ABSTRACT
Rulers of the Mongolian Plateau had a strong interest in the Turkestan corridor linking China to the Middle East. The Mongol conquest of Iran occurred in three stages, each under a different khan. The expedition of 1219–24, led by Chinggis Khan himself, concentrated on Mawarannahr, Khwarazm, and eastern Iran (now Afghanistan), with an exploratory expedition through Iran and the Caucasus. The second major invasion, sent by Ogodei in 1230, swept through Iran in pursuit of the remains of the Khwarazmian dynasty, also conquering Transcaucasia and eastern Anatolia. At this time, many cities and rulers submitted voluntarily, and bloodshed was more limited. After Mongke came to the throne in 1251, he sent his brothers to establish Toluid control over the major regions of the Mongol Empire: Hulegu arrived in Iran in 1256. The Mongol conquest therefore was a political process as well as a military one.
