Yesun Temur

Also known as Emperor Taiding of Yuan · Zhayadu Khan

Yesun Temur was the son of Gammala, eldest son of the crown prince Zhenjin; when his father died in 1302 he inherited the title Prince of Jin and the command of the Mongolian homeland. After Tegshi and his fellow conspirators murdered Emperor Yingzong at Nanpo in 1323, they sent word north offering him the throne, and he was enthroned on the Kerulen River in the ninth month, adopting the era name Taiding the following year. He had the regicides executed, made his trusted adviser Dawlat Shah chief councillor, and set up imperial lectures given in both Mongolian and Chinese. He died at Shangdu in 1328; Dawlat Shah enthroned his young son Aragibag there, while El Temur in Dadu declared for Wuzong's son Tugh Temur, and the Two Capitals War followed. Tugh Temur's court never granted him a temple or posthumous name, so he is known by his era name as the Taiding emperor.