| Gaykhatu | |
|---|---|
| Padishah-I Jahan (Ruler of the World/Universe)[1] | |
 Gaykhatu enthroned, 15th century miniature | |
| Il-khan | |
| Reign | 1291–1295 |
| Coronation | 23 July 1291 Ahlat |
| Predecessor | Arghun |
| Successor | Baydu |
| Viceroy ofAnatolia | |
| Reign | 1284 - 1291 |
| Predecessor | Qonqurtai |
| Successor | Samagar |
| Co-ruler | Hulachu (1284-1286) |
| Born | c. 1259 |
| Died | 21 March 1295 (aged 35–36) Tangree hill |
| Spouse | Padishah Khatun |
| Dynasty | Borjigin |
| Father | Abaqa Khan |
| Mother | Nukdan khatun |
| Religion | Buddhism |
Gaykhatu (Mongolian script:ᠭᠠᠶᠢᠬᠠᠯᠳᠤ;Mongolian:Гайхалт,romanized: Gaikhalt,lit. 'Surprising')[2] was the fifthIlkhanate ruler inIran. He reigned from 1291 to 1295. HisBuddhistbaghshi gave him theTibetan nameRinchendorje (Classical Tibetan:རིན་ཆེན་རྡོ་རྗེ,lit. 'Jewel Diamond') which appeared on his paper money.
He was born toAbaqa and Nukdan Khatun of the Tatars in c.1259.[3] He was living inJazira duringTekuder's reign and had to flee toArghun inKhorasan after the execution, in 1284, of Mongol prince and viceroy ofAnatoliaQonqurtai.[4] He was given as hostage to Tekuder by Arghun as a condition of truce in June 1284 and put inorda of Todai Khatun, his step-mother.[5] After Arghun's enthronement, he was confirmed as governor of Anatolia together with his uncle Hulachu.
He was stationed inErzincan and learnt to speakPersian and to some degreeTurkish during his stay in Anatolia. Gaykhatu ruled Anatolia solely after recall of Hulachu to Iran in 1286.[6] It was then he was married toPadishah Khatun, a princess ofQutlugh-Khanids. He aidedMasud II on his campaigns against Turkmen principalities, most importantly Germiyanids. Using this opportunity,Karamanids invaded Mongol allies ofCilician Armenia during his campaign. Gaykhatu was sent in turn by Arghun to helpLeo II againstGüneri of Karaman in 1286, who had capturedTarsus from theCilician Kingdom. Gaykhatu invaded and burned his capitalKaraman on 16 January 1287,[6] forcing Güneri to retreat to mountains.[7] Gaykhatu's viceroyalty was briefly interrupted by appointment ofSamagar from 1289 to 1290. He resumed his activities when Samagar was arrested on 15 October 1290 inTokat on charges of corruption and was sent back to Iran. Gaykhatu visitedKonya on 3 January 1291, confirming appointment of his new tax officer Khwaja Nasir ud-Din and conduction of a new general census.
Gaykhatu heard of Arghun's death in his wintering pastures nearAntalya from Lagzi Küregen (son ofArghun Aqa and in-law ofHulagu Khan). The main contenders for the throne were his nephewGhazan and cousinBaydu. Baydu was nominated for the throne by an influential Mongol commander,Ta'achar, who had sent an envoy to Gaykhatu falsely announcing that Baydu had already taken the throne. Suspicious, Gaykhatu headed to the kurultai.
While nobles likeTaghachar, Qoncuqbal, Toghan and Tuqal supported Baydu, historians suggest Baydu simply refused the throne stating it belonged to the brother or a son according toyassa.[6] Another source, Mahmud Aqsarai said that Baydu didn't appear at thekurultai at all.[8] The other contender to the throne, Ghazan, was engaged in a rebellion withNawrūz (another son ofArghun Aqa), and couldn't attend the kurultai either, thus losing a bid to throne. As a consequence, Gaykhatu was elected il-khan on 23 July 1291,Ahlat. Gaikhatu's main supporter was his new wife Uruk Khatun - widow of Arghun and mother ofÖljaitü.[9]
His first orders upon taking throne was to punish several emirs includingTaghachar and Tuqal. Taghachar's (or in some sources, Qoncuqbal's) 10.000 army was given to Shiktur Noyan ofJalairs, while Tuqal's army was given to an amir named Narin Ahmad. Another Baydu supporter, Toghan was arrested on his way to escape to Khorasan. Meanwhile, a rebellion by Turkmen emirs started in Anatolia, Gaykhatu had to move into his former domains, appointing Shiktur Noyan as regent of the state while confirming Anbarchi (son of Möngke Temür) as viceroy of East stationed inRay.
Hazaraspid rulerAfrasiab I took the opportunity to extend his rule toIsfahan upon hearing of Arghun's death in 1291. Gaykhatu's retribution was brutal, sending a commander of his personalkeshig Tuladai to pillage Lorestan who obtained Afrasiab's submission.[6] Gaykhatu's wivesPadshah and Uruk interceded on behalf of Afrasiab, asking for forgiveness.[10] As a consequence, while Afrasiab was reinstated as ruler ofLorestan, his brother Ahmad was held at Ilkhanid court as hostage.
Gaykhatu left for Anatolia in pursuit of the Karamanids who were besieging Konya on 31 August 1291 with 20.000 men.[11] DespiteKonya was enforced by a brother ofMasud II andSahib Ataids, the Karamanids didn't leave until Gaykhatu's arrival atKayseri. Gaykhatu divided his army into two, sending a part toMenteshe, while he himself raided the Karamanid capitalEreğli. His next target wasEshrefid beylik to the west, from whom he captured 7000 women and children, sending them to Konya.
After returning to Kayseri, he sent Goktai and Girainoyans to punish former supporters ofKilij Arslan IV in northern Anatolia accompanied by Seljuk armies. Using this opportunity, the Karamanids and Eshrefids again besieged Konya, but withdrew their armies whenHenry II of Cyprus besiegedAlaiye with 15 ships. Gaykhatu continued on to capture Denizli and looted the city for 3 days.[11] Masud also went on to fight against Kilij Arslan who was supported by Masud's brothers Faramurz and Kayumars in addition to theChobanids. Gaykhatu sent an additional 3000 men with commanders Goktai, Girai and Anit. It was Girai andTemür Yaman Jandar who rescued Masud II from Turkmen captivity. Temür Yaman Jandar was granted the former Chobanid city ofKastamonu by Gaykhatu as aniqta due to this service.
Gaykhatu spent 11 months in the Anatolian campaign and went back to Iran in May/June 1292. His absence in Iran was followed by a conspiracy led byTaghachar and his follower Sad al-Din Zanjani. They falsely informed viceroy Anbarchi - via Sad al-Din's brother Qutb al-Din, who was Anbarchi's vizier - of Gaykhatu's defeat by Turkmens in Anatolia and called him to take the throne. While ambitious, Anbarchi regarded this news with suspicion. After contacting Shiktur Noyan who was residing nearKarachal,[3] Anbarchi had them imprisoned by Shiktur. Gaykhatu arrived at Aladagh on 29 June 1292, had a second enthronement, possibly receiving a confirmation fromKublai Khagan.[13]
Upon returning, Gaykhatu allowed his wife Padishah Khatun's to gain Kirman in October 1292. He pardoned both Taghachar and Sad al-Din Zanjani, even appointing the latter to the post of vizier on 18 November 1292 while confirming his father-in-law Aq Buqa Jalair as commander-in-chief. Shiktur and Taghachar were subordinated to him. Sad al-Din also managed to get his brother Qutb al-Din to be appointed as governor ofTabriz.[14] Amassing huge amount of power and wealth in his hand, Sad al-Din became the real ruler of theIlkhanate with personal army of 10.000, while gaining certain enemies as well. Former emirs Hasan and Taiju attempted to accuse him of embezzlement of state funds unsuccessfully.
In 1292, Gaykhatu sent a message to theEgyptianMamlukSultanAl-Ashraf Khalil, threatening to conquer the whole of theLevant if he didn't returnAleppo. Al-Ashraf replied: "The khan has the same ideas as me. I too hope to bring back Baghdad to the fold ofIslam as previously. We will see which of us two will be quicker".[15] However, there were no major battles between Mongols and Mamluks afterwards.
During his reign, the princessKökötchin arrived from the court of his KhaganKublai in 1293, escorted byMarco Polo. The new Ilkhan decreed that the princess be married to his nephewGhazan, who had fully supported his right to rule. Ghazan on the other hand sent a tiger to Gaykhatu as an answer. Marco Polo and his entourage stayed with Gaykhatu for nine months.
TheGolden Horde khanToqta, who ascended the throne at the same time as Gaykhatu, sent Prince Qalintay and Pulad as envoys to the Ilkhanate on 28 March 1294 to make a truce and possibly ask for help against Toqta's rivals. They returned to Golden Horde three days later.[6]
In 1294, Gaykhatu wanted to replenish his treasury emptied by a great cattle plague. In response, hisvizier Sad al-Din Zanjani[13] proposed the introduction of a recent Chinese invention calledJiaochao (paper money). Gaykhatu agreed and called forBolad, the ambassador ofKublai (Emperor Shizu) ofYuan China inTabriz. After Bolad explained how the system worked, Gaykhatu printed banknotes which imitated the Chinese ones so closely that they even had Chinese words printed on them. TheMuslim confession of faith was printed on the banknotes to placate local sentiment. Gaykhatu's Buddhist name Rinchindorj was also present on money. Shiktur Noyan objected to introduction, calling this a foul attempt. First circulation started on 12 September 1294 inTabriz. Gaykhatu ordered anyone who is going to refuse to use money to be executed on the spot. Poets, includingWassaf started to praise chao in order to appease Gaykhatu.[3] Paper moneys circulated were worth from halfdirham to 10dananir.
The plan was to get his subjects to use only paper money, and allow Gaykhatu to control the treasury. The experiment was a complete failure, as the people and merchants refused to accept the banknotes. Soon,bazaar riots broke out, economic activities came to a standstill, and the Persian historianRashid ud-din speaks even of "'the ruin ofBasra' which ensued upon the emission of the new money".[16] Gaykhatu had no choice but to withdraw the use of paper money.
Gaykhatu insultedBaydu telling one of his servants to hit Baydu while being drunk. This grew a resentment in Baydu towards him. Baydu left hastily towards to his appanage nearBaghdad leaving his son Qipchak as a hostage in Gaykhatu's court. He was supported byOirat emir Chichak (son of Sulaimish b. Tengiz Güregen), Lagzi Küregen (son ofArghun Aqa), El-Temur (son of Hinduqur Noyan) and Todachu Yarquchi, who followed him to Baghdad. He was also aided by his vizier Jamal ud-Din Dastgerdani. According toHamdullah Qazwini, Baydu's main motivation on moving against Gaykhatu was his sexual advances against Qipchak.[17] When son-in-law Ghurbatai Güregen brought him news of treachery, Gaykhatu ordered arrest of several amirs including his personalkeshig Tuladai, Qoncuqbal, Tukal, Bughdai, including Kipchak and put into jail inTabriz. While his followers Hasan and Taiju demanded their executions,Taghachar advised against it. Baydu on his side, moved to kill Muhammad Sugurchi, governor of Baghdad and arrested governor Baybuqa ofDiyar Bakr. Gaykhatu sent his father-in-law Aq Buqa and Taghachar against Baydu on 17 March 1295, himself arriving at Tabriz 4 days later. Little he knew that Taghachar already shifted allegiance to Baydu who left for his encampment at night. While he wanted to flee to Anatolia, his councillors advised to fight against Baydu. Nevertheless, Gaykhatu fled to Mughan. Arriving in Tabriz, Taghachar set Qoncuqbal and Tuladai free, while Gaykhatu desperately begged for mercy. Despite his appeal, he was strangled by a bowstring so as to avoid bloodshed[18] on 21 March 1295. However, some sources put this event on 5 March or 25 April.[6] An alternative story of Gaykhatu's death claimsBaydu made war on him because of his introduction of paper money and subsequently killed him in battle.[19]
Gaykhatu was a noted dissolute who was addicted to wine, women, and sodomy, not necessarily in that order, according toMirkhond.[19] But he was also known for his secularism and communal harmony. Like other Buddhist kings, he used to liberally give patronage to all religions. Among his beneficiaries were the Nestorian Christians, who praise him abundantly for his gifts to the Church, as apparent in the history ofMar Yahballaha III.[20] He was described a just and charitable ruler inTārikh-i Āl-i Saldjūq.[21]
Gaykhatu had eight consorts from different clans:
In theTurkish TV seriesKuruluş: Osman, he is portrayed as an antagonist by theUzbek actor, Maruf Otajonov. Although Gaykhatu historically died in his thirties, in the series he is portrayed as an old person.[23]
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|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Ilkhan 1291–1295 | Succeeded by |