Aju
Encyclopedia
Aju (1227–1287) was a general and chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...

 of the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...

 and the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...

. He was from the Jarchud clan of the Mongol Uriankhai
Uriankhai
"Uriankhai" , also known as Urianhai or Uryangkhai, is a term applied to several neighboring ethnic groups...

.

His grandfather was Subutai
Subutai
Subutai was the primary military strategist and general of Genghis Khan and Ögedei Khan...

, the honored general and Noyan
Noyan
Noyan, noyon was a title of authority in the Mongol Empire and later periods...

 of Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....

, his father was Uryankhadai.

In 1253 he followed his father and subdued western Chinese people and conquered the Kingdom of Dali
Kingdom of Dali
Dali or Great Li was a Bai kingdom centred in what is now Yunnan Province of China. Established by Duan Siping in 937, it was ruled by a succession of 22 kings until the year 1253, when it was conquered by an invasion of the Mongol Empire. The capital city was at Dali.- History :The Kingdom of...

. Uryankhadai and Aju led 3,000 Mongols and more than 10,000 troops from Dali tribes to northern Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 in 1255. The king of the Tran Dynasty agreed to send tributes after his defeat in open battle; this lasted until the reign of Kublai.

He and his father supported the Great Khan Mongke and Kublai's forces in 1258. Aju commanded a tumen
Tumen
Tumen or Tümen was a part of the decimal system used by Turkic and Mongol peoples to organize their armies. Tumen is an army unit of 10,000 soldiers...

, 10,000 men in his earlier career. They conquered 13 cities within 2 years and destroyed 40,000 troops of the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...

 while his father was ill. After the occupation of Chingzhoua and Yovajiyu, Uryankhadai met prince Kublai at Echjou.

When Kublai succeeded the throne in 1260, Aju stayed in his palace.
The following year, he was ordered to lead Yuan troops in Lianshui (涟水). He crushed Song armies and navies from 1261 to 1275. He captured Fancheng
Fancheng
Fancheng District is a district of Xiangfan, Hubei, China.-History:Fancheng was an ancient Chinese city in Hubei, situated on the northern side of the Han River, opposite Xiangyang on the southern side of the river...

 (樊城) by using Khotan
Khotan
Hotan , or Hetian , also spelled Khotan, is the seat of the Hotan Prefecture in Xinjiang, China. It was previously known in Chinese as 于窴/於窴 and to 19th-century European explorers as Ilchi....

 artillery during the Battle of Xiangyang
Battle of Xiangyang
The Battle of Xiangyang also known as the Battle of Xiangfan was a six-year battle between invading Yuan Dynasty armies founded by the Mongols and Southern Song forces between AD 1267 and 1273. After the battle, the victorious Yuan forces pushed farther into the Song heartland...

 and its governor committed suicide.

In 1276, Aju was appointed to defend Beshbalik from Kaidu
Kaidu
Kaidu was the leader of the House of Ogedei and the de facto khan of the Chagatai Khanate. He ruled part of modern-day Xinjiang and Central Asia during the 13th century, and actively opposed his uncle, Kublai Khan, who established the Yuan Dynasty in China until his death in 1301...

, a grandson of Ogedei. He died after the defeat of prince Sarban, who revolted against his master Kublai, in 1287. But some source mentions he died in route in 1286.
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