The Dzungar Khanate, also known as the Zunghar Khanate or Junggar Khanate was the last nomadic empire of Oirat origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to Tibet in the south, and from present-day west of Mongolia and the Great Wall of China in the east to present-day Kazakhstan in the west. The core of the Dzungar Khanate is today part of northern Xinjiang, also called Dzungaria.
In about 1620, the western Mongols, known as the Oirats, united in the Junggar Basin in Dzungaria. In 1678, Galdan received from the Dalai Lama the title of Boshogtu Khan, making the Dzungars the leading tribe within the Oirats. The Dzungar rulers used the title of Khong Tayiji, which translates into English as "crown prince". Between 1680 and 1688, the Dzungars conquered the Tarim Basin, which is now southern Xinjiang, and defeated the Khalkha Mongols to the east. In 1696, Galdan was defeated by the Qing dynasty and lost Outer Mongolia. In 1717, the Dzungars conquered Tibet, but were driven out in 1720 by the Qing. From 1755 to 1758, Qing dynasty took advantage of a Dzungar civil war to conquer Dzungaria and wipe out the Dzungar people. The defeat of the Dzungars led to the Qing conquest of Mongolia, Tibet, and the creation of Xinjiang as a political administrative unit.
Etymology
"Dzungar" is a compound of the Mongolian word jegün (züün), meaning "left" or "east" and γar meaning "hand" or "wing". It was also referred as Western Mongolia, in contrast to the Northern Yuan in the east.
The region was separately described in contemporary European sources as the Kingdom of the Eleuths, from an infelicitous transcription of the name "Oirats" by French missionaries.
History
Origins
The Oirats were originally from the forested region of northwestern Mongolia, where they lived during the early 13th century. In The Secret History of the Mongols, the Oirats are classified as a "forest people" (oy-yin irgen) and are not included among the lineages that constituted the Mongol nation. The Oirats were regarded as a distinct people rather than as one of the branches of the Mongols proper, and are portrayed as a non-Mongol people, alongside groups such as the Kereits and Naimans. The chronicle mentions them only briefly, identifying them as one of the forest peoples who submitted to Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan, during his campaign of 1207.
Oirat's leader, Qutuqa Beki, submitted to Genghis Khan in 1208, and his house intermarried with all four branches of the Genghisid line. During the Toluid Civil War, the Four Oirat (Choros, Torghut, Dörbet, and Khoid) sided with Ariq Böke and therefore never accepted Kublaid rule. After the Yuan dynasty's collapse, the Oirats supported the Ariq Bökid Jorightu Khan Yesüder to seize the Northern Yuan throne. The Oirats held sway over the Northern Yuan khans until the death of Esen Taishi in 1455, after which they migrated west due to Khalkha Mongol aggression. In 1486, the Oirats became embroiled in a succession dispute, which gave Dayan Khan the opportunity to attack them. In the latter half of the 16th century, the Oirats lost more territory to the Tumed.
Eselvei Khya of the Khoid battled the armies of Ordos Mongols and the Chahars. Later, Kharkhul rebelled against the Khalkhas and repelled them. Soon the Oirats began a war against the Khalkhas and the Kazakhs. They defeated a Khalkha–Kazakh coalition and raided deep into Sighnaq in 1604. In 1608, the Oirats defeated another Kazakh force and repelled an invading Khalkha army. From 1609–1616, the Oirats devastated the Kazakhs and the Kyrgyz, subjugating them in the process.
In 1620, the leaders of the Choros and Torghut Oirats, Khara Khula and Mergen Temene, attacked Ubashi Khong Tayiji, and the first Altan Khan of the Khalkha. They were defeated, and Khara Khula lost his wife and children to the enemy.
In 1620, Oirat taishis sent envoys to the Kazakh khan, Ishim, to conclude a peace treaty; however, because the Oirats did not cease their raids during these negotiations, the khan had the envoys put to death and dispatched his warriors against the Oirats, killing many of them. In 1620–1621, the Oirats, led by Ildai-taiji, defeated the Kazakh Ishim Khan. Ildai-taiji subsequently earned the nickname "Swift as the Wind." Ishim Khan continued his attacks on the Oirats until 1627, and in 1628 the Oirats migrated further away from the Kazakh domains. During this period, Ishim also succeeded in extending his authority over some Oirat tribes for a time.
An all-out war between Ubashi Khong Tayiji and the Oirats lasted until 1623 when Ubashi Khong Tayiji was killed, and the Oirats declared independence at the Battle of Irtysh River.
In 1625, a conflict erupted between the Khoshut chief Chokhur and his uterine brother Baibaghas over inheritance issues. Baibaghas was killed in the fight. However, his younger brothers; Güshi Khan and Kondolon Ubashi took up the fight and pursued Chöükür from the Ishim River to the Tobol River, attacking and killing his tribal followers in 1630. The infighting among the Oirats caused the Torghut chief Kho Orluk to migrate westwards until they came into conflict with the Nogai Horde, which they destroyed. The Torghuts founded the Kalmyk Khanate but still stayed in contact with the Oirats in the east. Every time a great assembly was called, they sent representatives to attend.
In 1632, the Gelug sect in Qinghai was being repressed by the Khalkha Choghtu Khong Tayiji, so they invited Güshi Khan to come and deal with him. In 1636, Güshi led 10,000 Oirats in an invasion of Qinghai, which resulted in the defeat of a 30,000-strong enemy army and the death of Choghtu in 1637. He then entered Central Tibet, where he received from the 5th Dalai Lama the title of the Dharma King Who Upholds the Religion. He then claimed the title of Khan, the first non-Genghisid Mongol to do so, and summoned the Oirats to completely conquer Tibet, creating the Khoshut Khanate. Among those involved was Kharkhul's son, Erdeni Batur, who was granted the title of Khong Tayiji, married the khan's daughter Amin Dara, and was sent back to establish the Dzungar Khanate on the upper Emil River south of the Tarbagatai Mountains.
Erdeni Batur's rule
The Dzungars invaded the Kazakh Khanate in 1635, capturing their sultan, Jangir in the process. Erdeni Batur later continued his invasions in 1640.
In the winter of 1643, the Oirats launched a campaign into Kazakhstan, plundering Kyrgyz communities along the way. The Kazakhs were aided by Jangir, who commanded a force of 600 warriors. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the Kazakhs inflicted significant losses on the Oirats. Following the arrival of a 20,000-strong army led by Yalangtush Bahadur, the Emir of Samarkand, the Oirats—whose forces numbered around 50,000—were compelled to retreat. Seeking revenge against Jangir, Batur attempted to secure the support of the Volga Kalmyks and form an alliance with them. However, these plans ultimately failed. After careful preparation, Batur Khuntaiji launched a new campaign against the Kazakhs in 1645–1646. This campaign was successful for the Dzungars and inflicted significant losses on the Kazakhs.
The Oirat-Kazakh War of the 1640s and 1650s ultimately brought victory to the Oirats. In the 1650s, the eastern part of Semirechye, as well as the territory between the upper reaches of the Irtysh and Lake Balkhash, was dependent on the Dzungar Khanate. The headquarters of the Khuntaiji was located on the upper reaches of the Irtysh. Thus, Erdeni Batur significantly expanded the borders of his state.
He also established Ghulja as the capital city, naming it Khobak Sari in which he built monastaries, and buildings to populate it. He established relations with the Tsardom of Russia, granting them rights to salt mines and trade and allowing Russians to settle and create outposts. His rule ended in 1653 when he died, before which he requested the Khoshut Khanate to aid him in their war against the Kazakhs, and they sent Galdamba to defeat Jangir at Battle of Turkistan and Bukharans at the Battle of the Chu and Talas river. This consolidated the border of the Dzungar Khanate in the west from Talas River to Ayagöz river.
The establishment of the Dzungar Khanate and the victories won by Oirat armies during this period in Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Dzungaria enhanced the international prestige of Erdeni Batur and made his headquarters one of the most important political centers in Central Asia.
Succession dispute (1653–1677)
After the death of Batur Khong Tayiji, the Oirat feudal lords were occupied almost exclusively with internal affairs. During this period, the Dzungar army defeated the Bukhara Khanate.
In 1653, Sengge succeeded his father Batur, but he faced dissent from his half-brothers. With the support of Ochirtu Khan of the Khoshut, this strife ended with Sengge's victory in 1661. In 1667, he captured Erinchin Lobsang Tayiji, the third and last Altan Khan. However, he himself was assassinated by his half-brothers Chechen Tayiji and Zotov in a coup in 1670.
Sengge's younger brother Galdan Boshugtu Khan had been residing in Tibet at the time. Upon his birth in 1644, he was recognized as the reincarnation of a Tibetan lama who had died the previous year. In 1656, he left for Tibet, where he received education from Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen, 4th Panchen Lama and the 5th Dalai Lama. Upon learning of his brother's death, he immediately returned from Tibet and took revenge on Chechen. In 1671, The Dalai Lama bestowed the title of Khan on Galdan. In 1676, Galdan defeated Chechen near Sayram Lake. Galdan then married Sengge's wife, Anu-Dara, the granddaughter of Ochirtu Khan, he came into conflict with his grandfather-in-law. Fearing Galdan's popularity, Ochirtu supported his uncle and rival Chokhur Ubashi, who refused to recognize Galdan's title. The victory over Ochirtu in 1677 resulted in Galdan's domination of the Oirats. In the next year, the Dalai Lama gave the highest title of Boshogtu Khan to him.
Conquest of the Yarkent Khanate (1678–1680)
From the late 16th century onward, the Yarkent Khanate fell under the influence of the Khojas. The Khojas were Naqshbandi Sufis who claimed descent from the prophet Muhammad or from the Rashidun caliphs. By the reign of Sultan Said Khan in the early 16th century, the Khojas already had a strong influence in court and over the khan. In 1533, an especially influential Khoja named Makhdum-i Azam arrived in Kashgar, where he settled and had two sons. These two sons hated each other, and they passed down their mutual hatred to their children. The two lineages came to dominate large parts of the khanate, splitting it between two factions: the Aq Taghliq (White Mountain) in Kashgar and the Qara Taghliq (Black Mountain) in Yarkand. Yulbars patronized the Aq Taghliqs and suppressed the Qara Taghliqs, which caused much resentment and resulted in his assassination in 1670. He was succeeded by his son, who ruled for only a brief period before Ismail Khan was enthroned. Ismail reversed the power struggle between the two Muslim factions and drove out the Aq Taghliq leader, Afaq Khoja. Afaq fled to Tibet, where the 5th Dalai Lama aided him in enlisting the help of Galdan Boshugtu Khan.
In 1678, the Dzungars intensified their advance into Tarim Basin and captured Yarkand. Later, they launched campaigns against the Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, and Kazakhs, capturing the cities of Osh and Sairam. In 1679, Galdan led 30,000 men to Turpan and Hami and soon in 1680, Galdan led 120,000 men into the Yarkent Khanate and conquered it. They were aided by the Aq Taghliqs and Hami and Turpan, which had already submitted to the Dzungars. Ismail's son, Babak Sultan, died in the battle for Kashgar. The general Iwaz Beg died in the defense of Yarkand. The Dzungars defeated the Moghul forces without much difficulty and took Ismail and his family prisoner. Galdan installed Abd ar-Rashid Khan II, son of Babak, as puppet khan.
Galdan's campaigns in Central Asia
A new round of Oirat military expansion was associated with the rise to power of Galdan Boshoktu Khan, a former Buddhist monk and later a stern and energetic ruler. In the first half of the 1680s, his armies advanced toward Kazakhstan. Galdan demanded that the Kazakhs convert to Lamaism and join the Dzungar Empire. The Dasht-i-Kipchak nomads put up a desperate resistance, but in decisive battles, Tauke Khan's militia was routed, and the Kazakh ruler's son was captured and sent as a hostage to Lhasa. The Dzungars occupied the largest cities of southern Kazakhstan, including the wealthy and densely populated Sayram. Galdan's troops also invaded the Tarim Basin and subjugated the Muslim region. The cities of the Tarim Basin were subjected to tribute and began supplying soldiers to the western Mongol armies.
After this, Galdan subjugated the Kyrgyz people and devastated the Fergana Valley in campaigns from 1683 to 1685. The Dzungars also established dominance over the Baraba Tatars and exacted yasak (tribute) from them.