Aggarwal 1

Avi Aggarwal

Ms. Evans and Ms. Wiseman

Humanities I 4A

8 December 2021

Il-Khanate Economic Structure and Social Hierarchy

Persia, centered in modern Iran, was a culturally and politically distinct region that was

conquered by the Mongols in the early to mid-thirteenth century. After a first invasion by

Chinggis Khan in 1219 and a second invasion by his grandson Hulegu in 1251, the Mongols

managed to brutally take control of Persia and establish the Il-Khanate empire (Cartwright). With

this newly acquired power over western Eurasia, the Mongols continued to establish

communications and trade across the Asian continent. The Il-Khanates economic structure

consisting of fostering trade with large portions of Eurasia affected the social hierarchy of the

empire by spreading inclusive ideas such as religious tolerance and giving merchants a higher

status.

The Il-Khanates economic structure consisted largely of fostering commerce across

Eurasia through trade routes, particularly the Silk Road. Following the fall of the Tang Dynasty

in the 10th century, trade on the Silk Road declined sharply until the Mongols revived and

strengthened connections across the route in the 13th century. The Silk Road began to prosper as

a growing number of caravans were heading east on the trade route, Persian was even becoming

a lingua franca for many of the cities and bazaars on the way due to the Il-Khanates influence

(Lane). This resulted in unprecedented cross-cultural exchanges across Eurasia as there was a

great movement of people across the continent for the first time in around 3 centuries.

Consequently, there was a massive trade of goods and technology especially between the Golden
 Aggarwal 2

Horde of China and the Il-Khanates of Persia. For example, “steel, medicines, musical

instruments, and jewels” were sent from Persia and “silks, porcelains, paper money, and

medicines” were sent from China (Weatherford). This demonstrates the extent to which the

Il-Khanates fostered trade across Eurasia on the Silk Road, and how it was the main component

of their economic structure.

This massive movement of ideas and people across the Silk Road due to the Ilkhanate’s

economic structure affected the social hierarchy of the empire by spreading religious tolerance

which gave many the ability to freely practice their religion, however, there was eventually some

friction between the more and less dominant faiths. Traditionally, there was less religious

tolerance for those who were conquered or subjects of a particular government, especially in

places like Europe. In contrast, the Mongols allowed any religion to be practiced as long as it

was not a threat to the state (Cartwright). This led to multiple religions flourishing in the empire

such as Buddhism, Christianity, Shamanism, and Islam which were all mostly given equal status

instead of one religion being favored over another. However, Ghazan, who was the 7th ruler of

the Khanates from 1295-1304, converted to and favored Islam in order to gain Mulism Mongol

support and overthrow the previous Ilkhanate ruler, Baidu. Because of these actions by Ghazan,

Christian and Jewish subjects lost their equal status with Muslims to some extent and had to pay

a protection tax (“Il-Khan Dynasty''). Unfortunately, Buddhists were given the harsher choice of

either converting to Islam or being expelled (''Il-Khan Dynasty''). This harmed relationships

between Muslims and the other faiths in the empire which led Ghazan to ban religious

intolerance near the end of his reign, in a somewhat unsuccessful attempt to mend relations. This

shows how the massive spread of religious tolerance due to the Il-Khanates trade structure made
 Aggarwal 3

social hierarchies more even for subjects of the empire until Ghazan started favoring Islam which

created imbalances in status for a short period of time.

The Ilkhanate’s rule also led to merchants gaining a higher status due to the extreme

importance of trade in the empire. In the past, merchants were regarded as one of the lowest

social classes and were given little respect, especially in Chinese societies. However, due to how

extensively the Mongols created and relied on trade, they established merchant associations

called Orotgh which promoted long-distance caravan trade and supported merchants (Rossabi).

This incentivized merchants to keep working for the Mongols, and their social status was raised

as a whole. Additionally, merchants were given special benefits by the Ilkhanate such as tax

exemptions in an attempt to further promote commerce and ensure the survival of their empire

(Rossabi). These actions indicate the desire of the Mongols to provide additional assistance to

their traders and as a result, merchants saw a rise in how their job was perceived by others. They

went from being one of the least regarded jobs to something necessary for the economic

functions of an entire empire.

All in all, social hierarchies in the Ilkhanate were altered as merchants gained a higher

status, and inclusive ideals such as religious tolerance were spread by the empire's economic

structure which consisted of promoting trade across large portions of Eurasia. In their quest for

expansion, the Mongols rapidly changed the culture of the Eurasian continent especially when it

came to matters of trade and diplomacy. Even after the Khanates' disintegration in 1335, certain

trends continued such as merchants retaining their higher status and trade being much more

common across the Eurasian continent. The Mongols also left a legacy of religious tolerance

which helped promote more just social hierarchies and peaceful relations in many societies, well

into the future.

 Aggarwal 4

Works Cited

Cartwright, Mark. “Ilkhanate.” World History Encyclopedia, World History Encyclopedia, 24

Oct. 2021, www.worldhistory.org/Ilkhanate/.

“Il-Khan Dynasty.” Il-Khan Dynasty - New World Encyclopedia, New World Encyclopedia , 25

Feb. 2018, www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Il-Khan_dynasty.

Lane, George. “The Ilkhanate: Mongol Rule in Medieval Western Asia, 1256–1335.” Oxford

Research Encyclopedia of Asian History, Oxford University Press, 25 Jan. 2019,

doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.292

Rossabi, Morris. “Mongols in World History: Asia for Educators.” Mongols in World History |

Asia for Educators, Columbia University Asia for Educators,

afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/history/history4_a.htm.

Weatherford, Jack. “The Silk Route from Land to Sea.” MDPI, Multidisciplinary Digital

Publishing Institute, 2 Apr. 2018, www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/7/2/32/htm.