| Öljaitü Muhammad Khodabandeh | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pādishāh-i Īrānzamīn[1] (Padishah of the Land of Iran) | |||||
.jpg) Öljaitü and ambassadors from theYuan dynasty, 1438, "Majma' al-Tavarikh" | |||||
| Ilkhan | |||||
| Reign | 9 July 1304 – 16 December 1316 | ||||
| Coronation | 19 July 1304 | ||||
| Predecessor | Ghazan | ||||
| Successor | Abu Sa'id | ||||
| Viceroy ofKhorasan | |||||
| Reign | 1296 – 1304 | ||||
| Predecessor | Nirun Aqa | ||||
| Successor | Abu Sa'id | ||||
| Born | (1282-03-24)24 March 1282[2] BetweenSarakhs andMerv,Khorasan,Ilkhanate | ||||
| Died | 16 December 1316(1316-12-16) (aged 34) Soltaniyeh,Ilkhanate | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | Hajji Khatun Eltuzmish Khatun | ||||
| Issue | Bastam Tayghur Sulayman Shah Abu'l Khayr Abu Sa'id Ilchi (alleged) Dowlandi Khatun Sati Beg Sultan Khatun | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Ilkhanate | ||||
| Father | Arghun | ||||
| Mother | Uruk Khatun | ||||
| Religion | Buddhism (until 1291) Christianity (until 1295) Sunni Islam (until 1310) Shia Islam (until his death)[3] | ||||
Öljaitü,[a] also known asMohammad-e Khodabandeh[b] (24 March 1282 – 16 December 1316), was the eighthIlkhanid dynasty ruler from 1304 to 1316 inTabriz,Iran.[4] His name 'Öjaitü' means 'blessed' in theMongolian language and his last name 'Khodabandeh' means 'God's servant' in thePersian language.
He was the son of theIlkhan rulerArghun, brother and successor ofMahmud Ghazan (5th successor of Genghis Khan), and great-grandson of the Ilkhanate founderHulegu Khan.
Öljaitü was born toArghun and his third wife,Keraite Christian Uruk Khatun on 24 March 1282 during his father's viceroyalty inKhorasan.[5] He was given the name Khar-banda (mule driver)[6] at birth, raised asBuddhist and later baptised in 1291,[7] receiving the name Nikolya (Nicholas) afterPope Nicholas IV.[8] However, according toTarikh-i Uljaytu (History of Oljeitu), Öljeitu was at first known as "Öljei Buqa", and then "Temüder", and finally "Kharbanda".[1] Various c. Same source also mentions that it rained when he was born, and the delighted Mongols called him by the Mongolian name Öljeitu (Өлзийт), meaning auspicious. He was later converted toSunni Islam along with his brother Ghazan. Like his brother, he changed his first name to the Islamic nameMuhammad.
He participated in battles involving Ghazan's fight againstBaydu. After his brother Ghazan's accession to throne, he was appointed as viceroy ofKhorasan.[9] Despite being appointed heir of Ghazan since 1299,[10] after hearing news of his death he sought to eliminate potential rivals to throne. First such act was taken against Prince Alafrang, son ofGaykhatu. He was killed by an emissary of Öljaitü on 30 May 1304.[11] Another powerful emir, Horqudaq was likewise captured and executed.[12]
He arrived in the Ujan plain on 9 July 1304[13] and was crowned on 19 July 1304.[12] Rashid al-Din wrote that he adopted the name Oljeitu following Yuan emperorÖljeitu Temür enthroned inDadu. His full regnal title was Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad Khudabanda Öljaitü Sultan. Upon accession, he made several appointments, suchQutluqshah to the post of commander-in-chief of Ilkhanate army,Rashid al-Din and Sa'd al-Din Savaji as his viziers on 22 July 1304. Another appointment was Asil al-Din, son ofNasir al-Din Tusi as his father's successor to headMaragheh observatory. Another political decision was revokingKerman fromQutluqkhanidQutb al-Din Shah Jahan on 21 April 1304. Öljaitü appointed his father-in-law and uncle Irinjin as viceroy of Anatolia on 27 June 1305.
He received ambassadors from theYuan dynasty (19 September 1305),Chagatai Khanate (in persons of Chapar, son ofKaidu andDuwa, son ofBaraq) andGolden Horde (8 December 1305) in the same year, establishing an intra-Mongol peace.[12] His reign also saw a wave of migration from Central Asia during 1306. Certain Borjigid princes, such as Mingqan Ke'un (grandson ofAriq Böke and grandfather of futureArpa Ke'un), Sarban (son ofKaidu), Temür (a descendant ofJochi Qasar) arrived in Khorasan with 30.000[14] or 50.000 followers.
He undertook an expedition toHerat against theKartid ruler Fakhr al-Din in 1306, but succeeded only briefly; his emir Danishmend was killed during the ambush. He started his second military campaign in June 1307 towardsGilan. It was a success thanks to combines forces of emirs likeSutai, Esen Qutluq,Irinjin, Sevinch,Chupan, Toghan and Mu'min. Despite initial success, his commander-in-chiefQutluqshah was defeated and killed during the campaign, which paved way for Chupan to rise in ranks. Following this, he ordered another campaign against Kartids, this time commanded by the late emir Danishmend's son Bujai. Bujai was successful after a siege from 5 February to 24 June 1306, finally capturing the citadel. A corps of Frankishmangonel specialists is known to have accompanied the Ilkhanid army in this conquest.[15]
Another important event of 1307 was the completion of theJami al-Tawarikh by Rashid al-Din on 14 April 1307.[16] Later in 1307, a revolt broke inKurdistan under the leadership of certain Musa, who claimed to be theMahdi. The uprising was swiftly defeated.[17] Another religious revolt, this time by 10.000 strong Christians, broke out inIrbil. DespiteMar Yahballaha's best efforts to avert the impending doom, the citadel was at last taken after a siege by Ilkhanate troops and Kurdish tribesmen on 1 July 1310, and all the defenders were massacred, including many of theAssyrian inhabitants of the lower town.[18]
An important change in administration happened in 1312 when Öljaitü's vizier Sa'd al-Din Savaji was arrested on charges of corruption and executed on 20 February 1312. He was soon replaced by Taj al-Din Ali Shah, who would head the Ilkhanate civil administration until 1323. Another victim of the purge was Taj al-Din Avaji, a follower of Sa'd al-Din. Öljaitü also finallylaunched a last campaign against the Mamluks, in which he was unsuccessful, though he reportedly briefly tookDamascus.[20] It was when Mamluk emirs, former governor ofAleppo—Shams al-Din Qara Sonqur and governor ofTripoli—al-Afram defected to Öljaitü. Despite extradition requests fromEgypt, Ilkhan invested Qara Sonqur (now under the new name Aq Sonqur) with the governorate of Maragheh and al-Afram withHamadan.[12] Qara Sonqur was later givenOljath—daughter ofAbaqa Khan on 17 January 1314.[1]
Meanwhile, relations between other Mongol realms were getting heated. The new khan of Golden Horde,Ozbeg sent an emissary to Öljaitü, renewing his claims toAzerbaijan on 13 October 1312. Öljaitü also supported the latter duringChagatai-Yuan war in 1314, annexing Southern Afghanistan after expellingQara'unas.[12] After repelling Chagatai armies, he appointed his sonAbu Sa'id to governKhorasan andMazandaran in 1315 with the Uyghur noble Amir Sevinch as his guardian. Another descendant of Jochi Qasar, Baba Oghul arrived from Central Asia in the same year, pillagingKhwarazm on his way, causing much disturbance. Upon protests from Golden Horde emissaries, Öljaitü had to execute Baba, claiming he was not informed of such unauthorized acts.[14]
Öljaitü's reign is also remembered for a brief effort at Ilkhanid invasion ofHijaz.Humaydah ibn Abi Numayy, arrived at the Ilkhanate court in 1315, Ilkhan on his part provided Humaydah an army of several thousandMongols and Arabs under the command of Sayyid Talib al-Dilqandi to bring the Hijaz under Ilkhanid control. He also planned to exhume the bodies of the caliphsAbu Bakr andUmar ( radiallahtaalaanhu ) from their graves inMedina. However, soon after the expedition passedBasra they received news of Ilkhan's death, and a large part of the army deserted. The remainder – three hundred Mongols and four hundred Arabs – were crushed by a horde of four thousandBedouin led by Muhammad ibn Isa (brother ofMuhanna ibn Isa) in March 1317.[21]
He died inSoltaniyeh on 17 December 1316,[12] having reigned for twelve years and nine months. Afterwards,Rashid al-Din Hamadani was accused of having caused his death by poisoning and was executed. Oljeitu was succeeded by his sonAbu Sa'id.
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Öljaitü had been professing Buddhism, Christianity and Islam throughout his life. After succeeding his brother, Öljeitu became influenced byShi'a theologiansAl-Hilli andMaitham Al Bahrani.[22][23] Although another source indicates he converted to Islam through the persuasions of his wife.[24] Upon Al-Hilli's death, Oljeitu transferred his teacher's remains fromBaghdad to a domed shrine he built in Soltaniyeh. Later, alienated by the factional strife between the Sunnis, Oljeitu changed his school of thought to Shi'a Islam in 1310.[25] At some point, he even considered converting toTengriism in early 1310.[16] Mamluk historianal-Safadi mentioned in his biographical dictionaryAʻyan al-ʻAsr that Oljeitu had once again became Sunni in the last few years before his death in the Ramadan of 716AH.[26]
He oversaw the end of construction of city ofSoltaniyeh[20] on Qongqur-Oleng plains in 1306. In 1309, Öljeitu founded aDar al-Sayyedah ("Sayyed's lodge") inShiraz,Iran, and endowed it with an income of 10,000 dananeer a year. His tomb inSoltaniyeh, 300 km west ofTehran, remains the best known monument of IlkhanidPersia. According toRuy González de Clavijo, his body was later exhumed byMiran Shah.[27]
Trading contacts with European powers were very active during the reign of Öljeitu. The Genoese had first appeared in the capital ofTabriz in 1280, and they maintained a residentConsul by 1304. Oljeitu also gave full trading rights to theVenetians through a treaty in 1306 (another such treaty with his son Abu Said was signed in 1320).[28] According toMarco Polo, Tabriz was specialized in the production of gold and silk, and Western merchants could purchase precious stones in quantities.[28]
After his predecessorsArghun andGhazan, Öljeitu continued diplomatic overtures with the West, and re-stated Mongol hopes for an alliance between the Christian nations of Europe and the Mongols against the Mamluks, even though Öljeitu himself had converted to Islam.
In April 1305, he sent a Mongol embassy led byBuscarello de Ghizolfi to the French kingPhilip IV of France,[29]Pope Clement V, andEdward I of England. The letter to Philip IV, the only one to have survived, describes the virtues of concord between the Mongols and the Franks:
"We, Sultan Oljaitu. We speak. We, who by the strength of the Sky, rose to the throne (...), we, descendant of Genghis Khan (...). In truth, there cannot be anything better than concord. If anybody was not in concord with either you or ourselves, then we would defend ourselves together. Let the Sky decide!"
— Extract from the letter of Oljeitu to Philip the Fair. French national archives.[30]
He also explained that internal conflicts between the Mongols were now over:
"Now all of us,Timur Khagan, Tchapar,Toctoga, Togba and ourselves, main descendants of Gengis-Khan, all of us, descendants and brothers, are reconciled through the inspiration and the help of God. So that, from Nangkiyan (China) in the Orient, to Lake Dala our people are united and the roads are open."
— Extract from the letter of Oljeitu to Philip the Fair. French national archives.[31]
This message reassured the European nations that theFranco-Mongol alliance, or at least attempts towards such an alliance, had not ceased, even though the Khans had converted to Islam.[32]
Another embassy was sent to the West in 1307, led byTommaso Ugi di Siena, an Italian described as Öljeitu'sildüchi ("Sword-bearer").[33] This embassy encouraged Pope Clement V to speak in 1307 of the strong possibility that the Mongols could remit theHoly Land to the Christians, and to declare that the Mongol embassy from Öljeitu "cheered him like spiritual sustenance".[34] Relations were quite warm: in 1307, the Pope namedJohn of Montecorvino the first Archbishop ofKhanbalik and Patriarch of the Orient.[35]
European nations accordingly prepared a crusade, but were delayed. A memorandum drafted by the Grand Master of theKnights HospitallersGuillaume de Villaret about military plans for a Crusade envisaged a Mongol invasion of Syria as a preliminary to a Western intervention (1307/8).[36]
Byzantine EmperorAndronicus II gave a daughter in marriage to Oljeitu and asked the Ilkhan's assistance against growing the power of theOttomans. In 1305, Oljeitu promised his father in law 40,000 men, and in 1308 dispatched 30,000 men to recover many Byzantine towns inBithynia and the Ilkhanid army crushed a detachment ofOsman I.[37]
On 4 April 1312, a Crusade was promulgated byPope Clement V at theCouncil of Vienne. Another embassy was sent by Oljeitu to the West and toEdward II in 1313.[38]That same year, the French kingPhilippe le Bel "took the cross", making the vow to go on a Crusade in the Levant, thus responding to Clement V's call for a Crusade. He was however warned against leaving byEnguerrand de Marigny,[39] and died soon after in a hunting accident.[40]
A final settlement with the Mamluks would only be found when Oljeitu's son signed theTreaty of Aleppo with theMamluks in 1322.
Öljaitü had thirteen consorts with several issues, albeit only one surviving son and daughter:
Öljaitü also allegedly had an additional son, Ilchi who was claimed as an ancestor of theArghun andTarkhan dynasties of Afghanistan and India.[45]
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| Preceded by | Ilkhanid dynasty 1304–1316 | Succeeded by |
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