Bulugan or Bulukhan (,; ) was a

Mongol 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 of M ...

princess, the consort of Yuan emperor

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� ...

(r. 1294–1307). Bulugan acted as regent for her ill husband and virtually ruled the empire.

Biography

She belonged to the Baya'ut tribe, the daughter of Torgus Küregen who had served

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 ...

. She was made empress following Shirindari's death in 1305. Bulugan acted as regent for her ill husband and virtually ruled the empire. She made Shirindari's son Prince Deshou the heir apparent in June 1305. To ensure the boy's succession, she removed all the potential rivals from the court. For example,

Darmabala Darmabala (also known as Dharmapala - , , , ) was an imperial prince of the Yuan dynasty. He was a grandson of Kublai Khan and son of his Crown Prince Zhenjin. He was an ancestor of subsequent Yuan monarchs who came after Temür Khan (Emperor Che ...

's son Ayurbarwada was sent to

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

as the prince of Huaining,''The Cambridge History of China'': "Alien regimes and border states, 907-1368", p.505 but Deshou died on 3 January 1306.

Later life

Later in 1307 when Temür Khan died, Bulugan kept away the

Khunggirad The Khongirad (; ; ; ) was one of the major divisions of the Mongol tribes. Their homeland was located in the vicinity of Lake Hulun in Inner Mongolia and Khalkha River in Mongolia,M. Sanjdorj, History of the Mongolian People's Republic, Volum ...

-mothered brothers Khaishan and Ayurbarwada and attempted to set up

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 ...

Ananda, son of Manggala as new khagan. Bulugan herself married Ananda and converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. Her alliance was supported by some senior officials of the Secretariat under Aqutai. Ananda was a popular prince who successfully protected the provinces of the Yuan against the Ögedeid and Chaghatayid armies and had a bulk of the imperial army under him in Anxi. But he lacked of military power in the imperial capital city and was a Muslim opposed to the majority of the Buddhist and Tengriist Mongols. The Khongirad faction alarmed by it and arrested Ananda and Bulugan by coup and recalled Ayurbarwada and

Dagi Dagi was an ancient Egyptian vizier during the reign of pharaoh Mentuhotep II of the Eleventh Dynasty The Eleventh Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty XI; ) is a well-attested group of rulers. Its earlier members before Pharaoh Mentuhote ...

from

. Then Khayishan decided to hold the coronation ceremony in

Shangdu Shangdu (; lit. "Upper Capital"; ), known in the West as Xanadu, was the summer capital of the Yuan dynasty under Kublai Khan. Located in what is now Zhenglan Banner, Inner Mongolia, it was designed by Chinese architect Liu Bingzhong and served as ...

just as his great-grandfather Khubilai Khan did, and advanced southward with the most part of his army. He was welcomed by Ayurbarwada, who gave up khanship, and ascended to the throne. They executed Ananda, Bulugan and their retainers in 1307.

References

13th-century Mongol women 13th-century Mongols 14th-century Mongol women 14th-century Mongols 14th-century women regents 14th-century regents Year of birth missing Yuan dynasty empresses 1307 deaths 14th-century executions 13th-century Chinese women 13th-century Chinese people 14th-century Chinese women 14th-century Chinese people {{Women-hist-stub