.jpg) Kalmyks who are subgroup of Oirats | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 758,578 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 China(mainly inXinjiang andQinghai) | 272,000 (2010) |
 Mongolia | 230,000 (2010) |
 Russia | 195,500 (2021 census) |
∟ Kemerovo Oblast | 500 (2021) |
 Tajikistan | 43,078 (2009) |
 Kyrgyzstan | 12,000 (2018) |
 Uzbekistan | 1,000 |
| Other | 5,000 |
| Languages | |
| Mainly:Oirat, Russian, otherMongolian languages Regional: Chinese | |
| Religion | |
| Tibetan Buddhism,Mongolian shamanismMinority:Islam[1] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Kalmyks,Southern Altaians, and otherMongol peoples | |
Oirats (/ˈɔɪræt/;Mongolian:Ойрад[ˈɞe̯ɾə̆t]) orOirds (Mongolian:Ойрд[ˈɞe̯ɾə̆t];Kalmyk:Өөрд[ˈøːɾə̆t]), formerly known asEluts andEleuths (/ɪˈluːt/ or/ɪˈljuːθ/;Chinese:厄魯特,Èlǔtè)[2][3] are the westernmost group ofMongols, whose ancestral home is in theAltai region ofSiberia,Xinjiang and western Mongolia.[4]
The first documented reference toElut andYelut was in theOnginsk "rune" inscriptions dated in the sixth century.[5] The dating of the Oirats to the 13th century is based on the text of theSecret History of the Mongols.[4] Historically, the Oirats were composed of four major tribes:Dzungar (Choros orOlots),Torghut,Dörbet andKhoshut.
The political elite of theRouran Khaganate wereYELÜ-T Mongolic speakers. Although these two empires encompassed multilingual populations, the language of diplomacy, trade, and culture was an ÖLÜ (YELÜ) dialect of ancient Mongolic descent.[5] When the Tabgach destroyed the Rouran Empire, the Mongolic-speaking people escaped into the Caspian steppes.[5]
The modernKalmyks ofKalmykia on the Caspian Sea in southeastern Europe are Oirats.[4]
The name derives fromMongolicoi [wikt] < *hoi ("forest, woods") andard [wikt] < *harad ("people"),[6] who were counted among the "forest people" in the 13th century.[7] An opinion believes the name derives from the Mongolian wordoirt meaning "close" (in distance) as in "close/nearer ones."
The name Oirat may derive from a corruption of the group's original nameDörben Öörd, meaning "The Allied Four". Perhaps inspired by the designation Dörben Öörd, other Mongols at times used the term "Döchin Mongols" for themselves ("Döchin" meaning forty), but there was rarely as great a degree of unity among larger numbers of tribes as among the Oirats.
In the 17th century,Zaya Pandita,[8] aGelug monk of theKhoshut tribe, devised a new writing system calledClear Script for use by Oirats. This system was developed on the basis of the olderMongolian script, but had a more developed system ofdiacritics to preclude misreading and reflected some lexical and grammatical differences that theOirat language has from Mongolian.[9]
Clear Script remained in use inKalmykia until the mid-1920s when it was replaced by aLatin alphabet, and later theCyrillic script. It can be seen in some public signs in the Kalmyk capital,Elista, and is superficially taught in schools. It was likewise replaced in Mongolia by the Cyrillic alphabet in 1941. Some Oirats in China still use the Clear Script as their primary writing system, as well as Mongolian script.
A monument of Zaya Pandita in Kalmykia was unveiled on the 400th anniversary of Zaya Pandita's birth, and on 350th anniversary of his creation of the Clear Script.[10]
The Oirats share some history, geography, culture and language with theEastern Mongols, and were at various times united under the same leader as a larger Mongol entity, whether that ruler was of Oirat descent or ofChingissids.
Comprising theKhoshut (Mongolian: "хошууд", Hošuud),Choros ("цорос", Coros),Ölöt ("өөлд",Ööld),Torghut ("торгууд",Torguud), andDörbet ("дөрвөд",Dörvöd) ethnic groups, they were dubbed Kalmyk or Kalmak, which means "remnant" or "to remain", by their westernTurkic neighbours. Various sources also list theBargut,Buzava, andTumed tribes as comprising a part of the Dörben Öörd; some tribes may have joined the original four only in later years. This name may however reflect the Kalmyks'remainingBuddhist rather than converting toIslam; or the Kalmyks'remaining in theAltay region.
After the fall of theYuan dynasty, Oirat and Eastern Mongols had developed separate identities to the point where Oirats called themselves "Four Oirats" while they used the term "Mongols" for those under theKhagans in the east.[11]
One of the earliest mentions of the Oirat people, in a historical text, can be found in theSecret History of the Mongols, a 13th-century chronicle ofGenghis Khan's rise to power.[4][1]
In theSecret History, the Oirats are counted among the "forest people", and are said to live under the rule of a shaman-chief known asbäki. They lived inTuva and the MongolianKhövsgöl Province; the Oirats moved south in the 14th century.[14]
In one famous passage, the Oirat chiefQutuqa Beki used ayada, or 'thunder stone', to unleash a powerful storm on Genghis' army. The magical ploy backfired, however, when an unexpected wind blew the storm back towards him. During the early stages of Genghis' rise to power, the Oirats fought against Genghis but were defeated. The Oirats would then fully submit to Mongol rule after their ally,Jumukha, Genghis' childhood friend and later rival, was killed.
Subject to theKhan, the Oirats turned themselves into a loyal and formidable faction of the Mongol war machine. In 1207,Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis, subjugated the forest tribes, including the Oirats and theYenisei Kyrgyz; theGreat Khan gave those peoples to his son, Jochi, and had one of his daughters, Checheygen, marry chief Khudukh-bäki (or his son). There were notable Oirats in theMongol Empire, such asArghun Agha and his son,Nawruz.
In 1256, a group of the Oirats under Bukha-Temür (Mongolian: Буха-Төмөр, Бөхтөмөр) joinedHulagu's expedition against the Abbasids and participated in theMongol campaign against the Nizaris in Iran. Then, they took part in theSecond Battle of Homs, where the Mongols were defeated.[15] The majority of the Oirats, who were left behind, supportedAriq Böke againstKublai in theToluid Civil War. Kublai defeated his younger brother, and they entered the service of the victor.[16]
In 1295, more than 10,000 Oirats under Targhai Khurgen, son-in-law of theBorjigin family, fled Syria, then under theMamluks, as they were despised by both Muslim Mongols and localTurks. They were well-received by Egypt'sSultan,Al-Adil Kitbugha, himself of Oirat origin.[17] Ali Pasha, the governor of Baghdad and head of an Oirat ruling family, went on to murder IlkhanArpa Keun, resulting in the disintegration of Mongol Persia. Since the Oirats were near both theChagatai Khanate and theGolden Horde, they had strong ties with them, and many Mongol khans had Oirat wives.
After the expulsion of theYuan dynasty from China, the Oirats reconvened as a loose alliance of the four major western Mongolian tribes (Mongolian:дөрвөн ойрд,дөрвөн ойрaд). The alliance grew, taking power in the remote region of theAltai Mountains, northwest ofHami oasis. Gradually, they spread eastwards, annexing territories then under the control of the Eastern Mongols. They hoped to reestablish a unified, nomadic rule under their banner of the Four Oirats.[18][19]
The only Borjigid ruling tribe was the Khoshuts; the others' rulers were not descendants of Genghis. TheMing dynasty of China had helped the Oirats' rise over the Mongols during the Yongle Emperor's reign after 1410, when the Ming defeated the QubilaidÖljei Temür and the Borjigid power was weakened.[20] The Borjigid Khans were displaced from power by the Oirats (with Ming help), ruling as puppet-khans until the alliance between the Ming and Oirats ended, and the Yongle Emperor launched a campaign against them.[21]
The greatest ruler of the Oirat Confederacy wasEsen Taishi; he led the Oirats from 1438 to 1454, a time in which he unified Mongolia (both Inner and Outer) under his puppet-khanTaisun Khan. In 1449, Esen Taishi and Taisun Khan mobilised their cavalry along the Chinese border and invadedMing China, defeating and destroying the Ming defences at theGreat Wall, along with the reinforcements sent to intercept his cavalry. In the process, theZhengtong Emperor wascaptured at Tumu. The following year, Esen returned the emperor after an unsuccessful ransom attempt. After claiming the title of Khan (something which only blood descendants of Genghis Khan could do), Esen was killed; shortly afterwards, Oirat power declined.
From the 14th until the middle of the 18th century, the Oirats were often at war with theEastern Mongols, but reunited with them during the rule ofDayan Khan andTümen Zasagt Khan.
_of_the_Torghuts_and_his_wife_(%25E5%259C%259F%25E7%2588%25BE%25E6%2589%2588%25E7%2589%25B9%25E5%258F%25B0%25E5%2590%2589(%25E5%25A9%25A6).jpg)
The Oirats converted toTibetan Buddhism around 1615, and it was not long before they participated in the conflict between theGelug andKarma Kagyu schools. At the request of the Gelug school, in 1637,Güshi Khan, the leader of theKhoshuts inKoko Nor, defeatedChoghtu Khong Tayiji, the Khalkha prince who supported the Karma Kagyu school, and conqueredAmdo (present-dayQinghai). The unification of Tibet followed in the early 1640s, with Güshi Khan proclaimed Khan of Tibet by the5th Dalai Lama and the establishment of theKhoshut Khanate. The title "Dalai Lama" itself was bestowed upon the third lama of the Gelugtulku lineage byAltan Khan (not to be confused with theAltan Khans of the Khalkha), and means, in Mongolian, "Ocean of Wisdom".
Amdo, meanwhile, became home to the Khoshuts. In 1717, theDzungars invaded Tibet and killedLha-bzang Khan (or Khoshut Khan), a grandson of Güshi Khan and the fourth Khan of Tibet, and conquered theKhoshut Khanate.
The Qing Empire defeated theDzungars in the 1750s and proclaimed rule over the Oirats through a Manchu-Mongol alliance (a series of systematic arranged marriages between princes and princesses of Manchu with those of Khalkha Mongols and Oirat Mongols, which was set up as a royal policy carried out over 300 years), as well as over Khoshut-controlled Tibet.
In 1723 Lobzang Danjin, another descendant of Güshi Khan, took control of Amdo and tried to assume rule over the Khoshut Khanate. He fought against aQing army, and was defeated only in the following year with 80,000 people from his tribe executed by Manchu army due to his "rebellion attempt".[22] By that period, the Upper Mongolian population reached 200,000 and were mainly under the rule of Khalkha Mongol princes who were in a marital alliance with Manchu royal and noble families. Thus, Amdo fell under Manchu domination.
The 17th century saw the rise of another Oirat empire in the east, known as the Khanate ofDzungaria, which stretched from theGreat Wall of China to present-day centralKazakhstan, and from present-day northernKyrgyzstan to southernSiberia. It was the last empire ofnomads, and was ruled byChoros noblemen.
TheTransition from Ming to Qing dynasties in China occurred during the mid-17th century, and the Qing sought to protect its northern border by continuing the divide-and-rule policy their Ming predecessors had successfully instituted against the Mongols. The Manchu consolidated their rule over the Eastern Mongols ofManchuria. They then persuaded the Eastern Mongols of Inner Mongolia to submit themselves asvassals. Finally, the Eastern Mongols of Outer Mongolia sought the protection of the Manchu against the Dzungars.
TheKazakh–Dzungar Wars (1643–1756) were a series of long conflicts between theKazakh Juzes and Dzungar Khanate. The strategic goal for the Dzungars was to increase their territories by taking lands of theKazakhs. Under the leadership ofAbul Khair Khan, the Kazakhs won major victories over the Dzungars at the Bulanty River in 1726 and at theBattle of Añyraqai in 1729.[23]
In the 17th century, the Dzungar pioneered the local manifestation of the 'Military Revolution' in central Eurasia after perfecting a process of manufacturing indigenously created gunpowder weapons. They also created a mixed agro-pastoral economy, as well as complementary mining and manufacturing industries on their lands. Additionally, the Zunghar managed to enact an empire-wide system of laws and policies to boost the use of the Oirat language in the region.[24]
Some scholars estimate that about 80% of theDzungar population waswiped out by warfare of the Manchu Qing conquest of Dzungaria in 1755–1757.[25] The Zunghar population reached 600,000 in 1755.
Most of the Choros, Olot, Khoid, Baatud, andZakhchin Oirats who battled against the Qing were killed by Manchu soldiers and, after the fall of theDzungar Khanate, became small ethnic groups.
Kalmyks live on the Caspian steppe. Their settlement and relationship with the Caspian steppes has a long history.
In early modern times,Kho Orlok, tayishi of theTorghuts, and Dalai Tayishi ofDorbets, led the Oirats (200,000–250,000 people, mainly Torghuts) west to theVolga river in 1607 where they established the Kalmyk Khanate. By some accounts this move was precipitated by internal divisions or by the Khoshut tribe; other historians believe it more likely that the migrating clans were seeking pastureland for their herds, scarce in the central Asian highlands. Some of the Khoshut and Ölöt tribes joined the migration almost a century later. The Kalmyk migration had reached as far as the steppes of southeastern Europe by 1630. At the time, that area was inhabited by theNogai Horde. But under pressure from Kalmyk warriors, theNogais fled toCrimea and theKuban River. Many other nomadic peoples in the Eurasian steppes subsequently became vassals of the Kalmyk Khanate, part of which is in the area of present-dayKalmykia.[26]
TheKalmyks became allies ofRussia and a treaty to protect southern Russian borders was signed between the Kalmyk Khanate and Russia. Later they became nominal, then full subjects of the Russian Tsar. In 1724 the Kalmyks came under control of Russia. Russia gradually reduced the autonomy of the Kalmyk Khanate. Tsarist policies encouraged establishment of Russian and German settlements on pastures where the Kalmyks formerly roamed and fed their livestock. TheRussian Orthodox Church, by contrast, pressedBuddhist Kalmyks to adopt Orthodoxy. In January 1771 the oppression by the tsarist administration forced a larger part of Kalmyks (33,000 households or approximately 170,000 individuals) to migrate to Dzungaria.[27]
200,000 (170,000)[28] Kalmyks began the migration from their pastures on the left bank of theVolga River to Dzungaria, through the territories of theirBashkir andKazakh enemies. The last Kalmyk khanUbashi led the migration to restore theDzungar Khanate and Mongolian independence.[28] As C. D. Barkman notes, "It is quite clear that the Torghuts had not intended to surrender to the Chinese, but had hoped to lead an independent existence in Dzungaria".[29] Ubashi Khan sent his 30,000 cavalry to theRusso-Turkish War in 1768–1769 to gain weapons before the migration. He led 170,000 Kalmyks on a return migration to Dzungaria where they were received asQing subjects; after failing to stop the Kalmyk migration, the EmpressCatherine the Great abolished the Kalmyk Khanate. Beset by raids by Kazakhs and Bashkirs, thirst, cold and starvation, only 70,000 survivors made it to Dzungaria.[28][30][31]
The Kazakhs attacked them nearBalkhash Lake. About 100,000–150,000 Kalmyks who settled on the west bank of theVolga River could not cross the river because the river did not freeze in the winter of 1771 and Catherine the Great executed their influential nobles.[28] After seven months of travel, only one third (66,073)[28] of the original group reached Dzungaria (Balkhash Lake, western border of the Manchu Qing Empire).[32] The Qing Empire resettled the Kalmyks in five different areas to prevent their revolt and several Kalmyk leaders were soon killed by the Manchus. Following the Russian revolution, their settlement was accelerated, Buddhism stamped out and herds collectivised.
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Kalmykian nationalists and Pan-Mongolists attempted to migrate from Kalmykia to Mongolia in the 1920s when a serious famine gripped Kalmykia. On January 22, 1922, Mongolia proposed to accept the immigration of the Kalmyks but the Russian government refused. Some 71–72,000 (around half of the population) Kalmyks died during the famine.[33] The Kalmyks revolted against Russia in 1926, 1930 and 1942–1943. In March 1927, Soviets deported 20,000 Kalmyks to Siberia, andKarelia.[33] The Kalmyks founded the sovereignRepublic of Oirat-Kalmyk on March 22, 1930. The Oirat state had a small army and 200 Kalmyk soldiers defeated a force of 1,700 Soviet soldiers in Durvud province of Kalmykia, but the Oirat state was destroyed by the Soviet Army later that year. The Mongolian government suggested to accept the Mongols of the Soviet Union, including Kalmyks, but the Soviets rejected the proposal.[33]
In 1943, the entire population of 120,000 Kalmyks weredeported to Siberia byStalin, accused of supporting invading Axis armies attackingStalingrad (Volgograd); a fifth of the population is thought to have perished during and immediately after the deportation.[34][35][36] Around half (97–98,000) of the Kalmyk people deported to Siberia died before being allowed to return home in 1957.[37] The government of the Soviet Union forbade teaching theKalmyk language during the deportation.[38][39][40] Mongolian leaderKhorloogiin Choibalsan attempted to arrange migration of the deportees to Mongolia and he met them in Siberia during his visit to Russia. Under the Law of the Russian Federation of April 26, 1991 "On Rehabilitation of Exiled Peoples" repressions against Kalmyks and other peoples were qualified as an act of genocide.
According to theRussian 2010 Census there were 176,800 Kalmyks, of whom only 80,546 could speak the Kalmyk language, a serious decline from the level of the2002 Census, in which the number of speakers was 153,602 (with a total number of 173,996 people). TheSoviet 1989 Census showed 156,386 Kalmyk-speakers with a total number of 173,821 Kalmyks.
The Mongols ofXinjiang form a minority, principally in the northern part of the region, numbering 194,500 in 2010, about 50,000 of which areDongxiangs.[41] They are primarily descendants of the survivingTorghuts andKhoshuts who returned fromKalmykia, and of theChakhar stationed there as garrison soldiers in the 18th century. The emperor had sent messages asking the Kalmyks to return, and erected a smaller copy of thePotala inJehol (Chengde), (the country residence of theManchu Emperors) to mark their arrival. A model copy of that "Little Potala" was made in China for the Swedish explorerSven Hedin, and was erected at theWorld's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. It is now in storage in Sweden, where there are plans to re-erect it. Some of the returnees did not come that far and still live, now as Muslims, at the southwestern end ofLake Issyk-kul in present-dayKyrgyzstan.
In addition to exiling Han criminals to Xinjiang to be slaves of the Banner garrisons there, the Qing also practiced reverse exile, exiling Inner Asian (Mongol, Russian and Muslim criminals from Mongolia and Inner Asia) toChina proper where they would serve as slaves in Han Banner garrisons in Guangzhou. Russian, Oirats and Muslims (Oros. Ulet. Hoise jergi weilengge niyalma) such as Yakov and Dmitri were exiled to the Han banner garrison in Guangzhou.[42] In the 1780s after the Muslim rebellion in Gansu started byZhang Wenqing (張文慶) was defeated, Muslims likeMa Jinlu (馬進祿) were exiled to the Han Banner garrison in Guangzhou to become slaves to Han Banner officers.[43] The Qing code regulating Mongols in Mongolia sentenced Mongol criminals to exile and slavery under Han bannermen in Han Banner garrisons in China proper.[44]
The region borderingGansu and west of the Irgay River[where?] is calledAlxa or Alaša, Alshaa and Mongols who moved there are called Alasha Mongols.
TörbaihGüshi Khan's fourth son, Ayush, was opposed to the Khan's brother Baibagas. Ayush's eldest son is Batur Erkh Jonon Khoroli. After the battle betweenGaldan Boshigt Khan and Ochirtu Sechen Khan, Batur Erkh Jonon Khoroli moved toTsaidam with his 10,000 households. The fifthDalai Lama wanted land for them from theQing government, thus in 1686, the Emperor permitted them to reside in Alasha.
In 1697, Alasha Mongols were administered in 'khoshuu' and 'sum' units. A khoshuu with eight sums was created, Batur Erkh Jonon Khoroli was appointed Beil (prince), and Alasha was thus a 'zasag-khoshuu'. Alasha was however like an 'aimag' and never administered under a 'chuulgan'.
In 1707, when Batur Erkh Jonon Khoroli died, his son Abuu succeeded him. He was in Beijing from his youth, served as bodyguard of the Emperor, and a princess (of the Emperor) was given to him, thus making him a 'Khoshoi Tavnan', i.e. Emperor's groom. In 1793, Abuu became Jün Wang. There are several thousand Muslim Alasha Mongols.[45]
Mongols who lived along theEjin River (Ruo Shui) descended from Rabjur, a grandson of Torghut Ayuka Khan from the Volga River.
In 1698, Rabjur, with his mother, younger sister and 500 people, went to Tibet to pray. While they were returning via Beijing in 1704, the Qing ruler, theKangxi Emperor, let them stay there for some years and later organized a 'khoshuu' for them in a place called Sertei, and made Rabjur the governor.
In 1716, theKangxi Emperor sent him and his people toHami, near the border of Qing China and the Zunghar Khanate, for intelligence-gathering purposes against the Oirats. When Rabjur died, his eldest son, Denzen, succeeded him. He was afraid of the Zunghar and wanted the Qing government to allow them to move away from the border. They were settled in Dalan Uul–Altan. When Denzen died in 1740, his son Lubsan Darjaa succeeded him and became Beil.
In 1753, they were settled on the banks of the Ejin River and the Ejin River Torghut 'khoshuu' was thus formed.[46]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(July 2023) |
Haplogroup C2*-Star Cluster which was thought to be carried by likely male-line descendants of Genghis Khan and Niruns (original Mongols and descendants ofAlan Gua) appears in 1.6% of Oirats.[47]
The Y-chromosome in 426 individuals mainly from three major tribes of the Kalmyks (theTorghut,Dörbet andKhoshut):[48]
C-M48: 38.7
C-M407: 10.8
N1c: 10.1
R2: 7.7
O2: 6.8
C2 (not M407, not M48): 6.6
O1b: 5.2
R1: 4.9
Others: 9.2
Haplogroup C2*-Star Cluster appeared in 2% (3% of Dörbet and 2.7% of the Torghut).
Sart Kalmyks andXinjiang Oirats are not Volga Kalmyks or Kalmyks, and the Kalmyks are a subgroup of the Oirats.
Juvaini's depiction of Arghun Aqa The picture painted of the Mongol amir in theTārīkh-i Jahān-Gushā dates from this period.
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Underlined: the 56 officially recognised ethnic groups ranked by population in their language families according to2020 census | |||||||||||
