Post-imperial Mongolia
Encyclopedia
The Northern Yuan Dynasty (Mongolian
: ᠬᠦᠮᠠᠷᠳᠦ ᠥᠨ ᠥᠯᠥᠰ, Chinese
: 北元; pinyin
: Beǐyuán) refers to the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty
which continued to rule Mongolia
after the expulsion of the Mongol court from China
in 1368, until the emergence of the Qing Dynasty
in the 17th century. The period was marked by factional struggles and the often only nominal role of the Great Khan. The period before 1388, when Toghus Temur was murdered near the Tuul River
, is sometimes referred to as Northern Yuan Dynasty. It's sometimes referred to as Post-Imperial Mongolia or Mongolian khanate in modern sources. In Mongolian chronicles this period is also known as The Forty and the Four, meaning forty tumen eastern Mongols and four tumen western Mongols.
Dayan Khan
and Mandukhai Khatun
reunited the entire Mongol nation in the 15th century. However, the former's distribution of his empire among his sons and relatives as fiefs caused the decentralization of the imperial rule. Despite this decentralization there was a remarkable concord within the Dayan Khanid aristocracy and intra-Chinggisid
civil war remained unknown until the reign of Ligden Khan (1604–34).
The last sixty years of this period are marked by intensive penetration of Tibetan Buddhism
into Mongolian society.
under Khagan
Kublai Khan
(r.1260-94) of the Mongol Empire
(1206–1368), a grandson of Genghis Khan
(r.1206-27), had conquered all of China
by eliminating the Southern Song Dynasty in 1276 and destroyed the last Chinese resistance in 1279. The Mongol Yuan Dynasty
(Dai Yuan Ulus, 1271–1368) ruled all of China for about a century. However, the Mongols dominated North China
for more than 140 years, starting from the time when the Jurchen Jin Dynasty was annihilated. Nevertheless, when the indigenous Chinese
people in the countryside suffered from frequent natural disasters such as droughts, floods and the ensuing famines since the late 1340s, and the government's lack of effective policy led to a loss of the support from people. In 1351, the Red Turban Rebellion
started and grew into a nationwide turmoil. Eventually, Zhu Yuanzhang, a Chinese
peasant established the Ming Dynasty
in South China
, and sent an army toward the Yuan capital Dadu
(present-day Beijing
) in 1368. Toghan Temür (r.1333-70), the last ruler of the Yuan, fled north to Shangdu (located in present-day Inner Mongolia
) from Dadu in 1368 after the approach of the forces of the Míng Dynasty (1368–1644). He had tried to regain Dadu, but eventually failed; he died in Yingchang (located in present-day Inner Mongolia) two years later (1370). Yingchang was seized by the Ming shortly after his death.
The Yuan remnants retreated to Mongolia
after the fall of Yingchang to the Ming Dynasty
in 1370, where the name Great Yuan was formally carried on, known as the Northern Yuan. The Northern Yuan rulers also buttressed their claim on China, and held tenaciously to the title of Emperor
(or Great Khan) of the Great Yuan (Dai Yuwan Khaan, or 大元可汗) to resist the Ming who now became the real ruler of China.
The Ming army pursued the Northern Yuan forces into Mongolia in 1372, but were defeated by the latter under Ayushridar (r.1370-78) and his general Köke Temür
(d.1375). In 1375, Nahacu, a Mongol official of Biligtu Khan (Ayushridara) in Liaoyang
province invaded Liaodong with aims of restoring the Mongols to power. Although he continued to hold southern Manchuria
, Nahacu finally surrendered to the Ming Dynasty
in 1387-88 due to famines. The Yuan loyalists under the Kublaid prince Basalawarmi
in Yunnan
and Guizhou
were also destroyed by the Ming in 1381-83.
The Ming tried again in 1380, ultimately winning a decisive victory over Northern Yuan in 1388. About 70,000 Mongols were taken prisoner, and the Mongol capital
Karakorum
was sacked and ruined in 1380. It effectively destroyed the power of the Khaan's Mongols for a long time, and allowed the Western Mongols to become supreme.
, a descendant of Arik Böke (Tolui
's son), instead of the descendants of Kublai Khan
. After the death of his master Togus Temur (r.1378-88), Gunashiri, a descendant of Chagatai Khan
, founded his own small state called Qara Del
in Hami. The following century saw a succession of Chinggisid rulers, many of whom were mere figureheads put on the throne by those warlords who happened to be the most powerful. From the end of the 14th century there appear designations such as "period of small kings" (Бага хаадын үе) for this period in modern historiography. On one side stood the Oirats
(or Western Mongols) in the west against the Eastern Mongols. While the Oirats drew their side to the descendants of Arik Boke and other princes, Arugtai of the Asud
supported the old Yuan khans. Another force was the House of Ogedei
who briefly attempted to reunite the Mongols under their rule.
The Mongols split into three main groups: western Mongols, the Mongol groups under the Uriyangkhai in northeast, and the Eastern Mongols between the two. The Uriyangkhai and some Borjigin princes surrendered to the Ming Dynasty in the 1390s. The Ming divided them into Three Guards: Doyin, Tai'nin and Fuyu.
Periods of conflict with the Ming Dynasty intermingled with periods of peaceful relations with border trade. In 1402, Örüg Temür Khan
(Guilichi) abolished the name Great Yuan; he was however defeated by Öljei Temür Khan
(Bunyashiri, r.1403-12), the protege of Tamerlane (d.1405) in 1403. Most of the Mongol noblemen under Arugtai chingsang
sided with Oljei Temur. Under Yongle (r.1402-24) the Ming Dynasty intervened aggressively against any overly powerful leader, exacerbating the Mongol-Oirat conflict. In 1409 Oljei Temur and Arugtai crushed a Ming army
, so that Yongle personally attacked the two on the Kherlen River
. After the death of Oljei Temur, the Oirats under their leader Bahamu (Mahmud
) (d.1417) enthroned an Arik-Bokid, Delbeg Khan
in 1412. Although, the Ming encouraged the Oirats to fight against the Eastern Mongols, they withdrew their support when the Oirats became powerful. After 1417 Arugtai became dominant again, and Yongle campaigned against him in 1422 and 1423. Bahamu's successor Toghan pushed Arugtai east of the Greater Khingan
range in 1433. The Oirats killed him in the west of Baotou
the next year. Arugtai's ally Adai Khan
(r.1425-38) made a last stand in Ejene before he was murdered too.
Toghan died in the very year of his victory over Adai. His son Esen (r.1438-54) brought the Oirats to the height of their power. Under his Chinggisid puppet khans, he drove back the Moghulistan
monarchs and crushed the Three Guards, Qara Del and the Jurchen. In 1449 he captured the Ming Emperor
Zhengtong, bringing about a wholescale collapse of the Ming northern defence line. Esen and his father ruled as taishis of Chinggisid khans but after executing the rebellious khan Tayisung (r.1433-53) and his brother Agbarjin
in 1453, Esen took the title khan himself. He was, however, soon overthrown by his chingsang Alag. His death broke up the role of the Oirats until they revived in the early 17th century.
From Esen's death to 1481 different warlord
s of the Kharchin
, the Belgutei
ds and Ordos
fought over succession and had their Chinggisid Khans enthroned. The Mongolian chroniclers call some of them the Uyghurs and they might have some ties with the Hami oasis. During his reign, Manduulun Khan
(1475–78) effectively won over most of the Mongol warlords before he died in 1478.
Mandukhai proclaimed a boy named Batumongke
. The new khan, as a descendant of Genghis Khan
, took the title Dayan meaning the "Great Yuan", with reference to the Yuan Dynasty
. Mandukhai and Dayan Khan overthrew Oirat supremacy
. At first the new rulers operated with the taishi system. The taishis mostly ruled the Yellow River
Mongols. However, one of them killed Dayan Khan's son and revolted when Dayan Khan appointed his son, jinong
Ulusbold, over them. Dayan Khan finally defeated the southwestern Mongols in 1510 with the assistance of his allies, Unebolad wang and the Four Oirats
. Making his another son jinong, he abolished old-Yuan court titles of taishi, chingsang, pingchan and chiyuan.
The Ming Dynasty closed border-trade and killed his envoys. Dayan invaded China and subjugated the Three Guards, tributaries of the Ming. The Oirats assisted his campaign in China.
He reorganized the Eastern Mongols into 6 tümens (literally "ten thousand") as follows.
They functioned both as military units and as tribal administrative bodies who hoped to receive taijis, descended from Dayan Khan. Northern Khalkha people and Uriyankhan were attached to the South Khalkha of eastern Inner Mongolia and Doyin Uriyangkhan of the Three Guards, respectively. After the rebellion of the northern Uriankhai people, they were conquered in 1538 and mostly annexed by the northern Khalkha. However, his decision to divide the Six tumens to his sons, or taijis, and local tabunangs-sons in law of the taijis created a decentralized system of Borjigin
rule that secured domestic peace and outward expansion for a century. Despite this decentralization there was a remarkable concord within the Dayan Khanid aristocracy.
(r.1547-57) had to grant titles of khans to his cousins Altan
, ruling the Tumed and Bayaskhul, ruling the Kharchin. The decentralized peace among the Mongols was based on religious and cultural unity created by Chinggisid cult
s.
A series of smallpox epidemics and lack of trade forced the Mongols to repeatedly plunder the districts of China. In 1571 the Ming opened trade with the 3 Right Wing Tumens. The large-scale conversion to Buddhism
in the Three Right Wing Tumens from 1575 on, built on the amity of the Chinggisids. Tümen Jasagtu Khan
appointed a Tibetan
Buddhist chaplain of the Karma-pa order. In 1580 northern Khalkha proclaimed their leading Dayan Khanid prince, Abtai Khan, khan. Representatives from all Mongols, including Oirats, constituted the court of Tümen Jasagtu Khan who had conquered Koko Nur and codified a new law.
By the end of the 16th century, the Three Guards lost their existence as a distinct group. Their Fuyu was absorbed by the Khorchin after they had moved to the Nonni River. Two other, Doyin and Tai'nin, were absorbed by the Five Khalkhas.
In the 17th century, the Mongols came under the influence of the Manchus, who founded the Later Jin Dynasty
(Qing Dynasty
). The princes of Khorchin
, Jarud and southern Khalkha Mongols made a formal alliance with the Manchus from 1612 to 1624. Resenting this suborning of his subjects, Ligdan Khan
, the last Khagan in Chahar, unsuccessfully attacked them in 1625. He appointed his officials over the tumens and formed an elite military band to coerce opposition. The massive rebellion broke out in 1628. The Chahar under Ligden defeated their combined armies and the Manchu auxiliary at Zhaocheng but fled a large Manchu punitive expedition. Ligden died on his way to Tibet
to punish the dGe-lugs-pa order in 1634. His son, Ejei Khan
, surrendered to the Manchus and was said to give the seal of the Yuan Khagan
to Qing emperor Hong Taiji
the next year (February 1635), ending the Northern Yuan.
most of Outer Mongolia came under the rule of descendents of his youngest son, Gersendze Huangtaizi. By the early 17th century these formed four Khanates, from west to east:
In the north, from 1583, Russian adventurers gained control of the forest tribes of Siberia but did not attempt to interfere with the numerous and warlike peoples south of the forests. They had some dealings with the Altyn Khan who is said to have introduced them to Chinese tea.
To the east, in 1582-1626, Nurhaci
unified the tribes of Manchuria. His son, Huang Taiji (1626–1643) consolidated the new state and incorporated parts of Inner Mongolia. At his death Dorgon
became regent for his 6-year-old son and was in charge when the Manchus took Beijing and founded the Qing Dynasty
(1644).
To the west in Dzungaria
, about 1600-1620 the Oirats
or Western Mongols became united under Khara Khula
and formed the Zunghar Khanate
. This unification was partly driven by their wars with the Altyn Khans.
In 1662 the Altyn Khan attacked and put to death his eastern neighbor. This caused the senior Tushetu Khan to drive him out, but he was restored with Zunghar and Qing support. In 1682 he was captured by the next Dzashgtu Khan and his Khanate disappeared from history. The loss of the westernmost Khalka Khanate opened the way for the Zunghars. In 1672 Galdan became Khan of the Zunghars. After conquering the northern Tarim Basin
from Kashgar
to Hami he began to dream of uniting the Mongols and restoring the realm of Genghis Khan. He allied with the Dzasagtu Khan against the Tushetu Khan, who in turn attacked the Dzashgtu Khan (who drowned while trying to escape) and then invaded Dzungar territory where he killed one of Galdan's brothers. Galdan responded (1688) by annihilating the Tushetu Khan's army near the Tarim River
and plundering the tombs at Karakoram
. The Tushetu Khan and the other Khalkha leaders fled to Hohhot
at the northeast corner of the Ordos Loop
and begged for Qing help. By 1690 Galdan controlled the whole Khalkha country as far as the edge of Manchuria and turned south toward Beijing. This direct threat to the Qing led the Kangxi Emperor
to block Galdan who withdrew to the northwest in late 1690. In May 1691 Kangxi held a Kurultai
at Dolon Nor where the Khalkha chiefs declared themselves vassals of the Qing emperors. In 1695 Galdan moved east again. Kangxi sent a massive army and defeated him near Ulan Bator (at Chao-Modo or Zuunmod
on June 12, 1696). Galdan fled with a few followers and later died. Outer Mongolia was thus incorporated into the Qing Empire, and the Khalkha leaders returned to Outer Mongolia as Qing vassals. A Qing garrison was installed at Ulan Bator. The Qing forces occupied Hami but did not advance into Zungharia. Although the Zunghars later expanded into Tibet and Kazakhstan they made no attempt to return to Outer Mongolia.
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...
: ᠬᠦᠮᠠᠷᠳᠦ ᠥᠨ ᠥᠯᠥᠰ, Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 北元; pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Beǐyuán) refers to the remnants 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...
which continued to rule 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...
after the expulsion of the Mongol court 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...
in 1368, until the emergence of the 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....
in the 17th century. The period was marked by factional struggles and the often only nominal role of the Great Khan. The period before 1388, when Toghus Temur was murdered near the Tuul River
Tuul River
Tuul River is a river in central and northern Mongolia considered sacred by the Mongols. It is 704 km long and drains an area 49,840 square km. The river is called the "Duluo river" in the Suishu, a Chinese historical work completed in 636 AD...
, is sometimes referred to as Northern Yuan Dynasty. It's sometimes referred to as Post-Imperial Mongolia or Mongolian khanate in modern sources. In Mongolian chronicles this period is also known as The Forty and the Four, meaning forty tumen eastern Mongols and four tumen western Mongols.
Dayan Khan
Dayan Khan
Dayan Khan , was a Mongol khan who reunited the Mongols under Chinggisid supremacy in the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia...
and Mandukhai Khatun
Mandukhai Khatun
Mandukhai Khatun was the Empress of the Post-imperial Mongolia. She united the warring Mongols with her husband Batmunkh Dayan Khan.- Background :...
reunited the entire Mongol nation in the 15th century. However, the former's distribution of his empire among his sons and relatives as fiefs caused the decentralization of the imperial rule. Despite this decentralization there was a remarkable concord within the Dayan Khanid aristocracy and intra-Chinggisid
Borjigin
Borjigin , also known as the Altan urug , were the imperial clan of Genghis Khan and his successors....
civil war remained unknown until the reign of Ligden Khan (1604–34).
The last sixty years of this period are marked by intensive penetration of Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan 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...
into Mongolian society.
The Great Khan's return to Mongolia (1368–1388)
The MongolsMongols
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...
under Khagan
Khagan
Khagan or qagan , alternatively spelled kagan, khaghan, qaghan, or chagan, is a title of imperial rank in the Mongolian and Turkic languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate...
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
(r.1260-94) of the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
(1206–1368), a grandson of Genghis Khan
Genghis 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....
(r.1206-27), had conquered all of 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...
by eliminating the Southern Song Dynasty in 1276 and destroyed the last Chinese resistance in 1279. The Mongol 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...
(Dai Yuan Ulus, 1271–1368) ruled all of China for about a century. However, the Mongols dominated North China
North China
thumb|250px|Northern [[People's Republic of China]] region.Northern China or North China is a geographical region of China. The heartland of North China is the North China Plain....
for more than 140 years, starting from the time when the Jurchen Jin Dynasty was annihilated. Nevertheless, when the indigenous Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
people in the countryside suffered from frequent natural disasters such as droughts, floods and the ensuing famines since the late 1340s, and the government's lack of effective policy led to a loss of the support from people. In 1351, the Red Turban Rebellion
Red Turban Rebellion
The Red Turban Rebellion was an uprising much influenced by the White Lotus Society members that targeted the ruling Yuan Dynasty.- Causes :...
started and grew into a nationwide turmoil. Eventually, Zhu Yuanzhang, a Chinese
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...
peasant established the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
in South China
Northern and southern China
Northern China and southern China are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions has never been precisely defined...
, and sent an army toward the Yuan capital Dadu
Khanbaliq
Khanbaliq or Dadu refers to a city which is now Beijing, the current capital of the People's Republic of China...
(present-day 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...
) in 1368. Toghan Temür (r.1333-70), the last ruler of the Yuan, fled north to Shangdu (located in present-day Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
) from Dadu in 1368 after the approach of the forces of the Míng Dynasty (1368–1644). He had tried to regain Dadu, but eventually failed; he died in Yingchang (located in present-day Inner Mongolia) two years later (1370). Yingchang was seized by the Ming shortly after his death.
The Yuan remnants retreated to 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...
after the fall of Yingchang to the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
in 1370, where the name Great Yuan was formally carried on, known as the Northern Yuan. The Northern Yuan rulers also buttressed their claim on China, and held tenaciously to the title of Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
(or Great Khan) of the Great Yuan (Dai Yuwan Khaan, or 大元可汗) to resist the Ming who now became the real ruler of China.
The Ming army pursued the Northern Yuan forces into Mongolia in 1372, but were defeated by the latter under Ayushridar (r.1370-78) and his general Köke Temür
Köke Temür
Köke Temür , also known as Wang Baobao , was a Han-Naiman general of the Yuan Dynasty. His mother was the daughter of a Mongolian prince while his father was an ethnic Han Chinese with the surname Wang. Before he was given the Mongolian name by the Yuan court in the early 1360s, he was known by his...
(d.1375). In 1375, Nahacu, a Mongol official of Biligtu Khan (Ayushridara) in Liaoyang
Liaoyang
Liaoyang is a city in China, Liaoning province, located in the middle of the Liaodong Peninsula. The city is situated on the T'ai-tzu River and forms with Anshan a built up area of 2,057,200 inhabitants in 2010....
province invaded Liaodong with aims of restoring the Mongols to power. Although he continued to hold southern Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
, Nahacu finally surrendered to the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
in 1387-88 due to famines. The Yuan loyalists under the Kublaid prince Basalawarmi
Basalawarmi
Basalawarmi , commonly known by his hereditary title, the Prince of Liang, was a descendant of Kublai Khan and a Yuan Dynasty loyalist who fought against the ascendant Ming Dynasty in China.-Before the fall of the Yuan:...
in Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
and Guizhou
Guizhou
' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :...
were also destroyed by the Ming in 1381-83.
The Ming tried again in 1380, ultimately winning a decisive victory over Northern Yuan in 1388. About 70,000 Mongols were taken prisoner, and the Mongol capital
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
Karakorum
Karakorum
Karakorum was the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, and of the Northern Yuan in the 14-15th century. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Övörkhangai Province of Mongolia, near today's town of Kharkhorin, and adjacent to the Erdene Zuu monastery...
was sacked and ruined in 1380. It effectively destroyed the power of the Khaan's Mongols for a long time, and allowed the Western Mongols to become supreme.
Rise of the Oirats (1388–1478)
In 1388, the Northern Yuan throne was taken over by YesüderJorightu Khan, Emperor Xingyuan of Northern Yuan
Jorightu Khan was a Mongol Khan of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia. There are questions about the identity of Jorightu: some scholars believe that Jorightu was Yesüder who was a descendant of Arik Boke and Engke Khan was Yesüder's son succeeding him, while other believe that the two were...
, a descendant of Arik Böke (Tolui
Tolui
Tolui, was the youngest son of Genghis Khan by his chief khatun Börte...
's son), instead of the descendants of Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
. After the death of his master Togus Temur (r.1378-88), Gunashiri, a descendant of Chagatai Khan
Chagatai Khan
Chagatai Khan was the second son of Genghis Khan and first khan and origin of the names of the Chagatai Khanate, Chagatai language and Chagatai Turks....
, founded his own small state called Qara Del
Qara Del
Qara Del was a Mongol Kingdom that existed in Hami in present-day Xinjiang. It was founded by the Yuan price Gunashiri, a descendant of Chagatai Khan, in the late 14th century , and ruled by the Chagatayids thereafter until 1463. It was destroyed as results of the wars between Ming China and Oirat...
in Hami. The following century saw a succession of Chinggisid rulers, many of whom were mere figureheads put on the throne by those warlords who happened to be the most powerful. From the end of the 14th century there appear designations such as "period of small kings" (Бага хаадын үе) for this period in modern historiography. On one side stood the Oirats
Oirats
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...
(or Western Mongols) in the west against the Eastern Mongols. While the Oirats drew their side to the descendants of Arik Boke and other princes, Arugtai of the Asud
Asud
Asud were a guard and military group of Alani origin. The Mongol clan Asud is the plural of As, the Arabic name for the Alans.After the Mongol invasion of Rus, many Alans submitted to the Mongol Empire. Some of them resisted the Golden Horde longer. Many warriors moved from Northern Caucasia to...
supported the old Yuan khans. Another force was the House of Ogedei
House of Ogedei
The House of Ogedei, sometimes called the Ogedeids were an influential family of Mongol Borjigin from the 12th to 14th centuries. They were descended from Ogedei Khan , a son of Genghis Khan who had become his father's successor, second Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. Ogedei continued the...
who briefly attempted to reunite the Mongols under their rule.
The Mongols split into three main groups: western Mongols, the Mongol groups under the Uriyangkhai in northeast, and the Eastern Mongols between the two. The Uriyangkhai and some Borjigin princes surrendered to the Ming Dynasty in the 1390s. The Ming divided them into Three Guards: Doyin, Tai'nin and Fuyu.
Periods of conflict with the Ming Dynasty intermingled with periods of peaceful relations with border trade. In 1402, Örüg Temür Khan
Örüg Temür Khan
Örüg Temür or Gulichi was a Mongol leader who temporarily throned himself Khan of the Mongols in the early 15th century. He might be the same person, Ugechi Khashikha who appeared in Mongolian history. Khashikha means prince or duke in Tungusic languages...
(Guilichi) abolished the name Great Yuan; he was however defeated by Öljei Temür Khan
Öljei Temür Khan
Öljei Temür Khan was the Mongol khan of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia. He was a son of Elbeg Nigülesügchi Khan and younger brother of Gün Temür Khan...
(Bunyashiri, r.1403-12), the protege of Tamerlane (d.1405) in 1403. Most of the Mongol noblemen under Arugtai chingsang
Mongolian nobility
The Mongolian nobility arose in the 10-12th centuries, became prominent in the 13th century, and essentially governed Mongolia until the early 20th century....
sided with Oljei Temur. Under Yongle (r.1402-24) the Ming Dynasty intervened aggressively against any overly powerful leader, exacerbating the Mongol-Oirat conflict. In 1409 Oljei Temur and Arugtai crushed a Ming army
Battle of Kherlen
The battle of Kherlen was a battle between Borjigin Mongolia and Ming China that took place at the banks of Kherlen River in Mongolia on 23 September 1409....
, so that Yongle personally attacked the two on the Kherlen River
Kherlen River
Kherlen River is a river of 1,254 km length in Mongolia and China.-Course:The river has its origin in the south slopes of the Khentii mountains, near the Burkhan Khaldun mountain in the Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area, about 180 km northeast of Ulaanbaatar...
. After the death of Oljei Temur, the Oirats under their leader Bahamu (Mahmud
Mahmud
Mahmud is the main transliteration of the Arabic given name, , , that comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root of Ḥ-M-D "Praise"....
) (d.1417) enthroned an Arik-Bokid, Delbeg Khan
Delbeg Khan
Delbeg was the Mongol Khan of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia. The Oirats finally installed the young Delbeg in 1412 as their puppet Mongol Khan, but this was not recognized by most of Mongol clans in the central and eastern Mongol territories.According to Saghan Secen, Delbeg was a son of...
in 1412. Although, the Ming encouraged the Oirats to fight against the Eastern Mongols, they withdrew their support when the Oirats became powerful. After 1417 Arugtai became dominant again, and Yongle campaigned against him in 1422 and 1423. Bahamu's successor Toghan pushed Arugtai east of the Greater Khingan
Greater Khingan
The Greater Khingan Range , also called the Greater Hing'an Range or Greater Hinggan Range, is a volcanic mountain range in the northeastern part of the People's Republic of China. The range extends roughly 1,200 km from north to south, narrowing towards the south...
range in 1433. The Oirats killed him in the west of Baotou
Baotou
Baotou is a mid-sized industrial city in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, its urban areas are home to a population of approximately 1.78 million, with a total population of over 2.65 million accounting for counties under...
the next year. Arugtai's ally Adai Khan
Adai Khan
Adai was the Mongol Khan of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia. After the prominent eastern Mongolian chancellor, Arughtai, threw his allegiance to him, he briefly reunited most of the Mongols under his banner.- Lineage and early life :...
(r.1425-38) made a last stand in Ejene before he was murdered too.
Toghan died in the very year of his victory over Adai. His son Esen (r.1438-54) brought the Oirats to the height of their power. Under his Chinggisid puppet khans, he drove back the Moghulistan
Moghulistan
Moghulistan or Mughalistan is a historical geographic unit in Central Asia that included parts of modern-day Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the Chinese Autonomous Region of Xinjiang...
monarchs and crushed the Three Guards, Qara Del and the Jurchen. In 1449 he captured the Ming Emperor
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....
Zhengtong, bringing about a wholescale collapse of the Ming northern defence line. Esen and his father ruled as taishis of Chinggisid khans but after executing the rebellious khan Tayisung (r.1433-53) and his brother Agbarjin
Agbarjin
Agbarjin or Akbarjin was the khagan claimant of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia. He was the youngest brother of Tayisung Khan Toghtoa Bukha....
in 1453, Esen took the title khan himself. He was, however, soon overthrown by his chingsang Alag. His death broke up the role of the Oirats until they revived in the early 17th century.
From Esen's death to 1481 different warlord
Warlord
A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...
s of the Kharchin
Kharchin
Kharchin is a subgroup of the Mongols residing mainly in North-western Liaoning and Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. There are Khalkha-Kharchin Mongols in Dorno-Gobi Province and in Ulaanbaatar.They are descended directly from the Kharchin tümen of the Northern Yuan Dynasty...
, the Belgutei
Belgutei
Belgutei was the son of Yesugei and half-brother to Genghis Khan.He also became general to Genghis Khan.-Ancestry:...
ds and Ordos
Ordos
-Places:*Ordos Loop of the Yellow River, a region of China*Ordos Desert, in Inner Mongolia*Ordos City, city and district in Inner Mongolia*Ordos International Circuit, a race track in Ordos City.-People:...
fought over succession and had their Chinggisid Khans enthroned. The Mongolian chroniclers call some of them the Uyghurs and they might have some ties with the Hami oasis. During his reign, Manduulun Khan
Manduulun Khan
Manduul Khan , was the Mongol Khan of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia, and he was the younger brother of Tayisung Khan, Emperor Taizong of Northern Yuan , but the two had different mothers.After the death of Mulan Khan, the position remain vacant for nearly a decade as warring Mongol clans...
(1475–78) effectively won over most of the Mongol warlords before he died in 1478.
Restoration (1479–1540)
Manduul's (Manduulun) young khatunKhatun
Khatun is a female title of nobility and alternative to male "khan" prominently used in the First Turkic Empire and in the subsequent Mongol Empire...
Mandukhai proclaimed a boy named Batumongke
Dayan Khan
Dayan Khan , was a Mongol khan who reunited the Mongols under Chinggisid supremacy in the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia...
. The new khan, as a descendant of Genghis Khan
Genghis 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....
, took the title Dayan meaning the "Great Yuan", with reference to 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...
. Mandukhai and Dayan Khan overthrew Oirat supremacy
Supremacy
Supremacy may refer to:* Supremacism, a philosophy that one is superior to others, so dominate, control or rule those who are not* Acts of Supremacy, 16th century laws in England concerning King Henry VIII and the church...
. At first the new rulers operated with the taishi system. The taishis mostly ruled the Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
Mongols. However, one of them killed Dayan Khan's son and revolted when Dayan Khan appointed his son, jinong
Jinong
Jinong was a title of the Mongols. It was derived from Chinese Jinwang although some historians have suggested it originates from Qinwang...
Ulusbold, over them. Dayan Khan finally defeated the southwestern Mongols in 1510 with the assistance of his allies, Unebolad wang and 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...
. Making his another son jinong, he abolished old-Yuan court titles of taishi, chingsang, pingchan and chiyuan.
The Ming Dynasty closed border-trade and killed his envoys. Dayan invaded China and subjugated the Three Guards, tributaries of the Ming. The Oirats assisted his campaign in China.
He reorganized the Eastern Mongols into 6 tümens (literally "ten thousand") as follows.
- Left Wing:
- KhalkhaKhalkhaKhalkha 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...
tumen: Northern 7 otog (Jalaid, Besud, Eljigin, Gorlos, Khukhuid, Khatighin, and later added Uriyangkhai) and Southern 5 otog (Baarin, Jarud, Bayagud, Uchirad and Qongirat) - Chahar tumen: Abaga, Abaganar, Aokhan, Dorvon khuukhed, Kheshigten, Muumyangan, Naiman, Onginuud, Khuuchid, Sunid, UzemchinÜzemchinThe Üzemchin are a subgroup of Mongols in eastern Mongolia and Inner Mongolia. They settle mainly in Sergelen, Bayantu'men, Choibalsan city of the Dornod Province and in Xilin Gol League of the Inner Mongolia...
, and UradUrad MongolsUrad is a Mongol tribe in Inner Mongolia.... - UriankhaiUriankhai"Uriankhai" , also known as Urianhai or Uryangkhai, is a term applied to several neighboring ethnic groups...
tumen. This tumen was later dissolved.
- Khalkha
- Right Wing:
- OrdosOrdos MongolsThe Ordos are a Mongol subgroup that live in Uushin district, Inner Mongolia. Ordos literally means plural of Ordo....
tumen: - TümedTümedThe Tümed are a Mongol subgroup. Most engage in sedentary agriculture, living in mixed communities in the suburbs of Huhhot. Part of them live along Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia...
tumen: - Yöngshiyebü tumen: (including AsudAsudAsud were a guard and military group of Alani origin. The Mongol clan Asud is the plural of As, the Arabic name for the Alans.After the Mongol invasion of Rus, many Alans submitted to the Mongol Empire. Some of them resisted the Golden Horde longer. Many warriors moved from Northern Caucasia to...
and KharchinKharchinKharchin is a subgroup of the Mongols residing mainly in North-western Liaoning and Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. There are Khalkha-Kharchin Mongols in Dorno-Gobi Province and in Ulaanbaatar.They are descended directly from the Kharchin tümen of the Northern Yuan Dynasty...
)
- Ordos
They functioned both as military units and as tribal administrative bodies who hoped to receive taijis, descended from Dayan Khan. Northern Khalkha people and Uriyankhan were attached to the South Khalkha of eastern Inner Mongolia and Doyin Uriyangkhan of the Three Guards, respectively. After the rebellion of the northern Uriankhai people, they were conquered in 1538 and mostly annexed by the northern Khalkha. However, his decision to divide the Six tumens to his sons, or taijis, and local tabunangs-sons in law of the taijis created a decentralized system of Borjigin
Borjigin
Borjigin , also known as the Altan urug , were the imperial clan of Genghis Khan and his successors....
rule that secured domestic peace and outward expansion for a century. Despite this decentralization there was a remarkable concord within the Dayan Khanid aristocracy.
Decline (1540–1635)
By 1540 new regional circles of Chingisid taijis and local tabunangs (imperial son-in law) of the taijis emerged in all the former Dayan Khanid domains. The Khagan and the jinong (crown prince) had titular authority over the 3 right wing tumens. Darayisung Gödeng KhanDarayisung Gödeng Khan
Darayisung Khan , was the Mongol Khan of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia. Darayisung Khan was the eldest son of Bodi Alagh Khan whom he succeeded as khan. During his rule, Altan Khan became stronger and more disrespectful of the power of the Great Khan and Darayisung Khan was unable to...
(r.1547-57) had to grant titles of khans to his cousins Altan
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...
, ruling the Tumed and Bayaskhul, ruling the Kharchin. The decentralized peace among the Mongols was based on religious and cultural unity created by Chinggisid cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
s.
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
in the Three Right Wing Tumens from 1575 on, built on the amity of the Chinggisids. Tümen Jasagtu Khan
Tümen Jasagtu Khan
Tümen Jasagtu Khan was a 16th century Mongol khan of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia who reigned from 1558 to 1592. He was the successor of Darayisung Gödeng Khan and had direct rule over the Chahar. It was during his rule that the Mongols conquered Daur and Evenks...
appointed a Tibetan
Tibetan 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...
Buddhist chaplain of the Karma-pa order. In 1580 northern Khalkha proclaimed their leading Dayan Khanid prince, Abtai Khan, khan. Representatives from all Mongols, including Oirats, constituted the court of Tümen Jasagtu Khan who had conquered Koko Nur and codified a new law.
By the end of the 16th century, the Three Guards lost their existence as a distinct group. Their Fuyu was absorbed by the Khorchin after they had moved to the Nonni River. Two other, Doyin and Tai'nin, were absorbed by the Five Khalkhas.
In the 17th century, the Mongols came under the influence of the Manchus, who founded the Later Jin 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....
(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....
). The princes of Khorchin
Khorchin
Khorchin is a subgroup of the Mongols that speak the Khorchin dialect of Mongolian and predominantly live in southeastern Inner Mongolia....
, Jarud and southern Khalkha Mongols made a formal alliance with the Manchus from 1612 to 1624. Resenting this suborning of his subjects, Ligdan Khan
Ligdan Khan
Ligdan Khutugtu Khan was the last in the Borjigin clan of Mongol Khans who ruled the Mongols from Chakhar. His unpopular reign generated violent opposition due to his harsh restrictions over the Mongols...
, the last Khagan in Chahar, unsuccessfully attacked them in 1625. He appointed his officials over the tumens and formed an elite military band to coerce opposition. The massive rebellion broke out in 1628. The Chahar under Ligden defeated their combined armies and the Manchu auxiliary at Zhaocheng but fled a large Manchu punitive expedition. Ligden died on his way to 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...
to punish the dGe-lugs-pa order in 1634. His son, Ejei Khan
Ejei Khan
Ejei Khongghor or Ejei Khan was the son of Lingdan Khan, the last in the Borjigin clan of Mongol Khans, who once ruled over Eurasia as the Mongol Empire in the 13th and 14th centuries. Remnants of the Yuan Dynasty retreated north to Mongolia after 1368, known as the Northern Yuan.-History:By the...
, surrendered to the Manchus and was said to give the seal of the Yuan Khagan
Imperial Seal of Mongolia
The Imperial Seal of Mongolia is a seal that was used by the Mongols. The imperial seals had inscriptions in Mongolian script or other scripts that used in Mongol regimes....
to Qing emperor Hong Taiji
Hong Taiji
Hong Taiji , also transliterated as Huang Taiji based on the Chinese language transcription of his name, was the first Emperor of the Qing Dynasty.Hong Taiji was the first Emperor of the Qing dynasty after acceding to the title in 1636...
the next year (February 1635), ending the Northern Yuan.
Aftermath
After the death of Dayan KhanDayan Khan
Dayan Khan , was a Mongol khan who reunited the Mongols under Chinggisid supremacy in the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia...
most of Outer Mongolia came under the rule of descendents of his youngest son, Gersendze Huangtaizi. By the early 17th century these formed four Khanates, from west to east:
- The Altyn Khans in the far west, founded by Sului Ubasha,great grandson of Geresandza.
- The Dzasagtu Khans, khanate founded by Laikhor-khan, a cousin of the Altyn Khan.
- The Tushetu Khans at Ulan Bator founded by Abatai, another grandson. This was the senior branch.
- The Sechen Khans at the eastern end of modern Mongolia, founded by Shului, a great-grandson.
In the north, from 1583, Russian adventurers gained control of the forest tribes of Siberia but did not attempt to interfere with the numerous and warlike peoples south of the forests. They had some dealings with the Altyn Khan who is said to have introduced them to Chinese tea.
To the east, in 1582-1626, Nurhaci
Nurhaci
Nurhaci was an important Jurchen chieftain who rose to prominence in the late sixteenth century in what is today Northeastern China...
unified the tribes of Manchuria. His son, Huang Taiji (1626–1643) consolidated the new state and incorporated parts of Inner Mongolia. At his death Dorgon
Dorgon
Dorgon , also known as Hošoi Mergen Cin Wang, the Prince Rui , was one of the most influential Manchu princes in the early Qing Dynasty. He laid the groundwork for the Manchu rule of China.-Early life:Dorgon was born in Yenden, Manchuria , China...
became regent for his 6-year-old son and was in charge when the Manchus took Beijing and founded the 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....
(1644).
To the west in Dzungaria
Dzungaria
Dzungaria, also called Zungaria, is a geographical region in northwest China corresponding to the northern half of Xinjiang. It covers approximately , lying mostly within Xinjiang, and extending into western Mongolia and eastern Kazakhstan...
, about 1600-1620 the Oirats
Oirats
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...
or Western Mongols became united under Khara Khula
Khara Khula
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...
and formed the Zunghar Khanate
Zunghar Khanate
The Zunghar Khanate was a nomadic power on the Eurasian steppe. It covered the area called Dzungaria and stretched from the west end of the Great Wall of China to present-day eastern Kazakhstan, and from present-day northern Kyrgyzstan to southern Siberia .In 1678 Galdan received from the Dalai...
. This unification was partly driven by their wars with the Altyn Khans.
In 1662 the Altyn Khan attacked and put to death his eastern neighbor. This caused the senior Tushetu Khan to drive him out, but he was restored with Zunghar and Qing support. In 1682 he was captured by the next Dzashgtu Khan and his Khanate disappeared from history. The loss of the westernmost Khalka Khanate opened the way for the Zunghars. In 1672 Galdan became Khan of the Zunghars. After conquering the northern Tarim Basin
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is a large endorheic basin occupying an area of about . It is located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China's far west. Its northern boundary is the Tian Shan mountain range and its southern is the Kunlun Mountains on the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The...
from Kashgar
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately...
to Hami he began to dream of uniting the Mongols and restoring the realm of Genghis Khan. He allied with the Dzasagtu Khan against the Tushetu Khan, who in turn attacked the Dzashgtu Khan (who drowned while trying to escape) and then invaded Dzungar territory where he killed one of Galdan's brothers. Galdan responded (1688) by annihilating the Tushetu Khan's army near the Tarim River
Tarim River
The Tarim River is the principal river of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...
and plundering the tombs at Karakoram
Karakoram
The Karakoram, or Karakorum , is a large mountain range spanning the borders between Pakistan, India and China, located in the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan , Ladakh , and Xinjiang region,...
. The Tushetu Khan and the other Khalkha leaders fled to Hohhot
Hohhot
Hohhot , is a city in north-central China and the capital of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, serving as the region's administrative, economic, and cultural centre....
at the northeast corner of the Ordos Loop
Ordos Loop
The Ordos Loop is a region of China west of Beijing. The Yellow River flows north-northeast, then east, and then south forming three sides of an imperfect rectangle. The south side is formed by the Wei River which rises not far from the southwest corner and flows east to the southeast corner...
and begged for Qing help. By 1690 Galdan controlled the whole Khalkha country as far as the edge of Manchuria and turned south toward Beijing. This direct threat to the Qing led the Kangxi Emperor
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...
to block Galdan who withdrew to the northwest in late 1690. In May 1691 Kangxi held a Kurultai
Kurultai
Kurultai is a political and military council of ancient Mongol and Turkic chiefs and khans. The root of the word "Khural" means political "meeting" or "assembly" in the Mongolian language, it is also a verb for "to be established"...
at Dolon Nor where the Khalkha chiefs declared themselves vassals of the Qing emperors. In 1695 Galdan moved east again. Kangxi sent a massive army and defeated him near Ulan Bator (at Chao-Modo or Zuunmod
Zuunmod
Zuunmod is the center of Mongolia's Central Province , located 30 km south of Ulan Bator. It has a population of 14,660 inhabitants and an area of 19.18 square kilometres. Zuunmod is located at the southern side of Bogd Khan Uul, 43 km from the capital Ulaanbaatar.Zuunmod was established as the...
on June 12, 1696). Galdan fled with a few followers and later died. Outer Mongolia was thus incorporated into the Qing Empire, and the Khalkha leaders returned to Outer Mongolia as Qing vassals. A Qing garrison was installed at Ulan Bator. The Qing forces occupied Hami but did not advance into Zungharia. Although the Zunghars later expanded into Tibet and Kazakhstan they made no attempt to return to Outer Mongolia.
See also
- BorjiginBorjiginBorjigin , also known as the Altan urug , were the imperial clan of Genghis Khan and his successors....
- List of the Emperors of the Northern Yuan Dynasty
- Mongol EmpireMongol EmpireThe Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
- Yuan DynastyYuan DynastyThe 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...