Öljei Temür Khan ( ; ), born Bunyashiri (, ), (1379–1412) was a khagan of the

Northern Yuan dynasty The Northern Yuan was a dynastic state 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 people, Jurchen-led ...

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

Borjigin A Borjigin is a member of the Mongol sub-clan that started with Bodonchar Munkhag of the Kiyat clan. Yesugei's descendants were thus said to be Kiyat-Borjigin. The senior Borjigids provided ruling princes for Mongolia and Inner Mongolia u ...

princes, such as

Tokhtamysh Tokhtamysh ( Turki/ Kypchak and Persian: توقتمش; ; ; – 1406) was Khan of the Golden Horde from 1380 to 1395. He briefly succeeded in consolidating the Blue and White Hordes into a single polity. Tokhtamysh belonged to the House of Bo ...

and

Temür Qutlugh Temür Qutlugh or Tīmūr Qutluq ( Kypchak: تمور قوتلق; Turki and Persian: تیمور قتلغ; 1370 – 1399) was Khan of the Golden Horde from 1397 to 1399. Ancestry According to the detailed genealogies of the ''Muʿizz al-ans� ...

, backed by

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

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 (; ) or Oirds ( ; ), formerly known as Eluts and Eleuths ( or ; zh, 厄魯特, ''Èlǔtè'') are the westernmost group of Mongols, whose ancestral home is in the Altai Mountains, Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia. ...

led by Bahamu and Ugetchi Khashikha. Later, Öljei Temür came to Central Asia after 1399. In 1402, Gün Temür Khan was killed by Örüg Temür Khan 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 where

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

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

while he stayed at the court of Timur in

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

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

Kublai Khan Kublai Khan (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 and first emperor of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. He proclaimed the ...

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 The ''History of Ming'' is the final official Chinese history included in the '' Twenty-Four Histories''. It consists of 332 volumes and covers the history of the Ming dynasty from 1368 to 1644. It was written by a number of officials commissio ...

'' says he replaced the Khagan title with a "Tatar Khan", alienating many other Mongol clans that were not "Tatar". Örüg Temür Khan also abolished the name "Great Yuan" (the official name of the former

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

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

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

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 China proper, also called Inner China, are terms used primarily in the West in reference to the traditional "core" regions of China centered in the southeast. The term was first used by Westerners during the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dyn ...

by defeating the Ming Empire, which originally began as rebellions 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 to his side. Arughtai of the Asud acknowledged his

suzerainty A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...

and was made chingsang (grand

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

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

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

line only further strengthened his position: though Örüg Temür Khan declared himself as Khan, his claim was not recognized by most Mongol clans. The Ming court stepped up its

divide and rule The term divide and conquer in politics refers to an entity gaining and maintaining political power by using divisive measures. This includes the exploitation of existing divisions within a political group by its political opponents, and also ...

tactics on

Northern Yuan The Northern Yuan was a dynastic state 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 people, Jurchen-led ...

Mongols by dispatching a

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, 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 2 ...

, 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 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) Wang () is the pinyin romanization of Chinese, romanization of the common Chinese surname (''Wáng''). It has a mixture of various origin with uncertain lineage of family history, however it is c ...

'' (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 ...

king or prince), exacerbating the Mongol–Oirat conflict. Öljei Temür Khan attacked the Four Oirats 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 (2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Chengzu of Ming, personal name Zhu Di, was the third List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 142 ...

of the

Ming Empire The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, ...

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 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 beha ...

of the Ming Empire led by Qiu Fu (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 The Onon is a river in Mongolia and Russia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .Онон

Chagatai Khanate The Chagatai Khanate, also known as the Chagatai Ulus, was a Mongol and later Turkification, Turkicized khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan, second son of Genghis Khan, and his descendants and successors. At its height in the l ...

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oljei Temur Khan 1412 deaths Northern Yuan khans 15th-century Mongol khans 15th-century Chinese monarchs 1379 births Converts to Islam Mongol Empire Muslims