Doquz Khatun

Hulagu Khan with Doquz Khatun

Doquz Khatun (also spelled Dokuz Khatun) (d. 1265) was a 13th-century princess of the Keraites who was married to Hulagu Khan, founder of the Ilkhanate.^[1] Their son, Abaqa Khan, succeeded Hulagu upon his death.

She was known to accompany Hulagu on campaigns. At the Siege of Baghdad (1258), the Mongols massacred tens of thousands of inhabitants, but through the influence of Doquz, the Christians were spared.^[2]

Doquz Khatun was a Christian in the Church of the East, and is often mentioned as a great benefactor of the Christian faith. When Mongol envoys were sent to Europe, they also tried to use Doquz's Christianity to advantage, by claiming that Mongol princesses such as Doquz and Sorghaghtani Beki were daughters of the legendary Prester John.^[3]

She died in 1265, the same year as her husband.

Hulagu and Doquz Khatun in a Syriac Bible

See also

• Christianity among the Mongols

References

Works cited

• Runciman, Steven (1987). A History of the Crusades. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-34770-9. 
• Jackson, Peter (2014). The Mongols and the West: 1221-1410. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-87898-8.