庙号

明代王世贞《北虏始末志》称爱猷识理达腊为「昭宗」。清代乾隆朝《蒙古世系谱》则称爱猷识理达腊为「哲宗」。「哲宗」一说未被后人接受。

生平

爱猷识理答腊生于元惠宗至元四年或五年的十二月二十四日。他的生母奇氏因为生育皇子，母凭子贵，至元六年（1340年）被元惠宗封为第二皇后，就是奇皇后。

至正十三年（1353年）六月，爱猷识理答腊被元惠宗（元顺帝）封为太子，他做太子之后，元朝内部党争日益激烈。爱猷识理答腊试图夺取帝位提前登基，造成了他和他父亲的关系紧张。至正二十四年（1364年），他的政敌将军孛罗帖木儿带兵闯入大都，爱猷识理答腊被迫流亡到王保保（扩廓帖木儿）的控制区太原，并以此为基地，召集各省军阀准备反攻孛罗。与此同时，元惠宗也对孛罗的专权产生不满，遂派人将其刺死，将人头送到太原，召回了爱猷识理达腊并与其和解。

至正二十八年（明朝洪武元年）闰七月二十八日（1368年9月10日），明朝军队逼近大都，元惠宗率太子爱猷识理达腊、后妃、臣僚等北走，前往上都，至正二十八年八月二日（1368年9月14日），明太祖的将军徐达攻克大都。此后迈入北元时期。

至正二十八年八月四日（1368年9月16日），元惠宗和太子爱猷识理答腊等人到达上都。至正二十九年六月十三日（1369年7月16日），明军逼近上都，元惠宗和太子等人离开上都，当天到达应昌（今内蒙古克什克腾旗达里诺尔西南古城）。至正二十九年六月十七日（1369年7月20日），明军将领常遇春攻克上都。

至正三十年农历五月二日（1370年5月27日），元惠宗因痢疾去世于应昌，皇太子爱猷识理答腊在应昌继承了皇位，并次年改元宣光。至正三十年农历五月十六日（1370年6月10日），明军将领李文忠攻克应昌，昭宗逃往和林，身边仅有一小股随从陪同，他的众多妃子以及儿子买的里八剌被明军俘虏，还有五万馀元军投降明军。

宣光二年六月初三（1372年7月3日），明军将领冯胜大败元军，明朝从北元手中取得甘肃地区。

北元在当时仍保持一定的势力；在宣光二年（1372年）的战事中，在王保保指挥下，北元对于明朝赢得了一个局部胜利。

元昭宗于宣光八年（1378年5月10日）农历四月十三日逝世，在位8年，享年40岁。

元昭宗死后由弟北元后主脱古思帖木儿继位，脱古思帖木儿年号为天元，又称为天元帝。

家庭

• 妻妾

　• 第一皇后：权皇后，高丽人，权谦之女。1370年册立为皇后。生一女，嫁也速迭儿。

　• 第二皇后：金皇后，高丽人，金允藏之女。生一子买的里八剌。

• 子女：

　• 女：权皇后所生，嫁卓里克图。

　• 子：买的里八剌，生于1362年，1370年农历五月在应昌被明军俘虏，买的里八剌被俘五年，明廷封为崇礼侯，赐给宅第。1374年农历九月明太祖将在应昌俘获的元昭宗之子买的里八剌送还元廷，招谕修好。

评价

民国官定正史《新元史》柯劭忞的评价是：「昭宗以下，文献无徵。惟宣光八年之事，间存一二，故附载于本纪云。」

Early life

Ayushiridara was the eldest son of Toghon Temür (Emperor Shun of Yuan) and Lady Gi in 1338. He was given his earliest tuition in Chinese at the house of his father's minister, Toqto'a, at age ten. Toghon Temür's principal empress, Danashiri, bore only one son who died in infancy. The Mongol noyans mostly preferred another Borjigin (Mongol noble) heir, rather than Ayushiridara, as his mother was a former palace maid and tea server. Only after the purge of Danashiri's family and the death of Bayan, were he and his mother accepted at the Yuan court. Induced by his Korean empress, Lady Gi, the Yuan emperor Toghon Temür scheduled to elect his heir apparent in 1353. However, Toqto'a delayed the schedule for some unknown reason. This aroused the anger of the latter's political enemies. The chief minister and his former protégé, Hama of the "Qangli", and Ayushiridara, with the support of his mother, the Empress, Lady Gi, accused Toqto'a of corruption and violation of law while he was fighting the Red Turban Rebellion in 1354. This situation halted Toqto'a, who had been successful in defeating the rebellion, and he was stripped of his dignities and sent to Hoai-nan into exile.

Hama was made first minister and all power was then in his hands. Elated by this success, Hama decided to raise Ayushiridara to the throne. This plot was discovered, Hama was sentenced to exile and strangled by his enemies there in 1356, and Ayushiridara was pardoned. When he became crown prince in 1353, it caused internal strife between his supporters and opponents. Seven years later he and Lady Gi wished the first minister, Tai ping, to convince the Khagan to resign and leave Ayushiridara dominion. When Tai ping refused, they poisoned the minister's partisans and forced him to resign. Power passed to a eunuch, Papuhwa, and to Cho sekin, two weak men. An opposition leader, Bolad-Temür, occupied the capital in 1364. Ayushiridara was ordered back by his father to Dadu. Feeling himself not powerful enough to resist Bolad-Temür's large army, Ayushiridara fled to the Yuan general, Köke Temür. When Bolad-Temür learned that Ayushiridara was advancing with troops, he arrested Lady Gi and forced her to recall her son to the capital. However, Bolad-Temür's commanders deserted to Köke Temür. Toghon Temür secretly ordered Ho chang, son of the prince of Wei chun, to murder Bolad-Temür. After the latter's death, Köke Temür defeated Bolad-Temür's commander Tukiel in 1365. Ayushiridara forced Köke Temür to persuade the Emperor to resign in his favor. The Emperor was unwilling to abdicate, but he appointed his son lieutenant in the Yuan. Köke Temür tried to prevent it, but failed and was stripped of his dignities.

In 1368 the Yuan dynasty was overthrown by the Ming dynasty, and Toghon Temür Khan and his family fled north to Shangdu from Dadu. In 1370 Toghon Temür died in Yingchang. The Ming army captured the city and relatives and Maidarbal, a son of Ayushiridara who escaped safely to Karakorum where he was officially enthroned as Khagan of the Mongols with the Mongolian title of Biligtü (Intelligent).

Reign

Shortly after the succession, he fled to Karakorum and he changed the era name to Xuanguang (宣光, 1371–1378) there. Biligtü Khan made Köke Temür his commander in chief and chingsang of the right hand of the Central Government. The Yuan remnants in Mongolia homeland, known as the Northern Yuan dynasty, still remained overall a strong power during his reign. Its dominions covered the areas from Northeast China to Xinjiang.

Hongwu Emperor demanded Biligtü Khan Ayushiridara to give up his arms several times but failed. In 1372, the former dispatched the Ming army of 150,000 men to Mongolia. Biligtü Khan sent Köke Temür's army against the central division of the Ming army under Xu Da. Xu Da's troops reached Tuul River within 20 days. However, they were routed and their commander barely escaped with a few of his men. The eastern division of the Ming army advanced to Kherlen River, pillaging the Mongolian camps en route. They were suddenly defeated and forced to retreat to Orkhon where another bloody battle ensued. After that they fought the Mongol army under Halajchani and was finally defeated near Karakorum. The western division of the Ming army was forced to retreat due to other divisions' failures, though, they won a series of places.

Ayushiridara asked the assistance from the Yuan's former vassal King Gongmin of Goryeo to fight against the Ming dynasty of China. In his letter to Gongmin, Biligtü Khan says:

"...Oh wang, you are a descendant of Genghis Khan same as me. Therefore, we wish you to work with us to establish justice and truth under the heaven..."

On the contrary, King Gongmin refused to help and started an opposition policy against the Mongols, and retook their lands, which were annexed by the Yuan dynasty in the 1270s. The pro-Mongol faction under Yin Im-in killed Gongmin in 1374. They sent envoys to the Mongols in Liaoyang and Biligtü Khan quickly recognized the legitimacy of King U, puppet of Yin Im-in. Biligtü Khan asked Goryeo Korea to send troops for a joint attack against the Ming fortress. The Goryeo court cautiously refused to help again.

The Mongols conquered Funin and Suijin districts in Sinhe, Liaoning and Hebei provinces in 1373, cutting the Ming from Liaodong. In 1375, Naghachu, a Mongol official in Liaoyang province invaded the Liaodong Peninsula with aims of restoring the Mongols to power and succeeded with the support of the pro-Mongol Jurchens. The Ming ceased its raids into the Northern Yuan. Biligtü Khan's greatest general, Köke Temür, died in 1375. Biligtü Khan Ayushiridara died in 1378 and his half-brother, Tögüs Temür, succeeded to the throne.

Family

Grandparents

Grandfather— :Khutughtu Khan Kusala

Grandmother— Mailati of the Karluks

Grandfather— Gi Ja-oh

Parents

Father — Toghon Temür

Mother — Empress Ki

Consort and Issue (s)

•Empress Consort Gwon (29 April 1342— 22 May 1410)

1.Unnamed son (26 March 1363—16 May 1375

2.Unnamed daughter (14 September 1377—15 February 1423)