Hulagu Khan
Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulegu (Mongolian: Hülegü Khaan, "Warrior"; Mongolian Cyrillic: Хүлэгу хаан; Kurdish: هۆلاکۆ; Turkish: Hülagû Han; Chagatai/Urdu: ہلاکو Hulaku; Persian: هولاکو خان ; Arabic هولاكو خان/ ه ل او ن; Chinese: 旭烈兀; c. 1218 – 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Southwest Asia. Son of Tolui and the Kerait princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of Ariq Böke, Möngke Khan, and Kublai Khan. Hulagu's army greatly expanded the southwestern portion of the Mongol Empire, founding the Ilkhanate of Persia, a precursor to the eventual Safavid dynasty, and then the modern state of Iran. Under Hulagu's leadership, the Mongols destroyed the greatest center of Islamic power, Baghdad, and also weakened Damascus, causing a shift of Islamic influence to the Mamluks in Cairo. Under Hulagu's dynasty, Iranian historians began writing in Persian rather than Arabic.