Biligtü Khan

Biligtü Khan, born Ayushiridara , was a ruler of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia. Ascended to the throne after the death of his father who was the last Yuan emperor, he defeated the invading Ming army in 1372 and recaptured some Chinese borderlands that were previously lost to the newly-founded Ming Dynasty.
Ayushiridara was the eldest son of Toghun Temür Khan and Öljei Khutughu Khatun in 1338. He was given his earliest tuition in Chinese at the house of his father's minister, Toghtogha, at age ten. Toghun Temür's principal empress, Danashri, bore only one son who died in infancy. The Mongol noyans mostly preferred another Borjigin (Mongol noble) heir, rather than Ayushiridara, as his mother was a former palace maid and tea server of Korean nationality.Only after the purge of Danashri's family and the death of Bayan of the Merkid, he and his mother were accepted at the Mongolian court. Induced by his Korean empress, Öljei Khutughu, the Yuan Emperor Toghun Temür scheduled to elect his heir apparent in 1353. However, Toghtogha delayed the schedule for some unknown reason. This aroused the anger of the latter's political enemies. The chief minister and his former protégé, Hama, and Ayushiridara, with the support of the empress Öljei Khutughu, accused him of corruption and violation of law while he was fighting the Red Turban Rebellion in 1354. This situation halted Toghtogha who was successful in defeating the rebellion and was stripped of his dignities and sent to Hoai-nan into exile.
Hama was made first minister and all power was then in his hands. Elated by this success, Hama decided to raise to the throne Ayushiridara. This plot was discovered, Hama was sentenced to exile and strangled by his enemies there in 1356, and Ayushiridara was pardoned.When he became crown prince in 1353, it caused internal strife between his supporters and opponents. Seven years later the heir and Öljei Khutughu wished the first minister, Tai ping, should prevail on the Khagan to resign and leave him dominion. When Tai ping refused, they had poisoned the minister's partisans and forced him to resign. Power passed to a eunuch, Papuhwa, and to Cho sekin, two weak men. An opposition leader Bolad-Temür occupied the capital in 1364. Ayushiridara was ordered back by his father to Dadu. Feeling himself not powerful enough to resist Bolad-Temür's large army, Ayushiridara fled to the Yuan general, Köke Temür. When Bolad-Temür learned that Ayushiridara was advancing with troops, he arrested Öljei Khutughu and forced her to recall her son to the capital. However, Bolad-Temür's commanders deserted to Köke Temür. Toghun Temür secretly ordered Ho chang, son of the prince of Wei chun, to murder Bolad-Temür. After the latter's death, Köke Temür defeated Bolad-Temür's commander Tukiel in 1365. Ayushiridara forced Köke Temür to persuade the Emperor to resign in his favor. The Emperor was unwilling to abdicate, but he appointed his son lieutenant in the Yuan. Köke Temür tried to prevent it, but failed and was stripped of his dignities.
In 1368 the Yuan Dynasty was overthrown by the Ming Dynasty, and Toghun Temür Khan and his family fled north to Shangdu from Dadu. In 1370 Toghun Temür died in Yingchang. The Ming army captured the city and relatives and Maidarbal, a son of Ayushiridara who escaped safely to Karakorum where he was officially enthroned as Khagan of the Mongols with the Mongolian title of Biligtü (Intelligent).