The Jalayirid Sultanate (Persian: جلایریان) was a dynasty of Jalayir origin, which ruled over modern-day Iraq and western Iran after the breakup of the Ilkhanate in the 1330s.

[8] The history of the Sultanate of Jalayirid can be divided into four phases: During the disintegration years of the Ilkhanate after the death of Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan in 1335, the family of emir Ilge (Īlgā) Noyan, known as Köke (Kukā, ‘Blue’) Ilge, descendants of the Jalayirid tribe, first emerged as the inheritors of the traditional governors of the southwestern lands of the Ilkhanate.

According to the Jami' al-tawarikh written by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, Ilge, who accompanied Hulegu on his great expedition to Western Asia in the 1250s, was among the generals who besieged the Assassins' strongholds in Qohestan in 1256.

Ilge was one of the main military leaders in conflicts with the Mamluks and Jochids, neighbors and opponents of the Ilkhanate, in Baghdad, Syria, Diyarbakir and the Caucasus.

[12][7][6] After defeating his rivals, Hasan Buzurg strengthened his ties with Muhammad Khan (Pir Hussein), who ruled Anatolia at the time.

He then proceeded to Tabriz where he put Muhammad on the throne and married the granddaughter of Chupan and the wife of Abu Sa'id, Dilshad Khatun.

[6][13] For a short time in 1337–1338, Hasan Buzurg-un's authority was recognized in all parts of the Ilkhanate Empire except Khorasan, but after being expelled by Ḥasan-e Kucak and his brother Malek Ašraf in 1338–1339, he was forced to evacuate Azerbaijan and his power only held in Iraq.

[7] Shortly after Shaykh Uways Jalayir succeeded his father, the old enemy of the Jalayirids, the Chobanids, were overrun by the forces of the Golden Horde under Jani Beg in 1357.

Shaykh Uways Jalayir, who at first had recognized the sovereignty of the Blue Horde, decided to take the former Chobanid lands for himself, even as a former amir of Malek Asraf’s named Akhichuq attempted to keep the region in Mongol hands.

[17][5][6][7] In 1364, Shaykh Uways Jalayir campaigned against the Shirvan Shah Kai-Ka’us, but a revolt begun by the governor of Baghdad, Khwaja Mirjan, forced him to return to reassert his authority.

In 1366, Shaykh Uways Jalayir marched against the Kara Koyunlu, defeating their leader, Bairam Khwaja, at the battle of Mush.

According to Zayn al- Dīn Qazvīnī and Ḥāfiẓ Abrū, Kā’ūs readily overpowered all of Shirvan and Darband for Shaykh Uways Jalayir, and remained a faithful servant as long as he lived.

In addition to his military adventures, which were considerable, he was known for his attempts to revive commercial enterprise, which had suffered heavily in the past years, in the region, as well as his patronage to the arts.

His chronicler, Abu Bakr al-Qutbi al Ahri, wrote of Shaykh Uways Jalayir’ deeds in the Tarikh-i Shaikh Uvais.

Together in prison, the two leaders renewed their friendship, making an agreement that Sultan Ahmed Jalayir should keep Baghdad while Qara Yusuf would have Azerbaijan.