The campaign against the Nizaris and later the Abbasid Caliphate was intended to establish a new khanate in the region—the Ilkhanate.
2. Siege of Alamut1256 CE
   The Siege of Alamut took place in December 1256, and marks the fall of the strategic fort of Alamut Castle, which was the capital of the Nizari Ismaili state, to the Mongol Empire under Hulegu Khan. Following the capitulation of the Nizari Imam, Rukn al-Din Khurshah during the siege of Maymun-Diz, Hulegu Khan dispatched forces to secure the fortress. Although difficult to assault and well-provisioned for a long siege, the commander of the fortress, Muqaddam al-Din Muhammad Mubariz, capitulated the stronghold in obedience to the Imam's orders. The Mongols subsequently dismantled the fortifications and destroyed its famous library, officially ending the Nizari state as a political entity in Persia.
3. Siege of Maymun-Diz1256 CE
   The siege of Maymun-Diz, an unlocated fortress and the stronghold of the leader of the Nizari Ismaili state, Imam Rukn al-Din Khurshah, occurred in 1256, during the Mongol campaign against the Nizaris led by Hülegü.
4. Siege of Baghdad1258 CE
   The Siege of Baghdad, also known as the Sack of Baghdad, took place in early 1258. A large army commanded by Hulegu, a prince of the Mongol Empire, attacked the historic capital of the Abbasid Caliphate after a series of provocations from its ruler, caliph al-Musta'sim. Within a few weeks, Baghdad fell and was sacked by the Mongol army—al-Musta'sim was killed alongside hundreds of thousands of his subjects. The city's fall has traditionally been seen as marking the end of the Islamic Golden Age; in reality, its ramifications are uncertain.
5. Siege of Aleppo1260 CE
   The siege of Aleppo was a major military engagement during the Mongol invasions of the Levant, lasting from 18 January to 24 January 1260. The Mongol army under Hulagu Khan, supported by forces from the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and the Principality of Antioch, besieged the Ayyubid-held city after crossing the Euphrates and capturing nearby settlements.
6. Capture of Damascus1260 CE
   The Capture of Damascus took place in 1260 during the Mongol invasion of Syria led by Hulegu Khan, a prince of the Mongol Empire and founder of the Ilkhanate. After the destruction of Aleppo, the city of Damascus chose to surrender and opened its gates to the Mongol army. As the city submitted without resistance, it was spared from the devastation inflicted on other cities that resisted the Mongol advance.
7. Berke–Hulegu war1262 CE
   The Berke–Hulegu war was fought between two Mongol leaders, Berke Khan of the Golden Horde and Hulegu Khan of the Ilkhanate. It was fought mostly in the Caucasus Mountains area in the 1260s after the destruction of Baghdad in 1258. The war overlaps with the Toluid Civil War in the Mongol Empire between two members of the Tolui family line, Kublai Khan and Ariq Böke, who both claimed the title of Great Khan (Khagan). Kublai allied with Hulegu, while Ariq Böke sided with Berke. Hulegu headed to Mongolia for the election of a new Khagan to succeed Möngke Khan, but the loss of the Battle of Ain Jalut to the Mamluks forced him to withdraw back to the Middle East. The Mamluk victory emboldened Berke to invade the Ilkhanate. The Berke–Hulegu war and the Toluid Civil War as well as the subsequent Kaidu–Kublai war marked a key moment in the fragmentation of the Mongol empire after the death of Möngke, the fourth khan of the Mongol Empire.
8. Siege of Anazarba1307 CE
   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.

Event data from Wikipedia/Wikidata (CC-BY-SA). Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected].