After his death, he was considered a saint and deified by the people and named Đức Thánh Trần (德聖陳) or Cửu Thiên Vũ Đế (九天武帝).

[3] His multiple victories over the Yuan dynasty under Kublai Khan are considered among the greatest military feats in Vietnamese history.

[5]: 105  Frustrated with the failed diplomatic missions, many Yuan officials urged Kublai to send a punitive expedition to Đại Việt.

[8] Toghan and his deputy Omar Batur refused, engaged Trần Hưng Đạo's forces in battle on the banks of the Red River, and successfully captured Thăng Long.

[8] The Mongol forces under Sodu, deputy to Toghan, continued to push further south and installed defected prince Trần Ích Tắc as the new King of Annam.

[8] In 1287, Kublai Khan this time sent one of his favorite sons, Prince Toghan to lead another invasion campaign into Đại Việt with a determination to occupy and redeem the previous defeat.

In response to the battle skirmish defeats at the hands of the Mongol forces, the Emperor Emeritus Trần Thánh Tông summoned General Trần Khánh Dư to be court-martialed for military failures, but the general managed to delay reporting to the court and was able to regroup his forces in Vân Đồn.

Meanwhile, the trailing supply fleet of Prince Toghan, arriving at Vân Đồn a few days after General Trần Khánh Dư's had already occupied this strategic garrison, the Mongol supply fleet was ambushed and captured by General Trần Khánh Dư's forces.

Days before this expedition, the Prince of Hưng Đạo predicted the Mongol's naval route and quickly deployed heavy unconventional traps of steel-tipped wooden stakes unseen during high tides along the Bạch Đằng River bed.

They were ambushed by General Phạm Ngũ Lão along the road through Nội Bàng, but his remaining force managed to escape back to China by dividing their forces into smaller retreating groups but most were captured or killed in skirmishes on the way back to the border frontier, resulting in losing half the remaining army.

His body was cremated and his ashes were dispersed under his favorite oak tree he planted in his royal family estate near Thăng Long in accordance to his will.