On this day, 760 years ago, on February 18, 1265 (February 1, 1265 lunar calendar), Hulagu, the founder of the Ilkhanate, died. Hulagu (1217 - February 8, 1265), a Mongol, founder of the Ilkhanate (reigned 1264-1265), conqueror of Southwest Asia. Grandson of Genghis Khan, son of Tuolei, brother of Mungo and Kublai Khan, and brother of Aribu. Hulagu's army greatly expanded the southwestern borders of the Mongol Empire. Under his leadership, the Mongols destroyed Baghdad and Damascus, the two centers of Islamic civilization, and shifted the center of the Islamic world to the Mamluk dynasty in Cairo. The customs and decrees of Genghis Khan are to be followed in a vast area from the banks of the Amu Darya to the end of Egypt. Grace and kindness are to be given to those who obey and submit to your orders, and humiliation is to be given to those who resist - Hulagu received instructions from Montgomery before the expedition. These pastors came to visit me and bless me from all over, which is a testament to God's grace to me - Hulagu welcomed visiting Christians. As the grandson of Genghis Khan, Hulagu had the natural advantage of identity and blood, and his repeated brilliant records also proved that he deserved the title of outstanding military commander. He raised the "Whip of God" to West Asia and established the Mongolian country on the land of Allah. Although the country of Il Khanate did not last long, its appearance completely changed the direction of West Asian history. Hulagu was the fifth son of Genghis Khan's fourth son Tuolei, and was the same brother as the famous Mengge and Kublai Khan. Growing up on the grasslands, Hulagu had also practiced kung fu since he was a child. Under the encouragement of Genghis Khan's words to his descendants, "There are many vast lands and rivers in the world, and you can expand your territory as much as you like." At the age of 18, he accompanied his cousin Batu on an expedition across the steppes of Eastern Europe and reached what is now Hungary. In the war with the Magyars in Hungary, he and Subutai divided their forces five ways and defeated the Magyar army in the Dunin River. This western expedition was of great significance to the young Hulagu, which enabled him to accumulate practical experience and political capital. Since the death of Ogutai, the Mongol princes were in a fierce struggle for power. In 1248, the son of Ogutai, Gui You, died. Hulagu joined forces with Badu and others to actively support his eldest brother Mengo, thwarting the conspiracy of Haiwu and others, so that Mengo won the throne of the Great Khan at the general meeting of the princes in 1251. In the subsequent fight against the Ogutai system, Hulagu was ordered to observe the Fallen Gate and others, and made great contributions to Mengo's rule. As brothers of the same mother, Kublai Khan and Hulagu were actively cultivated. Kublai Khan was in charge of China's affairs, and Hulagu became the commander of the western army. In 1252, the timid Buhua was the vanguard and led 12,000 people to go to the west first. The next year, Hulagu led the main army to cross the Amu Darya, with the "land from both sides of the Amu Darya to the end of Egypt must follow the habits and decrees of Genghis Khan." Bounty to those who obey your orders, and humiliation to those who resist ". From then on, he left the Mongolian steppe where he was born and raised, and also left the intrigue among the Mongolian nobles to open up his world in a completely new world. The first to bear the brunt was the Yisma'en Muslim religious state south of the Caspian Sea. This faction was a famous Muslim" Assassin faction "in history, keen to cultivate assassins to assassinate the leaders of the enemy. This faction had formed a deep hatred with the Mongols for trying to organize assassins to assassinate Mongo. Hulagu attacked in three armies, and he personally led the Middle Route Army, and soon captured the castle of the sect leader Kulsha. More than 90 of the Yismanite castles were destroyed, and Khursha was killed while being escorted. This powerful faction of Islam has since disappeared from history. Then came the Arab Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad. The Abbasid dynasty had been passed down for 36 generations, after 508 years, because it was adept at dealing with various invading forces and preserving its position as at least the religious leader of Muslims. But this time, Caliph Mustasin's arrogant attitude towards Hulagu made him the last caliph. Hulagu first flooded the main force and commander of the caliphate with water, and then forced the caliph to abandon the city with a wonderful siege. A massacre of historic proportions unfolded. Hundreds of thousands of residents were killed, the city of Baghdad, with 500 years of cultural accumulation, was devastated, and the caliph himself was trampled to death. Baghdad's change of flag sent the Islamic world into a state of panic. But Hulagu did not stop his footsteps. His next target was Syria. Before attacking Syria, which was nominally part of the Ayyub dynasty of Egypt and was actually ruled by the monarch Nasir, he had accepted the surrender of the kings of Armenia and Antioch. Hulagu did not accept Nasir's pleas for peace, and from 1259 to 1260 he conquered Aleppo and Damascus, and the Muslims in these cities suffered great indignities. But at this moment, an unexpected event changed the fate of various ethnic groups and sects in the Middle East. Hulagu learned that his eldest brother Mengo was killed in battle in China, and the brothers were caught in the competition for the Khan's throne. He decided to lead his main force back east, leaving only the timid Buhua and 5,000 men to stay in Syria. When Hulagu returned to Persia, he learned that his mother and brother Kublai Khan were already the throne of the Great Khan, so he decided not to return east and stayed in Persia. A few years later, in 1264, Hulagu accepted the canonization of Kublai Khan and became the Iraqi Khan of the four major khanates of Mongolia. But at the same time, Hulagu also received news that the garrison he left in Syria had been wiped out. Under the siege of the superior forces of the Egyptian slave dynasty, the timid Buhua finally lost the enemy, was captured and died in the case of less fighting and more fighting, and all Syria fell into the hands of the Egyptian regime. Hulagu wanted revenge, but a new threat forced him to give up his plans to re-enter Syria. The new threat came from his cousin country, the Golden Horde. Hulagu, influenced by his mother and wife (both of whom belonged to the Christian Nestorian sect), implemented a pro-Christian and Muslim-hostile policy in Western Asia (although he was not a Christian himself, he was a Buddhist and worshiped the Maitreya Buddha), which aroused the hatred of the pro-Muslim Beren of the Golden Horde Khan, who formed an alliance with the Sultan Baibores of Egypt to deal with Hulagu, and the two sides also fought a war in the Caucasus. In his later years, Hulagu dedicated himself to consolidating his rule in Persia. Through force coercion or marriage, he eliminated the separatist forces in Persia, making Persia the core area of the rule of the Ilkhanate. By the reign of his grandson, Ghazan Khan, the Ilkhanate had reached its heyday, its territory "stretching from the Amu Darya in the east to the Mediterranean in the west, from the Caucasus in the north to the Indian Ocean in the south," and its economy and culture were flourishing. The Ilkhanate's rule lasted until 1388, when it died at the hands of Timur, a descendant of Genghis Khan. Hulagu's conquests in West Asia not only changed the political map of the region, but also changed the balance of power among various religions and sects in the region, and it was widely involved, all over Eurasia and even Africa. The connection between the Ilkhanate and the headquarters of the Yuan Dynasty was much closer than that of the other three great khanates of Mongolia. The Silk Road was smooth, and the four great inventions of China accelerated the speed of westward transmission. The Huihui cannon, Arabic numerals, the Arabic calendar, and the provincial system were also introduced to China. Hulagu obviously deserves to be among the emperors who have an important influence in world history. Hulagu is ranked after his fourth brother Kublai Khan in this list, not because he was nominally Kublai Khan's vassal, but because he was only a conqueror, and the improvement of the country's various systems was mainly completed by his descendants. Kublai Khan was not only a destroyer of the old order, but also a relatively successful founder of the new order. Hulagu ranks 80th in this list. Comment: Hulagu's Western Expedition Army, which was around 100,000, was invincible and rampant in the land of West Asia. This is another brilliant example of the Mongolian military tradition. More importantly, the idea that the authority of the Baghdad caliph will last forever has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of all ethnic groups in the Middle East. Only the Hulagu army that came from afar was not affected by it. It dared to ignore the warning that "it will throw the whole universe into chaos", overthrow the rule of the Baghdad caliph, and move the center of Islamic civilization westward. This is also an example of how the Mongols can often play a historical role that could not have happened in the original area.