第九章
Chapter IX: Dzungaria Rising
△Statue of Galdan Boshugtu Khan.
To the north of China, beyond the great wall, lay the vast steppes of Mongolia. The Mongolian lands could be largely divided into two - Eastern Mongolia, home to the many Borjigin banners like Khalkha and Chahar, and Western Mongolia, which was inhabited by the Four Oirats.
The Oirats were a distant cousin of the Mongols, who became part of the Mongolian Empire during the rise of Genghis Khan. After the Mongolian Empire fell, after a series of conflicts, the Oirats fled westwards, where they formed the Oirat Confederation. The Oirat Confederation, also known as the Four Oirats, composed of four tribes - the Khoshut, Choros, Dorbet and the Torghut. Of the four, the Khoshut Banner was the biggest, ruling over Tibet, Kokonor and Lake Zaisan.
Erdeniin Galdan was born as the fourth son of Erdeni Batur Taiji, ruler of the Choros Banner. In the age of 7, he was sent to Lhasa, to study Buddhist texts under the 5th Dalai Lama. When his father died in 1653, a succession crisis took place - Erdeni Batur had nominated his third son Sengge as the new ruler, and his two older brothers Cecen and Zodba were not convinced. Galdan supported Sengge as was his fathers will. During the civil war that followed, Galdan largely stayed out of the conflict, instead focusing on his studies.
Although Galdan aspired to study the ways of Enlightenment and become a Lama himself, his royal lineage wouldn’t grant him such a peaceful life. In 1670, Sengge was murdered by his half-brothers in an attempt to steal the throne. Upon the call of his people, Galdan had to return to Dzungaria to avenge his brother’s death. At his return, the Choros people rejoiced - with many Choros nobles rebelling against Cecen and Zodba in favor of Galdan. What followed was a bloody conflict between the royal family, where the two usurpers were crushed by Galdan. After the end of the civil war, Galdan consolidated the position of the ruler of the Choros Banner.
During the feud, Galdan was supported by Ochirtu Sechen Khan, his grandfather-in-law. When Gushi Khan, the Khan of the Khoshuts, had passed, his realm split into three - Ochirtu Khan had inherited the Khoshut Banner who had not migrated south to Tibet. However, as Galdan’s influence grew stronger, Ochirtu Khan began to fear Galdan. In 1673, Danjin Hong Taiji, nephew of Ochirtu, turned on him and led his people to ally with Galdan. Eventually, Ochirtu allied with Choqur Ubashi, Galdan's uncle, and attacked Galdan. In 1676, Galdan defeated Ochirtu in a surprise attack, taking him prisoner. Ochirtu managed to escape and re-gather his forces, but was defeated again - he died in 1680 in captivity. Afterwards, Galdan was crowned as the ‘Boshugtu Khan’ of the Dzungars by the 5th Dalai Lama.
After the defeat of Ochirtu, with the remaining Dorbet and Khoid Banner succumbing to him, Galdan was able to bring the Four Oirats under one banner. Galdan allowed Danjin Hong Taiji to rule over the Khoshut Banner, and the people of Khoshut who had fled from Galdan returned one by one.[1] In the 1680s, while China was still undergoing internal conflict between the Ming and the Zhou, Galdan started his great conquering spree.
△Map of Asia in the early 17th century.
The first target of the Dzungar conquest was Kashgaria, which was ruled by the Yarkend Khanate - an Islamified descendant of the great Chagatai Khanate. At the time of the conquest, the power of the Chagatai Khans had since long been eclipsed by local rulers called Khojas, claiming themselves to be the descendant of the great prophet Mohammed. Earlier in the 17th century, the Khojas had broken into two feuding branches - the Afaqi, under Afaq Khoja, and the Ishaqi, under Ishaq Wali.
When Ishaq Wali allied with the Chagatai Ismail Khan to expel Afaq, he fled to Tibet and asked the 5th Dalai Lama to help him reclaim his just possessions. The Dalai Lama accepted this request, and called on Galdan. As though he was now a secular Khan instead of a monk, Galdan was still a deep believer of Buddhism, and agreed to intervene in the Lama's behalf. In 1678, Galdan led his army of 120,000 soldiers into Kashgaria, sweeping over the Yarkend resistance and killing Ismail Khan.
Although Afaq was re-instituted as the ruler of Yarkend, Kashgaria was now under the suzerainty of the Dzungars. Galdan chose not to intervene in Yarkend’s internal matters, letting Kashgaria govern itself with its own laws. Instead, Galdan imposed taxes on the silk road trade, and extracted vital resources from the state to fuel his campaign. Soon enough, Galdan was able to develop a system of manufacturing saltpeter and metal in masse. Unlike most tribes, who relied on foreign trade to obtain what little gunpowder they can get, this advantage was revolutionary. With Galdan's military prowess, the Dzungars, armed with chain mails and exceptional weaponry, became unmatched warriors on the steppes.
By the early 1680s, Galdan completely consolidate his rule over the famed oasis cities of East Turkestan. Afterwards, he marched west - into the territory of the Kazakh and the Kyrgyz. Tauke Khan of the Kazakhs allied with Kyrgyz tribes and tried to resist Galdan, but he was defeated. The Dzungars took many cities like Almaty and Taraz, and besieged the Kazakh Capital of Hazrat-e Turkestan in 1684. After half a year of siege, Tauke Khan agreed that the Kazakhs will pay a yearly tribute to the Dzungar Khanate.
By the mid-1680s, the Dzungars exerted its influence over all of Central Asia. The silk road saw its last golden age under the patronage of the Dzungar Khanate; With the Dzungars encouraging commerce along its dominions, the antiquital trade hubs of Central Asia were able to flourish. Slowly, the Dzungar Khanate began to transition into a multi-ethnic empire resembling that of the Mongolian Empire or the Qing; At the head of the empire was the Dzungar ruling class, maintaining their military lifestyle. The 'middle class' consisted of Cetral Asian traders, bringing wealth to the empire. Lastly, the Uyghurs and other folks maintained a domeistic lifestyle, sustaining the empire. The city of Ghulja, the seat of Galdan's rule, developed into a multinational city as one of the centers of the silk road. Towering Buddhist Temples were constructed, and merchants from Bukhara, Russia, Persia and the Ottoman Empire visited the city.
Meanwhile, Galdan aspired to unite the Oirat Federation into a single nation. He kept close ties with the Dalai Lama, and claimed himself to be the protector of the Buddhist faith. He also promoted the Todo Bichig, meaning 'Clear Script', as the official writing system of Dzungaria. Under Galdan's rule, a singular national identity was slowly forming between the Four Oirats.
△The Todo Bichig, shown above, became institutionalized as the 'national script' of the Oirats under Galdan.
At the same time, Galdan began to interfere with the Khalkha Banners, with the grand dream to bring all the Mongols under one banner. Ever since he united the Oirats, Galdan was frequently under contract with Jashagtu Khan, who was another patron of Tibetan Buddhism. With the Dalai Lama mediating their alliance, the two Khans maintained an amicable relationship.
The Khalkha Mongols, occupying present-day Outer Mongolia, were divided into Left and Right Wings[2] - the Right Wing was comprised of the Jashagtu and Altyn Khanates, while the Left Wing had Tusiyetu and Setsen. The two biggest Khanates, Jashagtu and Tusiyetu, had been feuding since 1662 - after the death of the previous Jashagtu Khan, Tusiyetu Khan had intervened and took some of his people under his custody. Although the crisis was settled, Tusiyetu Khan had been refusing to give the people back to the new Jashagtu Khan.
In 1686, The Dalai Lama intervened and held a congress, hoping to make peace in Eastern Mongolia. However, the congress fell short, unable to make a settlement between the two Khanates. Moreover, Jebtsundamba Zanabazar, brother of Tusiyetu Khan and the Buddhist guru of Mongolia, used the congress in an attempt to assert his own authority in Mongolia; during the congress, he disrespected the Lama's representative and acted as if his status was equal to the Dalai Lama himself. This, of course, enraged Galdan Khan.
△Portrait of Jebtsundamba Zanabazar.
The ripe opportunity for Galdan came in 1687, when Tusiyetu Khan finally invaded Jashagtu Khan's lands and killed him. During the invasion, Galdan's brother Dorji Gyab was also killed during battle. Infuriated, Galdan raised a levy of 70,000 men and led his army to invade Khalkha. Within the same year, he crushed Tusiyetu Khan’s army led by Jebtsundamba Zanabazar at the lower bank of the Hamir River. Tusiyetu was of no match to Galdan, and soon enough, he had to leave everything behind and flee eastwards. Afterwards, Galdan occupied Kharakorum and advanced southeast.
Facing the advance of Galdan, the Princes of Eastern Mongolia were torn over where to turn to. Russia and Great Zhou were great empires, but they were not believers of the true faith, and they demanded vassalization in turn for their help. The Manchus did believe in Buddhism, but they were pre-occupied with their own matters and were not in a position to intervene. Eventually, the princes of East Mongolia failed to come to an agreement, and scattered for their own lives. Tsewang Shab, heir to the dead Zashagtu Khan, defected to Galdan with Altyn Khan. The Chahars under Abunai Khan seeked protection of Great Zhou. Other various banners fled to Russian or Manchurian lands - in the end, only a handful of people remained to stand alongside Tusiyetu against Galdan.
With nowhere else to turn to, Tusiyetu Khan led his allies for a last stand against Galdan's force. The fateful battle took place in Zamyn-Uud, located in the border region between Khalkha and Chahar. The fate of the Battle of Zamyn-Uud was already decided before its start - it was quite clear that Tusiyetu's force could not match Galdan's, and the army fell into disarray as soon as the battle started. Afterwards, Tusiyetu fled with only a few dozen men, and was killed a few weeks later over a disagreement with his liteunants.
By the end of 1690, Galdan Khan had unified nearly all of Mongolia under his rule. After the defeat of Tusiyetu Khan, Khalkha was divided between those who supported Galdan during his invasion. Not having descended from the Chinggisid 'Golden Lineage', Galdan Khan instead sought his legitimacy from his status as the loyal servant of the Dalai Lama and protector of Buddhism. He utilized the captured Jebtsundamba Zanabazar. As the 'Bogd Gegeen(Highest Enlightened Saint)' of Mongolian Buddhism, Jebtsundamba was universally respected in Khalkha. Thus, instead of imprisonating or executing him, Galdan urged Jebtsundamba to spread Buddhism and the authority of the Dalai Lama further among the Khalkha Banners.
With Khalkha under his control, Galdan’s realm spread from Kazakhstan to the western edge of Manchuria. In less than 20 years of his reign, Dzungaria saw itself rise from a loose confederation of tribes to a great empire. However, Galdan still wasn’t sated; He wanted himself to be remembered as the greatest ruler Mongolia ever had, a Great Khan that would rival Genghis Khan himself.
And thus, he looked southward beyond the Great Wall - to China.
[1] This is the ‘main’ PoD that determins the fate of Galdan. IOTL, Galdan was zealous in his attempt to concentrate the power of his realm to him, with many assassination attempts on his piers and subordinates. This, combined with the fatigue of continued war, led to continuous rebellions during the later half of his reigns, and his ultimate downfall. Compared to this, ITTL, Galdan respects the authority of his allies more, instead trying to bring his realm together by appealing to an Oirat national identity and Buddhist unity. This in turn keeps Galdan's empire whole during his conquest.
[2] Traditionally, when referring to Mongolian 'Wing's, right means west and left means east. So the Right Wing of Khalkha was located in Western Khalkha, adjacent to the Oirats.
