The Mission of Malik Fakhruddin Ahmad Ṭībī to the Court of the Mongols in China (Investigation of political and economic factors)

A few decades after the Yuan Dynasty (Chinese Mongols) came to power by Qubilai-Qaan, and by the establishment of Ilkhanate rule in Iran, good relations were established between the two powers through the Silk Road. With the help of the Āl-e-Ṭībī’s local government in Kish Island as their vassals in the Persian Gulf, the Ilkhans started maritime relations. With the establishment of the merchant family of Malik al-Islam Ṭībī in Kish Island during the second half of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century, this family carried out its commercial activities in two areas. They concentrated on the Persian Gulf (Kish Island) and the Indian Ocean. As Malik-ul-Islam Jamal-ud-Din Ibrahim Ṭībī in Kish Island and his brother Taqi-ud-Din Ibrahim in the coasts of Ma’abar in India, by establishing coastal commercial agencies, they provided the basis for maritime communication between Iran and China through the Indian Ocean. And in 1297 one of the sons of Malik al-Islam, named Malik Fakhruddin Ahmad Ṭībī, was sent by Ghazan to the court of Timur Qaan in China as an ambassador. The problem of this article is to examine the purpose and factors affecting this embassy. The findings of the research indicate that the economic goals (sea trade as Ortaq) were superior to other motives of the court of Ilkhans, but the disruptions of  Maliks of  Hormuz had a major impact on the failure of this embassy. In this research, the motivations and factors affecting Fakhruddin Ahmad Ṭībī's mission have been investigated in terms of local, regional and global conditions using Iranian and Chinese written sources as well as field research.