Ukhaatu Khan
Encyclopedia
Toghun Temür also known as Ukhaantu Khan (Mongolian
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...

: Ухаант хаан, ), or Emperor Huizong of Yuan (Chinese
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....

: 元惠宗, May 25, 1320 – May 23, 1370), was a son of Kuśala to rule as Emperor of 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...

, and he is considered as the last Khagan
Khagan
Khagan or qagan , alternatively spelled kagan, khaghan, qaghan, or chagan, is a title of imperial rank in the Mongolian and Turkic languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate...

 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...

. During the last years of his reign, the Mongols lost effective control over China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 to the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

. He was a Buddhist student of Karmapa
Karmapa
The Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyupa , itself one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism....

s and is considered as a previous incarnation of Tai Situpa
Tai Situpa
In Tibetan Buddhism the Tai Situpa is one of the oldest lineages of tulkus in the Kagyu school. According to tradition, the Tai Situpa is an emanation of the bodhisattva Maitreya, who will become the next Buddha, and who has been incarnated as numerous Indian and Tibetan yogins since the time of...

.

Before succession

Toghun Temür was born to Kuśala when he stayed Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

 in evacuation. Toghun Temür's mother was Mailaiti, descendant of Arslan, the chief of the Qarluq
Qarluq
The Karluks were a prominent nomadic Turkic tribe residing in the regions of Kara-Irtysh and the Tarbagatai Mountains west of the Altay Mountains...

 tribe.

Following the civil war broke out after Yesün Temür Khan
Yesün Temür Khan
Yesün Temür was a great-grandson of Kublai Khan to rule as Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty from 1323 to 1328. He is regarded as the 10th Khagan of the Mongols in Mongolia...

's death in 1328, he attended his father Kuśala and entered Shangdu via Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

. But after Kuśala died and Kuśala's younger brother Tugh Temür
Jayaatu Khan
Jayaatu Khan , born Tugh Temür, also known as Emperor Wenzong of Yuan , was an Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, and is regarded as the 12th Great Khan of the Mongols in Mongolia.He first ruled from October 16, 1328 to April 3, 1329,second ruled from September 8, 1329 to September 2,...

 was restored to the throne, he was kept from the court and was banished to Goryeo
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...

 and then to Guangxi. While he was in exile, his stepmother Babusha
Babusha
Empress Babusha was a Chinese Empress consort of the Yuan Dynasty, married to the Khutughtu Khan, Emperor Mingzong of Yuan.- Sources :...

 was executed.

In 1332 when Tugh Temür died, his widow Budashiri Khatun respected his will to make Kuśala's son succeed the throne instead of his son El Tegüs. But it was not Toghun Temür but his younger half-brother Rinchinbal
Rinchinbal Khan
Rinchinbal , also known as Emperor Ningzong of Yuan , was a son of Kuśala who was briefly installed to the throne of the Yuan Dynasty, but died soon after he seized the throne of Great Khan of the Mongols and Emperor of China...

 who became the emperor. Rinchinbal died in two months, and the de facto ruler El Temür attempted to install El Tegüs again, but it was rejected by Budashiri. As a result, Toghun Temür was summoned back from Guangxi.

El Temür feared that Toghun Temür, who was too mature to be a puppet, would take against him since he was suspected of the assassination of Toghun Temür's father Kuśala. The enthronement of Toghun Temür was postponed for six months by El Temür. He managed to succeed to the throne in 1333 when El Temür died.

Struggles during the early reign

Toghun Temür appointed his cousin El Tegüs as Crown Prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....

, and was in ward to El Tegüs's mother Budashiri. But he was controlled by warlords even after El Temür's death. Among them, Bayan
Bayan of the Merkid
Bayan of the Mergid was a Mongol general of the Mergid clan and official in the Yuan Dynasty. At the turn of the 13th/14th centuries he, together with the Turk El Temür, was a member of the group around Qaishan. Qaishan was a nephew of Temür Khan and appointed to defend Mongolia against the...

 became as powerful as El Temür had been. He served as minister of the Secretariat and crushed a rebellion by El Temür's son. During his despotic rule, he made several purges and also suspended the imperial examination
Imperial examination
The Imperial examination was an examination system in Imperial China designed to select the best administrative officials for the state's bureaucracy. This system had a huge influence on both society and culture in Imperial China and was directly responsible for the creation of a class of...

 system.

As Toghun Temür grew, he came to disfavor Bayan's autocratic rule. In 1340 he allied Bayan's nephew Toghtogha, who was in discord with Bayan, and banished Bayan by coup. He also kicked El Tegüs and Budashiri out of the court. He managed to purge officials that had dominated the administration with the help of Toghtogha.

Administrations during the middle reign

With the dismissal of Bayan, Toghtogha seized the power of the court. His first administration clearly exhibited fresh new spirit. The young leader was quick to distinguish his regime as something wholly different from Bayan's. A new reign title
Chinese era name
A Chinese era name is the regnal year, reign period, or regnal title used when traditionally numbering years in an emperor's reign and naming certain Chinese rulers . Some emperors have several era names, one after another, where each beginning of a new era resets the numbering of the year back...

 Zhizheng was decreed to show this. Bayan's purges were called off. Many of the great Chinese literati came back to the capital from voluntary retirement or from administrative exile. Also, the imperial examination system was restored.

Toghtogha also gave a few early signs of a new and positive direction in central government. One of his successful projects was to finish the long-stalled official histories of the Liao
Liao Dynasty
The Liao Dynasty , also known as the Khitan Empire was an empire in East Asia that ruled over the regions of Manchuria, Mongolia, and parts of northern China proper between 9071125...

, Jin and Song
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...

 dynasties, which were eventually completed in 1345.

Yet, Toghtogha resigned his office with the approval of Toghun Temür in June 1344, which marked the end of his first administration. The several short-lived administrations that followed from 1344 and 1349 would develop an agenda very different from Toghtogha's. In 1347 Toghun Temür drove him into Gangsu with assistance from former officers of Kuśala and Yesün Temür
Yesün Temür Khan
Yesün Temür was a great-grandson of Kublai Khan to rule as Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty from 1323 to 1328. He is regarded as the 10th Khagan of the Mongols in Mongolia...

. But he called Toghtogha back in 1349, which began Toghtogha's second, and a different-styled administration.

Disorder during the late reign

Since the late 1340s, people in the countryside suffered from frequent natural disasters; droughts, floods and the ensuing famines. The government's lack of effective policy led to a loss of the support from people. Illicit salt dealers who were disaffected with the government's salt monopoly raised a rebellion in 1348. It triggered many revolts around the empire. Among them, the Red Turban Rebellion
Red Turban Rebellion
The Red Turban Rebellion was an uprising much influenced by the White Lotus Society members that targeted the ruling Yuan Dynasty.- Causes :...

, which started in 1351, grew into a nationwide turmoil.

In 1354, when Toghtogha led a large army to crush the Red Turban rebels, Toghun Temür suddenly dismissed him for fear of betrayal. It resulted in Toghun Temür's restoration of power on the one hand and a rapid weakening of the central government on the other. He had no choice but to rely on local warlords' military.

He gradually lost his interest in politics and ceased to intervene political struggles. His son Ayushiridar, who became Crown Prince in 1353, attempted to seize power and came to conflict with Toghun Temür's aides who dominated politics instead of the khan. Chief Khatun Öljei Khutugh
Qi Empress
Qi Empress was one of empresses of Toghun Temür Khan of the Yuan Dynasty and the mother of Ayushiridar....

 and his minister persuaded Ayushiridar to overthrow the latter. Toghun Temür was unable to conciliate the dispute but executed the minister. In 1364 the Shangxi-based warlord Bolad Temür occupied Dadu
Khanbaliq
Khanbaliq or Dadu refers to a city which is now Beijing, the current capital of the People's Republic of China...

 and expelled the Crown Prince from the winter base. In alliance with the Henan-based warlord Köke Temür
Köke Temür
Köke Temür , also known as Wang Baobao , was a Han-Naiman general of the Yuan Dynasty. His mother was the daughter of a Mongolian prince while his father was an ethnic Han Chinese with the surname Wang. Before he was given the Mongolian name by the Yuan court in the early 1360s, he was known by his...

, Ayushiridar defeated Bolad Temür in the next year. This internal struggle resulted in further weakening of political and military power of the central government.

Relations with other nations

Holy See

Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII , born Jacques Duèze , was pope from 1316 to 1334. He was the second Pope of the Avignon Papacy , elected by a conclave in Lyon assembled by Philip V of France...

 and Pope Benedict XII
Pope Benedict XII
Pope Benedict XII , born Jacques Fournier, the third of the Avignon Popes, was Pope from 1334 to 1342.-Early life:...

 successfully extended a network of Catholic churches all over the Mongol Empire, from the Crimean peninsula to China between 1317 and 1343. The archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

 of Khanbaligh, John of Montecorvino
John of Montecorvino
John of Montecorvino or Giovanni da Montecorvino in Italian was an Italian Franciscan missionary, traveler and statesman, founder of the earliest Roman Catholic missions in India and China, and archbishop of Peking, and Latin Patriarch of the Orient.-Biography:John was born at Montecorvino...

, died in 1328. With the backing of the Khagan and last Yuan Emperor, Toghan-Temur, the Alans
Asud
Asud were a guard and military group of Alani origin. The Mongol clan Asud is the plural of As, the Arabic name for the Alans.After the Mongol invasion of Rus, many Alans submitted to the Mongol Empire. Some of them resisted the Golden Horde longer. Many warriors moved from Northern Caucasia to...

 wrote to Pope Benedict XII in 1336 asking for a new metropolitan. In 1338, the pope sent back the embassy headed by John of Marignolli who spent 3 years in China. They brought the gifts included the fine European horse to Toghan-Temur.

Delhi Sultanate

In around 1338, Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq
Muhammad bin Tughluq
Muhammad bin Tughluq was the Turkic Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351. He was the eldest son of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq.He was born in Kotla Tolay Khan in Multan. His wife was daughter of the raja of Dipalpur...

 of Delhi Sultanate
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...

 appointed Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

 traveller Ibn Battuta
Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta , or simply Ibn Battuta, also known as Shams ad–Din , was a Muslim Moroccan Berber explorer, known for his extensive travels published in the Rihla...

 an ambassador to the Yuan court of Togan Temur in China. The gifts he was to take included 200 Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 slaves. On the Doab plain they were attacked by Hindu insurgents; the imperial cavalry killed all 4,000 of them while losing 78 men, according to Battuta, who was separated, captured, and barely escaped being killed by brigands. Battuta also luckily escaped to China. However, he said when he came to China, the Qaghan was dead. It is not appropriate because Toghan Temur died in 1370.

Japan

When the Koreans captured the spying fish ship from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, the Goryeo court sent it to their overlord, Toghan-Temur. Toghan Temur sent the Japanese fishers back to Japan. In reply, the Ashikaga shogunate
Ashikaga shogunate
The , also known as the , was a Japanese feudal military regime, ruled by the shoguns of the Ashikaga clan.This period is also known as the Muromachi period and gets its name from Muromachi Street of Kyoto where the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu established his residence...

 sent an embassy Monk expressing its thankfulness.

Retreat to the north

Unifying rebel groups in Southern China and establishing the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

, Zhu Yuanzhang conducted military expeditions to Northern China and defeated the Yuan army in 1368. When Köke Temür lost battles against Ming General Xu Da
Xu Da
Xu Da was a Chinese military general who lived in the early Ming Dynasty and contributed to the founding of the dynasty. Apart from being a friend of the Hongwu Emperor, founding emperor of the dynasty, Xu was also the father of Empress Xu, who would marry the third ruler of the Ming, the Yongle...

 and the Ming troops approached Hebei, Toghun Temür gave up Dadu and fled to the summer base Shangdu.

In 1369 when Shangdu also fell under the Ming's occupation, Toghun Temür fled northward to Yingchang
Yingchang
Yingchang was one of the important cities in the Yuan Dynasty. It was situated on Lake Taal in modern Inner Mongolia.The city of Yinchang was built by the Qongirat Mongols in 1271. The city was the administrative seat of the Mongol prince of Lu...

, which was located in present-day Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...

. He died there in 1370, and his son Ayushiridara succeeded to the throne and retreated to Karakorum
Karakorum
Karakorum was the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, and of the Northern Yuan in the 14-15th century. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Övörkhangai Province of Mongolia, near today's town of Kharkhorin, and adjacent to the Erdene Zuu monastery...

 in present-day Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

 in the same year. The Yuan remnants ruled Mongolia and continued to claim the title of Emperor of China
Emperor of China
The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven , a title that predates the Qin unification, the...

. It was called the Northern Yuan by Chinese and Mongols.

At the time of his death, the Mongolia-based empire maintained its influence, stretching the domination from the Sea of Japan
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...

 to Altai Mountains. There were also pro-Yuan, anti-Ming forces in Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...

 and Guizhou
Guizhou
' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :...

. Even though its control over China had not been stable yet, the Ming considered that the Yuan lost the Mandate of Heaven
Mandate of Heaven
The Mandate of Heaven is a traditional Chinese philosophical concept concerning the legitimacy of rulers. It is similar to the European concept of the divine right of kings, in that both sought to legitimaze rule from divine approval; however, unlike the divine right of kings, the Mandate of...

 when it abandoned Dadu, and that the Yuan was overthrown in 1368. The Ming did not treat Toghun Temür after 1368 and his successor Ayushiridar as legitimate emperors.

The Ming gave Toghun Temür the posthumous name Shundi (順帝), which implied that he followed the Mandate of Heaven ceded emperorship to the Ming. But the Northern Yuan gave their own posthumous name Xuanren Pu Xiao Huangdi (宣仁普孝皇帝) and temple name Huizong (惠宗) to him.

Even after Toghun Temür, there was still Yuan resistance to the Ming in the south. In southwestern China, Basalawarmi
Basalawarmi
Basalawarmi , commonly known by his hereditary title, the Prince of Liang, was a descendant of Kublai Khan and a Yuan Dynasty loyalist who fought against the ascendant Ming Dynasty in China.-Before the fall of the Yuan:...

, the self-styled "Prince of Liang", established a Yuan resistance movement in Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...

 and Guizhou
Guizhou
' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :...

 that was not put down until 1381.

Legacy

Mongolian chronicles such as the Erdeni-yin tobchi include a poem known as the Lament of Toghun Temür. It deals with his grieving after the loss of Dadu.

Depiction in art and media

  • The Korean TV drama
    Korean drama
    Korean drama refers to televised dramas, in a miniseries format, produced in the Korean language. Many of these dramas have become popular throughout Asia and have contributed to the general phenomenon of the Korean wave, known as "Hallyu", and also "Drama Fever" in some countries...

     Shin Don.
  • The film entitled "A Frozen Flower
    A Frozen Flower
    A Frozen Flower is a 2008 South Korean film. It is directed by Yoo Ha and stars Zo In Sung, Ju Jin-mo and Song Ji-hyo. The historical film is set Goryeo Dynasty and is loosely based on the reign of Gongmin of Goryeo , but it does not strictly comply with historical facts...

    " features a depiction of Ukhaantu Khan issuing a decree to the Korean King.
  • Chuanqi Huangdi Zhu Yuanzhang
    Chuanqi Huangdi Zhu Yuanzhang
    Chuanqi Huangdi Zhu Yuanzhang is a 2006 Chinese television series based on the life story of Zhu Yuanzhang, founding emperor of the Chinese Ming Dynasty.-Cast:*Chen Baoguo as Zhu Yuanzhang*Xu Fan as Empress Ma*Hou Tianlai as Hu Weiyong...

  • Founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty
    Founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty
    Founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty is a 2006 Chinese television series based on the biography of Zhu Yuanzhang, founding emperor of the Chinese Ming Dynasty.-Plot:...

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