Due to its poor relations with the Mongols, Russia then began seeking direct contacts with Qing China and the Dzungar Khanate. On August 27, 1689, Romanov’s Tsarist Russia and the Qing Dynasty signed a treaty at Ford Nerchinsk on the Nevchuu river. It was the first document of its kind in the history of Russo-Chinese […]
The Mongols, this spirited people who for generations had led lives of wars, victories, and defeats, began to degenerate. Where once they had gone big game hunting to maintain their combat skills even in peaceful times, they now indulged in idleness and entertainment. They shot at motionless targets from motionless positions, and the tips of […]
The monasteries that had sprung up in every corner of the country not only satisfied the spiritual needs of the Mongols but also served as centers of commerce and exchange of commodities. Every monastery, then, had either a small branch of a Chinese trading company or a commercial agent, which would collect raw material from […]
Now that the Manchu were in control, they began carrying out administrative, military and economic reforms in Mongolia. A Beijing based government agency called Ih Jurgan or Mongol Jurgan assumed responsibility for the newly annexed territory. It was composed of six divisions for official investigation and rehabilitation, “penalty and vindication” and others. Through its offices […]
Amarsanaa’s plans had not included the annexation of the Dzungar Khanate by the Manchu. What he wanted, it seems, was to take revenge on his old friend and recent enemy Davaach, and to become, if possible, the Dzungar khan himself with the help of the Qing. When China unleashed its army on the Dzungar Khanate, […]
Although the Javzandamba and the Emperor claimed that Halh had become a Chinese vassal, Galdan Boshgot’s Mongolia, with its capital on the Herlen River in Halh, remained free and independent. In order to defend his nation of the United Halh and Oirad, Galdan Khan needed the strength to withstand the imminent onslaught of the Manchu. […]
By this time the Halh, though not the Oirad, were effectively controlled by the Qing, as is evident from the case of a Mongol noble named Tengis Van. The Sonid, earlier the subjects of Setsen Khan, became Qing vassals in 1639. The Setsen Khan Sholoi tried to regain control of his former subjects, finally inciting […]
During the 17th century the central Asian nomads were ruled by the Dzungar Khanate of the Oirad Mongols. Baatar Huntaij (or Prince Baatar) was a leader who devoted his life to unifying the Oirad. On his death his fifth son Senge, with the help of his mother, seized the Oirad throne and occupied it from […]
The Sakyapa school, which had been approved by Khublai, had all but died out. Geluk, or yellow, Buddhist was looking for foreign military aid and moral support. Mongolian feudal rulers and Tibetan yellow Buddhists found each other. The Beginning In 1578, Altan Khan welcomed the Tibetan yellow Buddhist leader Sonam Gyamtsho, and so […]