The Battle of Kherlen () was a battle between the

Northern Yuan 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 ...

and

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

dynasties that took place at the banks of

Kherlen River Kherlen River (also known as Kern or Kerülen; ; ) is a 1,254 km river in Mongolia and China. Course The river originates in the south slopes of the Khentii mountains, near the Burkhan Khaldun mountain in the Khan Khentii Strictly Protec ...

(Kerulen) in the

Mongolian Plateau The Mongolian Plateau is the part of the Central Asian Plateau lying between 37°46′-53°08′N and 87°40′-122°15′E and having an area of approximately . It is bounded by the Greater Hinggan Mountains in the east, the Yin Mountains to ...

on 23 September 1409. After Bunyashiri had been crowned with the regnal title of Öljei Temür Khan in 1403, 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 ...

sent an envoy to congratulate him and demand his submission in 1409. Öljei Temür Khan detained the Ming envoy to express he was not willing to join the tributary relationship with the Ming dynasty. The leader Arughtai beheaded another envoy of the Yongle Emperor in the same year and declared his allegiance to the Khagan. The Eastern Mongols had been routed to the Kerulen River by recent attacks of the Oyirad Mongols, thus the Yongle Emperor took the opportunity for a

punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beh ...

. He sent a force of 1,000 cavalry against the Eastern Mongols. Lured deep into the Mongolian steppe, the Ming army was completely routed and defeated. The elite Ming General Qiu Fu, with several other commanders, were killed by Arughtai west of Onohu. In the aftermath of this battle, the Yongle Emperor would personally lead a punitive expedition against the Eastern Mongols, annihilating large proportions of their Mongol forces.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Kherlen Kherlen 1409 Kherlen 1409 Kherlen 1409 1409 in Asia 15th century in China Wars involving the Northern Yuan dynasty