Arpa Ke'un, also known as Arpa Khan or Gavon or Gawon (; died 1336), was an

Ilkhan Il Khan (also ''il-khan'', ''ilkhan'', ''elkhan'', etc.), in Turkic languages and Mongolian, is a title of leadership. It combines the title ''khan'' with the prefix ''el/il'', from the word ''ulus'' – 'tribe, clan', 'the people', 'nation', ' ...

(1335–1336) during the disintegration of the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

, the

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

state in Southwest Asia based in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Life

Not much is known of Arpa's earlier life, except that he was a member of the house of

Tolui Tolui (born ; died 1232) was the youngest son of Genghis Khan and Börte. A prominent general during the early Mongol conquests, Tolui was a leading candidate to succeed his father after his death in 1227 and ultimately served as regent of th ...

. His lineage traced back to

Ariq Böke Ariq Böke (after 1219–1266), the components of his name also spelled Arigh, Arik and Bukha, Buka (, ; ), was the seventh and youngest son of Tolui and a grandson of Genghis Khan. After the death of his brother the Great Khan Möngke, Ariq Bök ...

, who was the youngest brother of Möngke,

Kublai Kublai Khan (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder and first List of emperors of the Yuan dynasty, emperor of the Mongols, Mongol-l ...

and

Hulagu Hulegu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulagu; ; ; ; ( 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Western Asia. As a son of Tolui and the Keraite princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of Ar ...

. His grandfather Mingqan Ke'un was a son of Malik Temür and Emegen Khatun and arrived in Iran during the reign of

Öljaitü Öljaitü, also known as Mohammad-e Khodabandeh (24 March 1282 – 16 December 1316), was the eighth Ilkhanid dynasty ruler from 1304 to 1316 in Tabriz, Iran. His name 'Öjaitü' means 'blessed' in the Mongolian language and his last name 'Khod ...

in the summer of 1306.

Reign

He was nominated to the throne by Abu Sa'id's vizier Ghiyas al-Din and was elected 5 days later with a regnal title Sultan Muiz al-Dunya wa'l Din Mahmud on

Karabakh Karabakh ( ; ) is a geographic region in southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura and Aras. It is divided into three regions: Highland Kara ...

. Instead of a golden crown, he had a felt and simple waistband as regaila. Almost immediately he had to deal with an invasion by Özbeg of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

. He defeated the invasion, and furthermore used it as a pretext for executing Abu Sa'id's widow Baghdad Khatun, accusing her of poisoning Abu Sa'id and allying with Özbeg He afterwards married Sati Beg, Abu Sa'id's sister and widow of

Chupan Amir Chūpān (; died October/November 1327), also spelt Choban or Coban, was a Chupanids, Chupanid noble of the Ilkhanate, and nominal general of the Mongol Empire. He was ennobled by Yesün Temür (Yuan dynasty), Emperor Taiding of Yuan as Duke ...

in order to legitimize his rule. Another execution was of Mahmudshah Inju, former ruler of

Fars province Fars Province or Pars Province, also known as Persis or Farsistan (فارسستان), is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Shiraz. Pars province has an area of 122,400 km2 and is located in Iran's southwest, i ...

in March 1336 (he was imprisoned by Abu Sa'id earlier because of his attempt on Ilkhan's life). He also gave Shaykh Hasan the overall command of armies. He was characterized as not practising Islam and more in favour of

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

's Yasa, mostly ignoring laws of the Muslim khans like

Ghazan Mahmud Ghazan (5 November 1271 – 11 May 1304) (, Ghazan Khan, sometimes westernized as Casanus was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of Arghun, grandson of Abaqa K ...

and Abu Sa'id. His rule was not accepted by a part of

Oirats Oirats (; ) or Oirds ( ; ), formerly known as Eluts and Eleuths ( or ; zh, 厄魯特, ''Èlǔtè'') are the westernmost group of Mongols, whose ancestral home is in the Altai Mountains, Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia. ...

, whose leader and the governor of

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

– Ali Padshah was an uncle of Abu Sa'id and had his own designs on the throne. Claiming Abu Sa'id's wife

Dilshad Khatun Dilshad Khatun (; died 27 December 1351), also Delshad, was a Chobanid princess. She was the wife of Ilkhan Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan, and after him Hasan Buzurg, the first ruler of the Jalayirid Sultanate, and the mother of his son and successor Sh ...

was still pregnant, he raised Musa, the grandson of

Baydu Baydu (Mongolian script:; ) (died 1295) was the sixth ruler of the Mongol empire's Ilkhanate division in Iran. He was the son of Taraqai, who was in turn the fifth son of Hulagu Khan.Stevens, John. ''The history of Persia. Containing, the lives and ...

as rightful heir to the throne. Oirat traditional rivalry with Ariq Böke's line could also be a factor in this rebellion. After securing Shaykh Hasan's neutrality, Ali Padshah went on to fight Arpa on Jaghatu plains near

Maraga Maragheh () is a city in the Central District of Maragheh County, East Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Maragheh is on the bank of the river Sufi Chay. It is from Tabriz, the largest city ...

culmunating in the Battle of Jaghatu on 29 April 1336. Arpa's army was led by 60 umara, notably Hajji Taghay (son of Sutay, Governor of Diyarbakir), Uyghur commander Ögrünch, Torut (a son of Nari and relative of Narin Taghay), Ortuq-Shah (son of Alghu) and

's son Sorgan Sira. However, soon some emirs defected to the side of Ali Padshah, such as Mahmud b. Essen Qutlugh and Sultanshah Nikruz. The battle was a defeat for Arpa and soon after he was captured in Sultaniya and killed on 15 May 1336 by Mahmudshah's son, Amir Jalal al-Din Mas'ud Shah.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keun, Arpa 1336 deaths Il-Khan emperors 14th-century monarchs in Asia Year of birth unknown Executed monarchs