Khara Khula
Encyclopedia
Khara Khula was a Choros-Oirat
prince and tayishi of the Choros tribe. He is best known for forming and leading a coalition of the Four Oirats
in battle against Ubasi Khun Tayishi
, the Khalkha
prince who ruled the Altan Khanate
in present-day northwest Mongolia
.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the Oirat tribes were roaming the pastureland between the Irtysh and the Ili
rivers. They were pressured to migrate west to that area from their home in the Altai Mountains by Ubasi Khun Tayishi who was expanding his state by robbing the Oirats of their valuable pastures.
During this era, the Oirat tribes were fragmented along traditional tribal divisions, viz., Choros
, Dörbet
, Torghut, Khoshut
, Khoit, etc. Each tribe had its own hereditary ruler. The tribes constantly competed against each other, profiting at the other's expense, while seeking to maintain their independence. This disunity had plagued the Oirats for 150 years, since the dissolution of the Dörben Oirat state after the murder of Esen Tayishi
in 1454, and made them an easy opponent for Ubasi Khun Tayishi.
Around 1600, Khara Khula succeeded his father, Bulai (or Abuda Ablai Tayishi) as tayishi of the Choros tribe. Although his birth name was "Khutugaitu," his father nicknamed him Khara Khula - the name historians use in identifying him. The name describes a lion-like, dark-colored animal from the Altai Mountains that Khutugaitu supposedly killed.
As tayishi of the dominant Oirat tribe, Khara Khula emerged from his base in the upper Irtysh river and Tarbagatai Mountains
region to take up the cause of the unorganized and confused Oirat tribes in their war against Ubasi Khun Tayishi. In so doing, Khara Khula's objective was to establish the political and military unity that his ancestor Esen Tayishi once demanded from the Oirat princes and, in the process, forge a new state.
Early in his reign in 1606, Khara Khula unified and prepared the Oirat tribes for battle. In 1608, the Oirat forces defeated the Kazakhs
to their west. By 1609, Khara Khula won a decisive victory against Ubasi Khun Tayishi, forcing the Altan Khanate to withdraw from Oirat territory in the Kobdo region of present-day northwest Mongolia. But the unity would soon dissolve after the victory, as some Oirat princes, no longer fearing the Ubasi Khun Tayishi, resumed their traditional nomadic ways, favoring independence over centralization.
The string of victories emboldened Khara Khula to take control of the salt mines near the Russian outpost at Tara
in 1610 and demand a fee in exchange for the salt from the neighboring Cossacks and Siberian nomads. The Cossacks chose instead to retaliate, attacking the Oirats. The clashes continued until 1613, when Russian settlers discovered an alternative source of salt at Lake Yamysh. But this lake was located in Dzungar terrority and would be the source of clashes between the Cossacks and the Oirats over the next 20 years.
The Oirats also contended with natural disaster when the severe winter of 1614 killed off livestock, further weakening their position. Then, Ubasi Khun Tayishi, who had sufficiently recovered from his earlier defeat, undertook a second assault, reversing the Oirat victories and, in 1615, winning a major victory against the Oirats. The loss caused a number of Oirat princes to submit themselves as vassals to the Altan Khanate. Other Oirat princes fled north into southern Siberia
seeking the protection of Russia
, while still others sought refuge with the Kazakhs.
Through the mid-1620s, Ubashi Khun Tayishi continued to annex Oirat land while handed the forces of Khara Khula defeat after defeat, including several major losses. The situation didn't reverse itself until Khara Khula solidified his base support and began launching counter-attacks, culminating in the death of Ubasi Khun Tayishi around 1627. From that point forward, Khara Khula managed to regain the Oirat lands that Ubashi Khun Tayishi had taken for the Altan Khanate. Ubasi's son and successor, Badma Erdeni Khun Tayishi
, was not able to duplicate his father's success and therefore did not pose a threat to the Oirats.
As Khara Khula’s power and prestige grew from his victories over the Altan Khanate, the Oirat princes felt his dominance over them, particularly the Torghut tribe whose leaders wished to maintain the freedoms they once enjoyed without a central political figure. To that end, the Torghuts migrated from their encampents in southern Siberia to the pasture lands off the Volga river in southeastern Russia. The move eased the population and livestock pressures on the pastures of southern Siberia and further enabled Khara Khula's son, Erdeni Batur
, to forge the remaining Oirat tribes into a new Oirat state, called the Dzungar Khanate, shortly after his father's death in 1634.
Choros
Choros was the ruling clan of the Zungars and Dorbets and once ruled the whole Four Oirats. They founded the Zunghar Empire in the 17th century. According to a myth, their chiefs reckoned their descent from a boy nourished by a sacred tree, a legend shared with the Uyghur royal family.In the late...
prince and tayishi of the Choros tribe. He is best known for forming and leading a coalition of the Four Oirats
Four Oirats
The Four Oirats or the Alliance of the Four Oirat tribes was the confederation of the Oirat tribes, which marked the rise of the Western Mongols in Mongolian history.Despite the universal currency of the term Four Oirats among Eastern Mongols and Oirats and numerous explanations by...
in battle against Ubasi Khun Tayishi
Ubasi Khong Tayiji
Ubasi Khong Tayiji was a 17th century Mongolian prince. He was the first Altan Khan of Khalkha who ruled Khotgoids in northwestern Khalkha See Altan Khan of the Khotgoid....
, the Khalkha
Khalkha
Khalkha is the largest subgroup of Mongol people in Mongolia since 15th century. The Khalkha together with Tsahar, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by the Altan Urag Khans until the 20th century; unlike the Oirat people who were ruled by the Dzungar nobles or the Khorchins who were ruled by...
prince who ruled the Altan Khanate
Altan Khan of the Khalkha
The Altan Khans ruled north-western Mongolia from about 1609 to 1691 at the latest. Altan Khan of Khalkha also known as Altan Khan of Khotogoid ruled over the Khotogoids in northwestern Mongolia and belonged to the Left Wing of the Khalkha Mongols...
in present-day northwest Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the Oirat tribes were roaming the pastureland between the Irtysh and the Ili
Ili River
thumb|right|300px|Map of the Lake Balkhash drainage basin showing the Ili River and its tributariesThe Ili River is a river in northwestern China and southeastern Kazakhstan .It is long, of which is in Kazakhstan...
rivers. They were pressured to migrate west to that area from their home in the Altai Mountains by Ubasi Khun Tayishi who was expanding his state by robbing the Oirats of their valuable pastures.
During this era, the Oirat tribes were fragmented along traditional tribal divisions, viz., Choros
Choros
Choros was the ruling clan of the Zungars and Dorbets and once ruled the whole Four Oirats. They founded the Zunghar Empire in the 17th century. According to a myth, their chiefs reckoned their descent from a boy nourished by a sacred tree, a legend shared with the Uyghur royal family.In the late...
, Dörbet
Dörbed
The Dörbet is the second largest subgroup of the Mongol people in modern Mongolia and was one major tribe of the Four Oirat confederation in 15th-18th century. In early times, the Dörbet and the Dzungars were ruled by collateral branches of the Choros...
, Torghut, Khoshut
Khoshuud
The Khoshut are one of the four major tribes of the Oirat people. Originally, Khoshuuds were one of the Khorchin tribes in southeastern Mongolia, but in mid 15th century they migrated to western Mongolia to become an ally of oirats to counter central Mongolian military power...
, Khoit, etc. Each tribe had its own hereditary ruler. The tribes constantly competed against each other, profiting at the other's expense, while seeking to maintain their independence. This disunity had plagued the Oirats for 150 years, since the dissolution of the Dörben Oirat state after the murder of Esen Tayishi
Esen Tayisi
Esen taishi was a powerful Oirat Khagan of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia in the 15th century. He is best known for capturing the Zhengtong Emperor of the Ming Dynasty in 1450 after the Battle of Tumu Fortress and briefly reuniting the Mongols...
in 1454, and made them an easy opponent for Ubasi Khun Tayishi.
Around 1600, Khara Khula succeeded his father, Bulai (or Abuda Ablai Tayishi) as tayishi of the Choros tribe. Although his birth name was "Khutugaitu," his father nicknamed him Khara Khula - the name historians use in identifying him. The name describes a lion-like, dark-colored animal from the Altai Mountains that Khutugaitu supposedly killed.
As tayishi of the dominant Oirat tribe, Khara Khula emerged from his base in the upper Irtysh river and Tarbagatai Mountains
Tarbagatai Mountains
Tarbagatai Mountains is a range of mountains located in the north-western parts of Xinjiang, China and East Kazakhstan....
region to take up the cause of the unorganized and confused Oirat tribes in their war against Ubasi Khun Tayishi. In so doing, Khara Khula's objective was to establish the political and military unity that his ancestor Esen Tayishi once demanded from the Oirat princes and, in the process, forge a new state.
Early in his reign in 1606, Khara Khula unified and prepared the Oirat tribes for battle. In 1608, the Oirat forces defeated the Kazakhs
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
to their west. By 1609, Khara Khula won a decisive victory against Ubasi Khun Tayishi, forcing the Altan Khanate to withdraw from Oirat territory in the Kobdo region of present-day northwest Mongolia. But the unity would soon dissolve after the victory, as some Oirat princes, no longer fearing the Ubasi Khun Tayishi, resumed their traditional nomadic ways, favoring independence over centralization.
The string of victories emboldened Khara Khula to take control of the salt mines near the Russian outpost at Tara
Tara, Russia
Tara is a town in Omsk Oblast, Russia, located about north of Omsk, at the confluence of the Tara and Irtysh Rivers at a point where the forested country merges into the steppe. It serves as the administrative center of Tarsky District, although it is not administratively a part of it...
in 1610 and demand a fee in exchange for the salt from the neighboring Cossacks and Siberian nomads. The Cossacks chose instead to retaliate, attacking the Oirats. The clashes continued until 1613, when Russian settlers discovered an alternative source of salt at Lake Yamysh. But this lake was located in Dzungar terrority and would be the source of clashes between the Cossacks and the Oirats over the next 20 years.
The Oirats also contended with natural disaster when the severe winter of 1614 killed off livestock, further weakening their position. Then, Ubasi Khun Tayishi, who had sufficiently recovered from his earlier defeat, undertook a second assault, reversing the Oirat victories and, in 1615, winning a major victory against the Oirats. The loss caused a number of Oirat princes to submit themselves as vassals to the Altan Khanate. Other Oirat princes fled north into southern Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
seeking the protection of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, while still others sought refuge with the Kazakhs.
Through the mid-1620s, Ubashi Khun Tayishi continued to annex Oirat land while handed the forces of Khara Khula defeat after defeat, including several major losses. The situation didn't reverse itself until Khara Khula solidified his base support and began launching counter-attacks, culminating in the death of Ubasi Khun Tayishi around 1627. From that point forward, Khara Khula managed to regain the Oirat lands that Ubashi Khun Tayishi had taken for the Altan Khanate. Ubasi's son and successor, Badma Erdeni Khun Tayishi
Badma Erdeni Khong Tayiji
Badma Erdeni Khong Tayiji was a 17th century Mongol prince of the Altyn Khan dynasty. Son of Ubasi Khong Tayiji, the first Altan Khan of Khalkha. In 1652, he abdicated the throne and his son Erinchin Lobsang Tayiji succeeded.See Altan Khan of the Khotgoid....
, was not able to duplicate his father's success and therefore did not pose a threat to the Oirats.
As Khara Khula’s power and prestige grew from his victories over the Altan Khanate, the Oirat princes felt his dominance over them, particularly the Torghut tribe whose leaders wished to maintain the freedoms they once enjoyed without a central political figure. To that end, the Torghuts migrated from their encampents in southern Siberia to the pasture lands off the Volga river in southeastern Russia. The move eased the population and livestock pressures on the pastures of southern Siberia and further enabled Khara Khula's son, Erdeni Batur
Erdeni Batur
Erdeni Batur was a Choros-Oirat prince and is generally considered the founder of a new Oirat state in Central Asia known as the Dzungar Khanate....
, to forge the remaining Oirat tribes into a new Oirat state, called the Dzungar Khanate, shortly after his father's death in 1634.