:: wikimiki.org ::

Küsala Khan

Küsala Khan

Khutughtu Khan (Classical Mongolian: Qutuɤtu qaɤan; Khalkha Mongolian: Хутагт хаан Hutagt haan), born Kuśala (Qošila, Küsala, Küsele, Хѳслэн Höslen), was the 12th grand-khan of the Mongol Empire (Dai-ön Ulus/Yuan Dynasty). He was the eldest son of Khayishan Külüg Khan. Since the Khayishan administration was founded on the unstable balance between Khayishan, his younger brother Ayurbarwada and their mother Dagi of the Khunggirad clan, Khayishan appointed Ayurbarwada as Crown Prince on the condition that he would pass the status to Kuśala after succession. However, when Khayishan suddenly died and Ayurbarwada succeeded to the throne in 1311, Dagi, Temüder and other members of the Khunggirad faction installed Ayurbarwada's son Shidibala instead of Kuśala because his mother came from the Ikires clan, not the Khunggirad clan. He was relegated to Yunnan but fled to Esen Bukha-ruled Chaghatai Ulus in Central Asia after an failed revolt in Shaanxi. Although the rival faction was purged by Yesün Temür Khan when Shidibala Khan was assassinated, he remained in Central Asia. He extended his influence in his stronghold which was located to the west of Altai Mountains. In 1328 when Yesün Temür Khan died, a civil war was broke out between Shangdu-based Ragibagh and Dadu-based Tugh Temür. The former was a son of Yesün Temür and backed up by the former Yesün Temür administration led by Dawlat Shah, and the latter was Kuśala's younger brother who was supported by the former Khayishan faction led by the Qipchaq commander El Temür and the Asud commander Bayan. This ended in the victory of Tugh Temür since he secured support from princes, aristocrats and warlords in the south of the Gobi Desert. At the same time, Kuśala, with the support from Chaghadaid princes, entered Mongolia. He also got support from princes and generals of Mongolia, and with overwhelming military power in the background, put pressure on Tugh Temür, who had already ascended to the throne. Realizing disadvantages, Tugh Temür declared abdication. In the next year, El Temür brought the imperial seal to Kuśala in Mongolia and announced Dadu's intent to welcome him. Kuśala ascended to the throne in the north of Khara Khorum and Tugh Temür became Crown Prince. On his way to Dadu, Kuśala met with Tugh Temür in Ongghuchad near Shangdu in the eight month. He suddenly died only 4 days after a banquet with Tugh Temür. It seems that Kuśala was poisoned by El Temür since he feared being lost power to princes and officers of Chaghadai Ulus and Mongolia, who followed Kuśala. Tugh Temür was restored to the throne. The civil wars between 1328 and 29 transferred power from the Khunggirad faction to warlords including El Temür and Bayan.

Preceded by: Emperor Wenzong of Yuan China	Mongol Khan (Dai-ön/Yuan)	Succeeded by: Emperor Wenzong of Yuan China
	Emperor of China

Mingzong Mingzong Mingzong Mingzong ja:コシラ

Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan Dynasty (: Dai Ön Yeke Mongghul Ulus; : 元朝 or 大元帝國) lasting officially from 1271 to 1368, also called the Mongol Dynasty, was the name given to the significant ruling family of Borjigin in Asia. It invaded and ruled, during its hundred year life, over the Mongol Empire (stretching from Eastern Europe to the Middle-east to Russia), Korea and China. In the historiography of China, it followed the Song Dynasty and preceded the Ming Dynasty in China. China]]

Birth of the Yuan

Founding an Empire

Temujin, later to be more prominently known as Genghis Khan, was the first in the line of Yuan rulers. He was the son of Yesügei, the tribal chief of the Kiyad — a tribe in fractured Mongolia. His father was killed in his early life by a rival tribe, the Tartars — this rendered him chief of the Kiyad. Many in the tribe did not take well to a boy-ruler, abandoning him. He and his family were thus reduced to a state of abject poverty — however, at the age of 20 he met his future wife Börte, from whom he received a sable coat, his first semblance of power and wealth. He soon traded this coat for a small tribal army and joined the Kerait, a confederacy of Mongol tribes led by Wang Khan. After successful campaigns against the Tatars in 1202, Temüjin was adopted as Wang Khan's heir. This led to bitterness on the part of Senggum, Wang's former heir, who planned to assassinate Temüjin. Temüjin learned of Senggum's intentions however, and a large civil war broke out among the Mongols. Eventually Temüjin defeated Senggum and succeeded to the title of Wang Khan. Temüjin created a written code of laws for the Mongols called Yassa, and he demanded it to be followed very strictly. Temüjin followed with attacks on other neighboring tribes, which further increased his power. By combining diplomacy, organization, military ability, and brutality, Temüjin finally managed to unite the tribes into the single nation, a monumental feat for the Mongols, who had a long history of internecine dispute. In 1206 Temüjin successfully united the formerly fragmented tribes of what is now Mongolia. At a Khurultai (a council of Mongol chiefs), he was named the "Genghis Khan", or the "Universal Ruler". The birth of Mongolia marked the start of what would become the Yuan Dynasty, eventually ruling the expansive Mongol Empire, Russia and large parts of Asia for the following two centuries. Genghis Khan, with his skills in military strategy, continued the long Mongol tradition of attacking China proper with greater success than ever before, eventually building a powerful military machine with unity as support.

Aspirations to China

At the time of the Khuriltai, Genghis was involved in a dispute with Western Xia — which eventually became the first of his wars of conquest. Despite problems in taking well defended Western Xia cities, he substantially reduced the Western Xia dominion by 1209, when peace with Western Xia was made. He was acknowledged by their emperor as overlord. This marks the first in a line of successes in Northern Chinese kingdoms which wasn't complete until Kublai Khan's rule. A major goal of Genghis was the conquest of the Jin Dynasty of China, both to avenge earlier defeats and to gain the riches of northern China. He declared war in 1211, and at first the pattern of operations against the Jurchen Jin Dynasty was the same as it had been against Western Xia. The Mongols were victorious in the field, but they were frustrated in their efforts to take major cities. In his typically logical and determined fashion, Genghis and his highly developed staff studied the problems of the assault of fortifications. With the help of Chinese engineers, they gradually developed the techniques that eventually would make them the most accomplished and most successful besiegers in the history of warfare. As a result of a number of overwhelming victories in the field and a few successes in the capture of fortifications deep within China, Genghis had conquered and had consolidated Jin territory as far south as the Great Wall of China by 1213. He then advanced with three armies into the heart of Jin territory, between the Great Wall and the Huang He. He defeated the Jin forces, devastated northern China, captured numerous cities, and in 1215 besieged, captured, and sacked the Jin capital of Yanjing (later known as Beijing). The Jin emperor, Xuan Zong, however, did not surrender, but removed his capital to Kaifeng. There his successors finally were defeated, but not until 1234. The vassal emperor of Western Xia had refused to take part in the war against the peoples of the Khwarizm, and Genghis had vowed punishment. While he was in Iran, Western Xia and Jin had formed an alliance against the Mongols. After rest and a reorganization of his armies, Genghis prepared for war against his foes. By this time, advancing years had led Genghis to prepare for the future and to assure an orderly succession among his descendants. He selected his third son Ögedei as his successor and established the method of selection of subsequent khans, specifying that they should come from his direct descendants. Meanwhile, he studied intelligence reports from Western Xia and Jin and readied a force of 180,000 troops for a new campaign.

Northern Conquest

In 1226, Genghis Khan attacked the Tanguts (Western Xia) on the pretext that the Tanguts received the Mongols' enemies. Over the next year he took the cities Heisui, Ganzhou, Suzhou, and Xiliang-fu — the Western Xia were finally defeated near Helanshan Mountain. He soonafter took Tangut city of Ling-zhou and the Yellow River — defeating the Tangut relief army. In 1227, Genghis Khan attacked the Tanguts' capital, and in February, he took Lintiao-fu. In March, he took Xining prefecture and Xindu-fu. In April, he took Deshun prefecture. At Deshun, the Western Xia General Ma Jianlong resisted the Mongols for days and personally led charges against them outside of the city gate. Ma Jianlong later died of arrow shots. On his deathbed in 1227, Genghis Khan outlined to his youngest son, Tolui, the plans that later would be used by his successors to complete the destruction of the Jin empire. The new Western Xia emperor, during Mongol attack, surrendered. The Tanguts officially surrendered in 1227, after being in existence for 190 years, from 1038 to 1227. The Mongols killed the Tangut emperor and his royal family members. During the reign of Ögedei Khan, the Mongols completed the destruction of the Jurchen Jin empire (in 1234), coming into contact and conflict, during this time, with the Southern Song of China. In 1235, under the khan's direct generalship, the Mongols began a war of conquest that would not end for forty-five years. Mongol armies vassalized Korea (which was later used as a base for the two unsuccessful attempts to invade Japan, in 1274 & 1281), established permanent control of Persia proper (commanded by Chormagan) and, most notably, expanded westwards under the command of Batu Khan to subdue the Russian steppe. Their western conquests included almost all of Russia (save Novgorod, which became a vassal), Hungary, and Poland. Ögedei's death in 1241, caused by alcohol, brought the western campaign to a premature end. The commanders heard the news as they were advancing on Vienna, and withdrew for the kuriltai in Mongolia, never again to return so far west. Not until Möngke Khan did any Khan take the conquest of China particularly seriously. Concerned himself more with the war in China, he outflanked the Song Dynasty through the conquest of Yunnan in 1253 and an invasion of Indochina, which allowed the Mongols to invade from north, west, and south. Taking command personally late in the decade, he captured many of the fortified cities along the northern front. These actions ultimately rendered the conquest a matter of time. He dispatched his brother Hülegü to the southwest, an act which was to expand the Mongol Empire to the gates of Egypt. European conquest was neglected due to the primacy of the other two theaters, but Möngke's friendliness with Batu Khan (with whom Güyük Khan had almost come to open warfare — only prevented from doing so by death) ensured the unity of empire. While conducting the war in China, Möngke fell ill of dysentery and died (in 1259), which aborted Hülegü's campaign, staved off defeat for the Song, and caused a civil war that destroyed the unity, and invincibility, of the Mongol Empire. His death gave rise to Kublai Khan, the first Yuan Emperor of China.

Golden Age of the Yuan

Establishment of the Yuan

Kublai Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan, ascended to the Great Khanate, becoming the supreme leader of all Mongol tribes in 1260. He began his reign with great aspirations and self-confidence — in 1264 he moved the capital of the expansive Mongol Empire to Khanbaliq (Dàdū 大都, present-day Beijing), in recently acquired North China. He began his drive against the Southern Song, establishing, in 1271 — eight years prior to Southern conquest — the first foreign dynasty to rule all of China: the Yuan Dynasty. The creation of a dynasty prior to conquest, keeping in mind that Dynasty was not a Mongol concept, shows political and military tact. The name was significantly in Chinese — neither his native tongue, nor a language he spoke at all. In 1279, Guangzhou fell into Mongol hands, which marks the end of the Southern Song and the onset of China under the Mongols. During Kublai Khan's reign he was put under pressure by many of his advisers to further expand the Mongol Empire through the conquest of Japan, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Indonesia, all of which later failed. Due to the fact that Mongols have gathered a general negative attitude in China, Kublai's early rule may be noted for its bandit-like nature. As if expecting to lose the country, the Mongols attempted to remove as much money and resources as was possible. The Mongols imposed severe restrictions on trade, and spent vast amounts of Chinese money on projects such as the Forbidden Palace and the Grand Canal. Though many reforms were made during Kublai's life, and despite his notable warming to the populace, the Yuan are noted for their refusal to assimilate into China, or its culture. They remained, for their lifetime, foreign rulers, a characteristic often attributed as a cause to their downfall. Before long, Kublai Khan began to serve as a true Emperor, reforming much of China and its institutions, a process which would take decades to complete. He, for example, insulated Mongol rule by centralizing the government of China — making himself (unlike his predecessors) an absolutist monarch. He reformed many other governmental and economic institutions, especially concerning taxation. Although the Mongols sought to govern China through traditional institutions, using Han Chinese bureaucrats, they were not up to the task. The Hans were discriminated against socially and politically. All important central and regional posts were monopolized by Mongols, who also preferred employing non-Chinese from other parts of the Mongol domain — Central Asia, the Middle East, and even Europe — in those positions for which no Mongol could be found. Chinese were more often employed in non-Chinese regions of the empire. This move aided the Yuan Dynasty by maintaining separation from China, but also fueled discontent among the Chinese population. In essence, the society was divided into four classes in order of privilege: Mongols, "Color-eyed" (Central Asians and small number of Europeans), Han (Han Chinese in northern China, Manchus and Jurchens), and Southerners (Han Chinese within Southern Song boundary and other ethnic groups). During his lifetime, Kublai developed the new Mongol capital, Khanbaliq, building the elaborate Forbidden Palace. He also improved the agriculture of China, developing the Grand Canal, highways and public granaries. Marco Polo described his rule as benevolent: relieving the populace of taxes in times of hardship; building hospitals and orphanages; distributing food among the abjectly poor. He also promoted science and religion.

Early Rule

Succession was a problem which marked the Yuan Dynasty, later causing much strife and internal struggle. This may be observed as early as the end of Kublai's reign. His original choice was his son, Zhenjin — but he died prior to Kublai in 1285. Thus, Zhenjin's son ruled as Emperor Chengzong of Yuan China for approximately 10 years following Kublai's death (between 1294 and 1307). Chengzong decided to maintain and continue many of the projects and much of the work begun by his grandfather. However, the corruption in the Yuan Dynasty began during the reign of Chengzong. Emperor Wuzong of Yuan China ascended to the Emperorship of China following the death of Chengzong. Unlike his predecessor, he did not continue Kublai's work, but largely rejected it. During his short reign (1307 to 1311), China fell into financial difficulties, partly by bad decisions made by Wuzong. By the time he died, China was in severe debt and the Chinese people were discontent with the Yuan Dynasty. The fourth Yuan emperor, Emperor Renzong of Yuan China was the last which may be seen as "successful": he stood out among the Mongol rulers of China as an adopter of the culture of China, to the discontent of the Mongol elite. He had been mentored by Li Meng, a Confucian academic. To the displeasure of Mongol nobility he made many reforms, including the liquidation of the Department of State Affairs (resulting in the execution of 5 of the highest ranking officials). Starting in 1313 examinations were introduced for prospective officials, testing their knowledge on significant historical works; in 1315 300 appointments went to Mongols, with an extra quarter of the positions being given to non-Chinese people. Also he codified much of the law.

Impact

As in other periods of alien dynastic rule of China, a rich cultural diversity developed during the Yuan dynasty. The major cultural achievements were the development of drama and the novel and the increased use of the written vernacular. Given the unified rule of central Asia, trades between East and West flourished. The Mongols' extensive West Asian and European contacts produced a fair amount of cultural exchange. Western musical instruments were introduced to enrich the Chinese performing arts. From this period dates the conversion to Islam, by Muslims of Central Asia, of growing numbers of Chinese in the northwest and southwest. Nestorianism and Roman Catholicism also enjoyed a period of toleration. Lamaism (Tibetan Buddhism) flourished, although native Taoism endured Mongol persecutions. Confucian governmental practices and examinations based on the Classics, which had fallen into disuse in north China during the period of disunity, were reinstated by the Mongols in the hope of maintaining order over Han society. Advances were realized in the fields of travel literature, cartography, and geography, and scientific education. Certain key Chinese innovations, such as printing techniques, porcelain production, playing cards, and medical literature, were introduced in Europe, while the production of thin glass and cloisonne became popular in China. The first records of travel by Westerners date from this time. The most famous traveler of the period was the Venetian Marco Polo, whose account of his trip to "Cambaluc," the Great Khan's capital (now Beijing), and of life there astounded the people of Europe. The account of his travels, Il milione (or, The Million, known in English as the Travels of Marco Polo), appeared about the year 1299. The works of John of Plano Carpini and William of Rubruck also provided early descriptions of the Mongols to the West. The Mongols undertook extensive public works. Road and water communications were reorganized and improved. To provide against possible famines, granaries were ordered built throughout the empire. The city of Beijing was rebuilt with new palace grounds that included artificial lakes, hills and mountains, and parks. During the Yuan period, Beijing became the terminus of the Grand Canal, which was completely renovated. These commercially oriented improvements encouraged overland as well as maritime commerce throughout Asia and facilitated the first direct Chinese contacts with Europe. Chinese and Mongol travelers to the West were able to provide assistance in such areas as hydraulic engineering, while bringing back to the Middle Kingdom new scientific discoveries and architectural innovations. Contacts with the West also brought the introduction to China of a major food crop, sorghum, along with other foreign food products and methods of preparation.

Downfall of the Yuan

Civil Unrest

The last of the Yuan Dynasty were marked by successions of struggle, famine, and bitterness on behalf of the Chinese people. The dynasty was, significantly, one of the shortest lived dynasties in the History of China, covering the period of just a century 1271 to 1368. During this time they had been seen as "foreign rule". In time, Khubilai's successors became sinicized, and they then lost all influence on other Mongol lands across Asia. Where the Mongols saw them as too Chinese, the Chinese populace saw them as too Mongol. Gradually, they lost influence in China as well. For one, most of the emperors in the dynasty did not bother learning the language of the people, nor celebrate the culture over which they ruled. The reigns of the later Yuan emperors were short and were marked by intrigues and rivalries. Uninterested in administration, they were separated from both their Mongolian army and their Chinese subjects. China was torn by dissension and unrest; bandits ranged the country without interference from the weakening Yuan armies. Emperor Yingzong ruled for just two years (1321 to 1323); his rule ended in a coup at the hands of five princes. They placed Taidingdi on the throne, and after an unsuccessful attempt to calm the princes he also succumbed to regicide.

Loss of China

The last of the nine successors of Khubilai was expelled from Dadu in 1368 by Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), who was referred to as Taizu. Although Zhu, who adopted Mongol military methods, drove the Mongols out of China, he did not destroy their power.

Northern Yuan

The Mongols retreated to Mongolia, where the Yuan Dynasty remained. It is now called the Northern Yuan by modern historians. According to Chinese political orthodoxy, there could be only one legitimate empire, and so the Ming and the Yuan each denied the legitimacy of the other. However, modern Chinese historians tend to regard the Ming dynasty as more legitimate. Chinese called the Mongols "Tatar" (韃靼 dá dá) instead of "Mongol" (蒙古 méng gǔ), even though they called themselves "Mongghol". A Chinese army invaded Mongolia in 1380, and in 1388 a decisive victory was won. About 70,000 Mongols were taken prisoners, and Karakorum (the Mongol capital) was annihilated. Eight years after the invasion, the Mongol throne was taken over by Yesüder, a descendant of Arigh Bugha. After getting the Mongols through the turbulent period, he restored the throne to descendants of Kublai Khan. The Mongols were greatly attacked by the Manchu in the 17th century. In 1634, Ligdan Khan, the last Great Khan of the Mongols, died on his way to Tibet. His son, Ejei Khan, surrendered to the Manchu and gave the great seal of the Yuan Emperor to its ruler, Hong Taiji. As a result, Hong Taiji established the Qing Dynasty as the successor of the Yuan Dynasty in 1636.

References

J. J. Saunders, The History of the Mongol Conquests (1971); M. Rossabi, Khubilai Khan (1988).

Buyantu Khan

Emperor Renzong of Yuan China was the 4th leader of the Yuan Dynasty to rule as Emperor of China and did so between 1311 and 1320. Renzong stood out among the Mongol rulers of China as an adopter of the culture of China. He had been mentored by Li Meng, a Confucian academic. To the displeasure of Mongol nobility he made many reforms - including the liquidation of the Department of State Affairs (resulting in the execution of 5 of the highest ranking officials). Starting in 1313 examinations were introduced for prospective officials - testing their knowledge on significant historical works - in 1315 300 appointments went to Mongols, with an extra quarter of the positions being given to non-Chinese people. As well as this he codified much of the law.

Preceded by: Emperor Wuzong of Yuan China	Mongol Khan (Dai-ön/Yuan)	Succeeded by: Emperor Yingzong of Yuan China
	Emperor of China

ja:アユルバルワダ Renzong Renzong Renzong

Gegeen Khan

Gegeen Khan (Classical Mongolian: Gegegen qaɤan; Khalkha Mongolian: Гэгээн хаан gegeen haan), born Shidibala (from Sanskrit Siddhipāla) and served as Emperor Yingzong of Yuan China, was the ninth grand-khan of the Mongol Empire (Dai-ön Ulus/Yuan Dynasty). He was the eldest son of Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan and Radnashiri (from Sanskrit Ratnashri) of the Khunggirad clan. In return for his own crown princeship, Ayurbarwada promised his elder brother Khayishan to appoint Khayishan's son as Crown Prince after his succession. But when Khayishan died, Khayishan's two sons were relegated to borderlands and pro-Khayishan officers were purged. Shidibala's powerful grandmother Dagi installed Shidibala as Crown Prince, and then as Khan, since he was mothered by a Khunggirad khatun. At that time, the empire was nearly bankrupt due to longtime lax financial policies, but there were little the puppet of Dagi and her retainers could do. Immediately after her grandson's succession, Dagi reinstated Temüder as Minister of the Secretariat and took politics into her own hands more openly than during Ayurbarwada's reign. In 1322, the deaths of Dagi and Temüder enabled him to seize power. He attempted to drive the Khunggirad faction from the Shidibala-led new administration. He appointed as Minister of the Secretariat Bayiju of the Jalayir, a grandson of Antung and former rival of Temüder. The severe suppression of the powerful faction including the deprivation of Temüder's titles and estabes, the execution of his son drove it into the corner. In the eighth month of 1323 when he stayed at Nanpo on his way from the summer palace Shangdu to the winter base Dadu, Shidibala, and Bayiju, were assassinated by Temüder's adopted son Tegshi, who attacked Shidibala's Ordo with Asud guards and other soldiers under him. Tegshi asked Yesün Temür to succeed the throne, but Yesün Temür purged Tegshi's faction before he entered Dadu because he feared to become a puppet of it. His reign was short; his direct rule lasted only for a year after Dagi's death. But he was glorified in Chinese records since he continued Ayurbarwada's protective policies for Chinese cultures. From that point of view, Shidibala's assassination was sometimes explained as the struggle between the pro-Chinese faction and the pro-Mongol faction, for Yesün Temür Khan had ruled Mongolia before succession and his policies appeared unfavorable for Chinese officials.

Preceded by: Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan	Mongol Khan (Dai-ön/Yuan)	Succeeded by: Yesün Temür Khan
	Emperor of China

ja:シデバラ Category:1303 births Category:1323 deaths Category:Mongol Khans Category:Yuan Dynasty emperors

Central Asia

Central Asia (Russian: Среднaя Азия/"Srednaya Azia" for "Middle Asia" or Центральная Азия/"Tsentrallnaya Azia" for "Central Asia"; Mandarin Chinese: 中亚/ pinyin: "Zhŏngyà"; Arabic: ﺔﻄﻮﺳﻠﺍ ﺎﺴﻴﺁ/"Asya al Wsta") is a vast landlocked region of Asia. Though various definitions of its exact composition exist, no one definition is universally accepted. Despite this uncertainty in defining borders, it does have some important overall characteristics. For one, Central Asia has historically been closely tied to its nomadic peoples and the Silk Road. As a result, it has acted as a crossroads for the movement of people, goods, and ideas between Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia. It is also sometimes known as Middle Asia or Inner Asia, and is within the scope of the wider Eurasian continent. It is also sometimes known as Turkestan.

Definitions

The idea of Central Asia as a distinct region of the world was introduced in 1843 by the geographer Alexander von Humboldt. The borders of Central Asia are subject to multiple definitions. Many text books still refer to this area as Turkestan, which was the name used prior to Stalin's rule. The most limited definition was the official one of the Soviet Union that defined the "Middle Asia" as consisting solely of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, but did not include Kazakhstan. This definition was also often used outside the USSR in this period. However, the Russian language has two distinct terms: Средняя Азия (Srednyaya Azia or "Middle Asia", the narrower definition which includes only those traditionally non-Slavic, "Central Asian" lands that were incorporated within those borders of historical Russia) and Центральная Азия (Tsentral'naya Azia or "Central Asia", the wider definition which includes "Central Asian" lands that have never been part of historical Russia). However, there lacks a meaningful distinction between the two in the English language; and so "Central Asia" is used for both Russian usages, thus creating some confusion. The new post-USSR Russian Federation has now included Kazakhstan in its new definition of "Middle Asia". Soon after independence, the leaders of the five former Soviet Central Asian Republics met in Tashkent and declared that the definition of Central Asia should include Kazakhstan as well as the original four included by the Soviets. Since then, this has become the most common definition of Central Asia. The UNESCO general history of Central Asia, written just before the collapse of the USSR, defines the region based on climate and uses far larger borders. According to it, Central Asia includes Mongolia, Western China (including Tibet), northeast Iran, Afghanistan and western Pakistan, central-east Russia south of the Taiga, the former Central Asian Soviet Republics (the five "Stans" of the former Soviet Union), but also even the Punjab, northern India and Pakistan. An alternative method is to define the region based on ethnicity, and in particular, areas populated by Eastern Turkic, Eastern Iranian, or Mongolian peoples. These areas include Xinjiang, the Turkic/Muslim regions of southern Siberia, the five republics, and Afghan Turkestan. The Tibetans are also included. Insofar, the mentioned peoples are considered the "indigenous" peoples of the vast region. Colonization and settlement by Chinese, Iranians, and Russians was to come later.

Geography

Russians Central Asia is an extremely large region of varied geography, including high plateaus and mountains (Tian Shan), vast deserts (Kara Kum, Kyzyl Kum, Taklamakan), and especially treeless, grassy steppes. Much of the land is too dry or too rugged for farming. The Gobi desert extends from the foot of the Pamirs, 77° east, to the Great Khingan (Da Hinggan) Mountains, 116°-118° east. Central Asia has the following geographic extremes:
- The world's northernmost desert (sand dunes), at Buurug Deliin Els, Mongolia, 50°18' north.
- The Northern Hemisphere's southernmost permafrost, at Erdenetsogt sum, Mongolia, 46°17' north.
- The world's shortest distance between desert and permafrost: 770 km (440 mi). A majority of the people earn a living by herding livestock. Industrial activity centers in the region's cities. Major rivers of the region include the Amu Darya, the Syr Darya and the Hari Rud. Major bodies of water include the Aral Sea and Lake Balkhash, both of which are part of the huge west/central Asian endorheic basin that also includes the Caspian Sea. Both of these bodies of water have shrunk significantly in recent decades due to diversion of water from rivers that feed them for irrigation and industrial purposes. Water is an extremely valuable resource in arid Central Asia, and can lead to rather significant international disputes. Caspian Sea in the northeast. The arid climates of the Ferghana Valley, Takla Makan and Gobi deserts are also prominently visible.]]

Climate

Since Central Asia is not buffered by a large body of water, temperature fluctuations are more severe. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Central Asia is part of the Palearctic ecozone. The largest biome in Central Asia is the Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. Central Asia also contains the Montane grasslands and shrublands, Deserts and xeric shrublands and Temperate coniferous forests biomes.

History

:Main article:History of Central Asia The history of Central Asia is defined by the area's climate and geography. The aridness of the region made agriculture difficult and its distance from the sea cut it off from much trade. Thus few major cities developed in the region, instead the area was for millennia dominated by the nomadic horse peoples of the steppe. Relations between the steppe nomads and the settled people in and around Central Asia were long marked by conflict. The nomadic lifestyle was well suited to warfare and the steppe horse riders became some of the most militarily potent peoples in the world, only limited by their lack of internal unity. Periodically great leaders or changing conditions would organize several tribes into to one force, and create an almost unstoppable power. These included the Hun invasion of Europe, the Wu Hu attacks on China and most notably the Mongol conquest of much of Eurasia. The dominance of the nomads ended in the sixteenth century, as firearms allowed settled peoples to gain control of the region. Russia, China, and other powers expanded into the region and had captured the bulk of Central Asia by the end of the nineteenth century. After the Russian Revolution the Central Asian regions were incorporated into the Soviet Union. Mongolia remained independent but became a Soviet satellite state. The Soviet areas of Central Asia saw much industrialization and construction of infrastructure, but also the suppression of local cultures, hundreds of thousands of deaths from failed collectivization programs, and a lasting legacy of ethnic tensions and environmental problems. With the collapse of the Soviet Union five countries gained independence. In all the new states former Communist Party officials retained power as local strongmen. In no state is repression as great as it was in Soviet times, but none of the new republics could be considered functional democracies. Other parts of Central Asia remain part of China or Russia.

Geostrategy

:Main article: Geostrategy in Central Asia Central Asia has long been a strategic location merely because of its proximity to several great powers on the Eurasian landmass. The region itself never held a dominant stationary population, nor was able to make use of natural resources. Thus it has rarely throughout history become the seat of power for an empire or influential state. Much like Poland throughout European history, Central Asia has been divided, redivided, conquered out of existence, and fragmented time and time again. Central Asia has served more as the battleground for outside powers, than as a power in its own right. Central Asia had both the advantage and disadvantage of a central location between four historical seats of power. From its central location, it has access to trade routes, or lines of attack, to all the regional powers. On the other hand, it has been continuously vulnerable to attack from all sides throughout its history, resulting in political fragmentation or outright power vacuum, as it is successively dominated.
- To the North, the steppe allowed for rapid mobility, first for nomadic horseback warriors like the Huns and Mongols, and later for Russian traders, eventually supported by railroads. As the Russian empire expanded to the East, it would also push down into Central Asia towards the sea, in a search for warm water ports. The Soviet bloc would reinforce dominance from the North, and attempt to project power as far south as Afghanistan.
- To the East, the demographic and cultural weight of Chinese empires continually pushed outward into Central Asia. The Mongol Yuan dynasty would conquer parts of East Turkestan and Tibet, and the later Manchu dynasty would reconquer those areas several centuries later. As part of the Sino-Soviet bloc, China would swallow Tibet. However, with the Sino-Soviet split, China would project power into Central Asia, most notably in the case of Afghanistan, to counter Russian dominance of the region.
- To the Southeast, the demographic and cultural influence of India was felt in Central Asia, notably in Tibet, the Hindu Kush, and slightly beyond. Several historical Indian dynasties, especially those seated along the indus river would expand into Central Asia. India's ability to project power into Central Asia has been limited due to the mountain ranges in Pakistan, and the cultural differences between Hindu India, and what would become a mostly Muslim Central Asia.
- To the Southwest, Middle Eastern powers have expanded into the Southern areas of Central Asia (usually, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan). Several Persian empires would conquer and reconquer parts of Central Asia; Alexander the Great's hellenic empire would extend into Central Asia; two Arab Islamic empires would exert substantial influence throughout the region; and the modern state of Iran has projected influence throughout the region as well. In the post-Cold War era, Central Asia is an ethnic cauldron, prone to instability and conflicts, without a sense of national identity, but rather a mess of historical cultural influences, tribal and clan loyalties, and religious fervor. Projecting influence into the area is no longer just Russia, but also Turkey, Iran, China, Pakistan, India and the United States:
- Russia continues to dominate political decision-making throughout the Caucasus, and former SSRs, although as these countries shed their post-Soviet authoritarian systems, Russia's influence is slowly waning.
- Turkey has some influence because of the ethnic and linguistic ties with the Turkic peoples of Central Asia, as well as serving as an oil pipeline route to the Mediterranean.
- Iran, the seat of historical empires which controlled parts of Central Asia, has historical and cultural links to the region, as is vying to construct an oil pipeline from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf.
- China, already controlling Xinjiang and Tibet, projects significant power in the region, especially in energy/oil politics.
- Pakistan, a large but unstable nuclear-armed state, helped to sustain Taliban rule in Afghanistan, and is capable of exercising some influence. For some Central Asian nations, the shortest route to the ocean lies through Pakistan. Pakistan seeks Natural Gas from Central Asia, and supports the development of pipelines from its countries.
- India, as a nuclear-armed rising power, exercises some influence in the region, especially in Tibet with which it has cultural affinities. India is also perceived as a potential counterweight to China's regional power.
- And the United States with its military involvement in the region, and oil diplomacy, is also significantly involved in the region's politics.

Oil politics

See: Oil geostrategy, Pipelines, Caspian Sea, Petroleum politics

War on Terror

In the context of the United States' War on Terror, Central Asia has once again become the center of geostrategic calculations. Pakistan's status has been upgraded by the U.S.-government to a "major non-NATO ally" because of its central role in serving as a staging point for the invasion of Afghanistan, providing intelligence on Al-Qaeda operations in the region, and leading the hunt on Osama bin Laden, believed to still be in the region. Afghanistan, which had served as a haven and source of support for Al-Qaeda, under the protection of Mullah Omar and the Taliban, was the target of a U.S. invasion in 2001, and ongoing reconstruction and drug-eradication efforts. U.S. military bases have also been established in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, causing both Russia and the People's Republic of China to voice their concern over a permanent U.S. military presence in the region. It is argued that the PRC and Russia, as well as several of the former SSRs, have taken advantage of the War on Terror to increase oppression of separatist ethnic minorities. China has taken a harder line against the Uighur separatists of Xinjiang, while Russia has pursued the second war in Chechnya with greater intensity. Washington, which considers Russia and China as strategic partners in the War on Terror, has largely turned a blind eye to these actions. The ethnically diverse former SSRs, especially Uzbekistan have reclassified ethnic separatist attacks as terrorist attacks and pursued more oppressive policies.

Culture

Religions

Islam is the religion most common in the former Soviet Central Asian Republics, Afghanistan, Xinjiang and the peripheral western regions. Most Central Asian Muslims are Sunni, although Shia comprise the great majority in Azerbaijan, and in Afghanistan and Pakistan there are sizable Shia minorities. Tibetan Buddhism is most common in Tibet, Mongolia, and the southern Russian regions of Siberia, where Shamanism is also popular. Increasing Han Chinese migration westward since the establishment of the PRC has brought Confucianism and other beliefs into the region. Nestorianism was the form of Christianity most practiced in the region in previous centuries, but now the largest denomination is the Russian Orthodox Church, with many members in Kazakhstan. The Bukharan Jews were once a sizable community in Uzbekistan, but nearly all have emigrated in recent years.

Arts

Bukharan Jews, Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois.]] At the crossroads of Asia, shamanist practices live alongside Buddhism. Thus Yama, Lord of Death, was revered in Tibet as a spiritual guardian and judge. Mongolian Buddhism in particular influenced Tibetan Buddhism. The Qianlong Emperor of China in the 18th century was Tibetan Buddhist, and would sometimes travel from Beijing to other cities for personal religious worship. Note the human skulls and severed heads that festoon Yama's crown and necklace, which give some concept of the size that Yama was expected to be when one faced him at one's death. This particular Dharmapala is painted wood, four feet high in total. Central Asia also has an indigenous and ancient form of rap which is over 1000 years old. It is principally practiced in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan by akyns, lyrical improvisationists. They will engage in lyrical battles, the aitysh or the alym sabak. The tradition arose out of early bardic oral historians. They are usually accompanied by a stringed instrument—in Kyrgyzstan, a three-stringed komuz and in Kazakstan a similar two-stringed instrument. Some also learn to sing the Manas, Kyrgyzstan's epic poem (those who learn the Manas exclusively, without engaging in rap, are called manaschis). During Soviet rule, akyn rap was co-opted by the authorities and subsequently declined in popularity. With the fall of the Soviet Union it has enjoyed a resurgence, although aykns still do use their art to campaign for political candidates. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10646-2005Mar5.html]

Demographics

By the most inclusive definition, more than 80 million people live in Central Asia, about 2% of Asia's total population. Of the regions of Asia, only North Asia has fewer people. It has a population density of 9 people per km², vastly less than the 80.5 people per km² of the continent as a whole.

Languages

The languages of the majority of the inhabitants of the former Soviet Central Asian Republics come from the Turkic language group. Turkmen, closely related to Turkish (they are both members of the Oghuz group of Turkic), is mainly spoken in Turkmenistan and into Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Tatar are related languages of the Kypchak group of Turkic languages, and are spoken throughout Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and into Afghanistan, Xinjiang and Qinghai. Uzbek and Uighur are spoken in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Xinjiang. Russian, as well as being spoken by the ethnic Russians of Central Asia, is a lingua franca throughout the former Soviet Central Asian Republics. Chinese has an equally dominant presence in Inner Mongolia, Qinghai and Xinjiang. The Turkic languages belong to the much larger Altaic language family, which includes Mongolian. Mongolian is spoken throughout the region of Mongolia and into Qinghai and Xinjiang. Iranian languages were once spoken throughout Central Asia, but the once prominent Sogdian, Bactrian and Scythian languages are now extinct. However, the Persian language is still spoken in the region, locally known as Dari or Tajik. Pashto is spoken in Afghanistan and western Pakistan. The Tibetan language is spoken by around six million people across the Tibetan Plateau and into Qinghai.

References

- Dani, A.H. and V.M. Masson eds. UNESCO History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Paris: UNESCO, 1992-
- Mandelbaum, Michael. ed. Central Asia and the World: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan New York: Council on Foreign Relations Press, 1994.
- Olcott, Martha Brill. Central Asia's New States: Independence, Foreign policy, and Regional security. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1996.
- Soucek, Svatopluk. A History of Inner Asia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

External links

- [http://www.jamestown.org/edm/ Eurasia Daily Monitor] — political, strategic, and economic news from Central Asia.
- [http://eurasianet.org/ EurasiaNet] — information and analysis about political, economic, environmental and social developments in Central Asia.
- [http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~casww/index.html/ Central Eurasian Studies World Wide]
- [http://www.getcited.org/mbrx/PT/2/MBR/10819625 Publications on the history of Central Asia Prior to 1917]
- [http://www.ucentralasia.org/ University of Central Asia]

Yesün Temür Khan

Yesün Temür Khan (Classical Mongolian: Yesün temür qaɤan; Khalkha Mongolian: Есѳнтѳмѳр хаан Yösöntömör haan) was the tenth grand-khan of the Mongol Empire (Dai-ön Ulus/Yuan Dynasty) who reigned from 1323 to 1328. In Chinese, he is known as the Taiding Emperor for era name. It is likely that he was the Great Khan visited by the Franciscan monk Odoric, who left an excellent record of his travels. He was born to Kamala in Mongolia in 1293 . Kamala was 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 Temür. 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 Chinggis Khan in the Four Great Ordo. In 1302 Kamala died and Yesün Temür took over as Jinong. In 1323 when Shidibala Gegeen Khan 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 Chinggis 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 Tugh Temür in a year. Yesun Temur Khan Yesun Temur Khan Category:Mongol Khans Category:Yuan Dynasty emperors ja:イェスン・テムル

Altai Mountains

The Altai is a mountain range in central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the great rivers Irtysh, Ob and Yenisei have their sources. The northwest end of the range is at 52° N and between 84° and 90° E (where it merges with the Sayan Mountains to the east), and extends southeast from there to about 45° N 99° E, where it gradually becomes lower and merges into the high plateaux of the Gobi Desert. The name, in Turkic Alytau or Altay, means Al (gold), tau (mount); in Mongolian Altain-ula, the "Mountains of Gold". The range is also known as the Ek-tagh, Mongolian Altai, Great Altai and Southern Altai.

Northern region

In the north of the region is the Sailughem or Silyughema Mountains, also known as Kolyvan Altai, which stretch northeast from 49° N and 86° E towards the western extremity of the Sayan Mountains in 51° 60' N and 89° E. Their mean elevation is 1500 to 1750 m. The snow-line runs at 2000 m on the northern side and at 2400 m on the southern, and above it the rugged peaks tower up some 1000 m more. Mountain passes across the range are few and difficult, the chief being the Ulan-daban at 2827 m (2879 m according to Kozlov), and the Chapchan-daban, at 3217 m, in the south and north respectively. On the east and south-east this range is flanked by the great plateau of Mongolia, the transition being effected gradually by means of several minor plateaus, such as Ukok 2380 m with Pazyryk, Chuya 1830 m, Kendykty 2500 m, Kak 2520 m, Suok 2590 m, and Juvlu-kul 2410 m. This region is studded with large lakes, e.g. Ubsa-nor 720 m above sea level, Kirghiz-nor, Durga-nor and Kobdo-nor 1170 m, and traversed by various mountain ranges, of which the principal are the Tannu-ola, running roughly parallel with the Sayan Mountains as far east as the Kosso-gol, and the Khan-khu mountains, also stretching west and east.

Central Altai

west The north-western and northern slopes of the Sailughem Mountains are extremely steep and difficult to access. On this side lies the highest summit of the range, the double-headed Belukha, whose summits reach 4506 and 4440 m respectively, and give origin to several glaciers (30 square kilometeres in aggregate area). Here also are the Kuitun (3660 m) and several other lofty peaks. Numerous spurs, striking in all directions from the Sailughem mountains, fill up the space between that range and the lowlands of Tomsk. Such are the Chuya Alps, having an average altitude of 2700 m, with summits from 3500 to 3700 m, and at least ten glaciers on their northern slope; the Katun Alps, which have a mean elevation of about 3000 m and are mostly snow-clad; the Kholzun range; the Korgon 1900 to 2300 m, Talitskand Selitsk ranges; the Tigeretsk Alps, and so on. Several secondary plateaus of lower altitude are also distinguished by geographers, The Katun valley begins as a wild gorge on the south-west slope of Belukha; then, after a big bend, the river (600 km long) pierces the Katun Alps, and enters a wider valley, lying at an altitude of from 600 to 1100 m, which it follows until it emerges from the Altai highlands to join the Biya in a most picturesque region. The Katun and the Biya together form the Ob. The next valley is that of the Charysh, which has the Korgon and Tigeretsk Alps on one side and the Talitsk and Bashalatsk Alps on the other. This, too, is very fertile. The Altai, seen from this valley, presents the most romantic scenes, including the small but deep Kolyvan lake (altitude 360 m), which is surrounded by fantastic granite domes and towers. Farther west the valleys of the Uba, the Ulba and the Bukhtarma open south-westwards towards the Irtysh. The lower part of the first, like the lower valley of the Charysh, is thickly populated; in the valley of the Ulba is the Riddersk mine, at the foot of the Ivanovsk Peak (2060 m), clothed with alpine meadows. The valley of the Bukhtarma, which has a length of 320 km, also has its origin at the foot of the Belukha and the Kuitun peaks, and as it falls some 1500 m in about 300 km, from an alpine plateau at an elevation of 1900 m to the Bukhtarma fortress (345 m), it offers the most striking contrasts of landscape and vegetation. Its upper parts abound in glaciers, the best known of which is the Berel, which comes down from the Byelukha. On the northern side of the range which separates the upper Bukhtarma from the upper Katun is the Katun glacier, which after two ice-falls widens out to 700 to 900 metres. From a grotto in this glacier bursts tumultuously the Katun river. The middle and lower parts of the Bukhtarma valley have been colonized since the 18th century by runaway Russian peasants, serfs and religious schismatics (Raskolniks), who created a free republic there on Chinese territory; and after this part of the valley was annexed to Russia in 1869, it was rapidly colonized. The high valleys farther north, on the same western face of the Sailughem range, are but little known, their only visitors being Kirghiz shepherds. Those of Bashkaus, Chulyshman, and Chulcha, all three leading to the alpine lake of Teletskoye (length, 80 km; maximum width, 5 km; altitude, 520 m; area, 230.8 square kilometeres; maximum depth, 310 m; mean depth, 200 m), are inhabited by Telengit people. The shores of the lake rise almost sheer to over 1800 m. From this lake issues the Biya, which joins the Katun at Biysk, and then meanders through the prairies of the north-west of the Altai. Farther north the Altai highlands are continued in the Kuznetsk district, which has a slightly different geological aspect, but still belongs to the Altai system. But the Abakan river, which rises on the western shoulder of the Sayan mountains, belongs to the system of the Yenisei. The Kuznetsk Ala-tau range, on the left bank of the Abakan, runs north-east into the government of Yeniseisk, while a complexus of mountains (Chukchut, Salair, Abakan) fills up the country northwards towards the Trans-Siberian railway and westwards towards the Ob.

Eastern Altai

The Ek-tagh or Mongolian Altai, which separates the Kobdo basin on the north from the Irtysh basin on the south, is a true border-range, in that it rises in a steep and lofty escarpment from the Dzungarian depression (470-900 m), but descends on the north by a relatively short slope to the plateau (1150 to 1680 m) of north-western Mongolia. East of 94° E the range is continued by a double series of mountain chains, all of which exhibit less sharply marked orographical features and are at considerably lower elevations. The slopes of the constituent chains of the system are inhabited principally by nomad Kirghiz.

World Heritage site

A vast area of 16,175 km² - Altai and Katun Natural Reserves, Lake Teletskoye, Mount Belukha and the Ukok Plateau - comprise a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site entitled Golden Mountains of Altai. As stated in the UNESCO descrition of the site, "the region represents the most complete sequence of altitudinal vegetation zones in central Siberia, from steppe, forest-steppe, mixed forest, subalpine vegetation to alpine vegetation". While making its decision, UNESCO also cited Russian Altai's importance for preservation of the globally endangered mammals, such as snow leopard and the Altai argali. ----

External links

- Altai-Project of the Technical University of Dresden - Institut of Cartography [http://141.30.139.182/researchProjects/Altai]
- For an account of travel in the south of Altai, see [http://www.seabhcan.com/travel_stories/altai.html 24-days in Altai] or [http://turist.complat.ru/pages/2002/02_07_02.html Altai in July].
- Tourism on Altai: [http://altai.nsk.ru altai.nsk.ru]
- UNESCO's evaluation of Altai: [http://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/768.pdf]
- Tours on Altai: [http://altaionline.ru ] Category:World Heritage Sites in Russia
- Category:Mountains of Russia Category:Mountains of China Category:Mountains of Mongolia Category:Mountains of Kazakhstan ja:アルタイ山脈

Shangdu

Xanadu

Ragibagh Khan

Ragibagh was the grand-khan of the Mongol Empire (Dai-ön Ulus/Yuan Dynasty) who reigned in 1328. Although he should have been the eleventh grand-khan in succession to Yesün Temür Khan, he was dethroned by his rival who was installed by coup before Ragibagh's succession. He is not usually counted as the eleventh khan. Ragibagh was the eldest son of Yesün Temür Khan. His mother Babukhan Khatun came from the Khunggirad clan, who had held power through marriage to the imprial family. He became Crown Prince at infancy in 1324. In the sixth month of 1328 when Yesün Temür suddenly died in Shangdu, he was installed by the powerful Muslim officer Dawlat Shah there in the next month. However, Yesün Temür's sudden death triggered an uprising of an antimainstream faction who had been dissatisfied with monopolization of power by Yesün Temür's aides including Dawlat Shah who had served to him since he was stationed in Mongolia as Jinong. In the eighth month, the Qipchaq commander El Temür, who was stationed in Dadu, launched a coup and called for installation of Khayishan's son. Tugh Temür was welcomed into Dadu in the same month in which Ragibagh ascended to the throne. Ragibagh's army advanced on Dadu but was severely defeated by El Temür's troops. In the tenth month, Jöchi Khasar's descandant Örüg Temür, who controlled eastern Mongolia, besieged Shangdu, taking the side of Tugh Temür. Dawlat Shah was executed by the Dadu faction after surrender, but it is not known what happened to the little khan.

Note on his name

Due to scarcity of historial sources and their multilinguality, Ragibagh's name has a lot of variants. The Tibetan Red Annals (Hu lān deb ther) calls him "Ra khyi phag." The later Mongolian chronicles such as the Erdeni-yin tobchi and the Altan tobchi spell him Radzibaɤ or Raǰibaɤ. The Chinese History of the Yuan refers to him as A-su-ji-ba (阿速吉八), but it is apparently a misspelling of A-la-ji-ba (阿剌吉八). The initial "a" prevents the word from starting with "r" in Mongolian. It looks like a modern Mongolian painter interpreted his name as "Asidkebe" [http://members.fortunecity.com/khan4/khan11ashithev.htm]. In Chinese he is also known as the Tianshun Emperor for era name.

Preceded by: Yesün Temür Khan	Mongol Khan (Dai-ön/Yuan)	Succeeded by: Tugh Temür Jayaatu Khan
	Emperor of China

Category:Mongol Khans ja:アリギバ

Jayaatu Khan

Jayaatu Khan (Classical Mongolian: Jayaɤatu qaɤan; Khalkha Mongolian: Заяат хаан Zayaat haan), born Tugh Temür, was the 11th and 13th grand-khan of the Mongol Empire (Dai-ön Ulus/Yuan Dynasty) and reigned as Emperor of China. He was the second son of Khayishan Külüg Khan and a Tangut woman. Kuśala Khutughtu Khan was his elder brother. When his father Khayishan suddenly passed away and his younger brother Ayurbarwada inherited khanship in 1311, he and his brother was removed from the central government by his grandmother Dagi and other Khunggirad faction members including Temüder since they were not mothered by Khunggirad khatuns. After Ayurbarwada's son Shidibala Gegeen Khan ascended the throne in 1320, Tugh Temür was relegated to Hainan. When Shidibala was assassinated and Yesün Temür Khan took over as khan, his condition was relaxed. He was given the title of Prince of Huai and was moved to Jiangkang (modern-day Nangjing) and then to Jiangling. When Yesün Temür Khan died in Shangdu in 1328, Tugh Temür was recalled to Dadu by the Qipchaq commander El Temür since his more influential brother Kuśala stayed in far-away Central Asia. He was installed as grand-khan in Dadu in the 9th month while Yesün Temür's son Ragibagh succeeded to the throne in Shangdu with the support from Yesün Temür's favorite retainer Dawlat Shah. Gaining support from princes and officers in southern Mongolia and Northern China, Dadu-based Tugh Temür eventually won the civil war. At the same time, however, his elder brother Kuśala gathered support from princes and generals in Mongolia and Chaghatai Ulus and entered Khara Khorum with the overwhelming military presence. Realizing disadvantages, Tugh Temür declared abdication. In the next year, El Temür brought the imperial seal to Kuśala in Mongolia and announced Dadu's intent to welcome him. Kuśala ascended to the throne in the north of Khara Khorum and Tugh Temür became Crown Prince. On his way to Dadu, Kuśala met with Tugh Temür in Ongghuchad near Shangdu in the eight month. Only 4 days after a banquet with Tugh Temür, he suddenly died, or was supposedly killed with poison by El Temür since he feared being lost power to princes and officers of Chaghadai Ulus and Mongolia, who followed Kuśala. Tugh Temür was restored to the throne. El Temür purged pro-Kuśala officers and brought power to warloards. He was just on a string during his latter three-year reign. Warlords' despotic rule clearly marked the decline of the empire. He is known for cultural contribution instead. He ordered to compile an encyclopaedia named Jingshi Dadian, supported Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism and devoted himself in Buddhism. He supervised the construction of the Stupa of Master Zhaozhou in the Buddhist Baolin Temple. He died in 1332. Although he had a son named El Tegüs, he left a will to make Kuśala's son succeed to the throne. So Kuśala's second son Rinchinbal was installed only at the seventh age.

Preceded by: Yesün Temür Khan	Mongol Khan (Dai-ön/Yuan)	Succeeded by: Kuśala Khutughtu Khan
	Emperor of China
Preceded by: Kuśala Khutughtu Khan	Mongol Khan (Dai-ön/Yuan)	Succeeded by: Rinchinbal Khan
	Emperor of China

Category:1304 births Category:1332 deaths Category:Mongol Khans Category:Yuan Dynasty emperors ja:トク・テムル

Gobi Desert

The Gobi (Mongolian Говь, Chinese 戈壁; pinyin gē bì) is a large desert region in northern China and southern Mongolia. The desert basins of the Gobi are bounded by the Altay Mountains and the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia on the north, by the Tibetan Plateau to the southwest, and by the North China Plain to the southwest. The word Gobi means "desert" in Mongolian. The Gobi is made up of several distinct ecological and geographic regions, based on variations in climate and topography. The Gobi is most notable in history as part of the great Mongol Empire, and as the location of several important cities along the Silk Road. Silk Road]]

Geography and the area

Silk Road.]] The Gobi measures over 1600 km from southwest to northeast and 800 km from north to south. The desert is widest in the west, along the line joining the Baghrash Kol and the Lop Nor (87°-89° east). It occupies an arc of land 1,300,000 km² in area, making it one of the largest deserts in the world. Contrary to images often associated with a desert, much of the Gobi is not sandy but is covered with bare rock. The Gobi has several alternative Chinese names, including sha-mo (sand desert) and han-hai (grand sea). In its broadest definition, the Gobi includes the long stretch of desert and semidesert country extending from the foot of the Pamirs, 77° east, to the Great Khingan (Da Hinggan) Mountains, 116°-118° east, on the border of Manchuria; and from the foothills of the Altay, Sayan, and Yablonoi mountain ranges on the north to the Kunlun Shan, Altun Shan, and Qilian Shan ranges, which form the northern edges of the Tibetan Plateau, on the south. A relatively small area on the east side of the Great Khingan range, between the upper waters of the Songhua (Sungari) and the upper waters of the Liao-ho, is also reckoned to belong to the Gobi by conventional usage. On the other hand, geographers and ecologists prefer to regard the western area of the Gobi region (as defined above), the basin of the Tarim in Xinjiang and the desert basin of Lop Nor and Hami (Kumul) as forming a separate and independent desert, called the Taklamakan.

Climate (as of 1911)

The climate of the Gobi is one of great extremes, combined with rapid changes of temperature, not only through the year but even within 24 hours (by as much as 32 °C or 58 °F). Even in southern Mongolia the thermometer goes down as low as -32.8 °C (-27 °F), and in Ala-shan it rises as high as 37 °C (98.6 °F) in July. Average winter minima are a frigid -40 °C (-40 °F) while summertime temperatures are warm to hot, highs range up to 45 °C (113 °F). Most of the precipitation falls during the summer. Although the southeast monsoons reach the southeast parts of the Gobi, the area throughout this region is generally characterized by extreme dryness, especially during the winter. Hence, the icy sandstorms and snowstorms of spring and early summer.

Conservation, ecology, economy

The Gobi is the source of some of the most incredible fossil finds in history, including the first dinosaur eggs. These deserts and the surrounding regions sustain many animals, including black-tailed gazelles, marbled polecats, and sandplovers, and are occasionally visited by snow leopards, brown bears, and wolves. The desert features a number of drought-adapted shrubs such as gray sparrow's saltwort, gray sagebrush, and low grasses such as needle grass and bridlegrass. The area is vulnerable to trampling by livestock and off-road vehicles (human impacts are greater in the eastern Gobi Desert, where rainfall is heavier and may sustain livestock). In Mongolia, grasslands have been degraded by goats, raised by nomadic herders as source of cashmere wool. Economic trends of livestock privatization and the collapse of the urban economy have caused people to return to rural lifestyles, a movement contrary to urbanization. This movement has resulted in a great increase of nomadic herder population and livestock raising.

Ecoregions of the Gobi

The Gobi, broadly defined, can be divided into five distinct desert and xeric shrubland ecoregions. The Eastern Gobi desert steppe is the easternmost of the Gobi ecoregions, covering an area of 281,800 square kilometers (108,800 square miles). It extends from the Inner Mongolian Plateau in China northward into Mongolia. It includes the Yin Mountains and many low-lying areas with salt pans and small ponds. It is bounded by the Mongolian-Manchurian grassland to the north, the Yellow River Plain to the southeast, and the Alashan Plateau semi-desert to the southeast and east. The Alashan Plateau semi-desert lies west and southwest of the Eastern Gobi desert steppe. It consists of the desert basins and low mountains lying between the Gobi Altay range on the north, the Helan Mountains to the southeast, and the Qilian Mountains and northeastern portion of the Tibetan Plateau on the southwest. The Gobi Lakes Valley desert steppe ecoregion lies north of Alashan Plateau semi-desert, between the Gobi Altay range to the south and the Khangai Range to the north. The Junggar Basin semi-desert includes the desert basin lying between the Altay mountains on the north and the Tian Shan range on the south. It includes the northern portion of China's Xinjiang province and extends into the southeastern corner of Mongolia. The Alashan Plateau semi-desert lies to the east, and the Emin Valley steppe to the west, on the China-Kazakhstan border. The Tian Shan range separates the Junggar Basin semi-desert from the Taklamakan desert, which is a low, sandy desert basin surrounded by the high mountain ranges of the Tibetan Plateau to the south and the Pamirs to the west. The Taklamakan desert ecoregion includes the Desert of Lop.

Eastern Gobi desert steppe

Here the surface is extremely diversified, although there are no great differences in vertical elevation. Between Ulaanbaatar (48° N 107° E) and the little lake of Iren-dubasu-nor ( ) the surface is greatly eroded, and consists of broad flat depressions and basins separated by groups of flat-topped mountains of relatively low elevation (150-180 m), through which archaic rocks crop out as crags and isolated rugged masses. The floors of the depressions lie mostly between 900-1000 m above sea-level. Farther south, between Iren-dutiasu-nor and the Hwang-ho comes a region of broad tablelands alternating with flat plains, the latter ranging at altitudes of 1000-1100 m and the former at 1070-1200 m. The slopes of the plateaus are more or less steep, and are sometimes penetrated by "bays" of the lowlands. As the border-range of the Khingan is approached, the country steadily rises up to 1370 m and then to 1630 m. Here small lakes frequently fill the depressions, though the water in them is generally salt or brackish. Both here and for 320 km south of Ulaanbaatar, streams are frequent and grassgrows more or less abundantly. There is, however, through all the central parts, until the bordering mountains are reached, an utter absence of trees and shrubs. Clay and sand are the predominant formations, the watercourses, especially in the north, being frequently excavated 2-3 m deep, and in many places in the flat, dry valleys or depressions farther south beds of locss, 5-6 m thick, are exposed. West of the route from Ulaanbaatar to Kalgan the country presents approximately the same general features, except that the mountains are not so irregularly scattered in groups but have more strongly defined strikes, mostly east to west, west-north-west to east-south-east, and west-south-west to east-north-east. The altitudes too are higher, those of the lowlands ranging from 1000-1700 m, and those of the ranges from 200-500 m higher, though in a few cases they reach altitudes of 2400 m. The elevations do not, however, form continuous chains, but make up a congeries of short ridges and groups rising from a common base and intersected by a labyrinth of ravines, gullies, glens and basins. But the tablelards, built up of the horizontal red deposits of the Han-hai (Ohruchev's Gobi formation) which are characteristic of the southern parts of eastern Mongolia, are absent here or occur only in one locality, near the Shara-muren river, and are then greatly intersected by gullies or dry watercourses. Here there is, however, a great dearth of water, no streams, no lakes, no wells, arid precipitation falls but seldom. The prevailing winds blow from the west and northwest and the pall of dust overhangs the country as in the Takla Makan and the desert of Lop. Characteristic of the flora are wild garlic, Kalidium gracile, wormwood, saxaul, Nitraria schoberi, Caragana, Ephedra, saltwort and the grass Lasiagrostis splendens. This great desert country of Gobi is crossed by several trade routes, some of which have been in use for thousands of years. Among the most important are those from Kalgan on the frontier of China to Ulaanbaatar (960 km), from Suchow (in Gansu) to Hami (670 km) from Hami to Peking (2000 km), from Kwei-hwa-cheng (or Kuku-khoto) to Hami and Barkul, and from Lanzhou (in Gansu) to Hami.

Ala Shan Plateau semi-desert

The southwestern portion of the Gobi, known also as the Hsi-tau and the Little Gobi, fills the space between the great north loop of the Huang He or Yellow river on the east, the Edzin-gol on the west, and the Qilian Mountains and narrow rocky chain of Longshou (Ala-shan), 3200-3500 m in altitude, on the southwest. The Ordos Desert, which covers the northeastern portion of the Ordos Plateau, in the great north loop of the Huang He, is part of this ecoregion. It belongs to the middle basin of the three great depressions into which Potanin divides the Gobi as a whole. "Topographically," says Przhevalsky, "it is a perfectly level plain, which in all probability once formed the bed of a huge lake or inland sea." The data upon which he bases this conclusion are the level area of the region as a whole, the hard saline clay and the sand-strewn surface, and lastly the salt lakes which occupy its lowest parts. For hundreds of kilometers there is nothing to be seen but bare sands; in some places they continue so far without a break that the Mongols call them Tengger (i.e. sky). These vast expanses are absolutely waterless, nor do any oases relieve the unbroken stretches of yellow sand which alternate with equally vast areas of saline clay or, nearer the foot of the mountains, with barren shingle. Although on the whole a level country with a general altitude of 1000 to 1500 m, this section, like most other parts of the Gobi, is crowned by a chequered network of hills and broken ranges going up 300 m higher. The vegetation is confined to a few varieties of bushes and a dozen kinds of grasses and herbs, the most conspicuous being saxaul (Haloxylon ammondendron) and Agriophyllum gobicum. The others include prickly convolvulus, field wormwood (Artemisia campestris), acacia, Inula ammophila, Sophora flavescens, Convolvulus ammanii, Peganum and Astragalus, but all dwarfed, deformed and starved. The fauna consists of little else except antelopes, the wolf, fox, hare, hedgehog, marten, numerous lizards and a few birds, e.g. the sandgrouse, lark, stonechat, sparrow, crane, Henderson's Ground Jay (Podoces hendersoni), Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris), and Crested Lark (Galerida cristata). The only human inhabitants of Ala-shan are the Torgod Mongols.

Junggar Basin semi-desert

The Yulduz valley or valley of the Khaidyk-gol (43° N 83°-86° E) is enclosed by two prominent members of the Tian Shan mountain range, namely the Chol-tagh and the Kuruk-tagh [ridges?], running parallel and close to one another. As they proceed eastward they diverge, sweeping back on north and south, respectively so as to leave room for the Baghrash-kol. These two ranges mark the northern and the southern edges respectively of a great swelling, which extends eastward for nearly twenty degrees of longitude. On its northern side the Chol-tagh descends steeply, and its foot is fringed by a string of deep depressions, ranging from Lukchun (130 m below sea level) to Hami (850 m above sea-level). To the south of the Kuruk-tagh lie the desert of Lop, the desert of Kum-tagh, and the valley of the Bulunzir-gol. To this great swelling, which arches up between the two border-ranges of the Chol-tagh and Kuruk-tagh, the Mongols give the name of Ghashiun-Gobi or Salt Desert. It is some 130 to 160 km across from north to south, and is traversed by a number of minor parallel ranges, ridges and chains of hills, and down its middle runs a broad stony valley, 40-80 km wide, at an elevation of 900 to 1370 m. The Chol-tagh, which reaches an average altitude of 1800 m, is absolutely sterile, and its northern foot rests upon a narrow belt of barren sand, which leads down to the depressions mentioned above. The Kuruk-tagh is the greatly disintegrated, denuded and wasted relic of a mountain range which formerly was of incomparably greater magnitude. In the west, between Baghrash-kol and the Tarim, it consists of two, possibly of three, principal ranges, which, although broken in continuity, run generally parallel to one another, and embrace between them numerous minor chains of heights. These minor ranges, together with the principal ranges, divide the region into a series of long; narrow valleys, mostly parallel to one another and to the enclosing mountain chains, which descend like terraced steps, on the one side towards the depression of Lukchun and on the other towards the desert of Lop. In many cases these latitudinal valleys are barred transversely by ridges or spurs, generally elevations en masse of the bottom of the valley. Where such elevations exist, there is generally found, on the east side of the transverse ridge, a cauldron-shaped depression, which some time or other has been the bottom of a former lake, but is now nearly a dry salt-basin. The surface configuration is in fact markedly similar to that which occurs in the inter-mount latitudinal valleys of the Kunlun Mountains. The hydrography of the Ghashiun-Gobi and the Kuruk-tagh is determined by these chequered arrangements of the latitudinal valleys. Most of the principal streams, instead of flowing straight down these valleys, cross them diagonally and only turn west after they have cut their way through one or more of the transverse barrier ranges. To the highest range on the great swelling Gruni-Grzhimailo gives the name of Tuge-tau, its altitude being 2700 m above the level of the sea and some 1200 m above the crown of the swelling itself. This range he considers to belong to the Choltagh system, whereas Sven Hedin would assign it to the Kuruk-tagh. This last, which is pretty certainly identical with the range of Kharateken-ula (also known as the Kyzyl-sanghir, Sinir, and Singher Mountains), that overlooks the southern shore of the Baghrash-kol, though parted from it by the drift-sand desert of Ak-bel-kum (White Pass Sands), has at first a westnorthwest to eastsoutheast strike, but it gradually curves round like a scimitar towards the eastnortheast and at the same time gradually decreases in elevation. In 91° east, while the principal range of the Kuruk-tagh system wheels to the eastnortheast, four of its subsidiary ranges terminate, or rather die away somewhat suddenly, on the brink of a long narrow depression (in which Sven Hedin sees a northeast bay of the former great Central Asian lake of Lop-nor), having over against them the écheloned terminals of similar subordinate ranges of the Pe-shan (Boy-san) system (see below). The Kuruk-tagh is throughout a relatively low, but almost completely barren range, being entirely destitute of animal life, save for hares, antelopes and wild camels, which frequent its few small, widely scattered oases. The vegetation, which is confined to these same relatively favoured spots, is of the scantiest and is mainly confined to bushes of saxaul (Haloxylon), Anabasis, reeds (kamish), tamarisks, poplars, and Ephedra.

Desert of Kum-tagh

Desert of Hami and the Pe-shan Mountains

Sands of the Gobi Deserts

The origins of the masses of sand that make up the dunes (or barchans) in the Gobi are a source of debate. Some explorers consider them a product of marine or lacustrine denudation (ie. erosion). Most likely, however, the sands are the result of aerial denudation of the bordering mountain ranges and the remains of mountain ranges and hills within the Gobi itself. In this latter view, the winds would have a similar effect and obey similar laws as rivers and streams carrying sediment do in moister parts of the world. Potanin points out that, "there is a certain amount of regularity observable in the distribution of the sandy deserts over the vast uplands of central Asia. Two agencies are represented in the distribution of the sands, though what they really are is not quite clear; and of these two agencies one prevails in the north-west, the other in the south-east, so that the whole of Central Asia may be divided into two regions, the dividing line between them being drawn from north-east to south-west, from Ulaanbaatar via the eastern end of the Tian Shan to the city of Kashgar. North-west of this line the sandy masses are broken up into detached and disconnected areas, and are almost without exception heaped up around the lakes, and consequently in the lowest parts of the several districts in which they exist. Moreover, we find also that these sandy tracts always occur on the western or south-western shores of the lakes; this is the case with the lakes of Balkash, Ala-kul, Ebi-nor, Ayar-nor (or Telli-nor), Orku-nor, Zaisan-nor, Ulungur-nor, Ubsa-nor, Durga-nor and Kara-nor lying east of Kirghiz-nor. South-east of the line the arrangement of the sand is quite different. In that part of Asia we have three gigantic but disconnected basins. The first, lying farthest east, is embraced on the one side by the ramifications of the Kentei and Khangai Mountains and on the other by the In-shan Mountains. The second or middle division is contained between the Altay of the Gobi and the Ala-shan. The third basin, in the west, lies between the Tian Shan and the border ranges of western Tibet. The deepest parts of each of these three depressions occur near their northern borders; towards their southern boundaries they are all alike very much higher. However, the sandy deserts are not found in the low-lying tracts but occur on the higher uplands which foot the southern mountain ranges, the In-shan and the Nan-shan. Our maps show an immense expanse of sand south of the Tarim in the western basin; beginning in the neighbourhood of the city of Yarkent (Yarkand),it extends eastwards past the towns of Khotan, Kenya and Cherchen to Sa-chow. Along this stretch there is only one locality which forms an exception to the rule we have indicated, namely, the region round the lake of Lop-nor. In the middle basin the widest expanse of sand occurs between the Edzin-gol and the range of Ala-shan. On the south it extends nearly as far as a line drawn through the towns of Lian-chow, Kan-chow and Kao-tai at the foot of the Nan-shan; but on the south it does not approach anything like so far as the latitude (42° north) of the lake of Ghashiun-nor. Still farther east come the sandy deserts of Ordos, extending southeastward as far as the mountain range which separates Ordos from the (Chinese) provinces of Shan-si and Shen-si. In the eastern basin drift-sand is encountered between the district of Ude in the north (44° 30'north) and the foot of the In-shan in the south. In two regions, if not in three, the sands have overwhelmed large tracts of once cultivated country, and even buried the cities in which men formerly dwelt. Thes

Küsala Khan

Yuan Dynasty

Birth of the Yuan

Founding an Empire

Aspirations to China

Northern Conquest

Golden Age of the Yuan

Establishment of the Yuan

Early Rule

Impact

Downfall of the Yuan

Civil Unrest

Loss of China

Northern Yuan

References

See also

Buyantu Khan

Gegeen Khan

Central Asia

Definitions

Geography

Climate

History

Geostrategy

Oil politics

War on Terror

Culture

Religions

Arts

Demographics

Languages

References

External links

See also

Yesün Temür Khan

Altai Mountains

Northern region

Central Altai

Eastern Altai

World Heritage site

See also

External links

Shangdu

Ragibagh Khan

Note on his name

Jayaatu Khan

Gobi Desert

Geography and the area

Climate (as of 1911)

Conservation, ecology, economy

Ecoregions of the Gobi

Eastern Gobi desert steppe

Ala Shan Plateau semi-desert

Junggar Basin semi-desert

Desert of Kum-tagh

Desert of Hami and the Pe-shan Mountains

Sands of the Gobi Deserts