Four Oirats
Encyclopedia
The Four Oirats or the Alliance of the Four Oirat tribes (Oirads; Mongolian
: Дөрвөн Ойрад; in the past, also Eleuths) 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 historian
s, no consensus has been reached on the identity of the original four tribes. While it is believed that the term Four Oirats refers Choros
, Torghud, Dorbed
and Khoid, there is a theory that the Oirats were not consangineal units but political-ethnic units, composed of many patrilineages.
were one of the forest peoples who lived in west of the Mongols
of Genghis Khan
. They submitted to Genghis in 1207 and played prominent roles in the history of the Mongol Empire
.
After the overthrow of the Yuan Dynasty
(1271–1368), Mongke-temur, a high official of the Yuan, had placed himself at the head of the Oirats. When he died, three chieftains, Mahamu (Mahmud
), Taiping and Batu-bolad, ruled them. They sent envoys with gifts to the Ming Dynasty. In 1409, emperor Yongle (r.1402-24) bestowed upon them the title of wang
in return. The Oirats began to challenge the Borjigin
Emperors in the reign of Elbeg Khan (c.1394-99).
It is curious to find one of the 3 chief was with Muslim
name, Mahmud
. Before 1640, the Oirats had been wavering between the two faiths, Islam
and Buddhism
. Both these creeds had supporters among the pagan
Western Mongols.
to accept his supremacy
in 1409 but Oljei Temur refused and defeated
a Ming force the next year. In 1412 a large force under Yongle forced Oljei Temur Khan to flee westward. The Oirats led by Mahamu of Choros
killed Oljei Temur who suffered great loss.
The Western Mongols had Delbeg Khan
, a descendant of Arik Boke, whose family had been relegated to Mongolia
during the Yuan, crowned. However, the Eastern Mongols under Arugtai of the Asud
refused to accept the new khan and they were in constant war with each other. The Ming Dynasty intervened aggressively against any overpowrful Mongol leader, exacerbating the Mongol-Oirat conflict.
In 1408 Mahamu was succeeded by his son Toghan who continued his strfe with Arugtai chingsang. By 1437, Toghan had totally defeated Arugtai and an Ogedeid Emperor Adai Khan
. Toghan made Genghisid princes his puppet
khans of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. When he died in 1438, his son Esen became a taishi
. The Oirats had close relations with Moghulistan
and Hami where the Chagatayid Khans reigned. From the Ming chronicles, it is known that the Oirats conducted regular raids on those areas. Esen crushed the Moghulistan and Hami monarchs and forced them to accept him as their overlord. He also conquered Outer
and Inner
Mongolia and subjugated the Jurchens
in Manchuria
. The Ming Emperor Zhengtong was captured by Esen in 1449. During his reign, the Oirat headquarter was centered on north-west Mongolia
and Barkol and the Irtysh
were the western limits of their settlement. Esen relied on Muslim merchant
s from Samarkand
, Hami and Turpan and his own royal house
: Choros was related to Moghulistan according to a myth. After murdering Khagan Agbarjin
, Esen took the title khan for himself. But soon after he was overthrown by the Oirat noblemen and killed by a son of a man whom he executed.
From 1480 on, the Eastern Mongols under Mandukhai Khatun
and Dayan Khan
pushed the Oirats westward. By 1510 Dayan Khan had unified the entire Mongol nation including Oirats. However, the Khalkha
s and some princes of southwest Inner Mongolia
repeatedly launched massive attacks on the Oirats and looted their properties in the Irtysh, Barkol and Altai from 1552-1628. The Oirats were still powerful in Mongolia even after the fall of Esen and continued to hold Karakorum until the 16th century when Altan Khan recaptured the city from the hands of the Oirats. Oppressed and subjigated by Altan Khan of the Khalkha
, Oirat confederation crushed the Khalkha prince Sholoi Ubaashi Khungtaiji
perhaps around 1623. In 1640 the Oirats and the Khalkha made peace and formed an alliance, issuing new code, the Mongol-Oirat code. Led by the Khoshuud nobility, the Oirats began to convert to Buddhism. They became the chief defenders of the Dalai
and Panchen Lamas. The Oirats who used the Mongolian script
adopted in 1648-49 the clear script designed by the Oirat cleric and scholar Zaya Pandita Namkhaijamtsu.
In 1616 the Torghud chief Khoo Orlug with some Dorbeds and Khoshuud
s moved westward across the Kazakh steppes. The little jüz of the Kazakhs
and the Nogais
tried to halt them at Nemba
and Astrakhan
but were defeated by the Torghuds. The Torghuds subjugated local Turkic peoples
of Manghyslak and Caspian Sea
. They colonized the Volga delta and occupied whole steppes north of the Caspian, establishing the Kalmyk
Khanate. The Kalmyks plundered the Khanate of Khiva
from 1603-70. The Kalmyk Khanate proved good allies to the Russian Empire
.
The Khoshuud khan
Gushi
went to Qinghai
(Koke Nuur) in 1636. He increased his possessions in Tibet
and Amdo
. Gushi Khan protected the Dalai Lama Nag-dBang bLo-bzang and his Yellow Church from the old red clergy of the Tibetan Buddhism
. The Khoshuuds defeated the enemy of the Dalai Lama and Gushi Khan appointed his son ruler of Tibet.
About 1620 the Choros scattered after bitter fighting with the Khalkha Altan Khan. Some of the Choros fled with a body of the Dorbed northwad into Siberia
and present-day Baranaoul. But the majority of the Choros with the Dorbeds and the Khoids settled in the region of the Black Irtysh, the Urungu, the Imil, and the Ili
, forming the Zunghar Empire.
Despite their geographical distribution, the Oirats maintained strong ties with each other and remained powerful players of Inner Asia
n politics until 1771.
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...
: Дөрвөн Ойрад; in the past, also Eleuths) was the confederation
Confederation
A confederation in modern political terms is a permanent union of political units for common action in relation to other units. Usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution, confederations tend to be established for dealing with critical issues such as defense, foreign...
of the Oirat
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...
tribes, which marked the rise of the Western Mongols in Mongolian
Mongolian
Mongolian may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Mongolia, a landlocked country in East and Central Asia that borders Russia to the north and People's Republic of China to the south, east and west.* Mongolians, Mongols.* Mongolian language...
history.
Despite the universal currency of the term Four Oirats among Eastern Mongols and Oirats and numerous explanations by historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
s, no consensus has been reached on the identity of the original four tribes. While it is believed that the term Four Oirats refers 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...
, Torghud, Dorbed
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...
and Khoid, there is a theory that the Oirats were not consangineal units but political-ethnic units, composed of many patrilineages.
Background
The OiratsOirats
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...
were one of the forest peoples who lived in west of the Mongols
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...
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....
. They submitted to Genghis in 1207 and played prominent roles in the history 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...
.
After the overthrow 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...
(1271–1368), Mongke-temur, a high official of the Yuan, had placed himself at the head of the Oirats. When he died, three chieftains, Mahamu (Mahmud
Mahmud
Mahmud is the main transliteration of the Arabic given name, , , that comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root of Ḥ-M-D "Praise"....
), Taiping and Batu-bolad, ruled them. They sent envoys with gifts to the Ming Dynasty. In 1409, emperor Yongle (r.1402-24) bestowed upon them the title of wang
Wang
Wang may refer to:Name:* Wang , one of two surnames with distinct Chinese characters.* Titles in Chinese nobility* A title in Korean nobility* A title in Mongolian nobilityPlaces:* Wang River in Thailand...
in return. The Oirats began to challenge the Borjigin
Borjigin
Borjigin , also known as the Altan urug , were the imperial clan of Genghis Khan and his successors....
Emperors in the reign of Elbeg Khan (c.1394-99).
It is curious to find one of the 3 chief was with Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
name, Mahmud
Mahmud
Mahmud is the main transliteration of the Arabic given name, , , that comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root of Ḥ-M-D "Praise"....
. Before 1640, the Oirats had been wavering between the two faiths, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and Buddhism
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...
. Both these creeds had supporters among the pagan
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
Western Mongols.
Height
The Chinese Emperor Yongle demanded Öljei Temür Khan BunyashiriÖljei 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...
to accept his 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...
in 1409 but Oljei Temur refused and defeated
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....
a Ming force the next year. In 1412 a large force under Yongle forced Oljei Temur Khan to flee westward. The Oirats led by Mahamu of 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...
killed Oljei Temur who suffered great loss.
The Western Mongols had 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...
, a descendant of Arik Boke, whose family had been relegated 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...
during the Yuan, crowned. However, the Eastern Mongols under 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...
refused to accept the new khan and they were in constant war with each other. The Ming Dynasty intervened aggressively against any overpowrful Mongol leader, exacerbating the Mongol-Oirat conflict.
In 1408 Mahamu was succeeded by his son Toghan who continued his strfe with Arugtai chingsang. By 1437, Toghan had totally defeated Arugtai and an Ogedeid Emperor 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 :...
. Toghan made Genghisid princes his puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
khans of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. When he died in 1438, his son Esen became a taishi
Taishi
Taishi may refer to:*Taishi, Guangzhou, village in Guangdong, China*Taishi, Hyōgo, town in Hyōgo, Japan*Taishi, Osaka, town in Osaka, Japan*Taisi, Yunlin, also known as Taishi, township in Yunlin County, Taiwan*Taishi, a rank of Mongolian nobility...
. The Oirats had close relations with 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...
and Hami where the Chagatayid Khans reigned. From the Ming chronicles, it is known that the Oirats conducted regular raids on those areas. Esen crushed the Moghulistan and Hami monarchs and forced them to accept him as their overlord. He also conquered Outer
Outer Mongolia
Outer Mongolia was a territory of the Qing Dynasty = the Manchu Empire. Its area was roughly equivalent to that of the modern state of Mongolia, which is sometimes informally called "Outer Mongolia" today...
and Inner
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...
Mongolia and subjugated the Jurchens
Jurchens
The Jurchens were a Tungusic people who inhabited the region of Manchuria until the 17th century, when they adopted the name Manchu...
in 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...
. The Ming Emperor Zhengtong was captured by Esen in 1449. During his reign, the Oirat headquarter was centered on north-west 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...
and Barkol and the Irtysh
Irtysh
The Irtysh River is a river in Siberia and is the chief tributary of the Ob River. Its name means White River. Irtysh's main affluent is the Tobol River...
were the western limits of their settlement. Esen relied on Muslim merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
s from Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
, Hami and Turpan and his own royal house
Royal House
A royal house or royal dynasty consists of at least one, but usually more monarchs who are related to one another, as well as their non-reigning descendants and spouses. Monarchs of the same realm who are not related to one another are usually deemed to belong to different houses, and each house is...
: Choros was related to Moghulistan according to a myth. After murdering Khagan 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....
, Esen took the title khan for himself. But soon after he was overthrown by the Oirat noblemen and killed by a son of a man whom he executed.
Disintegration
Esen's death broke up the unity of the Oirats. They now warred with each other for leadership. Esen's son Amasanj moved west, pillaging the lands of Hami, Moghulistan and the Uzbegs.From 1480 on, the Eastern Mongols under 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 :...
and Dayan Khan
Dayan Khan
Dayan Khan , was a Mongol khan who reunited the Mongols under Chinggisid supremacy in the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia...
pushed the Oirats westward. By 1510 Dayan Khan had unified the entire Mongol nation including Oirats. However, the Khalkha
Khalkha
Khalkha is the largest subgroup of Mongol people in Mongolia since 15th century. The Khalkha together with Tsahar, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by the Altan Urag Khans until the 20th century; unlike the Oirat people who were ruled by the Dzungar nobles or the Khorchins who were ruled by...
s and some princes of southwest 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...
repeatedly launched massive attacks on the Oirats and looted their properties in the Irtysh, Barkol and Altai from 1552-1628. The Oirats were still powerful in Mongolia even after the fall of Esen and continued to hold Karakorum until the 16th century when Altan Khan recaptured the city from the hands of the Oirats. Oppressed and subjigated by 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...
, Oirat confederation crushed the Khalkha prince Sholoi Ubaashi Khungtaiji
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....
perhaps around 1623. In 1640 the Oirats and the Khalkha made peace and formed an alliance, issuing new code, the Mongol-Oirat code. Led by the Khoshuud nobility, the Oirats began to convert to Buddhism. They became the chief defenders of the Dalai
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"...
and Panchen Lamas. The Oirats who used the 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...
adopted in 1648-49 the clear script designed by the Oirat cleric and scholar Zaya Pandita Namkhaijamtsu.
In 1616 the Torghud chief Khoo Orlug with some Dorbeds and Khoshuud
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...
s moved westward across the Kazakh steppes. The little jüz of the Kazakhs
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
and 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...
tried to halt them at Nemba
Nemba
-Location:Nemba is located in Bugesera District, Eastern Province, at the border with the Republic of Burundi. Its location is about , by road, southeast of Kigali, Rwanda's capital and largest city...
and Astrakhan
Astrakhan
Astrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of below the sea level. Population:...
but were defeated by the Torghuds. The Torghuds subjugated local Turkic peoples
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...
of Manghyslak and Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
. They colonized the Volga delta and occupied whole steppes north of the Caspian, establishing the Kalmyk
Kalmyk people
Kalmyk people is the name given to the Oirats, western Mongols in Russia, whose descendants migrated from Dzhungaria in 1607. Today they form a majority in the autonomous Republic of Kalmykia on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Kalmykia is Europe's only Buddhist government...
Khanate. The Kalmyks plundered the Khanate of Khiva
Khanate of Khiva
The Khanate of Khiva was the name of a Uzbek state that existed in the historical region of Khwarezm from 1511 to 1920, except for a period of Persian occupation by Nadir Shah between 1740–1746. It was the patrilineal descendants of Shayban , the fifth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
from 1603-70. The Kalmyk Khanate proved good allies to the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
.
The Khoshuud 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...
Gushi
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...
went to Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
(Koke Nuur) in 1636. He increased his possessions in 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...
and 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...
. Gushi Khan protected the Dalai Lama Nag-dBang bLo-bzang and his Yellow Church from the old red clergy of the 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...
. The Khoshuuds defeated the enemy of the Dalai Lama and Gushi Khan appointed his son ruler of Tibet.
About 1620 the Choros scattered after bitter fighting with the Khalkha Altan Khan. Some of the Choros fled with a body of the Dorbed northwad into 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...
and present-day Baranaoul. But the majority of the Choros with the Dorbeds and the Khoids settled in the region of the Black Irtysh, the Urungu, the Imil, and the Ili
Ili
-Acronyms:* ILI: I Laugh Inside* Integrating Lifestyle Innovations, a home automation company specialising in the design and supply of systems in New Zealand to the world.* Irish Life International, part of Irish Life and Permanent...
, forming the Zunghar Empire.
Despite their geographical distribution, the Oirats maintained strong ties with each other and remained powerful players of Inner Asia
Inner Asia
Inner Asia has a range of meanings among different researchers and in different countries. Denis Sinor defined Inner Asia broadly as the homelands of the Altaic peoples and the Uralic peoples .German makes a distinction between "Zentralasien", meaning Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang, and...
n politics until 1771.
Leaders of the Oirat alliance
- Mongke-temur (c. 1368–1390s)
- Ugetchi KhashikhaÖrüg Temür KhanÖrüg 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...
(c. 1399) - Batula (Bahamu, Mahamud) (1399–1408)
- Toghan (1408–1438)
- EsenEsen TayisiEsen 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...
(1438–1454) - Amasanj (1454–1455)
- Ush-Temur (Ish-Temur) (1455–1469)
- Khishig
- Arkhan