Ahmad Fanākatī, alternatively rendered as Ahmad Banākatī (Persian: احمد فناکتی / احمد بناکتی; simplified Chinese: 阿合马; traditional Chinese: 阿合馬; pinyin: Āhémǎ; before 1242 — 10 April 1282) was a Persian[1] Muslim from the Qara Khitai (Western Liao dynasty) who served as chancellor and finance minister of the Yuan dynasty during Kublai's reign.
[2] Ahmad Fanākatī came from Fanākat (or Banākat), a town on the upper Syr Darya in Central Asia, under the rule of the Qara Khitai until they were conquered by the Mongol Empire.
It heightened tension with the rival faction that included Crown Prince Zhenjin, Antong, the head of the Central Secretariat and other Mongol aristocrats, and Chinese bureaucrats.
The death of his political patron Chabi Khatun in 1281 made the situation critical; Ahmad was assassinated by Wang Zhu and Gao Heshang (Kao Ho-chang[7]) in the next year and his faction fell from power.
The recent Mongolian studies also tend to make positive reference to his role in establishing the dynasty's unique financial system.