Jalayrids (1336-1432)

The Jalayrids were a Mongol tribe that supported the Il-Khan Hülegü's rise to power and eventually provided the successors to the Il-Khan dynasty as rulers of Iraq and Azerbaijan. A Jalayrid dynasty made its capital at Baghdad (1336-1432).

Hasan Buzurg, founder of the dynasty, had served as governor of Anatolia (Rum) under the Il-Khan Abu Sa'id (reigned 1317-35). Following the death of Abu Sa'id, Hasan Buzurg competed for real control of the empire with his rival, the Chupanid amir Hasan Kücük ("the Small," so designated to distinguish him from Hasan Buzurg, "the Great"); they set up rival khanates. Soon afterward the empire broke down into local dynasties in Anatolia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia.

Hasan Buzurg had, meanwhile, established his line in Baghdad, from which he conducted his agitation against the Chupanids. His son The most prominent of the Jalayrids, Sheikh Uways (1356-74) finally wrested control of Azerbaijan from the Süldüz Chupanids in 1360, creating a polity based on Arabian Iraq and Azerbaijan. He enlarged Jalayrid domains by seizing Azerbaijan (1360) and placing the Mozaffarid principality of Fars under his suzerainty (1361-64). In addition to this and other military exploits, he fostered trade and commerce and won renown as patron of poetry, painting, and calligraphy. He also undertook a number of architectural projects in Baghdad.

They were Conquered by the Timurids in 1387, but the Sultanate was reestablished in 1405 on the death of Timur. The dynasty, however, was beset by the westward migrations and invasions of various Turkic and Mongol tribes. The khans of the Golden Horde, successors of Batu, unsuccessfully attempted the conquest of Azerbaijan in 1356-59. The later Jalayrids, however, dissipated their energies in fruitless foreign adventures and fratricidal struggles.