Nawrūz was a son of governor Arghun Agha, and was a powerful Mongol Oïrat emir of the 13th century who played an important role in the politics of the Mongol Ilkhanate

Ilkhanate

The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Azerbaijan and Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire...

. He was a convert to Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

; the history of Bar Sawma's voyages and Mar Yaballaha III's Patriarchal tenure portrays him as a ferocious enemy of Nestorian Christians.

In 1289–1290, Nawrūz led a revolt against the Mongol Ilkhan ruler Arghun

Arghun

Arghun Khan aka Argon was the fourth ruler of the Mongol empire's Ilkhanate, from 1284 to 1291. He was the son of Abaqa Khan, and like his father, was a devout Buddhist...

 (no relation to Nawruz's own father). Arghun defeated him, and forced Nawruz to take refuge in the area of Transoxonia where he joined Kaidu

Kaidu

Kaidu was the leader of the House of Ogedei and the de facto khan of the Chagatai Khanate. He ruled part of modern-day Xinjiang and Central Asia during the 13th century, and actively opposed his uncle, Kublai Khan, who established the Yuan Dynasty in China until his death in 1301...

.

In 1295, Ghazan managed to annex power from Baydu

Baydu

Baydu was the sixth ruler of the Mongol empire's Ilkhanate division in Iran. He succeeded his cousin Gaykhatu as khan of the Ilkhanate state in 1295....

 with the help of Nawrūz. Ghazan was convinced to convert to Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 by Nawrūz, and, along with his conversion, changed his first name to the Arab name Mahmud.

Ghazan eliminated the partisans of Nawrūz for treason in May 1297. He then marched against Nawrūz, then commander of the army of Khorassan

Greater Khorasan

Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...

, in 1297, and vanquished him near Nishapur

Nishapur

Nishapur or Nishabur , is a city in the Razavi Khorasan province in northeastern Iran, situated in a fertile plain at the foot of the Binalud Mountains, near the regional capital of Mashhad...

. Nawrūz took refuge at the court of the malik Fakhr al-Din of Herat

Herat

Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...

, in northern Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

, but the latter actually betrayed him and delivered him to Ghazan, who had him executed immediately on August 13th.