Öljeitü

Öljeitü, Oljeitu, Olcayto or Uljeitu, Öljaitu, Ölziit (Mongolian: ᠦᠯᠵᠡᠢᠲᠦ ᠺᠬᠠᠨ, translit. Öljeitü Ilkhan, Өлзийт хаан), also known as Muhammad Khodabandeh (Persian: محمد خدابنده - اولجایتو‎‎, khodābandeh from Persian meaning the "man of God" or "servant of God"; 1280 - December 16, 1316), was the eighth Ilkhanid dynasty ruler from 1304 to 1316 in Tabriz, Iran. His name "Ölziit" means "blessed" in the Mongolian language.

He was the son of the Ilkhan ruler Arghun, brother and successor of Mahmud Ghazan (5th successor of Genghis Khan), and great-grandson of the Ilkhanate founder Hulagu.

Oljeitu was the son of Arghun's third wife, the Christian Uruk Khatun. Oljeitu was baptised as a Christian and received the name Nikolya (Nicholas) after Pope Nicholas IV. During his youth he converted to Buddhism and later to Sunni Islam along with his brother Ghazan. He later converted to Shi'a Islam after coming into contact with Shi'a scholars, although another source indicates he converted to Islam through the persuasions of his wife. He changed his first name to the Islamic name Muhammad. Some of his relatives and companions gave him a nickname of Khutabanda. Rashid al-Din wrote that he adopted the name Oljeitu following Yuan emperor Oljeitu Temür enthroned in Dadu. But some Muslim source mentions that it rained when he was born, and delighted Mongols called him Mongolian name Öljeitu (Өлзийт), meaning auspicious.

After succeeding his brother, Öljeitu became influenced by Shi'a theologians Al-Hilli and Maitham Al Bahrani. In 1306, Oljeitu founded the city of Soltaniyeh, and upon Al-Hilli's death, Oljeitu transferred his teacher's remains from Baghdad to a domed shrine he built in Soltaniyeh. Later, alienated by the factional strife between the Hanafis and the Shafis, Oljeitu changed his sect to Shi'a Islam in 1310, believing it to be the true version of Islam. However, it has also been reported that he reconverted to Sunni Islam prior to his death.Mirkhond reportedly claims he started the custom of taking children from Christian and Jewish families to be raised as Muslims, analogous to the later Ottoman system of Devshirme.

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