Den Kiep Bac is dedicated to Tran Hung Dao (12281300), the general whose forces defeated two major Mongol invasions in the 13th century. In 1284 the Yuan emperor Kublai Khan demanded his forces be allowed to cross Vietnamese territory to attack the Kingdom of Champa to the south. When King Tran Nhan Tong refused, 500,000 Mongol troops led by Prince Toghan attacked and seized the capital, Thang Long. The resistance was led by General Tran Hung Dao, who issued his famous Hich Tuong Si or ˉProclamation to the Officersˇ, a clarion call for action still considered a classic of Vietnamese literature.