Biligtü Khan ( Mongolian: Билэгт;

Mongolian script The classical or traditional Mongolian script, also known as the , was the first writing system created specifically for the Mongolian language, and was the most widespread until the introduction of Cyrillic in 1946. It is traditionally writte ...

: ; ) or the Emperor Zhaozong of Northern Yuan (), born Ayushiridara ( mn, Аюушридар ; ; sa, आयुष्य तल् means preservative of life), (23 January 1340 – April or May 1378) was an emperor 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 1370 to 1378. He ascended to the throne after the death of his father who was the last Yuan emperor. In 1372, he defeated an invading

Ming 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 ...

army and recaptured some regions that were previously lost to the newly founded Ming dynasty.

Early life

Ayushiridara was born in 1340 the eldest son of

Toghon Temür Toghon Temür ( mn, Тогоонтөмөр; Mongolian script: ; ; 25 May 1320 – 23 May 1370), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Huizong of Yuan () bestowed by the Northern Yuan dynasty and by his posthumous ...

(Emperor Shun of Yuan) and Lady Gi, who came from a lower-ranked aristocratic family who would eventually be highly influential during a period in her husband's reign. He was given his earliest tuition in Chinese at the house of his father's minister, Toqto'a, at age ten. Toghon Temür's principal empress, Danashiri, bore only one son who died in infancy. The Mongol

noyan ''Noyan'' (pl. noyad), or ''Toyon'', was a Central Asian title of authority which was used to refer to civil-military leaders of noble ancestry in the Central Asian Turkic Khanates with origins in ''Noyon'', which was used as a title of autho ...

s mostly preferred another Borjigin (Mongol noble) heir, rather than Ayushiridara, as his mother was a former palace maid and tea server. Only after the purge of Danashiri's family and the death of Bayan, were he and his mother accepted at the Yuan court. Induced by his Korean empress, Lady Gi, the Yuan emperor Toghon Temür scheduled to elect his

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

in 1353. However, Toqto'a delayed the schedule for some unknown reason. This aroused the anger of the latter's political enemies. The chief minister and his former protégé,

Hama , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , ar ...

of the "Qangli", and Ayushiridara, with the support of his mother, the Empress, Lady Gi, accused Toqto'a of corruption and violation of law while he was fighting the

Red Turban Rebellion The Red Turban Rebellions () were uprisings against the Yuan dynasty between 1351 and 1368, eventually leading to its collapse. Remnants of the Yuan imperial court retreated northwards and is thereafter known as the Northern Yuan in historiogr ...

in 1354. This situation halted Toqto'a, who had been successful in defeating the rebellion, and he was stripped of his dignities and sent to Hoai-nan into exile. Hama was made first minister and all power was then in his hands. Elated by this success, Hama decided to raise Ayushiridara to the throne. This plot was discovered, Hama was sentenced to exile and strangled by his enemies there in 1356, and Ayushiridara was pardoned. When he became crown prince in 1353, it caused internal strife between his supporters and opponents. Seven years later he and Lady Gi wished the first minister, Tai ping, to convince the

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 ...

to resign and leave Ayushiridara dominion. When Tai ping refused, they poisoned the minister's partisans and forced him to resign. Power passed to 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 ...

, Papuhwa, and to Cho Sekin, two weak men. An opposition leader, Bolad-Temür, occupied the capital in 1364. Ayushiridara was ordered back by his father to Dadu. Feeling himself not powerful enough to resist Bolad-Temür's large army, Ayushiridara fled to the Yuan general,

Köke Temür Köke Temür (; Mongolian: ᠬᠥᠬᠡᠲᠡᠮᠦᠷ, Köketemür, Хөхтөмөр; died 1375), sinicized name Wang Baobao (), was a prominent general of the Yuan dynasty of China. History He was born in Henan province. His paternal line orig ...

. When Bolad-Temür learned that Ayushiridara was advancing with troops, he arrested Lady Gi and forced her to recall her son to the capital. However, Bolad-Temür's commanders deserted to Köke Temür. Toghon Temür secretly ordered Ho chang, son of the prince of Wei chun, to murder Bolad-Temür. After the latter's death, Köke Temür defeated Bolad-Temür's commander Tukiel in 1365. Ayushiridara forced Köke Temür to persuade the Emperor to resign in his favor. The Emperor was unwilling to abdicate, but he appointed his son lieutenant in the Yuan. Köke Temür tried to prevent it, but failed and was stripped of his dignities. In 1368 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 ...

was overthrown by 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 Toghon Temür Khan and his family fled north to

Shangdu Shangdu (, ), also known as Xanadu (; Mongolian: ''Šandu''), was the summer capital of the Yuan dynasty of China before Kublai decided to move his throne to the former Jin dynasty capital of Zhōngdū () which was renamed Khanbaliq ( presen ...

from Dadu. In 1370 Toghon Temür died in

Yingchang Yingchang () was one of the important cities in the Yuan dynasty. It was situated on Lake Taal Nor in modern Heshigten Banner, Inner Mongolia, China. The city of Yingchang was built by the Khongirad Mongols in 1271, the same year that Kublai (Em ...

. The Ming army captured the city and relatives and Maidarbal, a son of Ayushiridara who escaped safely to

Karakorum Karakorum (Khalkha Mongolian: Хархорум, ''Kharkhorum''; Mongolian Script:, ''Qaraqorum''; ) was the capital of the Mongol Empire between 1235 and 1260 and of the Northern Yuan dynasty in the 14–15th centuries. Its ruins lie in the ...

where he was officially enthroned as Khagan 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 ...

with the Mongolian title of Biligtü (Intelligent).

Reign

Shortly after the succession, he fled to

and he changed the era name to Xuanguang (宣光, 1371–1378) there. Biligtü Khan made Köke Temür his commander in chief and chingsang of the right hand of the Central Government. The Yuan remnants in Mongolia homeland, known as the

, still remained overall a strong power during his reign. Its dominions covered the areas from

Northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of t ...

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...

demanded Biligtü Khan Ayushiridara to give up his arms several times but failed. In 1372, the former dispatched the Ming army of 150,000 men to

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

. Biligtü Khan sent Köke Temür's army against the central division of the Ming army under

Xu Da Xu Da (1332–1385), courtesy name Tiande, was a Chinese military general and politician who lived in the late Yuan dynasty and early Ming dynasty. He was a friend of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder and first ruler of the Ming dynasty, and assist ...

. Xu Da's troops reached

Tuul River , , "to wade through" , nickname = Queen Tuul , image = Tuul River Mongolia.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Tuul flowing through the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park , map = Toula (riv ...

within 20 days. However, they were routed and their commander barely escaped with a few of his men. The eastern division of the Ming army advanced to

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 Protected ...

, pillaging the Mongolian camps en route. They were suddenly defeated and forced to retreat to Orkhon where another bloody battle ensued. After that they fought the Mongol army under Halajchani and was finally defeated near Karakorum. The western division of the Ming army was forced to retreat due to other divisions' failures, though, they won a series of places. Ayushiridara asked the assistance from the Yuan's former

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

Gongmin of Goryeo Gongmin of Goryeo (23 May 1330 – 27 October 1374), also known by his Mongolian language, Mongolian name, Bayan Temür., was 31st ruler of Goryeo from 1351 to 1374. He was the second son of Chungsuk of Goryeo, King Chungsuk. Biography Early ...

to fight against the Ming dynasty of China. In his letter to Gongmin, Biligtü Khan says: ''"...Oh king, you are a descendant 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 , ...

same as me. Therefore, we wish you to work with us to establish justice and truth under the

heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

...''" On the contrary, King Gongmin refused to help and started an opposition policy against the Mongols, and retook their lands, which were annexed by the Yuan dynasty in the 1270s. Hong Ryun and Choe Mansaeng killed Gongmin in 1374. Yi Inim killed them and sent envoys to the Mongols in

Liaoyang Liaoyang () is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is home to Liaoning University's College of Fo ...

and Biligtü Khan quickly recognized the legitimacy of

King U U of Goryeo (25 July 1365 – 31 December 1389) ruled Goryeo (Korea) as the 32nd king from 1374 until 1388. He was the only son of King Gongmin. Cultural background In the thirteenth century, Mongol forces had invaded China and established the ...

, puppet of Yi Inim. Biligtü Khan asked Goryeo to send troops for a joint attack against the Ming fortress. The Goryeo court cautiously refused to help again. The Mongols conquered Funin and Suijin districts in Sinhe, Liaoning and Hebei provinces in 1373, cutting the Ming from Liaodong.Svystunova N.P.-Organizatsiya progranichnoy slujbi na sever Kitay v epohu Ming: Kitay i Sosedi, p. 180. In 1375,

Naghachu Naghachu ( mn, Naγaču, script=Latn; ; d. 1388), also written as Nahacu, was an ethnic Mongol leader and general of the Northern Yuan in Manchuria, which was under Liaoyang province of the former Yuan dynasty. Originally a Yuan official, he had wo ...

, a Mongol official in

Liaoyang province Manchuria under Yuan rule refers to the Yuan dynasty's rule over Manchuria, corresponding to modern Northeast China and Outer Manchuria (including Sakhalin), from 1271 to 1368. Mongol rule over Manchuria was established after the Mongol Empire's ...

invaded the

Liaodong Peninsula The Liaodong Peninsula (also Liaotung Peninsula, ) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located between the mouths of the Daliao River (the ...

with aims of restoring the Mongols to power and succeeded with the support of the pro-Mongol

Jurchens Jurchen (Manchu language, Manchu: ''Jušen'', ; zh, 女真, ''Nǚzhēn'', ) is a term used to collectively describe a number of East Asian people, East Asian Tungusic languages, Tungusic-speaking peoples, descended from the Donghu people. They ...

. The Ming ceased its raids into the Northern Yuan. Biligtü Khan's greatest general, Köke Temür, died in 1375. Biligtü Khan Ayushiridara died in 1378 and his half-brother, Tögüs Temür, succeeded to the throne.

In popular culture

*Portrayed by Seo Sung-kwang, Kim Jong-ho, and Lee Poong-woon in the 2005–2006 MBC TV series ''

Shin Don Sin Don (신돈, 辛旽; 21 January 1322 – 21 August 1371) was a Korean Buddhist monk and scholar during the Goryeo Dynasty; His Dharma name was Pyeonjo and became a teacher and advisor of Gongmin of Goryeo. Summary He was a Buddhist monk. H ...

''. *Portrayed by Kim Jin-woo and Lee Shi-woo in the 2013-2014 MBC TV series '' Empress Ki''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Biligtu, Emperor Zhaozong Of Northern Yuan 1338 births 1378 deaths Yuan dynasty emperors Northern Yuan rulers 14th-century Mongol rulers 14th-century Chinese monarchs

Early life

Reign

In popular culture

See also

References