GHAZAN, MAHMUD

born Nov. 5, 1271, Abaskun, Iran died May 11, 1304 most prominent of the Il-Khans (subordinate khans) to rule the Mongol dynasty in Iran. Reigning from 1295 to 1304, he is best known for the conversion of his state to Islam and his wars against Egypt. Additional reading J.A. Boyle (ed.), Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 5, The Saljuq and Mongol Periods (1968)the personal history of Ghazan is in Boyle's chapter on the Il-Khans, and his fiscal reforms in the chapter by I.P. Petrushevsky; these accounts are based on Oriental, chiefly Persian, sources, of which the most important is the Jami' at-tawarikh (Universal History) of Rashid ad-Din. Bertold Spuler, Die Mongolen in Iran, 3rd ed. (1968), also based on Persian sources, including Rashid ad-Din, is the only monograph on the Il-Khans.