Öljaitü

Öljeitü, Oljeitu, Olcayto or Uljeitu, Öljaitu, Ölziit (Mongolian: ᠦᠯᠵᠡᠢᠲᠦ ᠺᠬᠠᠨ, 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 in Tabriz, Iran from 1304 to 1316. 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.

Life

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. In his youth he at first converted to Buddhism but then to Sunni Islam together 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.