Arughtai, also known as Alutai (; d. 1434), was a chingsang of the

Northern Yuan dynasty The Northern Yuan () was a dynastic regime ruled by the Mongol Borjigin clan based in the Mongolian Plateau. It existed as a rump state after the collapse of the Yuan dynasty in 1368 and lasted until its conquest by the Jurchen-led Later Jin ...

who fought against the

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...

of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

and the

Four Oirats The Four Oirat (Mongolian language, Mongolian: Дөрвөн Ойрад, ''Dorben Oirad''; ); also Oirads and formerly Eleuths, alternatively known as the Alliance of the Four Oirat Tribes or the Oirat Confederation, was the confederation of the O ...

. According to the Mongolian and Chinese chronicles, there are similar named figures among the Western and Eastern Mongols. One of them named

Asud The Asud (Mongolian Cyrillic: , IPA: //) were a military group of Alani origin. The Mongol clan Asud is the plural of As, the Arabic name for the Alans. Against the Alans and the Cumans (Kipchaks), the Mongols used divide and conquer tactics by ...

Arugtai was a war prisoner of the Oirats, who was released by the

Borjigin A Borjigin, ; ; russian: Борджигин, Bordžigin; English plural: Borjigins or Borjigid (from Middle Mongolian);''Histoire des campagnes de Gengis Khan'', p. 119. Manchu plural: is a member of the Mongol sub-clan, which started with Bo ...

princess Samur while another person, Alutai, raided the Chinese districts. Whatever his origin, the Oirad leaders, Gulichi and Mahamud, overthrew Elbeg Khan in 1399; and the former had himself enthroned as

Khagan Khagan or Qaghan (Mongolian:; or ''Khagan''; otk, 𐰴𐰍𐰣 ), or , tr, Kağan or ; ug, قاغان, Qaghan, Mongolian Script: ; or ; fa, خاقان ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan ...

who appointed Arugtai or Alutai chingsang (

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

). However, Mahamud and Arughtai defeated Ugetchi or Gulichi; and Mahamud himself died soon after that. Map of Ming Chinese empire 1415

In 1409 Alutai (Arughtai) set up the heir,

Öljei Temür Khan Öljei Temür Khan ( mn, Өлзийтөмөр хаан ; ), born Bunyashiri (, sa, प्रज्ञाश्री), (1379–1412) was a khagan of the Northern Yuan dynasty, reigning from 1408 to 1412. He was a son of Elbeg Nigülesügchi K ...

Bunyashiri, of the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

Beshbalik Beshbalik () is an ancient archaeological site, now located in Jimsar County, Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, China. The ancient city was initially called Beiting () or Ting Prefecture (), and was the headquarters of the Beiting Protec ...

, and ignored Ming demands for satisfaction regarding the murder of an envoy in the previous year. War followed, in which at first Alutai was successful, owing to the rashness of the Ming dynasty; but in the following year he was beaten and fled. In 1413, for promising help against the

Oirad Oirats ( mn, Ойрад, ''Oirad'', or , Oird; xal-RU, Өөрд; zh, 瓦剌; in the past, also Eleuths) are the westernmost group of the Mongols whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia. Hi ...

s, he received the title of Prince of Hening (和寧王) and sent a mission to the Ming dynasty. Beaten by the Oirads, he sought refuge on the Chinese frontier; but as soon as his strength increased, he renewed his raids. The Emperor marched against him in 1422, 1423, and 1424, but Alutai never risked a pitched battle and supported

Adai Khan Adai ( Mongolian: mn, Адай; ), (1390–1438) was a khagan of the Northern Yuan dynasty, reigning from 1425 to 1438. After the prominent eastern Mongol chancellor Arughtai threw his allegiance to him, Adai briefly reunited most of the Mongol ...

against the Oirads. Ten years later he was surprised and slain by Oirads under Toghan (Esen's father), and his son submitted to the Ming dynasty.

References

This article incorporates material from

Herbert Giles Herbert Allen Giles (, 8 December 184513 February 1935) was a British diplomat and sinologist who was the professor of Chinese at the University of Cambridge for 35 years. Giles was educated at Charterhouse School before becoming a British dip ...

's ''A Chinese Biographical Dictionary'' (London: Arthur Probsthain, 1898), which is now in the public domain. {{Northern Yuan dynasty Year of birth missing 1434 deaths Northern Yuan dynasty

See also

References