Esen Taishi - Reign and Death

Reign and Death

Although, Togtoo-Bukha opposed Esen's policy of confrontation with the Ming, there was not any serious tension between the two. They quarreled over the designation of the heir of the throne. Esen wanted a son of his sister who was the wife of the khagan to be the successor of Togtaa-Bukha. But Togtoo-Bukha nominated his another son of the eastern Mongolian khatun as his heir instead. Togtoo-Bukha supported the Three guards and led his own forces openly against Esen in 1451; but they were outnumbered by Oirat loyalists and the nominal Khan was caught and killed by eastern tribesmen as he attempted to retreat. Togtaa-Bukha's brother Agbarjin jinong (viceroy), who married Esen's daughter Tsetseg, deserted to the Oirats and was promised the title of khagan of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. However, Esen murdered him after he invited Agbarjin with his male relatives at the feast. Esen attempted to kill the baby son of her daughter by Agbarjin' son, Qara Qurtsaq, but she and Esen's grandmother, Samar, hid the infant prince, Batu-Mongke, who would be a direct ancestor of Dayan Khan. Within eighteen months of his defeat of the titular Khan Toghto-Bukha, in 1453, Esen himself took the title of Great Khan of the Great Yuan (大元天盛可汗). At the same time the Oirats began an expedition into Moghulistan, Tashkent, Transoxiana

The Ming emperor was among the first to acknowledge the new title, but the reaction of Esen's fellow Mongols, Oirat and otherwise, mostly ranged from disapproving to enraged. Though Esen's line was related to the royal line descended from Temüjin (Genghis Khan) through his grandmother Samar gunji (princess), it was unlikely that he would have been considered eligible for election as Khan, and in any case Esen ignored the usual selection process: rather than the title of khan falling automatically to the eldest eligible male of the line, as in primogeniture, Mongol leaders were traditionally chosen by means of the kurultai, an elective monarchy system, with the members of a lineage voting to choose the title's successor from among themselves. This dissatisfaction soon escalated into open revolt against Esen's leadership.

Esen gave his son Amasanj the title of taishi, an action that led his powerful general Alag, who had expected to receive the title himself, into rebellion. Notable Oirat leaders joined the rebellion against Esen who was defeated at the battle and murdered in 1455, the year following his assumption of the title of khan, by the son of a political opponent whom Esen had executed. After his death, the Oirat no longer held sway over the areas of Mongolia which had come under their control only under his rule, and remained divided among themselves for many years. The 17th and 18th century Zunghar rulers considered themselves to be descendants of Esen Taishi.