sultanate · Mesopotamia and Iran

Jalayirids

1335 CE – 1432 CE (approx.) · capital Baghdad

A Mongol dynasty that ruled Iraq and Azerbaijan after the Ilkhanate, whose court at Baghdad and Tabriz fostered a golden age of Persian painting.

Origins

The Jalayirs were a Mongol tribe prominent in the Ilkhanate. After the Ilkhan Abu Sa'id died in 1335 without an heir, Hasan Buzurg ('Hasan the Tall') set up puppet khans and by 1336 to 1340 controlled Baghdad and Iraq, fighting the Chupanids for Azerbaijan.

Rule and society

Hasan's son Shaykh Uways (1356 to 1374) took Tabriz in 1360 and ruled both Iraq and Azerbaijan. The Jalayirids presented themselves as heirs of the Ilkhans and patronised Persian culture: the poet Salman Savaji praised them, and Jalayirid manuscript painters, such as Junayd, shaped the later Timurid style. Ahmad Jalayir, a poet and calligrapher himself, held Baghdad against repeated attacks.

Decline and legacy

Timur drove Ahmad from Baghdad in 1393 and 1401. Ahmad returned but was killed by Qara Yusuf of the Qara Qoyunlu in 1410. Jalayirid remnants held parts of southern Iraq until 1432.

Lineage

Ilkhanate 1256 CE – 1357 CEChupanids 1335 CE – 1357 CEJalayirids

Connections (3)

More states of Mesopotamia and Iran →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Jalayirids. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/jalayirids
MLA
“Jalayirids.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/jalayirids. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Jalayirids.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/jalayirids.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Jalayirids’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/jalayirids (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻