an oral tradition, Kusala's retainers treated him discourteously when he came to the camp of Kusala, thus making him both fearful and angry. But Kusala thanked El Temür and appointed him grand councillor of the right wing of the Secretariat with the title of Darqan taishi. Kuśala had proceeded to appoint his own loyal followers to important posts in the Secretariat, the Bureau of Military Affairs, and the Censorate. On his way to Dadu, on 26 August, Kuśala met with Tugh Temür in Ongghuchad near Shangdu. Only 4 days after a banquet with Tugh Temür, he suddenly died, or was supposedly killed with poison by El Temür who feared losing power to princes and officers of Chaghadayid Khanate and Mongolia who followed Kuśala. Tugh Temür was restored to the throne on 8 September 1329. His conspiracy and victory over the loyalists and the death of Kusala eliminated the power of the steppe candidates from Mongolia. Tugh Temür's administration carried out a bloody purge against its enemies. Not only leading supporters of Yesün Temür's successor Raghibagh were executed and exiled, but their properties were confiscated. Tugh Temür denied posthumous names of Yesün Temür and Raghibagh, and destroyed the chamber in the imperial shrine which contained the tablet of Yesün Temür's father Gammala. El Temür purged pro-Kuśala officers and brought power to warlords. Reign Efforts to win recognition Because Tugh Temür's accession was so transparently illegitimate, it was more important for his regime than for any previous reign to rely on liberal enfeoffments and generous awards to rally support from the nobility and officialdom. During his four-year reign, twenty-four princely titles were handed out, nine of which were of the first rank. Of these nine first-rank princes, seven were not even Kublai Khan's descendants. Not only were the imperial grants restored in 1329, but all the properties confiscated from the Shangdu loyalists also were given to princes and officials who had made contributions to the restoration; in all, 125 individual properties are estimated to have changed hands. Action was also taken to win recognition from the other Mongol khanates to be accepted as their nominal suzerain. Tugh Temür sent three princes with lavish gifts to the Golden Horde, the Chagatai Khanate and the Ilkhanate. And he also sent Muqali's descendant Naimantai to Eljigidey, who strongly supported Kusala, to give the royal seal and gifts in order to mollify his anger. However, Tugh