| Erke Khongghor 額爾克孔果爾 ᠡᠷᠬᠡᠬᠣᠩᠭᠣᠷ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khagan of the Northern Yuan dynasty | |||||
| Reign | 1634–1635 | ||||
| Predecessor | Ligdan Khan | ||||
| Successor | Northern Yuan dynasty ended,Hong Taiji as Khan of theLater Jin dynasty | ||||
| Prince Chahar of the First Rank | |||||
| Tenure | 27 May 1636 – 4 March 1641 | ||||
| Predecessor | Title created | ||||
| Successor | Abunai | ||||
| Born | Unknown date Mongolian Plateau | ||||
| Died | March 4, 1641 Mongolian Plateau | ||||
| Wife | |||||
| |||||
| House | Borjigin | ||||
| Dynasty | Northern Yuan | ||||
| Father | Ligdan Khan | ||||
Erke Khongghor (Mongolian:Эрх Хонгор;Chinese:額爾克孔果爾), alternatively known asEjei (Mongolian:Эжэй;Chinese:額哲;pinyin:Ézhé; "Ejei" means "lord" in the Mongolian language), (?–1641) was the last khagan of theNorthern Yuan dynasty, ruling briefly from 1634 to 1635. He was the son ofLigdan Khan.[1] The Northern Yuan dynasty, which existed as remnants of theYuan dynasty retreating north to theMongolian Plateau after 1368, was defeated by theLater Jin dynasty in 1635 and thus formally came to an end.
By the early 17th century, theBorjigin clan had lost nearly all of its power. After his father died in 1634, Ejei and his mother were surrounded by over ten thousand Later Jin cavalry in a surprise attack in February 1635. Weighing their options, Ejei and his mother decided to surrender and was said to have given theimperial seal of the Yuan dynasty toHong Taiji. In 1636, Hong Taiji, who inherited the title ofGreat Khan, formally proclaimed theQing dynasty. Ejei then followed the Qing court's order to ask the remnants of the Mongols still resisting the Qing to lay down their arms and surrender, and he did so successfully. In March, 1636, all resistance ceased and Mongol chieftains from a total of sixteen clans and forty-nine subclans gathered atMukden, gave their allegiance to Hong Taiji, officially marking the end of the rule of the Borjigin clan. For his contribution, Ejei was awarded the rank of Prince (Qin Wang, 親王), a title he held until his death in 1641, and inherited by his younger brotherAbunai (阿布奈).[citation needed]
Abunai (阿布奈) openly showed his discontent toward the Qing dynasty and he was put under house arrest inShenyang by theKangxi Emperor in 1669 and his imperial title/rank was given to his son Borni (布尔尼) in September of that same year. Borni (布尔尼) was careful to not show any sign of disrespecting the Qing dynasty, but finally in 1675, he suddenly rebelled along with his younger brother Lubuzung (罗布藏), capitalizing on theRevolt of the Three Feudatories. However, they had made a serious miscalculation in wrongfully believing that other Mongols would join them, when in reality only three thousandChahar Mongols joined the rebellion. It only took a single decisive battle on April 20, 1675 to defeat Abunai (阿布奈) and his followers, who were all killed subsequently in their retreat. The Qing dynasty's punishment of the rebellion was very harsh: all royal males of Chahars were executed, including infants born to Qing princesses, and all royal females of Chahars were sold to slavery except these Qing princesses.[citation needed]
Consorts and their respective issue(s):
Ejei Khan House of Borjigin (1206–1635) Died: 1661 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Khagan of theNorthern Yuan dynasty 1634–1635 | Succeeded by None (title abolished, territories of the Chahars absorbed into theQing Empire) |