Bayan of the Baarin
Encyclopedia
Bayan of the Baarin also known as "Bayan chingsang" (Mongolian
: Баян) or, to Marco Polo
, as "Bayan Hundred Eyes" (probably from a misunderstanding of ), was a Mongol
general. He commanded the army of Kublai Khan
against the Song Dynasty
(960–1279) of China
, ushering in the Song collapse and the conquest by the Yuan Dynasty
of southern China
.
"Bayan" literally means "rich" in the Mongolian language
.
, Bayan came from the Mongol Baarin tribe. Nayagha, together with Bayan's grandfather Alagh and Alagh's and Nayagha's father Shirgügetü Ebügen, appear in the Secret History of the Mongols.
However, at least one well-respected scholar presents Bayan as a Turk
whose family had long served the Great Khans.
in Khorazm province under the Mongol Empire
. Bayan's father died during the Mongol siege of the stronghold of the Assassins (Hashshashin). While Bayan served in Persia with Hulegu's army, Kublai Khan recalled him. Kublai liked him, but he did not hold commanding rank in the Yuan army. After the success of the Battle of Xiangyang
in 1273, Kublai appointed Bayan as the commander of the Yuan army and general Aju
agreed the decision. Bayan married the niece of Kublai's Khatun Chabi of the Kunggirat.
for fighting the Mongols. More Song generals surrendered, including Fan Wenhu in Sichuan and Chen Yi in Huangzhou (Huanggang area, Hubei). Hearing that Liu Zheng had died, Jia Sidao experienced a brief ecstasy and led an army of about 130,000 against the Mongols, but he suffered defeat on the Yangtze River. The populace of the Jiangsu areas, around the Yangtze, including Zhenjiang and Jiangyin, deserted their homes in the face of the Mongol attacks. Jia Sidao sent an emissary to Bayan to discuss a truce, but Bayan declined to negotiate. Jia Sidao asked the dowager empress to relocate the Song capital, Hangzhou
, but Empress Xie-shi refused to move.
Several ministers at the Song court requested that the regent deprive Jia Sidao of his posts, and the Song released former Mongol emissaries like Hao Jing as a good-will gesture. At this point Zhang Shijie of E'zhou (Hubei Province), Wen Tianxiang of Jiangxi and Li Fei of Hunan came to the east to help the Song court. A Song general abandoned Jiankang (i.e. Nanking
), and the Mongols took Changzhou
and Wuxi
.
Kublai Khan then sent Lian Xixian and Yan Zhongfan to the Song to discuss a ceasefire. Lian Xixian asked Bayan for bodyguards, but Bayan advised that the more bodyguards Lian took with him, the more the likelihood that the Song Chinese might harm him. Lian obtained 500 soldiers, but once he arrived at Dusong-guan Pass, the Song General Zhang Ru killed Yan Zhongfan and captured Lian Xixian. (The History of Yuan Dynasty states that the Song killed Lian too.) Bayan deplored the Song behavior, and sent another emissary, Zhang Xu, to the Song court, together with a Song emissary; but a Song border general had Zhang Xu killed. Then the Mongols stopped peace talks and attacked Yangzhou
on the northern bank of the Yangtze
(Changjiang River) and defeated two generals under Li Tingzhi. Jiading surrendered next, and a Mongol fire attack defeated Zhang Shijie's navy on the Yangtze. Wen Tianxiang arrived in Lin'an (Hangzhou
, the Song capital), but the Empress Dowager did not take his advice. Jia Sidao was expelled from the capital, and the escort official killed him en route. The Mongols took Taizhou
in Jiangsu
and slaughtered the inhabitants of Changzhou. In Hunan
, Li Fei died, and the Song lost both Hunan and Jiangxi
Provinces. After taking over Dusong-guan Pass, the Mongols started to close in in on the Song capital.
A Song minister called Liu Yue, sent to the Mongol camp to sue for peace, received a rebuff from Bayan, who said that the Song Emperor obtained the throne from a child and would lose it in the hands of a kid. The Song sent Lu Xufu to the Mongols to express a wish to become a Mongol protectorate, but the Mongols declined the proposal. The Song's new prime minister, Chen Yizhong, sent Liu Yue to the Mongols in an attempt to gain acknowledgment as a Mongol vassal, but a Song Chinese civilian killed Liu Yue en route, at Gaoyou of Jiangsu Province. The Mongols then sacked Jiaxing and An'jie of Zhejiang Province. Wen Tianxiang and Zhang Shijie advised that the Song court relocate to the islands ioffshore, but Prime Minister Chen Yizhong decided to send the imperial seal to the Mongols in token of surrender. Bayan demanded that Chen personally come to the Mongols, and Chen fled to Wenzhou, a southern Zhejiang coastal city. Zhang Shijie led his people into the sea. The Song appointed Wen Tianxiang as the rightside prime minister and ordered him to go to the Mongols to seek peace. Bayan arrested Wen after he accused Bayan of invasion. In AD 1276, Bayan took over Lin'an and forced the dowager empress to issue the surrender order. He sent the Song royal family, including the dowager empress and Emperor Gongdi, to Peking.
Turk minister Ahmad Fanakati
was jealous with Bayan's success and tried to calumniate him that he plundered Chinese commoners.
's son Shiregi (Xi-li-jie) and Muqali
's grandson An-tong against Haidu
, the grandson of Ögedei Khan
to Almaligh in 1275. Following year, Shiregi defected to Haidu's side and arrested the prince and An-tong due to another relative Tokhtemur's conviction. Then they sent Nomukhan to Mongketemur
of Golden Horde
and An-tong to Haidu. Kublai then ordered prime minister Bayan to counter Haidu , who had started to close in on Karakorum
and rebel princes. Bayan defeated Shiregi and his followers. After that Tokhtemur and Shiregi destroyed unity they sought and turned into robber bands. Shiregi killed Tokhtemur. But he was arrested by his former ally Chagatai
prince Sarban. He gave Shiregi to Great khan to spare his life. In 1278, the Golden Horde court released Nomukhan and sent him to Yuan Dynasty. Rashi ad-Din wrote that Tode Mongke
released Nomukhan and expressed his willingness to submit to Kublai after his sons' 10 years hostage in Crimea
. But some historians think that Mongketemur released the princes.
Kublai recalled Bayan when Nai-yan (the great grandson of the brother of Genghis Khan
) reportedly planned rebellion in the areas between the Onon and Kerulen rivers of Mongolia
. Bayan went to meet Nao-yan and failed to persuade Nai-yan. Bayan fled back to the Mongol capital. A Mongol minister recommended to Kublai that pacifying the khanates in the west would lead Nayan
to submit. Kublai therefore ordered this minister to go west: and he claimed that Nai-yan had already submitted to Kublai. Hence the khanates all succumbed to Khubilai. After that, Khubilai led an army northward against Nai-yan. Seeing that his Mongol soldiers fraternized with the Nai-yan soldiers, Khubilai adopted the advice of a Chinese in having the Chinese army act as the forerunner column. General Li Ting tricked Nai-yan into a retreat and then defeated Nai-yan's army of 100,000 in a night attack with cannons. Nai-yan was captured and executed. The battle was later reported by Marco Polo
to Europe
.
A remnant of Nai-yan's people then fled to Manchuria
and attacked eastern Liaoning
Province. The Liaodong Xuanweishi (遼東宣慰使) of the Yuan, Ta-chu (塔出), asked for aid, and Kublai sent his son over. Ta-chu defeated the Nai-yan remnants under Khadan (Descendant of Genghis khan's another brother) and chased them westward to the Altai. Ta-chu won the title of wan hu. Nai-yan remnants, however, still remained for some time.
Bayan received orders to counter Kaidu
, who harassed Helin
in the west; and Prince Timur (grandson of Kublai) had the duty of guarding the Liao River area in the east. When a Mongol official defected to Kaidu and attacked Kublai's grandson Kamala (or Gemala) near Hang'aishan Mountain, Kublai would lead a column to the north. Kaidu retreated thereafter. Bayan would continue warfare with Kaidu for some time before he left the post at Helin. Unfortunately, some ministers accused him of Kaidu's desertion. He was sent to China far away from Mongolia for a while. Temur was appointed a governor in Karakorum and Bayan became a minister.
before the latter's death in 1294. With the support of minister Bayan Kublai's grandson Timur became Kublai's successor, the Emperor Chengzong after the Yuan court went through a power vacuum for a few months. Bayan died on 11 January 1295.
. In the film he was played with a mixture of culture and menace by Orson Wells.
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
: Баян) or, to Marco Polo
Marco Polo
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
, as "Bayan Hundred Eyes" (probably from a misunderstanding of ), was a Mongol
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
general. He commanded the army of Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
against the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
(960–1279) of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, ushering in the Song collapse and the conquest by the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
of southern China
Northern and southern China
Northern China and southern China are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions has never been precisely defined...
.
"Bayan" literally means "rich" in the Mongolian language
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
.
Background
Born a grandnephew of Nayagha, a general under Genghis KhanGenghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
, Bayan came from the Mongol Baarin tribe. Nayagha, together with Bayan's grandfather Alagh and Alagh's and Nayagha's father Shirgügetü Ebügen, appear in the Secret History of the Mongols.
However, at least one well-respected scholar presents Bayan as a Turk
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
whose family had long served the Great Khans.
Early career
His grandfather Alagh was the viceroyViceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
in Khorazm province under the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
. Bayan's father died during the Mongol siege of the stronghold of the Assassins (Hashshashin). While Bayan served in Persia with Hulegu's army, Kublai Khan recalled him. Kublai liked him, but he did not hold commanding rank in the Yuan army. After the success of the Battle of Xiangyang
Battle of Xiangyang
The Battle of Xiangyang also known as the Battle of Xiangfan was a six-year battle between invading Yuan Dynasty armies founded by the Mongols and Southern Song forces between AD 1267 and 1273. After the battle, the victorious Yuan forces pushed farther into the Song heartland...
in 1273, Kublai appointed Bayan as the commander of the Yuan army and general Aju
Aju
Aju was a general and chancellor of the Mongol Empire and the Yuan Dynasty. He was from the Jarchud clan of the Mongol Uriankhai....
agreed the decision. Bayan married the niece of Kublai's Khatun Chabi of the Kunggirat.
The conquest of southern China
The Song Emperor Duzong died in 1274, and his four-year-old son Zhao Xian became the Emperor Gongdi (reigned 1274–1276). The Mongols sent Shi Tianze and Bayan on a full-scale campaign against the Song. Shi Tianze died en route. Bayan ordered that Aju head the first column and depart for the Yangtze from Xiangyang, with Lu Wenhuan as fore-runner general; the second column headed by Mang-wu would depart from Yangzhou, with Liu Zheng as forerunner general. Bayan took numerous cities on his march, slaughtered the inhabitants of one town, and killed and captured numerous Song generals. The Song Dowager Empress and Regent, Xie-shi, had no choice but to rely on Jia SidaoJia Sidao
Jia Sidao was a chancellor during the late Song Dynasty of China. He dominated the Song court from 1260 to 1273, after rising to the rank of chancellor due to his sister being a concubine of the Emperor Lizong...
for fighting the Mongols. More Song generals surrendered, including Fan Wenhu in Sichuan and Chen Yi in Huangzhou (Huanggang area, Hubei). Hearing that Liu Zheng had died, Jia Sidao experienced a brief ecstasy and led an army of about 130,000 against the Mongols, but he suffered defeat on the Yangtze River. The populace of the Jiangsu areas, around the Yangtze, including Zhenjiang and Jiangyin, deserted their homes in the face of the Mongol attacks. Jia Sidao sent an emissary to Bayan to discuss a truce, but Bayan declined to negotiate. Jia Sidao asked the dowager empress to relocate the Song capital, Hangzhou
Hangzhou
Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
, but Empress Xie-shi refused to move.
Several ministers at the Song court requested that the regent deprive Jia Sidao of his posts, and the Song released former Mongol emissaries like Hao Jing as a good-will gesture. At this point Zhang Shijie of E'zhou (Hubei Province), Wen Tianxiang of Jiangxi and Li Fei of Hunan came to the east to help the Song court. A Song general abandoned Jiankang (i.e. Nanking
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
), and the Mongols took Changzhou
Changzhou
Changzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling, Jinling, and Wujin. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Zhenjiang to the...
and Wuxi
Wuxi
Wuxi is an old city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Split in half by Lake Tai, Wuxi borders Changzhou to the west and Suzhou to the east. The northern half looks across to Taizhou across the Yangtze River, while the southern half also borders the province of Zhejiang to the south...
.
Kublai Khan then sent Lian Xixian and Yan Zhongfan to the Song to discuss a ceasefire. Lian Xixian asked Bayan for bodyguards, but Bayan advised that the more bodyguards Lian took with him, the more the likelihood that the Song Chinese might harm him. Lian obtained 500 soldiers, but once he arrived at Dusong-guan Pass, the Song General Zhang Ru killed Yan Zhongfan and captured Lian Xixian. (The History of Yuan Dynasty states that the Song killed Lian too.) Bayan deplored the Song behavior, and sent another emissary, Zhang Xu, to the Song court, together with a Song emissary; but a Song border general had Zhang Xu killed. Then the Mongols stopped peace talks and attacked Yangzhou
Yangzhou
Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou to the east, and Zhenjiang across...
on the northern bank of the Yangtze
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
(Changjiang River) and defeated two generals under Li Tingzhi. Jiading surrendered next, and a Mongol fire attack defeated Zhang Shijie's navy on the Yangtze. Wen Tianxiang arrived in Lin'an (Hangzhou
Hangzhou
Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
, the Song capital), but the Empress Dowager did not take his advice. Jia Sidao was expelled from the capital, and the escort official killed him en route. The Mongols took Taizhou
Taizhou, Jiangsu
Taizhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu province of eastern China. Situated on the north bank of the Yangtze River, it borders Nantong to the east, Yancheng to the north and Yangzhou to the west....
in Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
and slaughtered the inhabitants of Changzhou. In Hunan
Hunan
' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
, Li Fei died, and the Song lost both Hunan and Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
Provinces. After taking over Dusong-guan Pass, the Mongols started to close in in on the Song capital.
A Song minister called Liu Yue, sent to the Mongol camp to sue for peace, received a rebuff from Bayan, who said that the Song Emperor obtained the throne from a child and would lose it in the hands of a kid. The Song sent Lu Xufu to the Mongols to express a wish to become a Mongol protectorate, but the Mongols declined the proposal. The Song's new prime minister, Chen Yizhong, sent Liu Yue to the Mongols in an attempt to gain acknowledgment as a Mongol vassal, but a Song Chinese civilian killed Liu Yue en route, at Gaoyou of Jiangsu Province. The Mongols then sacked Jiaxing and An'jie of Zhejiang Province. Wen Tianxiang and Zhang Shijie advised that the Song court relocate to the islands ioffshore, but Prime Minister Chen Yizhong decided to send the imperial seal to the Mongols in token of surrender. Bayan demanded that Chen personally come to the Mongols, and Chen fled to Wenzhou, a southern Zhejiang coastal city. Zhang Shijie led his people into the sea. The Song appointed Wen Tianxiang as the rightside prime minister and ordered him to go to the Mongols to seek peace. Bayan arrested Wen after he accused Bayan of invasion. In AD 1276, Bayan took over Lin'an and forced the dowager empress to issue the surrender order. He sent the Song royal family, including the dowager empress and Emperor Gongdi, to Peking.
Turk minister Ahmad Fanakati
Ahmad Fanakati
Ahmad Fanākatī was a Muslim financial minister of Kublai Khan's Yuan Dynasty.-History:He came from Fanakat , a town on the upper Syr Darya in Central Asia. Trusted by Chabui Khatun, Kublai's favorite wife, he was entrusted with state finances in 1262...
was jealous with Bayan's success and tried to calumniate him that he plundered Chinese commoners.
Later military career
Kublai dispatched his favorite son Nomukhan, another son Kokhcu, MongkeMongke
Mongke means "eternal" in Mongolian language and may refer to:-Medieval:* Möngke Khan , Great khan of the Mongol Empire* Yesü Möngke, khan of Chagatai khanate, 1247-1252* Mengu-Timur Mongke (also Mönkh, Monkh, Munkh) means "eternal" in Mongolian language and may refer to:-Medieval:* Möngke Khan...
's son Shiregi (Xi-li-jie) and Muqali
Muqali
Mukhulai was one of the greatest generals under Genghis Khan of Jalayir descent and the first prince of the Mongol Empire. The fact that his father died trying to save Genghis Khan during a battle coupled with his own skills in battle led Muqali to become one of the Khan's most trusted generals...
's grandson An-tong against Haidu
Kaidu
Kaidu was the leader of the House of Ogedei and the de facto khan of the Chagatai Khanate. He ruled part of modern-day Xinjiang and Central Asia during the 13th century, and actively opposed his uncle, Kublai Khan, who established the Yuan Dynasty in China until his death in 1301...
, the grandson of Ögedei Khan
Ögedei Khan
Ögedei Khan, born Ögedei was the third son of Genghis Khan and second Great Khan of the Mongol Empire by succeeding his father...
to Almaligh in 1275. Following year, Shiregi defected to Haidu's side and arrested the prince and An-tong due to another relative Tokhtemur's conviction. Then they sent Nomukhan to Mongketemur
Mengu-Timur
Mengu-Timur or Möngke Temür , Son of Toqoqan Khan and Buka Ujin of Oirat and the grandson of Batu Khan. He was a khan of the Golden Horde in 1266-1280.His name literally means "Eternal Iron" in the Mongolian language....
of Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
and An-tong to Haidu. Kublai then ordered prime minister Bayan to counter Haidu , who had started to close in on Karakorum
Karakorum
Karakorum was the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, and of the Northern Yuan in the 14-15th century. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Övörkhangai Province of Mongolia, near today's town of Kharkhorin, and adjacent to the Erdene Zuu monastery...
and rebel princes. Bayan defeated Shiregi and his followers. After that Tokhtemur and Shiregi destroyed unity they sought and turned into robber bands. Shiregi killed Tokhtemur. But he was arrested by his former ally Chagatai
Chagatai Khanate
The Chagatai Khanate was a Turko-Mongol khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan , second son of the Great Khan Genghis Khan, and his descendents and successors...
prince Sarban. He gave Shiregi to Great khan to spare his life. In 1278, the Golden Horde court released Nomukhan and sent him to Yuan Dynasty. Rashi ad-Din wrote that Tode Mongke
Tuda Mengu
Tuda Mengu, also known as Tode Mongke , was khan of the Golden Horde from 1280-1287. He was the son of Toqoqan, grandson of Batu Khan and brother of Mongke Temur. A pious khan, he converted to Islam in 1283. Due to his deep religion, Tudamongke was not aggressive to expand his territory...
released Nomukhan and expressed his willingness to submit to Kublai after his sons' 10 years hostage in Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
. But some historians think that Mongketemur released the princes.
Kublai recalled Bayan when Nai-yan (the great grandson of the brother of Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
) reportedly planned rebellion in the areas between the Onon and Kerulen rivers of Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
. Bayan went to meet Nao-yan and failed to persuade Nai-yan. Bayan fled back to the Mongol capital. A Mongol minister recommended to Kublai that pacifying the khanates in the west would lead Nayan
Nayan
'Nayan' or 'nayana' is the Hindi colloquial, but stylized word, derived from the Sanskrit word "nayanam" which means 'eyes' while the correct pronunciation of this word is NAIN.It is sometimes used to refer to the South Indian actress better known as Nayantara....
to submit. Kublai therefore ordered this minister to go west: and he claimed that Nai-yan had already submitted to Kublai. Hence the khanates all succumbed to Khubilai. After that, Khubilai led an army northward against Nai-yan. Seeing that his Mongol soldiers fraternized with the Nai-yan soldiers, Khubilai adopted the advice of a Chinese in having the Chinese army act as the forerunner column. General Li Ting tricked Nai-yan into a retreat and then defeated Nai-yan's army of 100,000 in a night attack with cannons. Nai-yan was captured and executed. The battle was later reported by Marco Polo
Marco Polo
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
A remnant of Nai-yan's people then fled to Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
and attacked eastern Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
Province. The Liaodong Xuanweishi (遼東宣慰使) of the Yuan, Ta-chu (塔出), asked for aid, and Kublai sent his son over. Ta-chu defeated the Nai-yan remnants under Khadan (Descendant of Genghis khan's another brother) and chased them westward to the Altai. Ta-chu won the title of wan hu. Nai-yan remnants, however, still remained for some time.
Bayan received orders to counter Kaidu
Kaidu
Kaidu was the leader of the House of Ogedei and the de facto khan of the Chagatai Khanate. He ruled part of modern-day Xinjiang and Central Asia during the 13th century, and actively opposed his uncle, Kublai Khan, who established the Yuan Dynasty in China until his death in 1301...
, who harassed Helin
Karakorum
Karakorum was the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, and of the Northern Yuan in the 14-15th century. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Övörkhangai Province of Mongolia, near today's town of Kharkhorin, and adjacent to the Erdene Zuu monastery...
in the west; and Prince Timur (grandson of Kublai) had the duty of guarding the Liao River area in the east. When a Mongol official defected to Kaidu and attacked Kublai's grandson Kamala (or Gemala) near Hang'aishan Mountain, Kublai would lead a column to the north. Kaidu retreated thereafter. Bayan would continue warfare with Kaidu for some time before he left the post at Helin. Unfortunately, some ministers accused him of Kaidu's desertion. He was sent to China far away from Mongolia for a while. Temur was appointed a governor in Karakorum and Bayan became a minister.
Later life
Bayan met and swore loyalty to Kublai KhanKublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
before the latter's death in 1294. With the support of minister Bayan Kublai's grandson Timur became Kublai's successor, the Emperor Chengzong after the Yuan court went through a power vacuum for a few months. Bayan died on 11 January 1295.
Popular culture
Bayan was a major character is the novel, and later movie, The Black RoseThe Black Rose
The Black Rose is a 1950 20th Century-Fox film starring Tyrone Power and Orson Welles, loosely based on Thomas B. Costain's book. It was filmed partly on location in England and Morocco which substitutes for the Gobi Desert of China...
. In the film he was played with a mixture of culture and menace by Orson Wells.