Mahmud Ghazan (1271-1304) 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 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 Central Asia. His principal wife was Kokochin (Kokechin); a Mongol princess sent by Kublai Khan; and escorted from the Mongol capital to the Ilkhanate by Marco Polo.