Sultan Mohammad Khoda Bandeh (Aljaito)

Founder of Shi’aism in Iran

In 709 Q. (688 Sh. /1309), during thekingdom of Aljaito, the eleventh king of Ilkhanan, Shi’a was formalized. Sultan was fan of Sonnis before that, but after some discussions among Allame Helli and Sonni scholars, he became interested in Shi’aism and Ahl–Al Bayt. So much that he adopted to be Shi’a. He ordered that in all over the country, the Ja’fari religion (Shi’a) must be recognized officially. Even he eliminated the names of 3 Khalifas (Abu Bakr, Omar, and Othman). Having ascended to the throne inTabriz, he was entitled to “Aljaito” meaning “the Blessed King”. He ordered to print the sacred names of prophet and 12 Imams on one side of new coins, and print his own name on the other side.

Before Safavieh, Shi’a was an unofficial and minor creed. Al–e– Bouyeh efforts in officializing Shi’a during the 4th century, reached no point, since Baqdad kings, who had a great religious and political influence inIran, disapproved it. After the fall of Baqdad kingdom by Halakou, mongol king of Iran in 656 Q. (636 Sh. / 1258) one of them called Sultan Mohammad Khoda Band'eh, accepted Shi’a creed temporarily and used the 12 Imams’ name in his sermons. Of course this creed hasn’t been official yet, but the Shi’as developed their influence in Iran till a Shi’a family called Sar– be– daran (hanged from the scaffold) established Shi’a in Sabzevar.