The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate (Persian: ایل خانان, Ilxānān), known to the Mongols as Hülegü Ulus (ᠬᠦᠯᠦᠭ ᠦᠨᠤᠯᠤᠰ, Qulug-un Ulus), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, officially known as Iranzamin (lit. 'land of Iran'), was ruled by the Mongol House of Hulagu. Hulagu Khan, the son of Tolui and grandson of Genghis Khan, inherited the Middle Eastern part of the Mongol Empire after his brother Möngke Khan died in 1260. Its core territory lies in what is now part of the countries of Iran, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. At its greatest extent, the Ilkhanate also included parts of modern Iraq, Syria, Armenia, Georgia, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, part of modern Dagestan, and part of modern Tajikistan. Later Ilkhanate rulers, beg