Buluqhan Khatun

Who is Buluqhan Khatun?

Buluqhan Khatun, also Bulughan, Bulukhan, Bolgana, Bulugan, or Zibeline for Marco Polo, was a 13th-century Mongol princess, and the principal wife of the Mongol Ilkhanid ruler Abagha. She belonged to the Mongol tribe of the Bayaut. Her name 'Bulughan' means 'sable' in Mongolian language.

Though childless herself, she raised her step-grandsons Ghazan and Öljeitü, both of whom later succeeded Arghun, and eventually converted to Islam. Arghun had Öljeitü baptized at birth, and gave him the name "Nicholas" after Pope Nicholas IV.

When Bulughan died in 1286, her step-son Arghun asked Kublai Khan to send him one of Bulughan's relatives as a new bride. The choice fell to Kökötchin, who was escorted by Marco Polo on her journey from Kaan-baligh. The party traveled by sea, departing from the southern port city of Quanzhou and sailing to Sumatra, and then to Persia, via Sri Lanka and India. They arrived in 1291; however, Arghun had been killed before her arrival by conspirators, so Kökötchin married Arghun's son Ghazan, becoming his principal wife.