The Ilkhanid Heartland provides the first source on the fortified medieval (thirteenth and fourteenth centuries) settlement of Hasanlu Tepe in the western Azerbaigian province of Iran. Key problems addressed include the nature and dates of the fortifications, the difficulty of distinguishing Ilkhanid material from Saljuk, and land-use patterns in the Lake Urmia Basin and their relationship to the feudal system of land tenure and rural economic development.

This exceptional piece of archaeological detective work includes a study of the stratified assemblage of Ilkhanid ceramics and the first provenienced examples of Lajvardinah ware, a high point in the ceramics art of Iran.