The Altan Khans (lit. Golden Khan) ruled north-western Mongolia from about 1609 to 1691 at the latest. Altan Khan of Khalkha also known as Altan Khan of Khotogoid ruled over the

Khotogoid Khotogoid ( Mongolian: Хотгойд, transliteration: ) is a subgroup of Mongol people in northwestern Mongolia. The Khotogoid people live roughly between Uvs Lake to the west and the Delgermörön river to the east. The Khotogoids belong to ...

s in northwestern Mongolia and belonged to the Left Wing of the

Khalkha The Khalkha ( Mongolian: mn, Халх, Halh, , zh, 喀爾喀) have been the largest subgroup of Mongol people in modern Mongolia since the 15th century. The Khalkha, together with Chahars, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by Borjigin kh ...

(Eastern)

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

. Although they claimed to be Khan, Mongolian chronicles call them Hun Taij, which was a noble rank equivalent to prince.

Background

After the death of

Dayan Khan Dayan Khan ( mn, Даян Хаан; Mongol script: ; ), born Batumöngke ( mn, Батмөнх; ), (1472–1517) was a khagan of the Northern Yuan dynasty, reigning from 1479 to 1517. During his rule, he reunited the Mongols under Chinggisid supr ...

some time after 1517 his empire was split between his descendants and became a kind of family federation. His grandson, a different

Altan Khan Altan Khan of the Tümed (1507–1582; mn, ᠠᠯᠲᠠᠨ ᠬᠠᠨ, Алтан хан; Chinese: 阿勒坦汗), whose given name was Anda ( Mongolian: ; Chinese: 俺答), was the leader of the Tümed Mongols and de facto ruler of the Right Win ...

(1507–1582) of Tumet had successful military campaigns against the

Oirats Oirats ( mn, Ойрад, ''Oirad'', or , Oird; xal-RU, Өөрд; zh, 瓦剌; in the past, also Eleuths) are the westernmost group of the Mongols whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia. Histor ...

. Dayan Khan's youngest son, Gersendze Huangtaizi, was given lands approximately matching the territory of present-day Mongolia. By the early 17th century most of Outer Mongolia was held by his descendants. These formed four khanates, from west to east: * The Altan Khan (great-grandson of Geresandza) in the far west. * Dzasagtu-khan, khanate founded by Laikhor-khan, a cousin of the Altan Khan. * Tushetu Khan at örgöö (/, today

Ulan Bator Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north c ...

) founded by

Abtai Sain Khan Abtai Sain Khan ( Mongolian: ; 1554 - 1588) - alternately Abatai or Avtai (Mongolian: ,Cyrillic: Автайсайн хан, meaning, who have the gift of witchcraft (Автай) and good (сайн) - was a Khalkha-Mongolian prince who was named by ...

, another grandson. This was the senior branch. * Sechen-khan at the eastern end of modern Mongolia, founded by Shului, a great-grandson. The Altan Khan was important circa 1609-1682. The Tushetu Khan, with his control of the religious capital, was long the leading figure in Khalkha. In the 17th century, to the west, the Oirat

Dzungar Khanate The Dzungar Khanate, also written as the Zunghar Khanate, was an Inner Asian khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyzstan in the south, and from t ...

was gradually consolidated in modern-day

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

; to the north, the Russians increased their hold over the Siberian forests; and, to the east, the

Manchus The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

moved south to conquer the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

, eventually forming the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

Rulers

Ubasi Khong Tayiji Ubasi Khong Tayiji ( mn, Убаши хунтайж) was a 17th-century Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group indigenous peoples, native to Mongolia, ...

(Shului Ubasha Khong Tayiji) (?-1623) was the first to take the name Altan Khan. Ubasi was killed by the Oirats in 1623 and was succeeded by his son Badma Erdeni Khong Tayiji. * Badma Erdeni Khong Tayiji (1623-?) his son. In 1652, he abdicated the throne and his son Erinchin Lobsang Tayiji succeeded. * Erinchin Lobsang Tayiji (or Lobdzang or Rinchen Sayin Khong Tayiji) (ca.1658-91): In 1662 he attacked, captured and put to death his eastern neighbor, the Dzasagtu Khan. This led the senior Tushetu Khan (Chaghun Dorji) to form a league and drive out the Altan-khan. With the help of the Dzungar and Qing (divide and conquer), he was able to reinstate himself, but in 1682 he was captured by the Dzasagtu Khan. In 1691 he, and his khanate, disappeared from the records.

References

René Grousset, 'The Empire of the Steppes, 1970 Mongol khans {{CAsia-hist-stub