ABSTRACT
The Ilkhanate can be divided into three periods. The first period, covering the reigns of Hulegu and his son Abaqa, was marked by political stability and general prosperity as Iran benefitted from the opening of the borders and access to the markets in the East. The second period, marked by political and economic instability, lasted through the short reign of Abaqa’s brother, Ahmad Teguder; the longer reign of his son, Arghun; and the chaotic years of Gaykhatu and Baidu until the ascension of Ghazan Khan in 1295 after a short civil war. The final period, the so-called Golden Age, covered Ghazan’s reign from 1295 to 1304, when Islam became once again the state religion of Iran; Ghazan’s brother Oljeitu’s rule from 1304 until 1316; and finally the reign of the last Ilkhan, Abu Sa’id, who ruled from 1316 until 1335, when he died without issue and the country collapsed into chaos, some would say at its economic and political height.
