Doquz Khatun

{{Short description|Keraite princess and consort to Hulegu (died 1265)}} {{Infobox royalty | embed = | name = Doquz Khatun | title = | titletext = | more = | type = | image = HulaguAndDokuzKathun.JPG | image_size = | alt = | caption = Hulagu Khan and Doquz Khatun | succession = Khatun of the Ilkhanate | moretext = | reign = 1256 – 8 February 1265 | reign-type = | coronation = | cor-type = | predecessor = | pre-type = | successor = Buluqhan Khatun | suc-type = Next | regent = | reg-type = | succession1 = | moretext1 = | reign1 = | reign-type1 = | coronation1 = | cor-type1 = | predecessor1 = | pre-type1 = | successor1 = | suc-type1 = | regent1 = | reg-type1 = | succession2 = | moretext2 = | reign2 = | reign-type2 = | coronation2 = | cor-type2 = | predecessor2 = | pre-type2 = | successor2 = | suc-type2 = | regent2 = | reg-type2 = | succession3 = | moretext3 = | reign3 = | reign-type3 = | coronation3 = | cor-type3 = | predecessor3 = | pre-type3 = | successor3 = | suc-type3 = | regent3 = | reg-type3 =  | birth_name = | birth_date =  | birth_place = | death_date = 16 June 1265  | death_place = | burial_date = | burial_place = | spouse = Hulagu Khan | spouse-type = Consort | consort = yes | issue =  | issue-link = | issue-pipe = | issue-type = | full name = | era name = | era dates = | regnal name = | posthumous name = | temple name = | house = Keraites | house-type = | father = Uyku | mother = | religion = Eastern Christianity | occupation = | signature_type = | signature = | module = }}

'''Doquz Khatun''' (also spelled '''Dokuz Khatun''') (died 1265) was a princess of the Keraites who was married to Hulagu Khan; her husband was the founder of the Ilkhanate and a grandson of Genghis Khan.{{sfn|Runciman|1987|p=299}}

== Life == Doquz Khatun was possibly a granddaughter of the Keraite khan Toghrul, through his son Uyku or Abaqu.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4gB9DQAAQBAJ&q=%22Doquz%20Khatun%22%20uyku&pg=PA146|title=The Mongol Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: A Historical Encyclopedia|last=May|first=Timothy|date=2016-11-07|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781610693400|pages=146|language=en}}</ref> She was at first given to Genghis Khan and Börte's youngest son Tolui following the demise of her grandfather. After his death in 1232, she was wed to Hulagu, his step-son in levirate marriage. 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.{{sfn|Runciman|1987|p=303}}

Some sources indicate that Doquz Khatun was an Assyrian<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wigram |first=W. A. (William Ainger) |url=http://archive.org/details/assyrianstheirne0000wigr |title=The Assyrians and their neighbours |date=1929 |publisher=London : G. Bell & sons |others=Internet Archive |pages=129}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Prazniak |first=Roxann |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mVnGDwAAQBAJ |title=Sudden Appearances: The Mongol Turn in Commerce, Belief, and Art |date=2019-03-31 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=978-0-8248-7808-5 |pages=124 |language=en}}</ref> by origin, who adhered 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 their advantage, by claiming that Mongol princesses such as Doquz and her aunt Sorghaghtani Beki were daughters of the legendary Prester John.{{sfn|Jackson|2014|p=175}}

Doquz Khatun was a supporter of her step-son Abaqa and retained her influential position even after the death of her husband.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/dokuz-doquz-katun|title=DOKUZ ḴĀTŪN – Encyclopaedia Iranica|website=www.iranicaonline.org|access-date=2019-11-17}}</ref> She secured succession of Denha I to patriarchal throne of Church of the East in her capacity.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Mazzola |first=Marianna |title=Bar 'Ebroyo's Ecclesiastical History : writing Church History in the 13th century Middle East |date=2018-06-25 |degree=PhD |publisher=PSL Research University |url=https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-02142443 |language=en |pages=413}}</ref> She died on 16 June 1265, 4 months after her husband. Stepanos Orbelian later claimed that she was poisoned by Shams al-Din Juvayni.<ref name=":0" />

==See also== *Christianity among the Mongols

==References== {{reflist}}

===Works cited=== *{{cite book|last=Runciman|first=Steven|author-link=Steven Runciman|title=A History of the Crusades|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uDj9sNezWzEC|year=1987|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-34770-9}} * {{cite book|last=Jackson|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Jackson (historian)|title=The Mongols and the West: 1221-1410|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kMCCBAAAQBAJ|year=2014|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-87898-8}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Doquz Khatun}} Category:13th-century Mongol women Category:13th-century Mongols Category:Church of the East Christians from the Mongol Empire Category:Women from the Mongol Empire Category:1265 deaths Category:Year of birth unknown Category:Women in 13th-century warfare Category:Women in war in West Asia Category:Women in war in East Asia Category:Kerait people