An account of the re-emergence of Persia as a world player and the reassertion of its cultural, political and spiritual links with Turan, this book opposes the way in which, for too long, the whole period of Mongol domination of Iran has been viewed from a negative standpoint. Though arguably the initial irruption of the Mongols brought little comfort to those in its path, this is not the case with the second 'invasion' of the Chinggisids. This study demonstrates that Hülegü Khan came as a welcomed king rather than as a conqueror. It paints a picture of the early Il-Khanate as a cultural and spiritual renaissance and reveals both Hülegü and his son Abaqa as fathers of that legacy.