ABSTRACT
Hulegu, conqueror of Persia and Iraq and founder of the Ilkhanate, died in 663/1265, five years after the Mamluks, by driving the Mongol forces out of Syria, had put a term to the expansion of the Mongol Empire in the Middle East. Hulegu was the first and last Ilkhan to be buried in the fully traditional Mongol fashion, with his funeral featuring human sacrifices. His remains were interred on an island in Lake Urmiyya, not far from Maragha, the city in the north-west Persian province of Azarbayjan which he had made his capital. The dynasty of Hulegu took its position as a subject realm to the Great Khanate seriously, and a permanent Mongol ambassador appointed by Qubilai resided in Persia. Qubilai's prestige, as the Great Khan who had finally conquered China and had been Hulegu's brother, was immense, and the connection between China and Persia remained strong until his death in 1294.
