Ilkhanate

  General Description   The Ilkhanate was a state that began under Mongol commander Hulegu who founded the House of Hulegu. ^[1] The nearly eighty years the dynasty lasted was a time of general economic prosperity for the 5 million inhabitants of Persia. The end of the Ilkhanate came when Abu Said, who it is said "ruled during what was described as the ’best period of the domination of the Mongols". ^[1] , died without an heir, which resulted in the Jalayirids becoming the strongest faction in the region. ^[2]
The Mongol invaders assimilated to the local culture in Persia. They converted to Islam, used the local languages (Persian and Arabic), and maintained existing Persian administrative practices, the financing of which was underpinned by iqta land grants awarded to senior bureaucrats and army officers. ^{[3] [4]} According to the Persian historian Rashid al-Din, who was chief minister to Ghazan ^[5] , the Mongols assessed the vizier (chief of the bureaucracy) on his ability to extract revenue. ^[6] Even so, previously better known in the region as barbarians bent on destruction, the Mongols rebuilt many hospitals, mosques, and observatories, and impressive mausoleums to the rulers appeared in the cities. ^{[4] [3]}
During this period, Sultaniya was a famous commercial center and after the intense building activities of Oljetu (r.1304-1316 CE) the ’great city’ became the capital. As a result of the work, the circumference of the outer walls almost tripled in length, containing within new fabulous palaces, gardens, and a purpose-built quarter of a thousand houses. ^[7] The largest city in the Ilkhanate at this time was probably Tabriz which also "developed into a great metropolis". ^[8] Tabriz had a cistern for drinking water and baths with hot water. ^[9] In 1300 CE Tabriz may have contained 100,000-200,000 inhabitants.

[1]: (Marshall 1993, 229) Robert Marshall. 1993. Storm from the East: From Ghengis Khan to Khubilai Khan. University of California Press.

[2]: (Morgan 2015, 78) David Morgan. 2015. Medieval Persia 1040-1797. Routledge.

[3]: (Morgan 2007, 134-148) David Morgan. The Mongols. 2nd ed. The Peoples of Europe. Malden, MA; Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

[4]: (Amitai 2012) Reuven Amitai. 2012. Il-Khanids. Dynastic History. IranicaOnline. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/il-khanids-i-dynastic-history

[5]: (Marshall 1993, 228) Robert Marshall. 1993. Storm from the East: From Ghengis Khan to Khubilai Khan. University of California Press.

[6]: (Morgan 2015, 67) David Morgan. 2015. Medieval Persia 1040-1797. Routledge.

[7]: (Marozzi 2004, 133-135) J Marozzi. 2004. Tamerlane. HarperCollinsPublishers. London.

[8]: (Morgan 2015, 69) David Morgan. 2015. Medieval Persia 1040-1797. Routledge.

[9]: (Houtsma et al. 1993, 586) M Th. Houtsma. A J Wensinck. H A R Gibb. W Heffening. E Levi-Provencal. First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936. E.J. Brill. Leiden.