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'Muhammad Khodabandeh', (Persian محمد خدابنده - اولجایتو) (''khodābandeh'' from Persian meaning the "servant of God") also known as ''Uljeitu''/''Öljeitü'' (b. 1280 - December 16, 1316, in Soltaniyeh, near Qazvin), was the eighth Ilkhaid dynasty ruler in Iran from 1304 to 1316.
Mohammad Khodabandeh was the great-grandson of the Ilkhanate founder Hulagu, and brother and successor of Mahmud Ghazan. His Christian mother baptised him as a Christian and gave him the name ''Nicholas'' . In his youth he at first converted to Buddhism and then to Sunni Islam together with his brother Ghazan. He then changed his first name to the Islamic name ''Muhammad''.
In April 1305, Oljeitu sent letters the French king Philip the Fair,^[1] the Pope, and Edward I of England. After his predecessor Arghun, he offered a military collaboration between the Christian nations of Europe and the Mongols against the Mamluks. He also explained that internal conflicts between the Mongols were over:
European nations accordingly prepared a crusade, but were delayed. In the meantime Oljeitu launched a last campaign against the Mamluks (1312-13), in which he was unsuccessful. A settlement with the Mamluks would only be found when Oljeitu's son signed the Treaty of Aleppo with the Mamluks in 1322.
After succeeding his brother, Muhammad Oljeitu was greatly under the influence of Shi'a theologian Al-Hilli. Upon Al-Hilli's death, Oljeitu transferred his teacher's remains from Baghdad to a domed shrine he built in Soltaniyeh. He eventually changed his sect to Shi'a Islam in 1310, believing it was the divine evolution of Islam, as well as a way he could consolidate his power. The region of Iran has remained mostly Shi'a until modern times. This action of Oljeitu, however, contributed to the creation of the major division in Islam and consequently added to the tensions between Shi'as and Sunnis in the region.
In 1309, Oljeitu founded a ''Dar al-Sayyedah'' ("Sayyed's lodge") in Shiraz and endowed it with an income of 10,000 Dinars a year.
Upon his death, Oljeitu was succeeded by his son Abu Sa'id. Oljeitu's magnificent tomb in Soltaniyeh remains the best known monument of Ilkhanid Persia.

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Notes

1. Mostaert and Cleaves, pp. 56-57, Source

References

(ISBN 0-295-98391-4) page 87