Qonqurtai () was a Mongol prince and viceroy of

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

for the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...

khanate A khaganate or khanate was a polity ruled by a khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. That political territory was typically found on the Eurasian Steppe and could be equivalent in status to tribal chiefdom, principality, kingdom or empire. Mong ...

Life

Qonqurtai was born to

Hulagu Khan Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulegu ( mn, Хүлэгү/ , lit=Surplus, translit=Hu’legu’/Qülegü; chg, ; Arabic: fa, هولاکو خان, ''Holâku Khân;'' ; 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of West ...

and Ajuja Aguchi, his Khitan

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

wife. Qonqurtai was Hulagu's ninth son and was the senior commander during the reign of his brother

Abaqa Abaqa Khan (27 February 1234 – 4 April 1282, mn, Абаха/Абага хан (Khalkha Cyrillic), ( Traditional script), "paternal uncle", also transliterated Abaġa), was the second Mongol ruler (''Ilkhan'') of the Ilkhanate. The son of Hul ...

. He was twice appointed as viceroy of Anatolia, first during the reign of Abaqa and then under

Tekuder Ahmed Tekuder ( Mongolian: ''Tegülder'', meaning “perfect”; fa, تکودر) (c.1246 10 August 1284), also known as Sultan Ahmad (reigned 1282–1284), was the sultan of the Persian-based Ilkhanate, son of Hulegu and brother of Abaqa. He was ...

. His winter quarters were in Kazova plains near

Tokat Tokat is the capital city of Tokat Province of Turkey in the mid-Black Sea region of Anatolia. It is located at the confluence of the Tokat River (Tokat Suyu) with the Yeşilırmak. In the 2018 census, the city of Tokat had a population of 155,00 ...

, while his viceroyalty itself has centred around

Kayseri Kayseri (; el, Καισάρεια) is a large Industrialisation, industrialised List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is comp ...

Rule in Anatolia

Qonqurtai was appointed as commander of Ilkhanid army in Anatolia with

Shams al-Din Juvayni Shams al-Din Juvayni ( fa, شمس‌الدین جوینی; also spelled Joveyni) was a Persian statesman and member of the Juvayni family. He was an influential figure in early Ilkhanate politics, serving as ''sahib-i divan'' (vizier and minist ...

as his vizier after the

Battle of Elbistan On April 15, 1277, the Mamluk Sultanate, Mamluk Sultan Baybars marched from Syria into the Mongol-dominated Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm and attacked the Mongol occupation force in the Battle of Elbistan (Abulustayn). Upon reaching Elbistan with at lea ...

in 1277 to support the

Sultanate of Rum fa, سلجوقیان روم () , status = , government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254)Diarchy (1257–1262) , year_start = 1077 , year_end = 1308 , p1 = By ...

against revolting

Turcomans Turkoman (Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: تُركْمانْ, ota, تركمن, Türkmen and ''Türkmân''; az, Türkman and ', tr, Türkmen, tk, Türkmen, Persian language, Persian: ترکمن sing. ''Turkamān'', pl. ''Tarākimah''), ...

. He pursued

Jimri {{More citations needed, date=October 2010 Jimri ( tr, Cimri) was a pretender to the Sultanate of Rum, promoted by the Turkmen in the chaos after Baibars’ invasion of Mongol-dominated Anatolia in 1277. He was executed the following year. The prete ...

, a claimant to Seljuk throne, and attacked his patrons - the

Karamanids The Karamanids ( tr, Karamanoğulları or ), also known as the Emirate of Karaman and Beylik of Karaman ( tr, Karamanoğulları Beyliği), was one of the Anatolian beyliks, centered in South-Central Anatolia around the present-day Karaman Pro ...

. As a consequence,

Mehmet I of Karaman Mehmet I of Karaman ( tr, Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey), also known as Şemseddin Mehmet, was the second bey of Karaman Beylik, a Turkish principality in Anatolia in the 13th century. His father was Karaman Bey. Life After the death of his father aro ...

was captured and executed together with his sons Mahmud and Karaman in October 1277. Qonqurtai further authorised

Sâhib Ata Fakhr al-Din Ali, better known as Sâhib Ata or Sâhip Ata, was a Persian vizier who held a number of high offices at the court of the Sultanate of Rum from the 1250s until his death in 1288. He was the dominant personality in Anatolia after the de ...

to act on his behalf. He aided

Kaykhusraw III Kaykhusraw III ( 1ca, كَیخُسرو سوم) or Ghiyāth ad-Dīn Kaykhusraw bin Qilij Arslān ( fa, غياث الدين كيخسرو بن قلج ارسلان; – 1284) was between two and six years old when in 1265 he was named Seljuq Su ...

's efforts to subdue Karamanids and

Eshrefids The Eshrefids or Ashrafids (Modern Turkish: ''Eşrefoğulları'' or ''Eşrefoğulları Beyliği'' ) was one of the Anatolian beyliks. Capital Its capital was in Beyşehir. Foundation It was one of the frontier principalities established by Ogh ...

in 1282. However, Qonqurtai had to cease his activities upon hearing the death of Abaqa. Upon the death of

, Qonqurtai supported

's succession in

Maragha Maragheh ( fa, مراغه, Marāgheh or ''Marāgha''; az, ماراغا ) is a city and capital of Maragheh County, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Maragheh is on the bank of the river Sufi Chay. The population consists mostly of Iranian Azerb ...

, who in return gave him the hand of Toqiyatai Khatun, a

Keraite The Keraites (also ''Kerait, Kereit, Khereid''; ; ) were one of the five dominant Mongol or Turkic tribal confederations (khanates) in the Altai-Sayan region during the 12th century. They had converted to the Church of the East (Nestorianism) i ...

concubine of Hulagu and niece of

Dokuz Khatun Doquz Khatun (also spelled Dokuz Khatun) (d. 1265) was a 13th-century princess of the Keraites who was married to Hulagu Khan, founder of the Ilkhanate. Life Doquz Khatun was a granddaughter of the Keraite khan Toghrul, through his son Uyku or A ...

on 12 July 1282. He was also re-appointed as viceroy of Anatolia the same day. However, later in Tekuder's reign, he shifted his alliance to

Arghun Arghun Khan (Mongolian Cyrillic: ''Аргун хан''; Traditional Mongolian: ; c. 1258 – 10 March 1291) was the fourth ruler of the Mongol empire's Ilkhanate, from 1284 to 1291. He was the son of Abaqa Khan, and like his father, was a dev ...

, which made the former suspicious. Qonqurtai was summoned to Karabakh, accused of conspiracy and was arrested by Tegüder's son-in-law, Alinaq - the viceroy of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

on 17 January 1284, and was executed next day by breaking his neck. Later, Arghun had put Tekuder on trial for Qonqurtai's death, who suffered the same penalty as him.

Personality

He was described as a wise ruler in '' Zafarnamah'' by Hamdullah Mustawfi,L. J. Ward, “The Ẓafar-nāmah of Ḥamd Allāh Mustaufi and the Il-Khān dynasty of Iran,” Ph.D. diss, p.204, University of Manchester, 1983. while

Qalawun ( ar, قلاوون الصالحي, – November 10, 1290) was the seventh Bahri Mamluk sultan; he ruled Egypt from 1279 to 1290. He was called (, "Qalāwūn the Victorious"). Biography and rise to power Qalawun was a Kipchak, ancient Turki ...

considered him as a not only dishonorable, but also a cruel man.

Family

He was married to Toqiyatai Khatun (d. 1292), a

concubine of Hulagu and niece of

on 12 July 1282, and only two of his children reached adulthood.: # Esen Timur Kharbanda (executed by

Ghazan Mahmud Ghazan (5 November 1271 – 11 May 1304) (, Ghazan Khan, sometimes archaically spelled as Casanus by the Westerners) was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of A ...

in 1296{{Cite web, url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/133445, title=Mediating Sacred Kingship: Conversion and Sovereignty in Mongol Iran, website=deepblue.lib.umich.edu, access-date=2020-04-06) ## Pulad # Ildar (executed by

in 1296) ## Aq Timur # Karai (died in infancy) # Changtimur (died in infancy) # Tashtimur (died in infancy) # Ashightimur (died in infancy) # Akash m (died in infancy)

References

1284 deaths Ilkhanate Mongol Empire people