During the visit to the Soltanieh Dome, President of
Mongolia, Ts.Elbegdorj, said “We have just visited the mausoleum of Oljaitu in
Iran. Tolui was the youngest son of Chinggis Khan. His son Hulagu Khan came
here and founded the Ilkhan dynasty. Afterwards, Mongolian Khans including
Abaqa, Ahmad Teguder, Arghun, Gaykhatu, Baydu, Mahmud Ghazan, Oljeitu and Abu
Said Bahadur ruled the dynasty between 1256 and 1344.

This structure is the largest dome in the Middle East and is built by
Mongolians. We are truly excited to see the mausoleum of a Mongolian Khan and
what our ancestors have created 700 years ago. In his letter to France, England
and the the Pope, Oljeitu Khan stated that he have restored the territory of
the Mongol Empire, occupying the regions from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea
of Japan, establishing peace and stability.

Through this visit, we have paved the way for cultural and scientific exchange
between our two countries. There is a fascinating book about the history of
Ilkhan dynasty “Compendium of Chronicles” by Rashid al-Din. We are
ought to bring the original copy of this book to Mongolia. We are aiming to
exchange scientists, linguists, philologists as well as students of Mongolian and
Persian language. The sister city relationship will be established between the
province of Uvurkhangai and Zanjan. Many Mongolians will come here to study,
and Iranians will also travel to Mongolia to study their history.

There was a time that, nearly four decades ago in 1973, Yu. Tsedenbal, then
leader of Mongolia, visited Iran and the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic
of Iran visited Mongolia in 1976. This historical and picturesque valley is the
place where our khans herded their horses and established their city, and today
we’re renewing the relationship which was lost for four decades.

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