Abaqha Khan (1234-1282) was the second Khan of the Ilkhanate of the Mongol Empire. Much of his reign was spent fighting in civil wars between the Ill-Khanate and the Golden Horde of Russia, and in 1281, he failed to capture Homs from the Mamelukes. He was khan from 1265 to 1282, succeeding Hulegu Khan and preceding Tekuder Khan.
Biography[]
Abaqha was the son of Hulegu Khan, known for his aura of dread. He was Khanzada for his father, and took part in the invasion of the Middle East in 1256. He assisted in the Siege of Alamut in 1256, the Fall of Baghdad in 1258-59, and the capture of Aleppo and Damascus in 1260. When Mongke Khan died, he was forced to return home to Mongolia, where the council decided to divide the empire in four: the Golden Horde Khanate of Russia, the Chagatai Khanate of Central Asia, the Ilkhanate of the Middle East, and the Empire of the Great Khan in China. Abaqha was made the ruler of the Ill-Khanate of the Middle East, and he was an intolerant follower of Islam.
In 1265, the Golden Horde invaded his lands, and battles continued until Berke Khan's death in 1267. Kublai Khan stopped the civil war, and in 1270, Mongke Temur Khan was allowed to gain some revenue from Persia's taxes as a part of a peace treaty. That same year, Abaqha defended the city of Herat from the Chagataids, and until 1280, his armies plundered the Chagatai Khanate.
In 1271, he assisted the Ninth Crusade, sending his general Samaghar to ravage the Mamelukes' lands around Aleppo. However, Abagha withdrew when Prince Edward of England failed to win any victories. From 1280 to 1281, he invaded Mameluke Syria and ravaged the lands but failed to capture any cities, and was beaten back. At the Second Battle of Homs both sides suffered heavy losses, so Abaqha ended his invasion. He died in 1282 of delirium.