khanate · China, Tibet and Mongolia

Northern Yuan

1368 CE – 1635 CE · capital Karakorum

The Mongol dynasty that continued on the steppe after being driven out of China in 1368, outlasting the Ming's attempts to destroy it for nearly three centuries.

Origins

In 1368 Ming Empire armies approached Dadu, and Toghon Temür, last emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, fled to Shangdu and then to Yingchang. His son Ayushiridara re-established the court at Karakorum, still claiming rule over all China, and his generals defeated a Ming invasion of Mongolia in 1372.

Rule and society

The khans ruled a shifting federation of Mongol and Oirat tumens rather than a centralised state. After a Ming victory at Lake Buir in 1388, power fragmented, and the Four Oirat often dominated; their leader Esen captured the Ming emperor at Tumu in 1449. Dayan Khan reunited the eastern Mongols around 1500 into six tumens, and from the 1570s Tibetan Buddhism spread under Altan Khan.

Decline and legacy

Ligdan Khan, the last great khan, tried to restore central power but was defeated by the Manchus and died in 1634. In 1635 his son Ejei surrendered with the Yuan imperial seal to Hong Taiji of the Later Jin (1616-1636), who soon founded the Qing Empire.

Lineage

Yuan Dynasty 1271 CE – 1368 CENorthern Yuan

Connections (5)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Northern Yuan. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/northern-yuan
MLA
“Northern Yuan.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/northern-yuan. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Northern Yuan.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/northern-yuan.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Northern Yuan’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/northern-yuan (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻