Page | 26Post-Imperial Mongolia
The Oirat-Khalkha Division
Many changes took place after more than 60,000 Mongols
retreated back into Mongolia from China.^129 Cycles of unity and
disunity once again became the norm on the steppes as new tribal
confederations took root. The largest of these new tribal groups
were the Oirat, located in the Altai region of western Mongolia,
and the Khalkha of the central and eastern regions north of the
Gobi Desert.^130 Eventually, the Oirat emerged as the most
powerful force in Mongolia. The Oirat leader Esen Taishi^131
briefly united many of the Mongolian tribes and led a foray into
China in 1449, capturing the Ming emperor in the process.^132
Esen Khan died in battle four years later, after which followed
the seemingly inevitable period of Mongol disunity.^133
The fortunes of the eastern Mongol tribes revived toward the end
of the 15th century under the leadership of Dayan Khan, who ruled from 1479 to1543 and
spurred a period of unification among the Khalkha and other central and eastern Mongol
tribes.
134, (^135) His grandson, Altan Khan, also unified the Khalkha tribes after a brief period
of unrest following his grandfather’s death.^136
(^129) Robert L. Worden, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Mongolia in Transition, 1368–1911: Return to
Nomadic Patterns,” in Mongolia: A Country Study, 2nd ed. (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1991), 31.
One of Altan Khan’s most important
(^130) Robert L. Worden, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Mongolia in Transition, 1368–1911: Return to
Nomadic Patterns,” in Mongolia: A Country Study, 2nd e d. (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1991), 31.
(^131) The title Taishi (“noble”) was applied to Oirad leaders, as they did not directly descend from the
Genghis Khan lineage. Prior to his death, Esen took the title Khan after killing Tayisung Khan, one of the
figurehead Khans put forward by the Oirad leaders.
(^132) Robert L. Worden, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Mongolia in Transition, 1368–1911: Return to
Nomadic Patterns,” in Mongolia: A Country Study, 2nd ed. (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1991), 31.
(^133) Robert L. Worden, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Mongolia in Transition, 1368–1911: Return to
Nomadic Patterns,” in Mongolia: A Country Study, 2nd Ed. (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1991), 31.
(^134) Larry Moses and Stephen A. Halkovic, Jr., “Chapter 5: Age of Disintegration (1350–1691),” in
Introduction to Mongolian History and Culture (Bloomington, IN: Research Institute for Inner Asian
Studies, Indiana University, 1985), 102, 110.
(^135) Robert L. Worden, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Mongolia in Transition, 1368–1911: Return to
Nomadic Patterns,” in Mongolia: A Country Study, 2nd ed. (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1991), 31.
(^136) Robert L. Worden, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Mongolia in Transition, 1368–1911: Return to
Nomadic Patterns,” in Mongolia: A Country Study, 2nd ed. (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1991), 32.