Öldscheitü

Öldscheitü receives the ambassadors of the Yuan Dynasty

Öldscheitü ( Mongolian ᠦᠯᠵᠡᠢᠲᠦ ᠺᠬᠠᠨ , Persian اولجایتو Oldschaytu ; * 1280 ; † December 16, 1316 in Soltanije , also known asمحمد خدابنده Mohammad Chodabande , DMG Moḥammad-e Ḫodā-bande , 'Muhammad Servant of God') was an Ilkhanid ruler from 1304 to 1316. As the son of Arghun and his wife Buluqhan-Chatun, he was the brother of Mahmud Ghazan , whom he inherited.

His resting place is the famous Öldscheitü mausoleum in Soltanije, west of the Iranian capital Tehran .

conversion

Öldscheitü was baptized Christian by his father in 1290 and was given the name Nicholas. The father chose this name in honor of Pope Nicholas IV. But in his youth he first converted to Buddhism and later, together with his brother Ghazan, to Sunni Islam . As a Muslim, he chose the name Mohammad.

Domination

When Öldscheitü came to power, he was under the influence of the Shiite cleric al-Hilli . After al-Hilli's death, his body was taken from Baghdad to a shrine in Soltaniye. Öldscheitü changed to Shiite Islam in 1310 , believing that Shia was the true form of Islam.

In 1309 Öldscheitü founded Dar as-Sayyidah in Shiraz and donated 10,000 dinars a year to it. After his death in 1316, his son Abū Saʿīd became the new ruler. The Öldscheitü mausoleum in Soltanije is the best preserved building of the Ilkhan people.

Relations with Europe

trade

Mongolian soldiers from the time of Öldscheitü from the book Jami at-Tawarich by Raschid ad-Din , 1305–1306

Under Öldscheitü there were intensive trade contacts between the Ilkhan and Europe. Genoese traders first met in Tabriz in 1280 . In 1304 Genoa had a consul in Tabriz. In 1306 there was also a trade agreement with Venice . Marco Polo reported that Tabriz specializes in the production of gold and silk and that western traders can purchase precious stones here in large quantities.

Military alliances

Letter from Öldscheitü to King Philip IV. The scroll measures 302 × 50 cm.

The translation of the letter by Buscarello de Ghizolfi is on the back of the scroll.

Öldscheitü was interested in an alliance with the West against the Mamluks . Even his father Arghun had tried to establish an alliance between the Christian nations and the Ilchanat.

The 1305 legation

In April 1305 Öldscheitü sent an ambassador, who was accompanied by Buscarello de Ghizolfi, to the French King Philip IV , to Pope Clement V and King Edward I of England. A letter addressed to Philip IV has survived to this day. Among other things, this letter says:

“We, Sultan Öldscheitü. We speak. We who rose to the throne by the power of heaven [...], we, descendants of Genghis Khan [...]. Truly, there can be nothing better than unity. If someone is not in harmony with you or with ourselves, then we would defend ourselves together. Let the sky decide! "

Furthermore, Öldscheitü says that the internal conflicts between the Mongols have been resolved:

“Now we are all, Timur Khagan, Tchapar, Toctoga, Togba and ourselves, the great descendants of Genghis Khan, we all, descendants and brothers, are reconciled through the inspiration and help of God. So that, from Nangkiyan (China) in the east to Lake Dala, our people are united and the paths are open. "

This letter showed the Christians that an alliance was still believed possible.

The Legation 1307

Another embassy led by Tommaso Ugi di Siena, who was Öldscheitü's sword bearer (Ildüchi), was sent to Europe in 1307. The Mongols told Pope Clement V the possibility of handing the Holy Land back to the Christians. Relations with the Church were quite good, so that Clement V appointed John of Montecorvino, an Archbishop of Cambaluc and Patriarch of the East.

The Europeans prepared for a crusade , but then postponed it. A plan by the Grand Master of the Order of St. John Guillaume de Villaret saw an attack by the Ilkhan on Mamluk Syria as the first part of the crusade. Then the Europeans should intervene. It is known that a detachment of Frankish soldiers supported the Ilkhans with mangoneles in taking Herats in 1307.

The Embassy 1313

When Pope Clement V declared the crusade at the Council of Vienne on April 4, 1312 , Öldscheitü sent a third embassy to the west and to Edward II. The French King Philip IV followed the Pope's call, but was killed in a hunting accident Life.

Öldscheitü attacked the Mamluks for the last time in 1312/13 and was unsuccessful. It was not until 1322 that his son could agree a peace treaty with the Mamluks.

literature

• Christopher P. Atwood: The Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire. Facts on File, New York 2004, ISBN 0-8160-4671-9 .
• John W. Limbert: Shiraz in the Age of Hafez. The Glory of a Medieval Persian City. University of Washington Press, Seattle 2004, ISBN 0-295-98391-4 .
• Richard Foltz : Religions of the Silk Road. Overland trade and cultural exchange from antiquity to the fifteenth century . St. Martin's Griffin, New York 2000, ISBN 0-312-23338-8 .
• Peter Jackson: The Mongols and the West, 1221-1410. Pearson Longman, New York 2005, ISBN 0-582-36896-0 .
• Jean-Paul Roux: Histoire de l'Empire Mongol. Fayard, Paris 1999, ISBN 2-213-03164-9 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Persian epithet Ḫodā-bande , "servant of God", corresponds to the Arabic nameعبد الله, DMG 'Abd Allāh (also ' Abdullāh ).
2. ↑ "Arghun had one of his sons baptized, Khordabandah, the future Oljaitu, and in the Pope's honor, went as far as giving him the name Nicholas", Histoire de l'Empire Mongol , Jean-Paul Roux, p. 408.
3. ^ Felicitas Schmieder: Europe and the foreigners (= contributions to the history and source studies of the Middle Ages. Volume 16). Thorbecke, 1994, ISBN 3799557164 , p. 96 ( limited preview in Google book search).
4. ↑ ^{a b} Peter Jackson, p. 298.
5. ↑ Mostaert and Cleaves, pp. 56–57, Source ( Memento of April 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ Quoted in Jean-Paul Roux in "Histoire de l'Empire Mongol" p. 437.
7. ^ Source
8. ^ Jean-Paul Roux, in Histoire de l'Empire Mongol, ISBN 2-213-03164-9 : "The Occident was reassured that the Mongol alliance had not ceased with the conversion of the Khans to Islam. However, this alliance could not have ceased. The Mamelouks, through their repeated military actions, were becoming a strong enough danger to force Iran to maintain relations with Europe. ", p. 437.
9. ↑ Peter Jackson, p. 173.
10. ↑ Foltz, p. 131.
11. ↑ Peter Jackson, p. 185.
12. ^ Peter Jackson, The Mongols and the West , p. 315.
13. ↑ Peter Jackson, p. 172.
14. ^ Richard, p. 485.

predecessor	Office	successor
Ghazan Ilkhan	Ilkhan of Persia 1304-1316	Abū Saʿīd