Esen Taishi facts for kids

Esen (Mongolian: Эсэн; Mongol script: ᠡᠰᠡᠨ; Chinese: 也先) lived from 1407 to 1454. He was a very powerful leader of the Oirats, a group of Mongol tribes. Esen was the real ruler of the Northern Yuan dynasty for a short time, from 1453 to 1454.

He is most famous for capturing the Emperor Yingzong of Ming in 1449. This happened during a big battle called the Battle of Tumu Fortress. Esen also managed to bring many Mongol tribes together under his rule. During his time, the Four Oirat tribes became very strong.

What's in a Name?

The name Esen means "good health" in the Mongolian language.

The title Taishi comes from a Chinese word that means "Grand Preceptor." Among the Mongol tribes, this title was used for important nobles. These nobles were powerful but were not related to Genghis Khan, the famous founder of the Mongol Empire.

In Chinese, Esen's name is written as 也先 (Yěxiān).

Esen's Early Life and Rise to Power

Esen was born to Toghan, who was also a powerful Taishi. Toghan had already made the Oirat territory much larger. Many other Mongol tribes recognized his power.

Since Esen was an Oirat, he was not a direct descendant of Genghis Khan. This fact would later make it hard for him to claim the title of "Great Khan."

In his younger years, Esen fought against the rulers of Moghulistan. He defeated and captured their leader, Uwais Khan, three times. Esen let Uwais Khan go twice because he respected his royal bloodline. The third time, Uwais Khan gave Esen his sister, Makhtum Khanim, to marry. They had two sons together.

After his father died in 1438, Esen took over his position as Taishi. He served under the reigning khan, Taisun Khan. Under Esen's leadership, the Mongols united the Northern Yuan. This included tribes like the Jurchens and Tuvans in Manchuria and Siberia.

In the 1430s, Esen also gained control of the Mongol kingdom called Kara Del. This kingdom was in the Hami oasis, located between the Gobi and Takla Makan deserts. By 1443–1445, the Northern Yuan's influence reached as far as Korea.

Facing the Ming Dynasty

Why Conflict Started

Esen soon found himself in conflict with the Ming dynasty of China. The Ming had a strategy called "divide and rule." They would trade with different Mongol leaders and try to make them fight each other. This way, the Ming could keep them from becoming too strong.

However, with the Northern Yuan tribes united under Esen, this strategy was harder to use. Many tribes under Oirat control lived in areas that the Ming also claimed. Other tribes moved south into Ming territory to escape Oirat rule.

The Hami oasis, which used to pay tribute to the Ming emperor, now paid tribute to the Oirats. Throughout the 1440s, Esen sent more and more tribute missions to the Ming. These missions also had more people. The Oirats asked for more valuable trade agreements.

The Ming tried to create problems between Taisun Khan and Esen. But Esen chose less important "rivals" to counter the Ming's strategy. So, the Ming tried a different approach: they tried to buy off the Northern Yuan with gifts.

Esen encouraged many Mongol, Hami, and Samarkand merchants to join his missions to the Ming Emperor. From 1439, Taisun Khan and Esen sent envoys, sometimes over 1,000 people. They kept asking for more gifts. In response, the Emperor Yingzong of Ming (who ruled from 1427–1464) reduced trade with Esen and Taisun Khan. He also closed border trade with the Northern Yuan.

Capturing the Ming Emperor

To get back at the Ming for stopping trade, Esen Taishi led a huge invasion of the Ming Empire in 1449. This attack ended with the capture of the Ming emperor during the Tumu Crisis.

The large invasion began in July, with three main groups. Taisun Khan led the eastern group to Liaodong. A general named Alag attacked Xuanfu. Esen himself led the troops that attacked Datong in August. Another group of Mongols invaded Ganzhou.

This campaign was a massive win for the Northern Yuan. The Mongols completely defeated the emperor's forces. Even though the emperor had about 500,000 soldiers, Esen Taishi's 20,000 cavalry crushed them.

Datong was next to the Great Wall of China. After attacking Datong, Esen pretended to retreat back into the Mongolian steppes. The emperor and his quickly gathered army chased the invaders. They walked into an ambush near Datong. Mongol horsemen attacked the emperor's army for four days as they tried to retreat. The imperial army finally reached the Tumu Fortress.

However, the emperor's troops were trapped against the north side of the fortress. The Northern Yuan horsemen destroyed the emperor's army. Most of the remaining soldiers were killed.

Zhu Qizhen, the Ming Emperor captured by Esen Taishi

Esen was still some distance away. Six weeks later, the captured emperor Zhu Qizhen was brought to Esen's camp. Esen tried to get a ransom for the emperor from the Ming.

However, the Ming refused to pay. This might have been because the emperor's brother, Prince Zhu Qiyu, had already become the new emperor. He did not want to give up his new position. Yu Qian, the Ming defense minister, said that the emperor's life was not as important as the country's future. He also thought that paying a ransom might make the Northern Yuan stronger.

The Siege of Beijing

Esen still thought the emperor was more valuable alive. So, Esen then tried to attack Beijing, the Ming capital. But his attack failed.

Esen even offered the emperor his sister in marriage, but the emperor refused. The Ming army in Beijing, led by Yu Qian, quickly turned the situation around. Yu Qian ordered his soldiers to pretend they had lost control of a city gate. This was to trick the Mongol horsemen into entering the city.

Once a large number of Mongol forces were inside, the gate was shut. The Mongols were then ambushed. Esen's close friend was killed in this attack. Since he failed to take the city, Esen had to retreat. His own troops were pressuring him, and Ming reinforcements were arriving.

Esen and Taisun Khan then tried to attack Manchuria and East Siberia, which were under Ming rule. They attacked areas around the Nen River and Songhua River. But they failed and were defeated by the Ming.

Peace Talks

The Ming court had put the Jingtai Emperor (who ruled from 1449–1457) on the throne. Esen sent the captured emperor back in 1450. The Mongol economy relied on trade with the Ming dynasty. So, Esen had to start talking about peace again, but now from a much weaker position.

Even though trade did not completely stop during the Tumu Crisis, Esen did not get better terms. He was forced to accept less favorable terms to restart trade with the Ming. The Northern Yuan then became like a vassal state to the Ming for some time.

Esen's Rule and Death

Taisun Khan and Esen Taishi began to argue about who would be the next ruler. Esen wanted his sister's son to be Taisun Khan's successor. But Taisun chose a son from his eastern Mongol wife instead. This led to a war between their groups.

Agbarjin jinong, who was married to Esen's daughter Tsetseg, was promised the title of khan. He then joined the Oirats. Taisun, supported by the Ming dynasty's Three Guards, openly fought against Esen and Agbarjin in 1451. But Taisun's forces were outnumbered, and he was killed in 1452 while trying to escape.

Esen was not satisfied with this victory. He later killed Agbarjin and his royal heirs at a feast. Esen wanted to become khan himself. Tsetseg was pregnant at the time. Esen promised to kill the baby if it was a boy. But Samur Gunj helped the infant prince escape when he was born. This prince later grew up to be Bayan-Mongke, the father of Dayan Khan.

In 1453, eighteen months after defeating Taisun Khan, Esen took the title of "Tian-sheng Khagan of the Great Yuan" (Tengri Bogd Khan). At the same time, the Oirats invaded Moghulistan, Tashkent, and Transoxiana.

The Ming emperor was one of the first to recognize Esen's new title. But other Mongols, both Oirat and others, were mostly unhappy or angry. Esen was related to Genghis Khan's royal family through his grandmother. However, he likely would not have been chosen as Khan in the usual way. Mongol leaders were traditionally chosen by a system called the kurultai. This was an elective monarchy where family members voted for the next leader. Esen ignored this process.

This unhappiness soon turned into an open rebellion against Esen. Esen gave his son Amasanj the title of Taishi. This made Alag, his powerful general, angry because he had expected to get that title. Other Oirat leaders joined the rebellion against Esen. He was defeated in battle and killed in 1454, just one year after becoming khan.

After Esen's death, the Oirats no longer controlled eastern Mongolia. This area had come under their power because of Esen and his father. The eastern and western Mongols remained separate for many centuries. Later rulers of the Zunghar state in the 17th and 18th centuries believed they were descendants of Esen Taishi.

See Also

• List of khans of the Northern Yuan dynasty
• Four Oirat
• Tumu Crisis
• Kara Del