What does the name Dzungar mean and where did the Oirat people originally live?
The word Dzungar comes from the Mongolian term jegün meaning left or east. The Oirat people originally lived in the Tuva region during the early 13th century.
The word Dzungar comes from the Mongolian term jegün meaning left or east. The Oirat people originally lived in the Tuva region during the early 13th century.
Galdan Boshugtu Khan received the title Boshogtu Khan from the Dalai Lama in 1678. By 1684 his forces seized Sayram Tashkent and subjugated the Black Kyrgyz while establishing dominion over Baraba Tatars.
Qing forces defeated Galdan at the Battle of Jao Modo near upper Tuul River where his wife Anu died. He died on the 4th of April 1697 in Altai Mountains near Khovd after fleeing alone with his followers capturing 20,000 cattle and 40,000 sheep before his death.
About 40 percent of the Dzungar population died from smallpox while 20 percent fled to Russia or Kazakh tribes and thirty percent were killed by Manchu bannermen. Amursana led a revolt against Qing alongside Mongol leader Chingünjav but fled north seeking refuge with Russians where he died of smallpox in September 1757.
Han Hui Xibe Daur Solon Turkic Oasis people Uyghurs and Manchus moved into emptied Dzungaria after the Qing destroyed the Dzungar Oirat people. One third of total population consisted of Han Hui and Kazakhs in northern areas while two-thirds were Uyghurs in southern Tarim Basin.