Factors Affecting the Conversion of Mongol Rulers to Islam during the Ilkhanid Era

Sayyed Abolfazl Razavi^[1]

Abstract:

The Mongols were Shamanist and because of their "nomadic" life style believed in religious moderation. In Chinggis law, all religions were of equal value.  This belief paved the way for religious interactions between the Mongols and the people conquered by them. The superiority of Islamic culture and civilization and the large number of Muslims that lived in the four Oluses of Chinggis children paved the way for a number of Mongol rulers to convert to Islam.  This, in turn, improved the conditions of the conquered Muslims.  In the realm of the Ilkhanids, given the religious awareness and moderation of the Mongols, the Muslims enjoyed more prosperous situations. Furthermore, the legitimacy of the governments and their alignment with their people resulted from their being Muslim. In this realm, other socio-economic conditions and grounds encouraged the Mongols for embracing Islam. The present paper aims at clarifying such grounds and other factors which were at work for encouraging the Mongol rulers to convert to Islam in other Oluses.