- "I will burn your city, your land, your self."
- ―Hülegü Khan.[src]
Hülegü Khan (Mongolian: ᠬᠦᠯᠡᠭᠦᠬᠠᠨ; c. 1217 – 1265; English: Hulagu Khan) was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of southwest Asia. He was the grandson of Genghis Khan and a brother of Ariq Boke, Möngke Khan, and Kublai Khan. Hülegü established a seat of power in Persia, then went on to sack Baghdad and Masyaf, and very nearly destroyed Damascus.
Biography[]
War upon the Assassins[]
In 1256, Mongol forces under Hülegü's command attacked various Assassin fortresses throughout the Levant, in vengeance of Genghis Khan's murder at the hands of the Levantine Assassin Darim Ibn-La'Ahad and the Mongolian Assassin Qulan Gal, as well as an attempt on his own life.[1] On 15 December 1256, Hülegü Khan conquered the fortress of Alamut, without the Assassins firing a single shot in its defense.[2]
On 12 August 1257, Hülegü besieged the Levantine Assassins' headquarters in Masyaf, hoping to ultimately destroy the Assassins. The Mentor Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad employed his Apple of Eden to summon phantoms to fight the Mongols,[3] but Hülegü Khan was able to see through the illusion using his grandfather's Sword of Eden.[2] However, Masyaf was simultaneously abandoned by the Assassin Order, and the remaining Assassins fled to different locations around the globe before the siege ended.[1]
Supporting Kublai[]
On 11 August 1259, directly following the murder of his brother Möngke by the Assassin Zhang Zhi, Hülegü's nephew, Asutai, made comment that there would soon be a power struggle for the throne and that the claimant, Ariq Boke would be challenged by Kublai with support from Hülegü.[4] This conflict would eventually evolve into the Toluid Civil War.[5]
Overlapping with the Toluid Civil War, the Berke–Hulagu war broke out in 1262 between Hülegü's Ilkhnate and the Golden Horde of Berke.[6] Hülegü had the support of Kublai while Berke had Ariq Boke's aid.[7]
Death[]
Hülegü's campaigns were swift and brutal, and it was only the intervention of Berke Khan that kept his vengeance in check. Hülegü was killed by the Assassin Nergüi several years later, in an act of revenge for the fall of Masyaf.[2]
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Memories (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Tomb of the Khan (mentioned only)
- Echoes of History (mentioned only)
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Assassin's Creed: Memories – Hülegü Khan (memory)
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Passing the Torch
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Tomb of the Khan – Chapter 12
- ↑ Toluid Civil War on Wikipedia
- ↑ Echoes of History: Behind the Legends – Episode 8: Niccolo and Maffeo Polo
- ↑ Berke–Hulagu war on Wikipedia