| Battle of Kherlen | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Ming-Mongol War | |||||||
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Borjigin Mongolia | Ming Dynasty | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Öljei Temür Khagan Bunyashiri, Arughtai |
Qiu Fu † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | 100,000[1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Believed to be heavy | ||||||
The battle of Kherlen was a battle between Borjigin Mongolia and Ming China that took place at the banks of Kherlen River (Kerulen) in Mongolia on 23 September 1409.[2]
After Bunyashiri had been crowned with the title of Öljei Temür in 1403, the Yongle Emperor sent an envoy to congratulate and demand submission of him in 1409. Öljei Temür Khagan Bunyashiri detained the envoy to express he was not willing to join the tributary relationship with the Ming.[3] The Asud leader, Arughtai, beheaded another envoy of Yongle in the same year and declared his allegiance to the Khagan. Yongle in return dispatched a large punitive expedition of 100,000 men to Mongolia.[4]
Lured deep into the steppe of Mongolia, the Ming army was completely routed and defeated. Qiu Fu, with several other commanders, was killed by Arughtai west of Onohu.
This victory postponed any immediate invasion of Mongolia by Ming China for more than 3 years.