Öljei Temür Khan

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Öljei Temür Khan
Birth and death: Unknown–1412¹
Family name: Clan Name (Obogh)
Borjigin
Khalkha Mongolian: Боржигин
Chinese: 孛兒只斤
Given name: Temür
Төмөр
Chinese: 本雅失里
Dates of reign: 1400–1412
Dynasty: Northern Yuan (北元)
Era name: None
Era dates: 1403–1412²
Temple name: None
Posthumous name:
(short) 		 None
Posthumous name:
(full) 		 None Given
General note: Dates given here are in the Julian calendar.
They are not in the proleptic Gregorian calendar.

Öljei Temür Khan (Bunyashiri) of Northern Yuan (? - 1412), was the Mongol Khan of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia. Öljei Temür Khan (Bunyashiri) was the son of Elbeg Nigülesügchi Khan, Emperor Dagu of Northern Yuan, and ruled from 1403 to 1412. In 1402, his older brother, Gün Temür Khan, Emperor Shuntian of Northern Yuan was killed by Örüg Temür Khan (Guilichi) in the struggle for the crown.

However, Örüg Temür Khan (Guilichi)’s victory was short lived when he made several grave miscalculation. The first was when he replaced Mongol Khan with Tartar Khan, alienating many other Mongol clans that were not Tartar. The second one was that Örüg Temür Khan (Guilichi) abolished the name Yuan Dynasty, because he needed to show Ming Dynasty friendly gesture as Ming’s subordinate 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 by defeating Ming Dynasty, which originally begun as rebellions of Yuan Dynasty.

Taking the opportunity, Öljei Temür Khan (Bunyashiri) of Northern Yuan declared himself as the Great Khan in 1403 and most Mongol clans soon rallied on his side. Öljei Temür Khan (Bunyashiri) of Northern Yuan’s direct linkage of Kublai Khan line only further strengthened his position: though Örüg Temür Khan (Guilichi) declared himself as Khan, his claim was not recognized by most Mongol clans. Örüg Temür Khan (Guilichi) was soon defeated and although Guilichi’s son continued to carry on the struggle for the position of the Great Khan all the way till his death in 1425, they were never be able to pose any serious threat to Öljei Temür Khan (Bunyashiri) of Northern Yuan’s force, whose main enemy was Ming Dynasty.

After decisively defeating the Ming army, the enraged Yongle Emperor gathered a half a million strong force to launch a decisive campaign against Öljei Temür Khan (Bunyashiri) of Northern Yuan, in which Ming army won a sounding victory by nearly completely wiping out the entire Mongol force that numbered more than a hundred thousands in 1410: Öljei Temür Khan (Bunyashiri) of Northern Yuan was barely able to escape with his life with only seven cavalries while all the rest were lost. He was trying to reach eastern Chagatai Khanate where he was grown up. Capitalizing on the Öljei Temür Khan (Bunyashiri) of Northern Yuan’s mistake, the Oirats killed him in 1412. The death of Öljei Temür Khan (Bunyashiri) marked the discontinuation of Kublai Khan line, and the position of Great Khan remained vacant for years as different Mongol clans fought each other for dominance.

Öljei Temür Khan
Died: 1412
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Gün Temür Khan, Emperor Shuntian		 Khan of the Mongols
1403 - 1412		 Succeeded by
Delbeg Khan (Dalbag)
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
Gün Temür Khan, Emperor Shuntian		 — TITULAR —
Emperor of Yuan Dynasty
1403-1412
Reason for succession failure:
Ming Dynasty overthrew the Yuan Dynasty in 1368		 Succeeded by
Delbeg Khan (Dalbag)
Yongle Emperor of Ming Dynasty wielded actual authority over China