Fatima.Mernessi_The-Forgotten-Queens-of-Islam-EN

Fifteen Queens 99
between a man and a woman inevitably imposes monogamy on the
man as a rule of amorous behaviour. Try as one may to separate
them, amorous behaviour and political behaviour nevertheless draw
their principles from the same sources.
THE MONGOL KHATUNS
As is well documented by the historian Badriye Uc,ok Un, after the
Mongol invasion the thrones of Muslim states were occupied by an
impressive number of women with the privileges of the khutba and
coining of money. In almost a majority of the cases, this occurred
with the blessing of the new masters, the Mongol princes. It is true
that the latter seemed to have fewer problems than the Abbasid
caliphs in entrusting the governing of states to women. First of all
there were the two queens of the Kutlugh-Khanid dynasty, Kutlugh
Khatun (also called Turkan Khatun in the documents) and her
daughter Padishah Khatun (whom one sometimes finds under the
name of Safwat al-Din Khatun). 38 During the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries the Kutlugh-Khanid dynasty reigned over Kirman,
a Persian province situated to the south-west of the great central
desert, the Dasht-i Lut. 39
The dynasty came into being in the wake of Mongol conquests.
The Mongol ruler Hulagu, one of Genghis Khan's descendants and
heirs, had received Persia and Mesopotamia as his share of the
inheritance. Theoretically he was also allotted Syria and Egypt. But
whereas Baghdad proved easy to conquer, Syria and Egypt were
valiantly defended by the Mamluks, and the defeat inflicted on
Hulagu's army at 'Ain Jallut in 657/1260 put a halt to Mongol
advance into Syrian territory and fixed the boundary between the
two powers for good.
Henceforth the venerable caliphate of Baghdad was dependent
on the Ilkhan dynasty created by Hulagu. Many local military
chieftains took advantage of the Mongol invasion to consolidate
their power, among them Barak Hajib. When the Mongols invaded
Kirman and put an end to the Seljuk dynasty, Hulagu gave the
reins of power to Barak Hajib, who became the uncontested ruler
of Kirman. In exchange for his military aid in the region, Barak
Hajib demanded a title; the Mongols gave him the title of Kutlugh
Khan, and he agreed to pay them an annual tribute. Once his power
was militarily established in 619/1222, he provided himself with the
other titles he felt the need for. The caliph of Baghdad gave him