In 1263,
Hulagu Khan () appointed Shams al-Din as his
sahib-i divan. The reason behind his rising influence may have been his friendship with
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, the famed scholar and Hulagu's close advisor, and his marriage to the daughter of the Mongol governor of Khorasan,
Arghun Aqa. Shams al-Din's influence soon increased even further; he received the governorship of
Tabriz and played a prominent role in rebuilding Iran, which had suffered greatly from the Mongol conquest. He had a bridge constructed in
Azerbaijan and a dam near
Saveh, rebuilt mosques in
Iraq, and supported the opening of
Hajj passages. Shams al-Din also took part in deciding military conclusions; he gave instructions to Hulagu's son and successor
Abaqa () before the battle of Herat in 1270 against the
Chagatai Khanate, and later in 1277 was the head of an army that participated in Abaqa's expedition into
Anatolia, where he made Abaqa's army spare Muslim villages and towns in Anatolia. He also clashed with
Caucasian tribes on his return to Iran. in
Sivas,
Anatolia, in AH 670 (1271-1272 CE). Shams al-Din was also closely linked with the local vassal states of the Ilkhanids, such as the
Kartids of
Herat, the
Qutlugh-Khanids of
Kerman, the
Salghurids of Fars, and the
Hazaraspids of
Luristan. He maintained Ilkhanid bureaucrats in each realm, and had a representative in charge of the rejuvenation of the
Yazd area. Furthermore, he also increased the influence and authority of his family by giving them posts within the country; his eldest son Baha al-Din Muhammad was appointed governor of
Persian Iraq, whilst another son of his,
Sharaf al-Din Harun Juvayni, was appointed governor of Anatolia. Shams al-Din's older brother Ata-Malik Juvayni had already been given the governorship of Iraq in 1259 before the latter's rise. During his term as
sahib-i divan, Shams al-Din amassed a hefty sum of revenue, mainly in properties, but also through marketable investments in
Hormuz, which greatly profited Shams al-Din and his associate, Sunjaq, who served as joint vizier under Abaqa. Shams al-Din's illustrious career resulted in much resentment; in 1277, his former apprentice Majd al-Mulk Yazdi accused Shams al-Din and Ata-Malik Juvayni of secretly collaborating with the
Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, which proved unsuccessful due to the lack of proof. However, three years later, Majd al-Molk made a more successful attempt; he not only once again accused the brothers of collaborating with the Mamluks, but also stealing hefty amount of riches from the treasury. Whilst Shams al-Din avoided punishment with the help of Hulagu's widow, his brother Ata-Malik was arrested, but later released in late 1281 due to interference of Mongol princes and princesses, only to return to jail a few months later due being the target of further accusations. The accusations towards Shams al-Din also made Abaqa appoint Majd al-Mulk as his joint vizier, which considerably reduced Shams al-Din's authority. A dynastic struggle followed after Abaqa's death in 1282 between his younger brother
Tekuder and son
Arghun. Juvayni married the Armenian Princess
Khoshak Zakarian in 1269. She was the daughter of
Avag Zakarian,
Lord High Constable of
Georgia, and
Gvantsa, a noblewoman who went on to become queen of Georgia. Juvayni and Khoshak had a girl named
Kuandze, who married the Armenian Prince
Shahnshah II Zakarian, and two sons named Zakare and Atabeg. ==References==