Uskhal Khan born Tögüs Temür (temple name

Temple name

Temple names are commonly used when naming most Chinese, Korean , and Vietnamese royalty. They should not be confused with era names. Compared to posthumous names, the use of temple names is more exclusive...

: 益宗, Yizong; r. 1378-1388), was a Mongol Emperor of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in 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...

. He was the last powerful khan of the Mongols until the reign of Dayan Khan

Dayan Khan

Dayan Khan , was a Mongol khan who reunited the Mongols under Chinggisid supremacy in the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia...

.

Tögüs Temür was Biligtü Khan

Biligtü Khan

Biligtü Khan, born Ayushiridara , was a ruler of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia...

's younger brother and son of Toghan Temur, the last Yuan

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...

 emperor in 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...

. He succeeded to the throne with the title of Uskhal Khan (Урсхал хаан) after Biligtü Khan died in 1378. During the funeral of the late king, the Ming court sent an embassy to participate in it and released the Mongol prince, Maidarbal, who had been captured at the battle of Yingchang in 1378.

Uskhal Khan Tögüs Temür mobilized troops near Yingchang

Yingchang

Yingchang was one of the important cities in the Yuan Dynasty. It was situated on Lake Taal in modern Inner Mongolia.The city of Yinchang was built by the Qongirat Mongols in 1271. The city was the administrative seat of the Mongol prince of Lu...

 and 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...

. He continued to press the Ming

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

 from the north, cooperating with Naghachu of the Jalayir

Jalayir

Jalayir is one of the Darliqin Mongol tribes according to Rashid-al-Din Hamadani's Jami' al-tawarikh. After the Mongol conquest in the 13th century many Jalayirs spread over Central Asia and the Middle East. Jalayirs are one of the founding tribes of Mongolia's largest ethnic group Khalkha....

 in 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...

. The Ming launched a massive attack on 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...

 in return in 1380, sacking 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...

.

The Ming army crushed the Mongol garrison under Iliyasan in North China

North China

thumb|250px|Northern [[People's Republic of China]] region.Northern China or North China is a geographical region of China. The heartland of North China is the North China Plain....

 in June 1380. Uskhal Khan's commanders, Öljei-Buqa and Nair-Buqa, invaded Lulun city, killing the Ming officer Liu Guang in the same year. The Ming despatched a large army against the Mongols the next year.

Hongwu Emperor

Hongwu Emperor

The Hongwu Emperor , known variably by his given name Zhu Yuanzhang and by his temple name Taizu of Ming , was the founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China...

 decided to exterminate Nagachu's force in Manchuria in 1387 and two sides suffered heavier losses at a battle near Changchung city. Tögüs Temür suddenly faced a predicament in 1387 when Nagachu surrendered to the Ming due to a devastating famine. The Ming now turned their attention to the Uskhal Khan Tögüs Temür who lived in Yingchang. In 1388 he was raided by the Ming on the Buir Nuur

Buir Nuur

Buir Lake is a freshwater lake in Mongolia and partly in Inner Mongolia, China. It lies within the Buir Lake Depression. Together with Hulun Lake , it gives the name to Hulun Buir steppe and region....

. In his escape to Karakorum, he was suddenly attacked and defeated on the Tuul River

Tuul River

Tuul River is a river in central and northern Mongolia considered sacred by the Mongols. It is 704 km long and drains an area 49,840 square km. The river is called the "Duluo river" in the Suishu, a Chinese historical work completed in 636 AD...

 by Yesüder

Jorightu Khan, Emperor Xingyuan of Northern Yuan

Jorightu Khan was a Mongol Khan of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia. There are questions about the identity of Jorightu: some scholars believe that Jorightu was Yesüder who was a descendant of Arik Boke and Engke Khan was Yesüder's son succeeding him, while other believe that the two were...

, a descendant of Ariq Böke

Ariq Boke

Ariq Böke , the components of his name also spelled Arigh, Arik, Bukha, Buka , was the youngest son of Tolui , a son of Genghis Khan. After the death of his brother the Great Khan Mongke, Ariq Boke briefly took power while his brothers Kublai and Hulagu were absent...

, who allied with the Oirats

Oirats

Oirats are the westernmost group of the Mongols who unified several tribes origin whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of western Mongolia. Although the Oirats originated in the eastern parts of Central Asia, the most prominent group today is located in the Republic of Kalmykia, a federal...

. Yesüder's general killed the king and his son, though, Uskhal Khan intended to flee westwards to join his commander Markhas. This marked the decline of the Kublaid

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...

 power and the rise of the Oirats in 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...

.