Khoshuud
Encyclopedia
The Khoshut are one of the four major tribes 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...

 people. Originally, Khoshuuds were one of the Khorchin tribes in southeastern Mongolia, but in mid 15th century they migrated to 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...

 to become an ally of oirats to counter central Mongolian military power. Their ruling family Galwas was the Hasarid-Khorchins who were deported by the Western Mongols.

The Khoshuts first appeared in the 1580s and by the 1620s were the most powerful Oirat tribe, led others in the 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...

 conversion. In 1636 Gushi 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...

 led many Khoshuds to occupy Kokenuur (Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...

), and he was enthroned as king 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...

 by Dalai Lama V (see: Upper Mongols
Upper Mongols
The Upper Mongols , also known as the Köke Nuur Mongols or Qinghai Mongols are the Mongol people of Oirat and Khalkha origin who settled around the Qinghai Lake...

). Some time after 1645, his brother Kondeleng Ubashi migrated to the Volga, joining the Kalmyks. However, many Khoshuts remained in the Oirat homeland Zungaria under Ochirtu Setsen.

After the Zunghar leader Galdan Boshogtu Khan killed Ochirtu, the Khoshut chief Khoroli submitted to 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....

 with his people in 1686 and resettled in Alashan
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...

. They numbered 36,900 in 1990.

The Khoshuts of 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...

 remained influential until the Qing annihilated them in 1755. In 1771 the Volga Khoshuts fled back to Zungaria with the Kalmyks and were resettled by the Qing around Bosten Lake. They numbered more than 12,000 in 1999. Their small remnants under Tumen family in 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:...

 were influential until 1917. Another part of them was formed into a separate banner in Bulgan Province
Bulgan Province
Bulgan is one of the 21 aimags of Mongolia, located in northern Mongolia. Its capital is also named Bulgan.- Geography :The aimag is surrounded by the aimags Khövsgöl in the northwest, Arkhangai in the southwest, Övörkhangai in the south, Töv in the southeast, and Selenge in the northeast...

, Khovd Province; but they were counted as Torghut
Torghut
The Torgut are one of the four major subgroups of the Four Oirats. The Torghut ruling dynasty traced its descent to the Kereit ruler Wang Khan's bodyguards....

who migrated with them in much larger number.
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