Mahmud Ghazan (1271–1304) (, , sometimes referred to as
Casanus by Westerners) was the seventh ruler of the
Mongol Empire's
Ilkhanate division in modern-day
Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of
Arghun and Quthluq Khatun, continuing a long line of rulers who were direct descendants of
Genghis Khan. Considered the most prominent of the Ilkhans, he is best known for making a political conversion to Islam in 1295 when he took the throne, marking a turning point for the dominant religion of Mongols in West Asia (Iran, Iraq, Anatolia and Trans-Caucassia). His principal wife was
Kököchin, was a Mongol princess (originally betrothed to Ghazan's father Arghun before his death) sent by his Khagan
Kublai Khan, and escorted from the Mongol capital to the Ilkhanate by
Marco Polo.