Friday, September 5, 2008

Yesun Temur Khan, Emperor Taiding of Yuan

Yesün Temür Khan was the Emperor of China and ruled as emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, khanate of Mongol Empire who reigned from 1323 to 1328. In Chinese, he is known as the Taiding Emperor from his era's name. It is likely that he was the Khan visited by the Franciscan monk Odoric, who left an excellent record of his travels.

He was born in Mongolia in 1293 to , the eldest son of Crown Prince Jinggim, who was presumed heir to his father Khubilai Khan. Kamala was appointed as Jinong in 1292 after Jinggim's death, but he lost the race for successor to his younger brother . Khanship was assumed by Temür, Darmabala and their sons and grandson, so Kamala and his son Yesün Temür were out of the race. As Jinong, Kamala owned Mongolia north of the Gobi Desert and enshrined Genghis Khan in the . In 1302 Kamala died and Yesün Temür took over as Jinong.

In 1323 when was assassinated by Grand Censor Tegshi, Yesün Temür was backed up by the rebellious group since he was mothered by Buyan Kelmish of the Khunggirad clan. In response he ascended to the throne at the great ordo of Genghis Khan in Mongolia. But he sent troops to Dadu and executed rebellious officers before he entered Dadu because he feared to become a puppet of them.

He did nothing significant for his five year reign. He left the empire's governance to his Muslim aide Dawlat Shah. He suddenly died in Shangdu in 1328. His son Ragibagh was installed by Dawlat Shah but was defeated by his rival in a year.

No comments: