Oyirad

The Oyirad (also spelled Oirat or Oyrat) is just a different name for the Kalmyk people, the word coming from the misspelled original name Dörvn Öörd ? "The Allied Four".

Related Topics:
Kalmyk - Dörvn Öörd

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The heartland of the Kalmyk people has always been the Altai Mountains. They were called Kalmak or Kalmyk which means "to stay" (as opposed to "to leave"), by their Western neighbors the Turks. This name was well known among all Western Turks as far back as the 13th century.

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From that time until the middle of the 18th century the Kalmyk people (Dörvn Öörd) dominated Central Asia. The four groups forming the Dörvn Öörd are Torghuuds, Dörvuuds, Khoshuuds and Ölööds.

Related Topics:
Torghuuds - Dörvuuds - Khoshuuds - Ölööds

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In 1439 Esen Tayisi of the Oyirads succeeded his father Toghon Tayisi. Esen Tayisi conquered Mongolia and subjugated the Jurchen. In 1449 he invaded the Ming Empire and captured the Zhengtong Emperor at Tumu. Since he had no intention to rule China, he withdrew from the territory. Esen Tayisi was killed in the next year and Kalmyks withdrew from Mongolia.

Related Topics:
Esen Tayisi - Zhengtong Emperor - China

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The Kalmyk people were always in conflict with the Mongols. Illustrative of that endless confrontation is the Kalmyk Epic Song ?The Rout of Mongolian Shulum Ubushi Khong Tayiji? about war of 1587. Amazed by the strength of ?The Allied Four? (Dörvn Öörd) the Mongols has proclaimed themselves as ?Döchin (forty) Mongols? but they never reached such a level of unity.

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The 17th century is the century of the Kalmyk Empire, known as the Khanate of Dzungaria, which stretched from the Great Wall of China to the River Don, and from the Himalayas to Siberia. It was last Empire of The Great Nomads of Asia.

Related Topics:
Kalmyk Empire - Dzungaria

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The Kalmyk became Tibetan Buddhists in 1615 and it was not long before they got involved in the conflict between the Gelug and Karma Kagyu schools. At the request of the Geluk school, Güüshi Khan of the Khoshuuds defeated Choghtu Khong Tayiji, who supported the Karma Kagyu school, in 1637 and conquered Qinghai. The unification of Tibet followed in 1641 with Güüshi Khan of the Khoshuuds proclaimed as The Khan of Tibet. Qinghai meanwhile became home to the Khoshuuds. In 1717 Ölööds invaded Tibet and killed Lha-bzang Khan, a great-grandson of Güüshi and the fourth khan of Tibet. In 1723 Lobzangdanjin, a grandson of Güüshi, stood up against Qing, but was crushed in the next year. It thus followed that Qinghai fell under the domination of Qing.

Related Topics:
Gelug - Karma Kagyu - Güüshi - Choghtu Khong Tayiji

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Khoo Örlög of the Torghuuds moved westward at the beginning of 17th century. He led the Torghuuds and part of the Dörvuuds. Part of Khoshuuds and Ölööds joined them almost a century later. The Oyirads reached as far as the steppes of southeast Europe by 1630. That area formed the homeland of very powerful Hordes of Nogays. But under pressure from the Oyirad warriors the Nogays fled to the Crimea and the Kuban river. All other nomads in European steppes subsequently became vassals of Kalmyk Khan.

Related Topics:
Khoo Örlög - Nogays

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