The Kharchin (, ; ), or Kharachin, is a subgroup of the

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 membe ...

residing mainly (and originally) in North-western

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

and

Chifeng Chifeng ( zh, s=赤峰市), also known as Ulanhad ( mn, (Улаанхад хот), ''Ulaɣanqada qota'', , "red cliff"), is a prefecture-level city in Southeastern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. It borders Xilin Gol League to the ...

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

. There are

Khalkha The Khalkha (Mongolian script, Mongolian: mn, Халх, Halh, , zh, 喀爾喀) have been the largest subgroup of Mongols, Mongol people in modern Mongolia since the 15th century. The Khalkha, together with Chahars, Ordos Mongols, Ordos and Tum ...

-Kharchin Mongols in

Dorno-Gobi Dornogovi ( mn, Дорноговь, ''East Gobi'') is one of the 21 Aimags of Mongolia, aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. It is located in the southeast of the country, bordering PR China's Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of Inner Mon ...

Province (Kharchin Örtöö was part of the province during Qing rule) and in

Ulaanbaatar 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 ce ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

. They are descended directly from the Kharchin tümen of the

Northern Yuan dynasty The Northern Yuan () was a dynastic regime ruled by the Mongol Borjigin clan based in the Mongolian Plateau. It existed as a rump state after the collapse of the Yuan dynasty in 1368 and lasted until its conquest by the Jurchen-led Later Jin ...

. The Kharchin tümen consisted of: * Yünshebü tümen * Southern branch of Doyan Uriankhai * Eastern branch of Mongoljin-Tümed The eastern

Tümed The Tümed (Tumad, ; "The many or ten thousands" derived from Tumen) are a Mongol subgroup. They live in Tumed Left Banner, district of Hohhot and Tumed Right Banner, district of Baotou in China. Most engage in sedentary agriculture, living in mi ...

( Chaoyang county, Liaoning) and Mongoljin (

Fuxin Fuxin () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, bordering the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to the north. As of the 2020 census, its decreasing total population was 1,647,280 inhabitants (1,8 ...

county, Liaoning) trıbes were also categorized as Kharchin traditionally.

Location and population

* Kharchin Banner (Former Kharchin Right Banner,

Josotu League The Josutu League ( mn, ǰosutu-yin čiɣulɣan, ) was the southernmost league of Inner Mongolia during Qing rule. It occupied land that forms part of the modern-day Chinese provinces of Liaoning, Hebei, and Chifeng in China's Inner Mongolia. Th ...

or Juu Uda City,

, the Mongolian population: 132,000 (2006) *

Ningcheng County Ningcheng County ( Mongolian: Нинчэн шянь ''Niŋčėŋ siyan''; ) is a county of southeastern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China, bordering Liaoning province to the east. It is under the administration of Chifeng City.

(Former Kharchin Middle Banner, Josotu League),

or Juu Uda City,

, the Mongolian population: 68,000 (2006) * Kharchin Left Mongolian Autonomous County (Former Kharchin Left Banner, Josotu league), Chaoyang City,

province, the Mongolian population: 80,900 (2000) * Fuxin Mongol Autonomous County (Former Tümed Left or Mongoljin Banner, Josotu League), Liaoning Province, the Mongolian population: 220,400 (2000) * Chaoyang County and

Beipiao Beipiao () is a city in Chaoyang prefecture, Liaoning province, in Northeast China. It has a population of 202,807. The main industry in the area is coal mining. With vertical shafts of almost 1000m, these are some of the deepest coal mines in C ...

County (Former Tümed Right Banner, Josotu League), Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province, the Mongolian population: Chaoyang 31,800(200) Beipiao 30,600 (2000) Exact population data of the Kharchins in China is difficult to obtain because there was a great immigration of the Kharchins for Jindandao ethnic conflict during the late Qing dynasty, and that the former Josotu league was divided after the Qing dynasty and now belongs to the present three different provinces: Inner Mongolia, Liaoning and Heibei. However, there are Liaoning's ethnic Mongols with over 600,000 population and Heibei's ethnic Mongols with over 100,000 population, both of whom are mainly originated from the Kharchins except the smaller Mongol groups with Chahar,

Barga Barga may refer to: People * Barga Mongols in the early 20th century Places * Barga (department), Burkina Faso * Barga, Tuscany Barga is a medieval town and ''comune'' of the province of Lucca in Tuscany, central Italy. It is home to around 10, ...

, Oirad or other ethnic origins.

Brief history

The term Kharchin first appeared in the history of the Yuan dynasty. In the early 13th century, the Kipchaks and the

Qanqli The Kangly (康曷利; pinyin: Kānghélì; Middle Chinese ( ZS): /kʰɑŋ-ɦɑt̚-liɪH/ or 康里 pinyin: ''Kānglĭ'' < MC-ZS: /kʰɑŋ-lɨ^X/;

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

. Because they were famous for distilling khara-airag (black

kumis ''Kumis'' (also spelled ''kumiss'' or ''koumiss'' or ''kumys'', see other transliterations and cognate words below under terminology and etymology – otk, airag kk, қымыз, ''qymyz'') mn, айраг, ''ääryg'') is a fermented dairy p ...

), they were called Kharachin by the

. Those Turkic peoples formed the kheshig in the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

after 1270. Because they formed a minority of the Mongol Yuan dynasty, they quickly assimilated with the Mongols and other groups. By 15th century the Kharchins had formed part of Yungshiyebu tümen, inhabiting Chahar territory. In 1389 the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

established the Doyin Uriankhain Guard in modern-day

. After 1448 they resettled much closer to the Ming border. Around 1600 Kharchins moving east merged with the Doyin Uriankhai Mongols. They submitted to 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-speak ...

in 1626, and was organized into three Kharchin

banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

s in Josogtu league, each ruled by a ruler of the Uriankhai lineage. In the early 20th century, Prince

Gungsangnorbu Gungsangnorbu (1871 – 1930) was an Inner Mongolian jasagh and politician of the Republic of China. Some scholars describe him as a moderate, progressive moderniser caught between the influence of conservative older leaders and young radicals. ...

of the right Kharchin expanded modern education among the Mongols. The Kharchins dominated

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

's Mongol bureaucracy at the time. After 1945 the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

set up new Kharchin banners outside Inner Mongolia. In 1955 the Right Kharachin (Kharchin) banner was transferred to Inner Mongolia as Kharchin banner while their central banner was abolished. The Kharchin left banner became an autonomous country in 1957.

Ethnic origins

According to a Kharchin folk legend, the Kharchin Mongols are originated from the three sub-groups: the Bornuud, the Sharnuud and the Harnuud. Bor means ''brown'' in Mongolian, and Borjigin is the family name of Genghis Khan, the Bornuud Kharchin should refer to the Yünshebü tümen (and Mongoljin-Tümed tümen) led by the successors of Genghis Khan. Shar means "yellow" in Mongolian and the Uriankhai were often called as the Yellow-head Uriankhai by other Mongols, the Sharnuud Kharchin should refer to the Doyan Uriankhai led by the famous Uriankhai general Zelme and his successors. Khar means "black" in Mongolian, and the Khitans were often named as Khara Khitans by themselves and others, the Kharnuud Kharchin should refer to the descendants of the Khitan Liao dynasty, consisted of the aboriginal Khitans and a few absorbed ethnic groups such as Jurchen and Han Chinese. Kharchin historian Lomi gave another different explanation for the Bornuud and the Sharnuud, the Sharnuud were people of Genghis Khan and the Bornuud were people of General Zelme according to his book "The History of Borjigits" (mongɣul-un borǰigid obuɣ-un teüke) written in 1732. There is an analysis on the Kharchin's three ethnic origins. The ethnic origins of the eastern Tümed and Mongoljin will be discussed about under the topic of the Mongoljin-Tümed tümen.

Yunshebu Tümen

The Yunsheebuu Tümen consisted of the three sub-tribes: Kharchin, Asud and Yunsheebuu itself. It was one of the right wing of the eastern Mongols ruled by Dayan Khan and his successors. The Yunsheebuu Tümen or its original tribal alliance was the largest and the most powerful one among the eastern Mongol tribes before Dayan Khan regained the golden family's ruling power on the Mongols. Many famous chief leaders of the court of the

based in

, such as the Asud's

Arugtai Tayisi Arughtai, also known as Alutai (; d. 1434), was a chingsang of the Northern Yuan dynasty who fought against the Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty and the Four Oirats. According to the Mongolian and Chinese chronicles, there are similar named figu ...

, the Kharchin's Bolai Tayisi, the Bekrin's Begersen Tayisi and Ismail Tayisi, Oirad's Ibarai Tayisi, were also the chieftains of the Yunsheebuu Tümen or its original tribes, and they depended on the power of Yunsheebuu to achieve their political aspiration. The Yunsheebuu Tümen during the rule of Begersen Tayisi consisted of at least ten sub-tribes: Asud, Kharchin, Sharnud, Tav Aimag, Dalandaganad, Khonghutan, Shibaguchin, Nomochin, Buryat and

. Asud, Kharchin and Sharnud were known as the Huuchin or old Kharchin, who were the core tribes of the Yunsheebuu Tümen. The Asuds originated from the Yuan Empire's royal guard troops of the Alans, the Asud's Arugtai Tayisi could be recognized as the first leader of the Yunsheebuu-Kharchin tribal alliance and one of the most important leaders during the Northern Yuan dynasty. The Kharchin originated from the Kipchak guard troops served in Khanbalik or Dadu (today's Beijing, great capital of Yuan empire) and other Chinese areas, and also the Kipchak royal horse herder groups in the present Khovd Province and its neighborhood areas of Mongolia. The Kipchaks got the name of Kharchin because their horse herders were famous for their tribute of horse milk wine to Yuan emperors, the Kharchin originally means people who brew black horse milk wine. Some scholars also argue that the Kharchins were originated at least partly from the Khalaj of the historical Khorasan area in today's Iran and Afghanistan, who were a sub-group of the Oghuz or Arghu Turks. The Kharchin's Bolai Tayisi was the successor of Arugtai Tayisi, he recovered the power of the eastern Mongols against the Oirads. There are no the exact clues for the origins of the Sharnuud yet, but Yunsheebuu Tümen's Sharnuud should not be simply considered as yellow-head Uriankhai or others, while there are so many tribes like Uriankhai, Naiman and Buryat, that consisted of such a clan of the Sharnuud, even some of the Mongolized Uighurs were named as the Sharnuud too. The name of Sharnuud may suggest their non-Mongoloid physical characters, Yunsheebuu's Sharnuud seems some European looking group followed with the Alans and

Kipchaks The Kipchaks or Qipchaks, also known as Kipchak Turks or Polovtsians, were a Turkic nomadic people and confederation that existed in the Middle Ages, inhabiting parts of the Eurasian Steppe. First mentioned in the 8th century as part of the Se ...

to serve for the Yuan court in Khanbalik (Dadu). Shibaguchin and Nomochin were the original tribes of the Yunsheebuu before the Kharchin allied with them and adopted its name. The Shibaguchins were people who raised hawks as their occupation for the Mongol nobles. Numan means arch in Mongolian, the Nomochins were the royal arch artisans. Both Shibaguchins and Nomochins had multi-ethnic origins, they were served for the Yuan emperors when they went for hunting to the Tsagan Nuur moving imperial palace of Yuan empire's upper capital Xanadu (Kaiping), located in the present Plain Blue Banner, Shilingol League, Inner Mongolia. Yuan court set up Yunxufu to administer the moving imperial palace, It's believed that Shibaguchin and Nomochin adopted Yunsheebuu, the Yunxufu's alternative name in Mongolian, as their common tribal name after they evolved as a nomadic tribe on the steppes. Buryat and

, as a part of the Yunsheebuu Tümen, were different from their cousins in Siberian forest, Their ancestors immigrated from the forest to the western Mongolia steppes, and joined the Oirad alliance. It is surmised that Buryat and Barga were probably led by an important

Oirad 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 ...

Chieftain Aragtemür. He ever struggled against Esen Khaan and defeated him finally. However, Bolai Tayisi defeated him later and absorbed his people of the Buryat and Barga into the Kharchins. It is also possible that Bekrin's Begersen Tayisi or Oirad's Ibalai Tayisi brought them into the Yunsheebuu. Tav Aimag that means five tribes, were known as Jalair, Hongirad, Ihires, Manggud and Urugud, who immigrated from northern Mongolia to the Khitan steppes, the present Southeastern Inner Mongolia. But they retreated to the north steppes after the Yuan Empire lost its rule on China. Hongirad and Ikhires were categorized as Darligin Mongols, Manggud and Urugud were categorized as Nirun Mongols, Jalair was a Mongolian speaking tribe. The Tav Aimag were led by the Urugud's Orchuu to join the Kharchin, and he became the successor of Bolai tayisi after whom was defeated by the Onligud's Morihai Tayisi. Orchuu led the whole tribal alliance to immigrate to the southwestern

, and they began to be considered as a branch of the right wing of the eastern Mongols. Dalandaganad and Khonghutan were surmised as people of Bayanmönkh Jinong (assistant Khaan), who was father of Dayan Khan. Orchuu's daughter Sikher Taikhu was a queen of Bayanmönkh Jinong and the mother of Dayan Khan. The Bekrin's Begersen Tayisi immigrated from Uighurstan to Southwestern Mongolia, he defeated Orchuu there and became the leader of the Yungsiyebu Tümen. Begersen Tayisi also urged Manduul Khan to defeat and kill Bayanmönkh Jinong later, then the Dalandaganad and Khonghutan were absorbed as a part of the Yungsiyebu Tümen, and Begersen's cousin Ismail Tayisi married Queen Sikher Taikhu. Dayan Khan was saved by the Dalandaganad, and adopted by Queen

Mandukhai Mandukhai Khatun ( mn, Мандухай хатан, ᠮᠠᠨᠳᠤᠬᠠᠢ ᠰᠡᠴᠡᠨ ᠬᠠᠲᠤᠨ), also known as Mandukhai Setsen Khatun ( mn, Мандухай сэцэн хатан, en, Queen Mandukhai the Wise, ) (c. 1449 – 1510) ...

Manduul Khan Manduul (also spelled Manduuluu, Manduyul or Manduyulun; mn, Мандуул; ), (1438–1478) was a khagan of the Northern Yuan dynasty, reigning from 1475 to 1478. He was the younger half-brother of Taisun Khan. Early life After the death of ...

later. The Dalandaganad were the descendants of the Tanggud (Тангуд), and the Khonghutans were a branch of the Nirun Mongols. Bekrin originally inhabited in the Hami mountain area of the Uighurstan and its neighborhood areas. Mongols called them ''Uigurd'', and considered them as the Mongolized Uighurs, however the original Bekrins seemed different compared to the real Uighurs. The Bekrins were one of the most important ethnic origins of the Yunsheebuu although Bekrin wasn’t listed as one of Yunsheebuu ten tribes during the time of Begersen tayisi. Some scholars considered the alliance between the Asud's Arugtai Tayisi and the Bekrin's Öljei Khan (the descendant of Ögedei Khan) as the basis of the Yunsheebuu Tümen. When Begersen Tayisi and Abarai Tayisi conquered the Yunsheebuu subsequently, they brought many more Bekrins into the Yunsheebuu Tümen.

Doyan Uriankhai

In 1389, the

formed three guards for Mongol chiefs on the eastern slopes of the Khinggan. The

Uriankhai Uriankhai ( traditional Mongolian: , Mongolian Cyrillic: урианхай; sah, урааҥхай; zh, t=烏梁海, s=乌梁海, p=Wūliánghǎi), Uriankhan (, урианхан) or Uriankhat (, урианхад), is a term of address applie ...

clan formed the Doyin Guard (Doyan in

Chinese language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the wor ...

) on the Chaor River. The core branch of the Doyan Uriankhai were people of the ''uls'' (kingdom) of King Eljitai, who was a son of Genghis Khan's younger brother

Khajiun Hachiun ( mn, Хачиун), also known as Hachiun Alchi ( mn, Хачиун Алчи) was a full-brother of Genghis Khan and the third child of Yesugei and Hoelun. "The Secret History of the Mongols ''The Secret History of the Mongols'' (Middl ...

. According to Rashid al-Din, there were three larger tribes of the Naimans, the Tatars, the Uriankhai, and some unknown smaller ones in Eljitai Uls. An Uriankhai chieftain Chaurkhan (Чаурхан) who was cousin of General Zelme (Зэлмэ) and Subedei (Сүбэдэй), was appointed to be the chief general of Eljitai Uls by Genghis Khan. It was recorded that his troop consisted of 2000 Oirads soldiers. In 1280s, Eljitai's successors with other Mongol nobles led a rebellion against Khubilai Khaan, but it was finally repressed soon and those nobles were punished cruelly by Khubilai Khaan. The family of Eljitai lost their rule on their people after the rebellion, while the Uriankhai nobles controlled the ruling power on Uljitai Uls gradually. After Khubilai Khaan defeated Khaidu Khaan, the grandson of Ögedei Khaan, the Kyrgyz, the Ursuud (Урсууд) and the Khabkhanas (Хабханас) of Khaidu's Khanate, were compelled to immigrate to Uljitai Uls and joined the Doyan Uriankhai. A group of the Uriankhai was also appointed to guide the altar of Queen Hoelun, the mother of Chinggis Khaan. They seemed different from the Uriankhai of Uljitai Uls at first, but for unknown reasons they immigrated from the Uls of Queen Hoelun and her youngest son

Temüge Temüge (1168–1246) was the youngest brother of Genghis Khan, second son of Yesugei . ''The Secret History of the Mongols'' tells that "when Temujin was 9 years of age, Temuge was three years old." Being the youngest boy in the family, he rece ...

to join the Doyan Uriankhai and guarded the altar of Queen Hoelun in Ekh Doyan Öndör Mountain area, located in the today's Jalaid banner, Xing’an league, Inner Mongolia. We also noticed that almost all of Uriankhai families among the Kharchins claimed they were descendants of General Zelme but not Chaurkhan, that maybe suggested there is a larger population of the Uriankhai from Temüge Uls to join the Original Uriankhai tribe in Eljitai Uls. Uriankhai had at least the two branches of the forest Uriankhai and the steppe Uriankhai during the time of Chinggis Khaan. The forest Uriankhai were appointed to guide Chinggis Khaan's mausoleum in the Burkhan mountain area and known as the Burkhan Uriankhai later, while a group of the steppe Uriankhai, known as Doyan Uriankhai, were appointed to guide the Queen Hoelun's altar on the Doyan mountain. There is no exact evidence about that the forest Uriankhai spoke Mongolian or Turkic yet, but the steppe Uriankhai had been categorized as a group of the Darligin Mongols after they immigrated from Siberian forest to the steppes. The two branches of the Uriankhai had a great influence on the later history of the Mongols after Yuan dynasty, A group of the Burkhan Uriankhai was probably one of the core ethnic origin of the

Ordos Mongols The Ordos (Mongolian Cyrillic: Ордос; ) are a Mongol subgroup that live in Uxin Banner, Inner Mongolia of China. Ordos literally means plural of Ordo. The Three Tribes of Uriyangkhaid, Tümed in north Shanxi, Ordos Mongols in Ordos and north ...

of the right wing ruled by Jinong (assistance Khaan), and most of the Burkhan Uriankhai evolved as the Uriankhai Tümen of the left wing during the time of Dayan Khaan. After this tümen was destroyed, some of them fled to the north and maybe had the ethnic links with Tannu Uriankhai and Altai Uriankhai. The Doyan Uriankhai were conquered and absorbed by the Chakhar and the Inner Halha in the north, and by the Kharchins and the eastern Tümed and the Mongoljin in the south. The Zaruud (Зарууд) known as one of the Inner Khalkh were people of Doyan Uriankhai's Bagasun Tabunang (Багасун-Табунанг) who married Dayan Khaan's only daughter. Esen Khaan of the Choros (Чорос) Oirad also claimed him as the seventh generation offspring of Uriankhai General Zelme according to some historical resources. Kyrgyz, Ursuud and Khabkhanas were originally the inhabitants of the Siberian forest (

taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruce ...

). The Kyrgyz was a Turkic group who ever established the great Kyrgyz Khanate based on the former Uighur Khanate in the present north Mongolia, and their nomadic kingdom was destroyed by the Khitans a century later. Some of them immigrated back to their original homeland in the Siberia forest, and some leave there and were known as the Naimans and/or others on the later history. The Kyrgyz were absorbed into Doyan Uriankhai. There were also the Kherenugud (Xэрэнугуд), the Mongolized Kyrgyz tribes among the Oirds and the Ar Khalkh (Outer Khalkh). The Ursuud who were famous for their traditional medicine, and the Khabkhanas were the neighbors of the Kyrgyz. We have no the clues about their ethnic origins yet. Naiman and Tatar were the main five tribes on the Mongol steppes during the time of Chinggis Khaan. The Naimans were surmised to have the ethnic links with people of the Kyrgyz Khanate in the north Mongolia. There was a Naiman tribe known as one of the eight aimags of the Tsakhar Tümen, their descendants inhabit in the present Naiman Banner, Tongliao, Inner Mongolia. Haichid, Hailasud, Garhata, Shiranud, Narad, Marud, Nuled and other family names of the Mongols were considered to link with the Naimans. The Tatars were a Mongolic tribe inhabited in the eastern Mongolia, there were the six sub-groups of the Tatars consisted of the Tutukliut, the Alji, the Chagan, the Kui, the Tarat, the Burqui according to Rashid al-Din. The Tsagan Tatars were also known as one of the eight aimags of the Tsakhar Tümen, and there are Tsagan Tatar, Alji and other family names originated from the Tatars among the Mongols today. The Naiman and Tsagan Tatar were probably absorbed by the Tsahar from the north branch of the Doyan Uriankhai like the Zaruud absorbed by the Inner Khalkh.

Descendants of the Liao dynasty

The land inhabited by the Kharchins was also the homeland of the Khitans, a Mongolic group in eastern Mongolia. According to Rashid al-Din, there were 10 thousands families of the Western Liao dynasty which consisted of 93 thousands families in total during the time of Genghis Khan. The nomadic Khitans of their original homeland were recognized officially as the Mongols during Yuan dynasty too, Tav Aimags consisted of Jalair, Hongirad, Ikhires, Manggud and Urugud, led by General Muhulai to immigrate to the land of the Khitans and mixed with them. Doyan Uriankhai followed the Tav Aimags to immigrate to the Khitan steppes and became the lords of this land during the Northern Yuan dynasty, thus, the nomadic Khitans were absorbed by the Mongols gradually and didn’t exist as an independent ethnic group except that the Daur, a small modern Mongolic group, claimed their Khitan ethnic origin. The Khitan as a large ethnic entity had a multi-origins too. The Khitan's cousin tribe, the

Kumo Xi The Kumo Xi (Xu Elina-Qian, p.296b), also known as the Tatabi, were a Mongolic steppe people located in current Northeast China from 207 CE to 907 CE. After the death of their ancestor Tadun in 207, they were no longer called Wuhuan but joined t ...

, were conquered and absorbed by the Khitans after they raised to the power. Both Khitan and Kumuci were originated from the Yuwen tribe of the Xianbei. The Yuwen was originally a Southern Xiongnu (Hsiung-nu) who immigrated from the present Southwestern Inner Mongolia to the eastern steppes inhabited by the Xianbei (and Wuhuan) and mixed with them there, that was similar to what happened to Yunsheebuu and Doyan Uriankhai later. The Tiele (the original Turks) of the northern steppes were also absorbed into the Khitans in part. The Khitans were categorized as the two groups of the

Yelü The Yelü clan ( Khitan: , spelled ''ey.är.uu.eld'', pronounced ''Yäruuld''; ), alternatively rendered as Yila () or Yarud, was a prominent family of ethnic Khitan origin in the history of China. The clan assumed leadership of the Khitan tribal ...

who were the original Khitans and the imperial family of the

Liao dynasty The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...

, and the Xiao who were originated from the two Shenmi (Yishiyi and Boli), the branches of the Tiele, and they were the tribes of the Khitan's queens. There were the eight Khitan's ancient tribes recorded by Chinese: Xiwandan, Hedahe, Fufuyu, Xiling, Rilian, Pijie, Li, Tuliuyu. And the Kumoci consisted of the five ancient tribes: Ruhuzhu, Mohefu, Qigu, Mukun, Shide. It is also worthy to mention that a group of the Komuci who immigrated to the west after the Liao dynasty was destroyed by the Jin dynasty, were probably the ancestors of the royal family of the Kipchaks whom the Kharchin's Kipchaks were originated from.

Notable Kharchin Mongols

* Güngsennorv - Noyan (chieftain) of Kharchin Left Banner of Qing, first founding-director of

Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission The Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission (MTAC) was a ministry-level commission of the Executive Yuan in the Republic of China. It was disbanded on 15 September 2017. History The first model was created during the Qing dynasty in 1636 a ...

(founded 1912) of the

. * Khaisan - One of the main supporters of the

Bogd Khanate of Mongolia The Bogd Khanate of Mongolia ( mn, , Богд хаант Монгол Улс; ) was the government of Outer Mongolia between 1911 and 1919 and again from 1921 to 1924. By the spring of 1911, some prominent Mongol nobles including Prince Tögs ...

in 1911 *

El Temür El Temür (; Mongolian:; died 1333) was an ethnic Kipchak official of the Yuan dynasty. He was behind the coup d'état that installed Tugh Temür (Emperor Wenzong) as Yuan emperor in the capital Khanbaliq in 1328. The restorationists at Khanbali ...

, De facto in Yuan dynasty (14th century)

References

{{Mongol_Yastan, state=uncollapsed Mongols Mongol peoples Southern Mongols