Darmabala Explained

Birth Date:	June 29, 1264^[1]
Death Date:	^[2]
Spouse:	Dagi Khatun
Issue:	Külüg Khan Buyantu Khan Sengge Ragi of Lu
Posthumous Name:	Emperor Zhaosheng Yanxiao (昭聖衍孝皇帝)
Temple Name:	Shùnzōng (順宗)
House:	Borjigin
Father:	Zhenjin
Mother:	Kökejin Khatun
Religion:	Buddhism

Darmabala (also known as Dharmapala^[3] -,,,) was an imperial prince of the Yuan dynasty. He was a grandson of Kublai Khan and son of his Crown Prince Zhenjin. He was an ancestor of subsequent Yuan monarchs who came after Temür Khan (Emperor Chengzong) and the Goryeo kings after King Gongmin.

Biography

He was born in 1264 to Zhenjin and his wife Kökejin Khatun as the couple's second son. He was married to Dagi from Khongirad tribe around 1278.^[4] After Zhenjin's death on 5 January 1286, Darmabala came to be seen as a strong candidate for the position of heir-apparent by his grandfather and was appointed as commander of the Mongol army in Jeju Island. He was described by Marco Polo as 'rickety'.^[5] He was dispatched to Huaizhou by Kublai in 1291, where he fell ill. He was treated in Khanbaliq until 1292 and that is where he died. He was posthumously renamed Emperor Zhaosheng Yanxiao (昭聖衍孝皇帝) by Külüg Khan and was given the temple name Shunzong (顺宗).

Family

He had three sons and a daughter from two wives:

1. Dagi Khatun, posthumously Empress Zhāoxiàn Yuánshèng (昭獻元聖皇后)
   • Khayishan, later Külüg Khan (Emperor Wuzong)
   • Ayurbarwada, later Buyantu Khan (Emperor Renzong)
   • Sengge Ragi of Lu
2. Concubine Guo (郭氏妃子)
   • Amuga^[6] (born before 1281, d. 1324) — 1st Prince of Wei (魏王)
     • Aruq — Prince of Xijing (西靖王)
     • Bulu Temür — 2nd Prince of Wei (魏王)
       • Princess Noguk (?–1365)^[7]
     • Naila Buqa
       • Buyan Temür — 3rd Prince of Wei (魏王)
     • Princess Joguk (1308–1325)
     • Bayan Khutag, Princess Gyeonghwa (d. 1344)

References

1. 洪金富. 〈元《析津志•原廟•行香》篇疏證〉. 《中央研究院歷史語言研究所集刊》. Republic of China. Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica. March 2008. 79. 1. 1－40. 14.順宗皇帝，愍忌，普慶寺，正官，〔六月〕初四日。. 2023-02-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20230204161226/https://www2.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/file/2903rVTqYHw.pdf.
2. 洪金富. 〈元《析津志•原廟•行香》篇疏證〉. 《中央研究院歷史語言研究所集刊》. Republic of China. Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica. March 2008. 79. 1. 1－40. 12.順宗皇（後）〔帝〕，忌日，普慶寺，正官，五月初八日。. 2023-02-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20230204161226/https://www2.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/file/2903rVTqYHw.pdf.
3. Book: Mongolia Society Bulletin. 1970. Mongolia Society. University of Virginia. 65. en.
4. Book: Lee. Lily Xiao Hong. Tagi. Wiles. Sue. 2015-01-28. Routledge. 978-1-317-51562-3. Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women, Volume II: Tang Through Ming 618 - 1644. 387. en.
5. Book: Polo, Marco. The Book of Ser Marco Polo, the Venetian: Concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East. 1875. John Murray. 353. en. Marco Polo.
6. Book: Zhao, George Qingzhi. Marriage as Political Strategy and Cultural Expression: Mongolian Royal Marriages from World Empire to Yuan Dynasty. 2008. Peter Lang. 978-1-4331-0275-2. 20. en.
7. Book: Robinson, David M.. Empire's Twilight: Northeast Asia under the Mongols. 2020-10-26. BRILL. 978-1-68417-052-4. 102. en.