ARGHUN

born c. 1258 died March 10, 1291, Baghcha, Arran, Iran fourth Mongol Il-Khan (subordinate khan) of Iran (reigned 128491). He was the father of the great Mahmud Ghazan (q.v.). Upon the death of his father, Il-Khan Abagha (reigned 126582), Prince Arghun was a candidate for the throne but was forced to yield to a stronger rival, his uncle Tegder. Arghun thereafter accused Tegder's followers of having poisoned his father, protested Tegder's conversion to Islam, and, by the beginning of 1284, was at the head of a rebellion. After some reverses, he succeeded in overthrowing Tegder and having him executed (Aug. 10, 1284); Arghun was formally enthroned the following day and, as an ardent Buddhist, countermanded the Islamic policies of his predecessor. In 1289 Arghun appointed an anti-Islamic Jew, Sa'd ad-Dawlah, first as his minister of finance and then (in June) as vizier of his entire empire. The predominantly Muslim population may have resented the rule of a Buddhist and a Jew, but their administration proved lawful and just and restored order and prosperity. In hopes of renewing the war against the Egyptian Mamluks, Arghun sought alliances with the Christian Westfirst, in 1285, writing Pope Honorius IV and then, in 1287, sending emissaries to such leaders as Pope Nicholas IV, Edward I of England, and Philip IV of France. Except for an exchange of letters, however, nothing came of this diplomacy, and the war was not resumed. Arghun also showed interest in sciences and such pseudosciences as alchemy. While he was dying, fevered and bedridden, in the winter of 129091, those factions opposed to Sa'd ad-Dawlah and Arghun's other favourites rose up and put them to death. After Arghun's own death, he was succeeded by his brother Gaykhatu (129195), his cousin Baydu (1295), and his son Ghazan (12951304).