Tsewang Rabtan
Encyclopedia
Tsewang Rabtan was a Choros
-Oirat prince and the Khong Tayiji
of the Zunghar Khanate
from 1697 (following the death of his uncle and rival Galdan Boshugtu Khan) until his death in 1727. He was married to Lha-bzang Khan
's sister.
Tsewang Rabtan married his daughter to Lha-bzang Khan's son in 1714. He used the occasion to destroy some of Lha-bzang's troops in preparation for an invasion of Tibet. He consolidated Zunghar power by 1715, and in 1717 sent one army of 300 to Amdo to retrieve the 7th Dalai Lama
, planning to consolidate Tibetan support by bringing him to Lhasa, and another army of 6000, led by his brother Tsering Dondup, that successfully took Lhasa
from the Khoshut and killed Lha-bzang Khan. However, the first army failed to acquire the Dalai Lama, having been defeated by Kangxi's troops at Kumbum. What is more, his troops went on a rampage through Lhasa and its environs, looting, raping and killing. Soon, the Tibetans were appealing to Kangxi to rid them of the Zunghars. In 1720, Qing troops took Lhasa.
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...
-Oirat prince and the 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...
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...
from 1697 (following the death of his uncle and rival Galdan Boshugtu Khan) until his death in 1727. He was married to 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...
's sister.
Tsewang Rabtan married his daughter to Lha-bzang Khan's son in 1714. He used the occasion to destroy some of Lha-bzang's troops in preparation for an invasion of Tibet. He consolidated Zunghar power by 1715, and in 1717 sent one army of 300 to Amdo to retrieve the 7th Dalai Lama
Kelzang Gyatso, 7th Dalai Lama
Kelzang Gyatso , also spelled Kalzang Gyatso, Kelsang Gyatso and Kezang Gyatso, was the 7th Dalai Lama of Tibet.-Early life:...
, planning to consolidate Tibetan support by bringing him to Lhasa, and another army of 6000, led by his brother Tsering Dondup, that successfully took Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
from the Khoshut and killed Lha-bzang Khan. However, the first army failed to acquire the Dalai Lama, having been defeated by Kangxi's troops at Kumbum. What is more, his troops went on a rampage through Lhasa and its environs, looting, raping and killing. Soon, the Tibetans were appealing to Kangxi to rid them of the Zunghars. In 1720, Qing troops took Lhasa.