Oirats
Encyclopedia
Oirats are the westernmost group of the Mongols
who unified several tribes origin whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of western Mongolia
. Although the Oirats originated in the eastern parts of Central Asia
, the most prominent group today is located in the Republic of Kalmykia, a federal subject of the Russian Federation, where they are called Kalmyks. The Kalmyks migrated from Dzungaria to the southeastern European part of the Russian Federation in the early XVII century.
Historically, the Oirats were composed of four major tribes: Dzungar
(Choros
or Ööled), Torghut, Dörbet
, and Khoshut. The minor tribes include: Khoid, Bayid
, Myangad, Zakhchin
, Baatud, Barga and Darkhad
.
a, a Gelug
monk of the Khoshut tribe, devised a new writing system called Todo Bichig
(clear script) for use by the Oirat people. This system was developed on the basis of the older Mongolian script
, but had a more developed system of diacritics
to exclude misreading, and reflected some lexic and grammar differences of the Oirat language
from Mongolian
.
The Todo Bichig writing system remained in use in Kalmykia (Russia) until the mid-1920s when it was replaced by a Latin-based script, and later the Cyrillic alphabet. It can be seen in some public signs in the Kalmyk capital, Elista, and is superficially taught in schools. In Mongolia it was likewise replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet in 1941. Some Oirats in China still use Todo Bichig as their primary writing system, as well as Mongolian script.
and were at various times united under the same leader as a larger Mongol entity — whether that ruler was of Oirat or Eastern Mongolian descent.
The name Oirat may derive from a corruption of the group's original name Dörben Öörd, meaning "The Allied Four." Perhaps inspired by the designation Dörben Öörd, other Mongols at times used the term "Döchin Mongols" for themselves ("Döchin" meaning forty), but there was rarely as great a degree of unity among larger numbers of tribes as among the Oirats.
Comprising the Khoshut
(Хошууд Hošuud), Choros or Ölöt (Өөлд Ööld), Torghut (Торгууд Torguud), and Dörbet
(Дөрвөд Dörvöd) tribe
s, they were dubbed Kalmyk or Kalmak, which means "remnant" or "to remain," by their western Turkic
neighbors. Various sources also list the Bargut, Buzav, Kerait
, and Naiman tribes as comprising part of the Dörben Öörd; some tribes may have joined the original four only in later years. This name may however reflect the Kalmyks' remaining Buddhist rather than converting to Islam; or the Kalmyks' remaining in then Altay
region when the Turkic peoples migrated to the West.
's rise to power. In the Secret History, the Oirats are counted among the "forest people" and are said to live under the rule of a shaman-chief known as bäki. In one famous passage the Oirat chief
, Quduqa Bäki, uses a yada or 'thunder stone' to unleash a powerful storm on Genghis' army. The magical ploy backfires however, when an unexpected wind blows the storm back at Quduqa. During early stages of Temujin Genghis's rise, oirats under Quduqa bekhi fought against Genghis and were defeated. Oirats were fully submitted to Mongol rule after their ally Jamukha, Temujin's rival/friend was destroyed. Subject to the khan
oirats would form themselves as a loyal and formidable faction of the Mongol war machine. In 1207, Jochi
the eldest son of Genghis, subjugated the forest tribes including the Oirats and the Kyrgyzs. The Great Khan gave those people to his son, Jochi, and had one of his daughters, Checheygen, married the Oirat chief Khutug-bekhi or his son. There were notable Oirats in the Mongol Empire
such as Arghun Agha and his son Nowruz. In 1256, a body of the Oirats under Bukha-Temur joined Hulegu's expedition to Iran
and fought against Hashshashin
s, Abbasid
s in Persia. The Ilkhan Hulegu and his successor Abagha resettled them in Turkey
. And they took part in the Second Battle of Homs
where the Mongols were defeated. The majority of the Oirats, who were left behind, supported Arik Boke against Kublai. Kublai defeated his younger brother and they entered the service of the victor. In 1295, more than 10,000 Oirats under Targhai Khurgen (son-in-law of the Borjigin
family) fled Syria
, then under the Mamluks because they were despised by both Muslim Mongols and local Turks
. They were well received by the Egypt
ian Sultan
Al-Adil Kitbugha
of Oirat origin. Ali Pasha, who was the governor of Baghdad
, head of an Oirat ruling family, killed Ilkhan Arpa Keun, resulting in the disintegration of Mongol Persia. Due to the fact that the Oirats were near both the Chagatai Khanate
and the Golden Horde
, they had strong ties with them and many Mongol khans had Oirat wives.
After the expulsion of the Yuan dynasty
from China
, the Oirats revived in history as a loose alliance of the four major West Mongolian tribes (Dörben Oirad). The alliance grew, taking power in the remote region of the Altai Mountains, northwest of Hami oasis. Gradually they spread eastward, annexing territories then under the control of the Eastern Mongols, and hoping to reestablish a unified nomadic rule under their banner.
The greatest ruler of the Four Oirats
(Mongolian: Дөрвөн Ойрд) was Esen Tayisi
who led the Four Oirats from 1438 to 1454, during which time he unified Mongolia (both Inner and Outer) under his rule. In 1449 Esen Tayisi mobilized his cavalry along the Chinese border and invaded Ming China, defeating and destroying the Ming defenses at the Great Wall and the reinforcements sent to intercept his cavalry. In the process, the Zhengtong Emperor
was captured at Tumu
. The following year, Esen returned the emperor. After claiming the title of khan
, to which only lineal descendants of Genghis Khan could claim, Esen was deposed. Shortly afterwards, Oirat power declined.
From the 14th until the middle of the 18th century, the Oirats were often at war with the Eastern Mongols. Illustrative of this history is the Oirat epic
song, 'The Rout of Mongolian Sholoi Ubushi
Khong Tayiji
', about the war between the Oirats and the first Altan Khan of the Khalkha
.
around 1615, and it was not long before they became involved in the conflict between the Gelug
and Karma Kagyu
schools. At the request of the Gelug school, in 1637, Güshi Khan
, the leader of the Khoshuts in Koko Nor, defeated Choghtu Khong Tayiji
, the Khalkha prince who supported the Karma Kagyu school, and conquered Amdo
(present-day Qinghai
). The unification of Tibet
followed in 1641, with Güshi Khan proclaimed Khan of Tibet by the Fifth Dalai Lama
. The title "Dalai Lama
" itself was bestowed upon the third lama of the Gelug tulku
lineage by Altan Khan
(not to be confused with the Altan Khans of the Khalkha
), and means, in Mongolian, "Ocean of Wisdom."
Amdo
, meanwhile, became home to the Khoshuts. In 1717, the Dzungars invaded Tibet and killed Lha-bzang Khan
(or Khoshut Khan), a grandson of Güshi Khan and the fourth Khan of Tibet.
In 1723 Lobzang Danjin, another descendant of Güshi Khan, defended Amdo against Qing Dynasty
's attempts to extend its rule into Tibet, but was crushed in the following year. Thus, Amdo fell under Chinese domination.
to present-day eastern Kazakhstan
, and from present-day northern Kyrgyzstan
to southern Siberia
. It was the last Empire
of the Great Nomads of Asia
, which was ruled by the Choros noblemen.
The Qing (or Manchu
) conquered China in the mid-17th century and sought to protect its northern border by continuing the divide-and-rule policy their Ming predecessors had successfully instituted against the Mongols. The Manchu consolidated their rule over the East Mongols of Manchuria. They then persuaded the East Mongols of Inner Mongolia to submit themselves as vassals. Finally, the East Mongols of Outer Mongolia sought the protection of the Manchu against the Dzungars.
Some scholars estimate that about 80% of the Dzungar population were destroyed by a combination of warfare and disease during the Qing conquest of Zungaria in 1755-1757.
The Kalmyk migration had reached as far as the steppes of southeast Europe by 1630. At the time, that area was inhabited by the Nogai Horde
. But under pressure from Kalmyk warriors, the Nogais
fled to the Crimea
and the Kuban River
. Many other nomadic peoples in the Eurasian steppes subsequently became vassals of the Kalmyk Khanate, part of which is in the area of present-day Kalmykia
. Later they became nominal, then full subjects of the Russian Tsar
. Following the Russian revolution their settlement was accelerated, Buddhism stamped out and herds collectivised. In 1944 all Kalmyks were expelled to Siberia by Stalin, accused of supporting invading Axis armies attacking Stalingrad (Volgograd). Only two-thirds of them survived to return and re-establish Kalmykia in 1957. Now they are trying to revive their language and religion.
form a minority, principally in the northern part of the region. They are primarily descendants of the surviving Torghuds and Khoshuds who returned from Kalmykia
, and of the Chakhar stationed there as garrison soldiers in 18th century. The emperor had sent messages asking the Kalmyks to return, and erected a smaller copy of the Potala in Jehol (the country residence of the Manchu Emperors) to mark their arrival. A model copy of that "Little Potala" was made in China for the Swedish explorer Sven Hedin, and was erected at the Great Exhibition of Chicago. It is now in storage in Sweden, where there are plans to re-erect it. Some of the returnees did not come that far and still live, now as Muslims, at the South-western end of Lake Issyk-kul in present-day Kirghizia.
Bordering Gansu
and west of Irgay River is called Alxa
or Alaša, Alshaa, and Mongols who moved there are called the Alshaa Mongols.
Törbaih Güshi Khan
’s 4th son Ayush was opposed to the Khan’s brother Baibagas. Ayush’s eldest son is Baatar Erkh Jonon Khoroli. After the battle between Galdan Boshigt Khan and Ochir Setsen, Khoroli moved to Tsaidam with his 10,000 households. The 5th Dalai Lama
wanted land for them from the Qing government, thus in 1686, the Emperor permitted them to reside in Alshaa.
In 1697, Alshaa Mongols were administered in 'khoshuu' and 'sum' units. A khoshuu with eight sums was created, Khoroli was appointed to Beil, and Alshaa was thus a 'zasag-khoshuu'. Alshaa was however like an 'aimag' and never administered under a 'chuulgan'.
In 1707, when Khoroli died, his son Abuu succeeded him. He was in Beijing
from his youth, served as bodyguard of the Emperor, and a princess (of the Emperor) was given to him, thus making him a 'Khoshoi Tavnan', i.e. Emperor’s groom. In 1793, Abuu became Jün Wang. There are several thousand Muslim Alshaa Mongols.
Ejine
Mongols who lived along the Ejine River descended from Ravjir, a grandson of Torguud Ayush Khan from the Ijil (Volga) River.
In 1678, Ravjir - with his mother, younger sister and 500 people - went to Tibet to pray. While they were returning via Beijing in 1704, Qing emperor Kangxi
let them stay there for some years and later organized a 'khoshuu' for them in a place called Sertei, and made Ravjir the governor.
In 1716, Kangxi Emperor sent him with his people to Hami, near the border of Qing China and Zunghar Khanate, for intelligence-gathering purposes against the Oirats. When Ravjir died his eldest son Denzen succeeded him. He was afraid of the Dzungar and wanted the Qing government to allow them to move away from the border. They were settled in Dalan Uul–Altan. When Denzen was died in 1740, his son Lubsan Darjaa succeeded him and became Beil.
In 1753, they were settled on the banks of the Ejine River and the Ejine River Torguud 'khoshuu' was thus formed.
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
who unified several tribes origin whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of western 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...
. Although the Oirats originated in the eastern parts of Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, the most prominent group today is located in the Republic of Kalmykia, a federal subject of the Russian Federation, where they are called Kalmyks. The Kalmyks migrated from Dzungaria to the southeastern European part of the Russian Federation in the early XVII century.
Historically, the Oirats were composed of four major tribes: Dzungar
Dzungar people
The Dzungar or Zunghar is the collective identity of several Oirat tribes that formed and maintained the Zunghar Khanate in the 17th to 18th century...
(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...
or Ööled), Torghut, Dörbet
Dörbet
Dörbet may refers to:* Dörbet , an Oirat tribe;* Dörbet , a Khorchin-Kharchin tribe;...
, and Khoshut. The minor tribes include: Khoid, Bayid
Bayid
The Bayid is third largest subgroup of the Mongols in Mongolia and was a tribe in Four Oirats. Bayids were a prominent clan within the Mongol Empire. Bayids can be found in both Mongolic and Turkic peoples...
, Myangad, Zakhchin
Zakhchin
Zakhchin is a subgroup of the Oirats residing in Khovd Province, Mongolia.Zakhchin means 'Border people'. They are so called because they are originated form the border garrison of Dzungar Empire...
, Baatud, Barga and Darkhad
Darkhad
The Darkhad is a subgroup of Mongol people living mainly in northern Mongolia. They living mainly in the Bayanzürkh, Ulaan-Uul, Renchinlkhümbe, and Tsagaannuur sums of Khövsgöl Province. The Darkhad valley is named after them...
.
Writing system
In the 17th century, Zaya PanditZaya Pandit
Zaya Pandita or Namkhaijantsan was a Buddhist missionary priest and scholar of Oirat origin who is the most prominent Oirat Buddhist scholar....
a, a Gelug
Gelug
The Gelug or Gelug-pa , also known as the Yellow Hat sect, is a school of Buddhism founded by Je Tsongkhapa , a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader...
monk of the Khoshut tribe, devised a new writing system called Todo Bichig
Todo Bichig
Clear script is a Mongol alphabet created in 1648 by the Oirat Buddhist monk Zaya Pandita Oktorguin Dalai for the Oirat Mongol language...
(clear script) for use by the Oirat people. This system was developed on the basis of the older Mongolian script
Mongolian script
The classical Mongolian script , also known as Uyghurjin, was the first writing system created specifically for the Mongolian language, and was the most successful until the introduction of Cyrillic in 1946...
, but had a more developed system of diacritics
Diacritics
diacritics is a quarterly academic journal established in 1971 at Cornell University and published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. Articles serve to review recent literature in the field of literary criticism, and have covered topics in gender studies, political theory, psychoanalysis, queer...
to exclude misreading, and reflected some lexic and grammar differences of the Oirat language
Oirat language
Oirat belongs to the group of Mongolic languages. Scholars differ as to whether Oirat is a distinct language or a major dialect of the Mongolian language...
from Mongolian
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
.
The Todo Bichig writing system remained in use in Kalmykia (Russia) until the mid-1920s when it was replaced by a Latin-based script, and later the Cyrillic alphabet. It can be seen in some public signs in the Kalmyk capital, Elista, and is superficially taught in schools. In Mongolia it was likewise replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet in 1941. Some Oirats in China still use Todo Bichig as their primary writing system, as well as Mongolian script.
History
The Oirats or Western Mongols share some history, geography, culture and language with the Eastern Mongols,and were at various times united under the same leader as a larger Mongol entity — whether that ruler was of Oirat or Eastern Mongolian descent.
The name Oirat may derive from a corruption of the group's original name Dörben Öörd, meaning "The Allied Four." Perhaps inspired by the designation Dörben Öörd, other Mongols at times used the term "Döchin Mongols" for themselves ("Döchin" meaning forty), but there was rarely as great a degree of unity among larger numbers of tribes as among the Oirats.
Comprising the 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...
(Хошууд Hošuud), Choros or Ölöt (Өөлд Ööld), Torghut (Торгууд Torguud), and 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...
(Дөрвөд Dörvöd) tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s, they were dubbed Kalmyk or Kalmak, which means "remnant" or "to remain," by their western Turkic
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
neighbors. Various sources also list the Bargut, Buzav, Kerait
Kerait
The Kereit tribe was one of the five major tribal confederations in Mongolian plateau in the 12th century, and dominant in the area and, as allies of Genghis Khan, influential in the rise of the Mongol Empire...
, and Naiman tribes as comprising part of the Dörben Öörd; some tribes may have joined the original four only in later years. This name may however reflect the Kalmyks' remaining Buddhist rather than converting to Islam; or the Kalmyks' remaining in then Altay
Altay Mountains
The Altai Mountains are a mountain range in East-Central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their sources. The Altai Mountains are known as the original locus of the speakers of Turkic as well as other members of the proposed...
region when the Turkic peoples migrated to the West.
Early history
One of the earliest mentions of the Oirat people in a historical text can be found in the 'Secret History of the Mongols', the 13th century chronicle of Genghis KhanGenghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
's rise to power. In the Secret History, the Oirats are counted among the "forest people" and are said to live under the rule of a shaman-chief known as bäki. In one famous passage the Oirat chief
Chief
- Title or rank :* Chiefs of the Name, the head of a family or clan* Chief executive officer, the highest-ranking corporate officer of an organization* Chief Master Sergeant, in the United States Air Force* Chief of police, the head of a police department...
, Quduqa Bäki, uses a yada or 'thunder stone' to unleash a powerful storm on Genghis' army. The magical ploy backfires however, when an unexpected wind blows the storm back at Quduqa. During early stages of Temujin Genghis's rise, oirats under Quduqa bekhi fought against Genghis and were defeated. Oirats were fully submitted to Mongol rule after their ally Jamukha, Temujin's rival/friend was destroyed. Subject to the khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
oirats would form themselves as a loyal and formidable faction of the Mongol war machine. In 1207, Jochi
Jochi
Jochi was the eldest of the Mongol chieftain Genghis Khan's four sons by his principal wife Börte. An accomplished military leader, he participated in his father's conquest of Central Asia, along with his brothers and uncles.-Early life:...
the eldest son of Genghis, subjugated the forest tribes including the Oirats and the Kyrgyzs. The Great Khan gave those people to his son, Jochi, and had one of his daughters, Checheygen, married the Oirat chief Khutug-bekhi or his son. There were notable Oirats in the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
such as Arghun Agha and his son Nowruz. In 1256, a body of the Oirats under Bukha-Temur joined Hulegu's expedition to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and fought against Hashshashin
Hashshashin
The Assassins were an order of Nizari Ismailis, particularly those of Persia that existed from around 1092 to 1265...
s, Abbasid
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
s in Persia. The Ilkhan Hulegu and his successor Abagha resettled them in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. And they took part in the Second Battle of Homs
Second Battle of Homs
The Second Battle of Homs was fought in western Syria on October 29, 1281, between the armies of the Mamluk dynasty of Egypt and Ilkhanate, division of the Mongol Empire centered on Iran...
where the Mongols were defeated. The majority of the Oirats, who were left behind, supported Arik Boke against Kublai. Kublai defeated his younger brother and they entered the service of the victor. In 1295, more than 10,000 Oirats under Targhai Khurgen (son-in-law of the Borjigin
Borjigin
Borjigin , also known as the Altan urug , were the imperial clan of Genghis Khan and his successors....
family) fled Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, then under the Mamluks because they were despised by both Muslim Mongols and local Turks
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
. They were well received by the Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
Al-Adil Kitbugha
Al-Adil Kitbugha
Kitbugha , was the 10th Mamluk Sultan of Egypt from December 1294 to November 1296.-Background:He was originally an ordinary Mongol soldier in the Ilkhanid army of Hulagu...
of Oirat origin. Ali Pasha, who was the governor of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, head of an Oirat ruling family, killed Ilkhan Arpa Keun, resulting in the disintegration of Mongol Persia. Due to the fact that the Oirats were near both the Chagatai Khanate
Chagatai Khanate
The Chagatai Khanate was a Turko-Mongol khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan , second son of the Great Khan Genghis Khan, and his descendents and successors...
and the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
, they had strong ties with them and many Mongol khans had Oirat wives.
After the expulsion of the Yuan dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, the Oirats revived in history as a loose alliance of the four major West Mongolian tribes (Dörben Oirad). The alliance grew, taking power in the remote region of the Altai Mountains, northwest of Hami oasis. Gradually they spread eastward, annexing territories then under the control of the Eastern Mongols, and hoping to reestablish a unified nomadic rule under their banner.
The greatest ruler 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...
(Mongolian: Дөрвөн Ойрд) was Esen Tayisi
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...
who led the Four Oirats from 1438 to 1454, during which time he unified Mongolia (both Inner and Outer) under his rule. In 1449 Esen Tayisi mobilized his cavalry along the Chinese border and invaded Ming China, defeating and destroying the Ming defenses at the Great Wall and the reinforcements sent to intercept his cavalry. In the process, the Zhengtong Emperor
Zhengtong Emperor
Zhu Qizhen was an emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He ruled as the Zhengtong Emperor from 1435 to 1449, and as the Tianshun Emperor from 1457 to 1464....
was captured at Tumu
Tumu Crisis
The Tumu Crisis ; also called the Crisis of Tumubao or Battle of Tumu Fortress , was a frontier conflict between the Oirat Mongols and the Chinese Ming Dynasty which led to the capture of the Zhengtong Emperor on September 1, 1449 and the loss of an army of 500,000 men to a much smaller force....
. The following year, Esen returned the emperor. After claiming the title of khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
, to which only lineal descendants of Genghis Khan could claim, Esen was deposed. Shortly afterwards, Oirat power declined.
From the 14th until the middle of the 18th century, the Oirats were often at war with the Eastern Mongols. Illustrative of this history is the Oirat epic
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
song, 'The Rout of Mongolian Sholoi Ubushi
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....
Khong Tayiji
Khong Tayiji
Khong Tayiji is a title of the Mongols.Khong Tayiji derives from Chinese Huangtaizi . At first it also meant crown prince in Mongolian. It was originally given only to descendants of Genghis Khan...
', about the war between the Oirats and the first Altan Khan of the Khalkha
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...
.
The Khoshut Khanate
The Oirats converted to Tibetan BuddhismTibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
around 1615, and it was not long before they became involved in the conflict between the Gelug
Gelug
The Gelug or Gelug-pa , also known as the Yellow Hat sect, is a school of Buddhism founded by Je Tsongkhapa , a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader...
and Karma Kagyu
Karma Kagyu
Karma Kagyu , or Kamtsang Kagyu, is probably the largest and certainly the most widely practiced lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, Mongolia, India, Nepal, and Bhutan, and current...
schools. At the request of the Gelug school, in 1637, Güshi Khan
Güshi Khan
Güshi Khan , a Khoshut prince and leader of the Khoshut Khanate, who had supplanted the Tumed descendants of Altan Khan. His military assistance to the Gelug school enabled the 5th Dalai Lama to establish political control over Tibet...
, the leader of the Khoshuts in Koko Nor, defeated Choghtu Khong Tayiji
Choghtu Khong Tayiji
Tsoghtu Khong Tayiji, born Tümengken , was a noble in Northern Khalkha. He expanded into Amdo to help the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism but was overthrown by Güshi Khan, who supported the rival Geluk sect.He established a base on the Tuul river...
, the Khalkha prince who supported the Karma Kagyu school, and conquered Amdo
Amdo
Amdo is one of the three traditional regions of Tibet, the other two being Ü-Tsang and Kham; it is also the birth place of the 14th Dalai Lama. Amdo encompasses a large area from the Machu River to the Drichu river . While culturally and ethnically a Tibetan area, Amdo has been administered by a...
(present-day Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
). The unification of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
followed in 1641, with Güshi Khan proclaimed Khan of Tibet by the Fifth Dalai Lama
Lozang Gyatso, 5th Dalai Lama
Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama , was a political and religious leader in seventeenth-century Tibet. Ngawang Lozang Gyatso was the ordination name he had received from Panchen Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen who was responsible for his ordination...
. The title "Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
" itself was bestowed upon the third lama of the Gelug tulku
Tulku
In Tibetan Buddhism, a tulku is a particular high-ranking lama, of whom the Dalai Lama is one, who can choose the manner of his rebirth. Normally the lama would be reincarnated as a human, and of the same sex as his predecessor. In contrast to a tulku, all other sentient beings including other...
lineage by Altan Khan
Altan Khan
Altan Khan , whose given name was Anda , was the ruler of the Tümet Mongols and de facto ruler of the Right Wing, or western tribes, of the Mongols...
(not to be confused with the Altan Khans of the Khalkha
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...
), and means, in Mongolian, "Ocean of Wisdom."
Amdo
Amdo
Amdo is one of the three traditional regions of Tibet, the other two being Ü-Tsang and Kham; it is also the birth place of the 14th Dalai Lama. Amdo encompasses a large area from the Machu River to the Drichu river . While culturally and ethnically a Tibetan area, Amdo has been administered by a...
, meanwhile, became home to the Khoshuts. In 1717, the Dzungars invaded Tibet and killed Lha-bzang Khan
Lha-bzang Khan
Lha-bzang Khan was chief of the Khoshut tribe of the Oirat Mongols and the son of Dalai Khan and grandson of Güshi Khan and the last Khoshut-Oirat King of Tibet. He became Khan by poisoning his brother Vangjal . Since Güshi's time, the Khoshuts had lost real power in Lhasa to the Regent there...
(or Khoshut Khan), a grandson of Güshi Khan and the fourth Khan of Tibet.
In 1723 Lobzang Danjin, another descendant of Güshi Khan, defended Amdo against Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
's attempts to extend its rule into Tibet, but was crushed in the following year. Thus, Amdo fell under Chinese domination.
The Dzungar Empire
The 17th century saw the rise in power of another Oirat empire in the east, known as the Khanate of Zungaria, which stretched from the Great Wall of ChinaGreat Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built originally to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by various nomadic groups...
to present-day eastern Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, and from present-day northern Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
to 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...
. It was the last Empire
Empire
The term empire derives from the Latin imperium . Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy....
of the Great Nomads of Asia
Eurasian nomads
Eurasian nomads are a large group of peoples of the Eurasian Steppe. This generic title encompasses the ethnic groups inhabiting the steppes of Central Asia, Mongolia, and Eastern Europe. They domesticated the horse, and their economy and culture emphasizes horse breeding, horse riding, and a...
, which was ruled by the Choros noblemen.
The Qing (or Manchu
Manchu
The Manchu people or Man are an ethnic minority of China who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the 17th century, with the help of the Ming dynasty rebels , they came to power in China and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which...
) conquered China in the mid-17th century and sought to protect its northern border by continuing the divide-and-rule policy their Ming predecessors had successfully instituted against the Mongols. The Manchu consolidated their rule over the East Mongols of Manchuria. They then persuaded the East Mongols of Inner Mongolia to submit themselves as vassals. Finally, the East Mongols of Outer Mongolia sought the protection of the Manchu against the Dzungars.
Some scholars estimate that about 80% of the Dzungar population were destroyed by a combination of warfare and disease during the Qing conquest of Zungaria in 1755-1757.
The Kalmyk Khanate
Kho Orlök, tayishi of the Torghuts, and Dalai Batur, tayishi of a small group of Derbets, led their people westward at the beginning of the 17th century. By some accounts this move was precipitated by internal divisions or by the Khoshot tribe; other historians believe it more likely the migrating clans were seeking pastureland for their herds, scarce in the Central Asian highlands. Part of the Khoshot and Ölöt tribes would join the migration almost a century later.The Kalmyk migration had reached as far as the steppes of southeast Europe by 1630. At the time, that area was inhabited by the Nogai Horde
Nogai Horde
The Nogai Horde was a confederation of about eighteen Turkic and Mongol tribes that occupied the Pontic-Caspian steppe from about 1500 until they were pushed west by the Kalmyks and south by the Russians in the 17th century. The Mongol tribe called the Manghits constituted a core of the Horde...
. But under pressure from Kalmyk warriors, the Nogais
Nogais
The Nogai people are a Turkic ethnic group in Southern Russia: northern Dagestan and Stavropol Krai, as well as in Karachay-Cherkessia and the Astrakhan Oblast; undefined number live in Chechnya...
fled to the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
and the Kuban River
Kuban River
The Kuban River is a river in Russia, in the North Caucasus region. It flows mostly through Krasnodar Krai but also in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Stavropol Krai and the Republic of Adygea....
. Many other nomadic peoples in the Eurasian steppes subsequently became vassals of the Kalmyk Khanate, part of which is in the area of present-day Kalmykia
Kalmykia
The Republic of Kalmykia is a federal subject of Russia . Population: It is the only Buddhist region in Europe. It has also become well-known as an international chess mecca because its former President, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, is the head of the International Chess Federation .-Geography:*Area:...
. Later they became nominal, then full subjects of the Russian Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
. Following the Russian revolution their settlement was accelerated, Buddhism stamped out and herds collectivised. In 1944 all Kalmyks were expelled to Siberia by Stalin, accused of supporting invading Axis armies attacking Stalingrad (Volgograd). Only two-thirds of them survived to return and re-establish Kalmykia in 1957. Now they are trying to revive their language and religion.
Xinjiang Mongols
The Mongols of XinjiangXinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
form a minority, principally in the northern part of the region. They are primarily descendants of the surviving Torghuds and Khoshuds who returned from Kalmykia
Kalmykia
The Republic of Kalmykia is a federal subject of Russia . Population: It is the only Buddhist region in Europe. It has also become well-known as an international chess mecca because its former President, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, is the head of the International Chess Federation .-Geography:*Area:...
, and of the Chakhar stationed there as garrison soldiers in 18th century. The emperor had sent messages asking the Kalmyks to return, and erected a smaller copy of the Potala in Jehol (the country residence of the Manchu Emperors) to mark their arrival. A model copy of that "Little Potala" was made in China for the Swedish explorer Sven Hedin, and was erected at the Great Exhibition of Chicago. It is now in storage in Sweden, where there are plans to re-erect it. Some of the returnees did not come that far and still live, now as Muslims, at the South-western end of Lake Issyk-kul in present-day Kirghizia.
Alxa Mongols
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
and west of Irgay River is called Alxa
Alxa League
Alxa League is one of 12 prefecture level divisions and three extant leagues of Inner Mongolia. The league borders Mongolia to the north, Bayan Nur to the northeast, Wuhai and Ordos to the east, Ningxia to the southeast, and Gansu to the south and west. The capital is Bayan Hot in the aimag's...
or Alaša, Alshaa, and Mongols who moved there are called the Alshaa Mongols.
Törbaih Güshi Khan
Güshi Khan
Güshi Khan , a Khoshut prince and leader of the Khoshut Khanate, who had supplanted the Tumed descendants of Altan Khan. His military assistance to the Gelug school enabled the 5th Dalai Lama to establish political control over Tibet...
’s 4th son Ayush was opposed to the Khan’s brother Baibagas. Ayush’s eldest son is Baatar Erkh Jonon Khoroli. After the battle between Galdan Boshigt Khan and Ochir Setsen, Khoroli moved to Tsaidam with his 10,000 households. The 5th Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
wanted land for them from the Qing government, thus in 1686, the Emperor permitted them to reside in Alshaa.
In 1697, Alshaa Mongols were administered in 'khoshuu' and 'sum' units. A khoshuu with eight sums was created, Khoroli was appointed to Beil, and Alshaa was thus a 'zasag-khoshuu'. Alshaa was however like an 'aimag' and never administered under a 'chuulgan'.
In 1707, when Khoroli died, his son Abuu succeeded him. He was in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
from his youth, served as bodyguard of the Emperor, and a princess (of the Emperor) was given to him, thus making him a 'Khoshoi Tavnan', i.e. Emperor’s groom. In 1793, Abuu became Jün Wang. There are several thousand Muslim Alshaa Mongols.
EjineEjin BannerEjin Banner is a banner of Inner Mongolia, China. It is under the administration of Alxa League.-Transportation:Eljin Banner is served by the Jiayuguan-Ceke and the Linhe-Ceke Railways.-References:*...
Mongols
Mongols who lived along the Ejine River descended from Ravjir, a grandson of Torguud Ayush Khan from the Ijil (Volga) River.In 1678, Ravjir - with his mother, younger sister and 500 people - went to Tibet to pray. While they were returning via Beijing in 1704, Qing emperor Kangxi
Kangxi Emperor
The Kangxi Emperor ; Manchu: elhe taifin hūwangdi ; Mongolian: Энх-Амгалан хаан, 4 May 1654 –20 December 1722) was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the first to be born on Chinese soil south of the Pass and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722.Kangxi's...
let them stay there for some years and later organized a 'khoshuu' for them in a place called Sertei, and made Ravjir the governor.
In 1716, Kangxi Emperor sent him with his people to Hami, near the border of Qing China and Zunghar Khanate, for intelligence-gathering purposes against the Oirats. When Ravjir died his eldest son Denzen succeeded him. He was afraid of the Dzungar and wanted the Qing government to allow them to move away from the border. They were settled in Dalan Uul–Altan. When Denzen was died in 1740, his son Lubsan Darjaa succeeded him and became Beil.
In 1753, they were settled on the banks of the Ejine River and the Ejine River Torguud 'khoshuu' was thus formed.
Literature
- Khoyt S.K. White spots in dorwod (derbet) ethnogenesis - in russian
- Khoyt S.K. Last data by localisation and number of oyirad (oirat) (rar) - in russian
- Khoyt S.K. Last data by localisation and number of oyirad (oirat) (htm republication) - in russian
- Khoyt S.K. Other ethnic inclusion in european oyirad (oirat) groups by family trees (genealogys) datas. doc, 114 kb (rar, 14 kb) - in russian
- Khoyt S.K. The miscegenation problem in kalmyk society. - in russian
- Wang Jinglan, Shao Xingzhou, Cui Jing et al. Anthropological survey on the Mongolian Tuerhute tribe in He shuo county, Xinjiang Uigur autonomous region // Acta anthropologica sinica. Vol. XII, № 2. May, 1993. p. 137-146.
- Санчиров В. П. О Происхождении этнонима торгут и народа, носившего это название // Монголо-бурятские этнонимы: cб. ст. — Улан-Удэ: БНЦ СО РАН, 1996. C. 31—50. - in Russian
- Galushkin S.K., Spitsyn V.A., Crawford M.H. Genetic Structure of Mongolic-speaking Kalmyks // Human Biology, December 2001, v.73, no. 6, pp. 823–834.
- Хойт С.К. Генетическая структура европейских ойратских групп по локусам ABO, RH, HP, TF, GC, ACP1, PGM1, ESD, GLO1, SOD-A // Проблемы этнической истории и культуры тюрко-монгольских народов. Сборник научных трудов. Вып. I. Элиста: КИГИ РАН, 2009. с. 146-183. - in Russian