أباقا خان
As Berke sought to cross the Kura river to attack Hulagu's son, Abaqa Khan, he fell ill and died sometime between 1266 and 1267. He was succeeded by his grandnephew, Mengu-Timur. The policy of alliance with the Mamluks, and containment of the Ilkhanate, was continued by Mengu-Timur. Many historians are in agreement that the intervention by Berke against Hulagu saved the remainder of the Holy Land, including Mecca and Jerusalem, from the same fate as Baghdad.