El Temür was an ethnic Kipchak official of the Yuan dynasty. He was behind the coup d'état that installed Tugh Temür as Yuan emperor in the capital Khanbaliq in 1328. The restorationists at Khanbaliq won the War of the Two Capitals under the leadership of Tugh Temür and El Temür. After the surrender of Shangdu forces, Tugh Temür abdicated in favour of his brother Kusala who was backed by Chagatai Khan Eljigidey and announced Khanbaliq's intent to welcome him. However, Kusala suddenly died only four days after a banquet with Tugh Temür, supposedly killed with poison by El Temür, who purged pro-Kusala officials and brought power to warlords, whose despotic rule marked the decline of the Yuan dynasty.