New Projects of Faith and Power, 1304–1312

Oljeitu Sultan (1304-1316) continued his predecessor’s pattern of commissioning histories and building programs to demonstrate his legitimacy. This included a new history of the world, which Rashid al-Din completed in 1307. Rashid al-Din also produced a series of theological collections that established an image of Oljeitu as a divinely sanctioned sovereign. These projects drew Oljeitu and Rashid al-Din into a cycle of patronage and production, which allowed Rashid al-Din to fund a series of charitable and intellectual institutions, further cementing his own historical legacy. This chapter outlines these products of the reign of Oljeitu, showing how they established a new format of kingship for subsequent Persianate courts. It also illuminates the role that ʿAbd Allah Qashani played in writing the material included in Rashid al-Din’s world history.