Ananda (, ) was an imperial prince of the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

of China. He was descended from

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

, as the grandson of

Kublai Khan Kublai Khan (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder and first emperor of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. He proclaimed the ...

, and son of

Manggala Manggala (; , ) was a prince of the Mongol-led Chinese Yuan dynasty. He was a son of the Yuan founding emperor Kublai Khan. Biography Manggala was born around 1242 to Kublai Khan and his principal wife Chabi as their second son. He was created ...

, the third son of Kublai. He held the noble title of King of Anxi (安西王). Ananda was a devoted

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. According to Persian historian

Rashid-al-Din Hamadani Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb (;‎ 1247–1318; also known as Rashīd al-Dīn Faḍlullāh Hamadānī, ) was a statesman, historian, and physician in Ilkhanate Iran.Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

whose name was Hassan. Under the influence of his step-father, Ananda became a Muslim.

Temür Khan Öljeyitü Khan ( Mongolian: Өлзийт; Mongolian script: '; zh, t=完澤篤汗), born Temür ( ; zh , t = 鐵穆耳 ; 15 October 1265 – 10 February 1307), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Chengzong of Yuan ( zh , c = 元成� ...

of China, the cousin of Ananda, tried to convert Ananda to Buddhism after discovering that Ananda was promulgating Islam in northwestern China where his fief was located. The prince's action was seen as unorthodox since most of the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

were affiliated with Buddhism. However,

Ghazan Khan Mahmud Ghazan (5 November 1271 – 11 May 1304) (, Ghazan Khan, sometimes westernized as Casanus was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of Arghun, grandson of Abaqa ...

of Persia, another member of Genghis Khan's family, converted to Islam as well. Ananda mentioned Ghazan upon being called to the court. Temür was not able to change the mind of Ananda and decided to tolerate his practice of religion. The father of Ananda was enfeoffed with the Hexi Region,

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

, and

Sichuan Province Sichuan is a Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capita ...

. The broad fief made Ananda a competitive player in the politics of China. He gathered his army under his tent and converted his soldiers to Islam. The location of Ananda's throne was in the Liupan mountains of northwestern China where Genghis Khan spent his final days. The official title of Ananda was King of Anxi. In 1295, Ananda was in charge of the defense against

Kaidu Kaidu (; Middle Mongol: , Modern Mongol: , ''Khaidu'' ; c. 1235 – 1301) was a grandson of the Mongol khagan Ögedei (1185–1241) and thus leader of the House of Ögedei and the '' de facto'' khan of the Chagatai Khanate, a division of t ...

's invasion of Yuan China.New History of Yuan,vol.114 After the death of Temür Khan, Ananda aimed his goal at seizing the throne of China. He was appointed the regent of China with the support of Aqutai, the left chancellor. However, his ambition was disillusioned by

Külüg Khan Külüg Khan (Mongolian language, Mongolian: Хүлэг; Mongolian script: ; ), born Khayishan (Mongolian: Хайсан ; , , meaning "wall"), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Wuzong of Yuan () (August 4, 1281 – January 27, 1311), ...

and right chancellor Qarahesun in the year 1307. In the same year, he was executed by Külüg. Ananda's scheme of usurpation, at first glance, was prevented by Külüg. However, according to the ''

History of Yuan The ''History of Yuan'' (), also known as the ''Yuanshi'', is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the '' Twenty-Four Histories'' of China. Commissioned by the court of the Ming dynasty, in accordance to political tradition, t ...

'', Ayurbarwada, younger brother of Külüg, came to

Khanbaliq Khanbaliq (; , ''Qaɣan balɣasu'') or Dadu of Yuan (; , ''Dayidu'') was the Historical capitals of China, winter capital of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty in what is now Beijing, the capital of China today. It was located at the center of modern ...

before Ananda took power and imprisoned him. After his defeat and death, the Muslim population under his rule remained and became one of the main sources of

Hui Chinese The Hui people are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the northwestern provinces and in the Zhongyuan region. According to the 2 ...

. His enthusiasm in Islam also made it one of the most important religions in northwestern China. Ananda had a son, Yerutömör who inherited his title and became King of Anxi.

References

{{reflist Borjigin 1307 deaths People executed by the Yuan dynasty Yuan dynasty Muslims

See also

References