Tran Ich Tac

Who was Tran Ich Tac?

Trần Ích Tắc, title before defection Prince Chiêu Quốc was the fifth prince of Trần Thái Tông, first emperor of the Trần Dynasty, and the younger brother of the Emperor Trần Thánh Tông and grand chancellor Trần Quang Khải. Before the invasion of Vietnam by the Yuan Dynasty, Trần Ích Tắc was the most famous prince of Trần Thái Tông for his intelligence and broad knowledge, the mansion of Prince Chiêu Quốc in Thăng Long was also a renowned school of the capital. But in the beginning of the war, Trần Ích Tắc decided to surrender to Kublai Khan's prince Toghan and thus became the highest ranking defector of the Trần Dynasty during the war of resistance against Yuan's army. For this reason, he was denounced in Vietnamese historical books as a traitor with the derogatory name "Ả Trần". After another failed attempt of the Yuan Dynasty to bring Trần Ích Tắc return as King of Annam, he continued to live in Ezhou, Hubei and ultimately died in foreign soil.