Consolidation of Power
Borjigin Barsboladiin Altan was the second son of Bars Bolud Jinong, and a grandson of Batumongke Dayan Khan who had re-unified the Mongolian nobility in an attempt to regain the glory of the Yuan Dynasty. Altan Khan ruled the Tümed and belonged to the Right Wing of the Mongols along with his elder brother Gün Bilig, who ruled the Ordos. After Gün Bilig's death in 1542, Altan became the de facto leader of the whole of the Right Wing and was given the title, "Tösheetü Sechen Khan."
When Bodi Alagh Khan, the Khagan of the Mongols from the Chahar, died in 1547, Altan forced Bodi Alagh's successor Darayisung Küdeng Khan to flee eastward. In 1551 Darayisung made a compromise with Altan in exchange for giving the title "Gegeen Khan" to him.
Altan Khan, who controlled the Ordos tumen of the Huang He or Yellow River was well placed to keep pressure on the Chinese and the Oirat Mongols in Tibet while developing both agriculture and trade.
In 1571, Altan Khan was granted the title Shunyi Wang ("Obedient and Righteous King") from the Longqing Emperor (March 4, 1537- July 5, 1572), the 12th emperor of China (Ming dynasty).
Altan Khan also founded the city of Köke Khota (Hohhot, lit. 'The Blue City'), now the capital of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.
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