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ᠠᠯᠲᠠᠢ ᠶᠢᠨ ᠤᠷᠢᠶᠠᠩᠬᠠᠢ | |
|---|---|
 Location of the Altai Uriankhai | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Mongolia | 26,654[1] |
| Languages | |
| Oirat,Mongolian | |
| Religion | |
| Tibetan Buddhism,Mongolian shamanism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Mongols, especiallyOirats | |
TheAltai Uriankhai (Mongolian:Алтайн Урианхай;simplified Chinese:阿尔泰乌梁海;traditional Chinese:阿爾泰烏梁海) refers to aMongol tribe around theAltai Mountains that was organized by theQing dynasty. They now form a subgroup in westernMongolia and easternXinjiang.
TheUriankhai people first appeared in the 7th century as one of the people in Mongolia (Legend of the Erkune kun). The Mongolian termUriankhai had been applied to allSamoyedic,Turkic, and Mongolic peoples to the north-west of Mongolia in the 17th century. The Uriyangkhai, in this sense, were first subjugated by theKhotgoid, theKhalkha, and then by theDzungars.
In the mid 14th century, they lived in theLiaoyang province of modernChina. After the rebellion of the northern Uriankhai people, they were conquered byDayan Khan in 1538 and mostly annexed by the northern Khalkha.
The second group of the Uriankhai people (Uriankhai of theKhentii Mountains) lived in central Mongolia, and they started moving to the Altai Mountains in the beginning of the 16th century.[2] Some groups migrated toKhövsgöl Province during the course of theNorthern Yuan dynasty (1368-1691).[3]
With the fall of theDzungar Khanate, the Qing dynasty, in 1757, organized the far northern frontier into a series of Uriankhai banners: theKhövsgöl Nuur Uriankhai,Tannu Uriankhai,Kemchik, Salchak, Toju, andAltan-nuur Uriankhai.
In the Altai Range, 7 Altai Uriankhai banners were established into two wings attached to Qingambans. Their territory included easternKhovd Province and Khövsgöl Province. Most were Oirat Mongolian speakers withOirat,Buriat, or Mongolian clan names, but some wereTuvan speakers.
In the aftermath of theDungan Revolt (1864–77), theKazakhs migrated into the territory of the Altai Uriankhai. In 1906, the Qing court transferred the Altai Uriankhai banner from Khovd's jurisdiction to the new Altai region, with its capital in Chenghua (present-dayAltay City). In 1913, the district was divided between theBogd Khanate of Mongolia and the Chinese province ofXinjiang, leaving some Uriankhais in far northwestern Xinjiang. The Altai Uriankhai in Mongolia were attached to theDörbet. However, the Altai Uriankhai and the Kazakhs formed theBayan-Ölgii Province in 1940. Notable Altai Uriankhai people include B. Damchaa, the movie actor and the specialist inEsperanto of Mongolia.
