the disintegration of the empire 75
death, the policy which hülegü had initiated two decades earlier ended
in utter ruin: the defeat at homs had merely proven, once more, that the
mongols could not win syria even with christian aid, and the hope of
some future victory—still undimmed even in 1281—was now shown to
be entirely illusory.
the realist argument seems to have contributed decisively to a radical
shift in ilkhanid policy. as ruler, aḥmad tegüder made a decisive break
with tradition and came to represent the alternative.66
the first to feel the effects of the change were the christian protégés
of the previous regime, systematically persecuted by the new ilkhan, a
muslim and declared “friend of all the faithful.”67 aḥmad tegüder did not
seek merely to strengthen his position internally by taking such a stance:
although it is unclear whether he intended to become caliph of Baghdad
as well as mongol ruler of persia, which would have made him the figure-
head of the whole muslim world,68 it is quite certain that he had chosen
to rethink ties with the mamluks on a new religious footing.
to this end, he sent an embassy to cairo in september 1282 to tell the
sultan, Qalāwūn, that he had embraced islam and that his intentions were
entirely peaceful. the news was coolly received in egypt, where his pro-
posal to form an alliance met with no response.69 this refusal represented
the failure of ilkhan aḥmad’s political and confessional experiment.70 it
would have unexpected repercussions, internally and externally.
the only positive and mutually advantageous result was the open-
ing of border crossings for merchants from the two hostile states.71 this
66 cf. spuler, Mongolen, pp. 195–203 (chapter ‘die stellung der mongolen zum islam’).
67 among other sources, the account of the tribulations of the nestorian patriarch mar
Yahballaha iii is especially revealing (Yahballaha/chabot, pp. 45 ff.).
68 this at least is the opinion of the nestorian monk rabban Bar sauma, one of the
best-informed although not necessarily most objective sources on the persecution of
christians in the ilkhanate from 1282 (ibid., p. 50); in any case, aḥmad tegüder took the
title of sultan, an eminently muslim usage, in order to underline his islamic identity and
allegiances (maqrīzī/Quatremère, ii/1, p. 57; soranzo, Papato, p. 250).
69 see the contents of the message, and the sultan’s response, in maqrīzī/Quatremère,
ii/1, pp. 160–162.
70 spuler, Mongolen, pp. 69–70.
71 this was one proposal from the ilkhan which the sultan did accept (Bar hebraeus/
Budge, i, p. 467, mufaḍḍal/Blochet, ii, p. 506); ilisch, Geschichte, pp. 58–59: “dann wurde
den mongolischen grenztruppen befohlen, die grenzen zu öffnen und den handelsver-
kehr in das und aus dem mamluknsultanat frei passieren zu lassen. [.. .]. das wichtigste,
unmittelbar wirksame ergebnis war der Befehl des mamluknsultans an die statthalter von
ar-raḥba, al-Bīra und ‛ayn tāb und an die grenztruppen, auch ihrerseits die straßen an
den grenzen dem verkehr zu öffnen.”