Abaqa Khan

Abaqa Khan
Abaqa on a horse. His son Arghun stands beside him under a royal umbrella, with his own son, Ghazan, in his arms. Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, early 14th century.
Ilkhan
Reign	8 February 1265–1282
Predecessor	Hulagu Khan
Successor	Tekuder
Born	1234 Mongolia
Died	1282 (aged 47–48) Mongolia
Consort	Buluqhan Khatun
Issue	Arghun Gaykhatu Oljath
Dynasty	Ilkhanate
Father	Hulagu Khan
Mother	Yesuncin Khatun
Religion	Buddhism

Abaqa Khan (1234–1282, Mongolian: "paternal uncle", also transliterated Abaġa), was the second Mongol ruler (Ilkhan) of the Ilkhanate. The son of Hulagu Khan and Lady Yesünčin, he reigned from 1265 to 1282 and was succeeded by his brother Tekuder. Much of Abaqa's reign was consumed with civil wars in the Mongol Empire, such as those between the Ilkhanate and the northern khanate of the Golden Horde. Abaqa also engaged in unsuccessful attempts at military invasion of Syria, including the Second Battle of Homs.

Abaqa was born in Mongolia in February 1234, son of Ilkhanate founder Hulagu Khan. His stepmother was Hulagu's Keraite princess bride, Doquz Khatun. Doquz, a devout Nestorian Christian, was regarded as a spiritual leader of the Mongols, who were generally tolerant of many religions. Abaqa himself was marginally Buddhist, though he was also very sympathetic to Christianity due to his mother's influence. A favored son of Hulagu, he was made governor of Turkestan.

Hulagu died from illness in 1265. Before his death, he had been negotiating with the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos to add a daughter of the Byzantine imperial family to Hulagu's number of wives. Michael VIII had selected his illegitimate daughter Maria Palaiologina, who was dispatched in 1265, escorted by the abbot of Pantokrator monastery, Theodosius de Villehardouin. Historian Steven Runciman relates how she was accompanied by the Patriarch Euthymius of Antioch. Since Hulagu died before she arrived, she was instead married to Hulagu's son, Abaqa. He received her hand in marriage when he was installed as Ilkhan. When Hulagu's wife Doquz Khatun died in 1265 as well, the role of spiritual leader transferred to Maria, who was called "Despina Khatun" by the Mongols.