Ananda (, mn, ) was an imperial prince 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 ...

of China. He was descended from

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 , ...

, as the grandson 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 ...

, and son of

Manggala Manggala (; , ) was a prince of the Mongol-led Chinese Yuan dynasty. He was a son of the Yuan founding emperor Kublai Khan. Biography Manggala was born around 1242 to Kublai Khan and his principal wife Chabi as their third son. He was created ...

, the third son of Kublai. He held the noble title of King of Anxi (安西王). Ananda was a devoted

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. According to Persian historian

Rashid-al-Din Hamadani Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb ( fa, رشیدالدین طبیب;‎ 1247–1318; also known as Rashīd al-Dīn Faḍlullāh Hamadānī, fa, links=no, رشیدالدین فضل‌الله همدانی) was a statesman, historian and physician in Ilk ...

, he was raised by a Muslim from

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

whose name was Hassan. Under the influence of his step-father, Ananda became a Muslim.

Temür Khan Öljeytü Khan ( Mongolian: Өлзийт; Mongolian script: '; ), born Temür ( mn, Төмөр ; ; October 15, 1265 – February 10, 1307), also known as Emperor Chengzong of Yuan () by his temple name ''Chengzong'', was the second emperor of th ...

of China, the cousin of Ananda, tried to convert Ananda to Buddhism after discovering that Ananda was promulgating Islam in northwestern China where his fief was located. The prince's action was seen as unorthodox since most of the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

were affiliated with Buddhism. However,

Ghazan Khan Mahmud Ghazan (5 November 1271 – 11 May 1304) (, Ghazan Khan, sometimes archaically spelled as Casanus by the Westerners) was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of A ...

of Persia, another member of Genghis Khan's family, converted to Islam as well. Ananda mentioned Ghazan upon being called to the court. Temür was not able to change the mind of Ananda and decided to tolerate his practice of religion. The father of Ananda was enfeoffed with the Hexi Region,

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

, and

Sichuan Province Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

. The broad fief made Ananda a competitive player in the politics of China. He gathered his army under his tent and converted his soldiers to Islam. The location of Ananda's throne was in the Liupan mountains of northwestern China where Genghis Khan spent his final days. The official title of Ananda was King of Anxi. In 1295, Ananda was in charge of the defense against

Kaidu Kaidu (Middle Mongol: , Modern Mongol: / , ; ; c. 1230 – 1301) was a grandson of the Mongol khagan Ögedei (1185–1241) and thus leader of the House of Ögedei and the ''de facto'' khan of the Chagatai Khanate, a division of the Mongol Em ...

's invasion of Yuan China.New History of Yuan,vol.114 After the death of Temür Khan, Ananda aimed his goal at seizing the throne of China. He was appointed the regent of China with the support of Aqutai, the left chancellor. However, his ambition was disillusioned by

Külüg Khan Külüg Khan ( Mongolian: Хүлэг; Mongolian script: ; ), born Khayishan (Mongolian: Хайсан ; , mn, Хайсан, meaning "wall"), also known by the temple name Wuzong (Emperor Wuzong of Yuan; ) (August 4, 1281 – January 27, 1311), P ...

and right chancellor Qarahesun in the year 1307. In the same year, he was executed by Külüg. Ananda's scheme of usurpation, at first glance, was prevented by Külüg. However, according to the ''

History of Yuan The ''History of Yuan'' (''Yuán Shǐ''), also known as the ''Yuanshi'', is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the ''Twenty-Four Histories'' of China. Commissioned by the court of the Ming dynasty, in accordance to political ...

'',

Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan ( Mongolian: Буянт хаан; Mongolian script: ; ), born Ayurbarwada (Mongolian: Аюурбарбад ; ), also known by the temple name Renzong (Emperor Renzong of Yuan (Chinese: 元仁宗, April 9, 1285 – March 1, 1320), was ...

, younger brother of Külüg, came to

Khanbaliq Khanbaliq or Dadu of Yuan () was the winter capital of the Yuan dynasty of China in what is now Beijing, also the capital of the People's Republic of China today. It was located at the center of modern Beijing. The Secretariat directly administ ...

before Ananda took power and imprisoned him. After his defeat and death, the Muslim population under his rule remained and became one of the main sources of

Hui Chinese The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...

. His enthusiasm in Islam also made it one of the most important religions in northwestern China. Ananda had a son,

Yerutömör Yerutömör (, mn, Ерүтөмөр) was a prince of the Yuan dynasty of China. He was the third and last king of Anxi. His father was Ananda. By blood, he was the great grandson of Kublai Khan. Yerutömör participated in the assassination of t ...

who inherited his title and became King of Anxi.

References

{{reflist Borjigin 1307 deaths Executed Yuan dynasty people

See also

References