Ragibagh Khan

Ragibagh Khan – Yuan Dynasty

Ragibagh Khan, the son of Yesun Temur, was concisely installed in Shangdu as the emperor of Yuan in 1328. He was supposed to be the 7th leader of the Yuan Dynasty, yet was dethroned by his rival, who ascended the throne by a coup.

Other than the Emperor of Yuan, he was known as the 11th Great Khan of the Mongols. But due to the division of the empire, his rule over the lands was limited.

Throughout the Mongol’s history of rulers, he was the shortest-reigning leader of all.

Before Ruling the Yuan Dynasty

Ragibagh Khan was Yesun Temur’s eldest son. His mother was Babukhan Khatun from the Khunggirad clan. She held power because of marriage to someone from the imperial family.

He became crown prince in 1324, yet a month after, he was installed in Shandu when Yesun Temur died. This was made possible by a powerful Muslim officer named Dawlat Shah.

The sudden demise of Yesun Temur triggered an anti-mainstream group. It led them to start an uprising due to their dissatisfaction with the monopolization of the power of Yesun’s aides. These aides included Dawlat Shah, the person who served him when he was assigned to Mongolia.

In Dadu, the Mongol Qipchaq commander, El Temur, started a coup to install Khayishan’s son. Tugh Temur was then welcomed into the area while Ragibagh ascended the throne as the Emperor of Yuan.

War of the Two Capitals

At Khanbaliq (main capital), bold actions were taken to restore Khayishan’s sons to the throne. These sons specifically were Kusala and Tugh Temur.

Yet this became possible mainly because of the political abilities of El Temur. His Qipchaq family achieved their pinnacle under the Khayishan rule. He started a conspiracy in Khanbaliq to overthrow the Shangdu court.

This allowed him and his entourage to take advantage of the huge economic and geographical benefits over Yesun Temur’s loyalists.

Tugh Temur was called back to Khanbaliq by El Temur since his influential brother (Kusala) was based in Central Asia. Then, he was installed as the newest leader in the area, which coincided when Ragibagh succeeded the throne in Shangdu.

The War

The War of the Two Capitals was a capital war that broke out after. It happened in 1328 under the Yuan Dynasty, a division of the Mongol Empire that governed most of East Asia.

It was a succession war between the Yuan forces based in Khanbaliq and those based in Shangdu. The war arose after Yesun Temur’s death in Shangdu.

There, the army of Ragibagh broke through several points at the Great Wall before advancing to Dadu. However, they were defeated by the army of El Temur.

Simultaneously, most of the troops of Ragibagh Khan were battling on the Great Wall front. As for the Shangdu court, it was impelled to surrender the next day.

Dawlat Shah, together with the other leading loyalists, were made prisoners then later, executed by the Dadu group. Yet right after the incident, it’s said that Ragibagh disappeared, though it’s evidently claimed that he was murdered.

The Yuan Army under Temur Baka’s command was also defeated. During that stage, Prince Yuntu Temur was told to withdraw his men from the Jiangxi, Jiangzhe, and Henan Jiangbei provinces. The last few remnants of the loyalists didn’t give up their cause and fought until 1332.

The battle between the groups was the most devastating and destructive of all in the Yuan Dynasty’s history. The war was more of a struggle than an ideology to advance family interests via military strength and alliances.

It ended with the Khanbaliq group being victorious. However, it took some years for the few remnants of their enemies to surrender and accept defeat.