Oljeitu

Oljeitu's Mehrab

Oljeitu was an Il Khanid and came from a line which traced its ancestry through Hulakoo Khan to Genghiz Khan. He succeeded his brother, Ghazan Khan, who had converted from Christianity to Islam and had tried to put both the constitution and the economy on a sound basis.

Oljeitu adopted the title of Sultan Muhammed Khodah-bandeh, "Mahommed the slave of God", on his accession to the throne in 1304, and is said to have been a just prince. He was the first monarch of Persia to proclaim himself a Shi'ite and he caused the names of the twelve Shi'ite Imams to be engraved on all the money which he coined. He built the city of Sultaniyeh and made it his capital. It remained the capital for some while after, and his mausoleum is still there. He died in 1316, shortly after completing the prayer niche in the Masjed-e-Jomeh in 1310, which is shown above

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27-January-95