Öljei Temür Khan ( mn, Өлзийтөмөр хаан ; ), born Bunyashiri (, sa, प्रज्ञाश्री), (1379–1412) was a khagan 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 ...

, reigning from 1408 to 1412. He was a son of Elbeg Nigülesügchi Khan and successor of

Gün Temür Khan Gün Temür ( mn, Гүнтөмөр; Mongolian script: ; ), regnal name Toqoqan Khan ( mn, Тогоон хаан; ), (1377–1402) was a khagan of the Northern Yuan dynasty, reigning from 1400 to 1402. ''Erdeniin Tobchi'' claimed that Gün Temür w ...

. He was one of 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 ...

princes, such as Tokhtamysh and Temür Qutlugh, backed by

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...

to seize the throne.

Early life

Tsagaan Sechen tells that Bunyashiri (Buyanshir) was born in 1379. Twenty years after his birth, his father, Elbeg, was murdered by the

Oirats 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. Histor ...

led by Bahamu and Guilichi. In 1402,

was killed by

Örüg Temür Khan Örüg Temür Khan ( mn, Ёлтөмөр хаан ; ), possibly Gulichi (; Mongolian: ''γuyilinči''), (1379–1408) was a khagan of the Northern Yuan dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1408. Örüg Temür ( fa, اروک تیمور) in historical mat ...

or Guilichi in the struggle for the crown.

Conversion to Islam

Due to internal struggles of the Mongols, the infant prince, Bunyashiri, fled to

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 ...

where

's governor stationed. Timur ordered his governor to receive him kindly. Bunyashiri converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

while he stayed at the court of Timur in

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

, thus making Öljei Temür Khan one of the very notable converts to Islam from the house of

Kublai Khan Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of th ...

Abolishing the "Great Yuan" dynastic title by Guilichi

However, Örüg Temür Khan or Guilichi's victory was short-lived when he made several grave miscalculations. The '' History of Ming'' claimed he replaced the Khagan title with a “Tatar Khan”, alienating many other Mongol clans that were not “Tatar”. And

also abolished the name "Great Yuan" (the official name of the former

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 ...

), because he needed to show friendly and subordinating gestures towards 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 ...

so that he could consolidate his power and conquer other Mongol clans. This move was totally unacceptable to most if not all Mongols who wanted to recover their former glory and retake China proper by defeating the Ming Empire, which originally began as

rebellions Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

against the Yuan.

Rise of Bunyashiri

Taking the opportunity, Bunyashiri declared himself the new Khan with the title of Öljei Temür (Өлзий төмөр) at Beshbalik in 1403 and most Mongol clans soon rallied on his side.

Arughtai Arughtai, also known as Alutai (; d. 1434), was a chingsang of the Northern Yuan dynasty who fought against the Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty and the Four Oirats. According to the Mongolian and Chinese chronicles, there are similar named figu ...

of the Asud acknowledged his

suzerainty Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...

and was made chingsang (grand

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

) to him. Oljei Temür Khan Bunyashiri's direct linkage of

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...

line only further strengthened his position: though

declared himself as Khan, his claim was not recognized by most Mongol clans. The Ming court stepped up its divide and rule tactics on Northern Yuan Mongols by dispatching a

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

, Wan An, to help Bunyashiri. Örüg Temür Khan Guilichi was soon defeated and although Guilichi's son continued to carry on the struggle for the position of the khan all the way till his death in 1425, they were never be able to pose any serious threat to Bunyashiri's force, whose main enemy was the Ming Empire. In 1409, the Ming court bestowed upon the Oirat leaders the title of ''

wang Wang may refer to: Names * Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname * Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname * Titles in Chinese nobility * A title in Korean nobility * A title in Mongolian nobility Places * Wang River in Thailand ...

'' (王;

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

king or prince), exacerbating the Mongol-Oirat conflict. Öljei Temür Khan attacked 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 ...

and failed to subjugate his stubborn subjects. After hearing of a new

ruler consolidating his power over the Mongols, 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 Empire demanded Öljei Temür Khan to submit. The Mongol court decided to decline it and detained the Ming envoy. Arughtai executed another Ming envoy in 1409. A punitive expedition of the Ming Empire led by

Qiu Fu Qiu may refer to: *Qiū (surname), Chinese surnames *Qiú (surname), Chinese surnames *Qiu County, in Hebei, China *Kǒng Qiū (), better known as Confucius *''Qiu!'', a 2005 album by the ambient post-rock band Windsor Airlift {{disambig ...

(丘福) was crushed and the general and several other commanders lost their lives at the hand of Arughtai on 23 September, 1409.

War against Ming dynasty

In response to the defeat of the Ming forces led by Qiu Fu, the enraged Yongle Emperor gathered a half-a-million-strong force to launch a decisive campaign against Öljei Temür Khan Bunyashiri. Before the battle, Öljei Temür Khan and Arughtai could not agree on a plan of action and simply moved in different directions. Arughtai decided to withdraw to the east of Mongolia while Öljei Temür Khan Bunyashiri headed west and set up his ordo (palace) on the banks of the Onon River. He was suddenly forced to accept a battle in which the Ming army won a resounding victory by nearly completely wiping out his entire army on 15 June 1410. Öljei Temür Khan Bunyashiri was barely able to escape with his life with only seven horsemen and his son while all the rest were lost. He was trying to reach the Chagatai Khanate where he grew up. Capitalizing on the Khan's mistake, the Oirat leader, Mahamud, killed him in 1412 and installed his own puppet khan, Delbeg (or Dalbag), on the throne in 1413.Edward L. Dreyer-Early Ming China: a political history, 1355–1435, p. 178. The death of Öljei Temür Khan Bunyashiri marked the temporary decline of the

line, and different Mongol clans fought each other for dominance.

References