Page | 27legacies was in the area of religion. After converting to Tibetan Buddhism (also known as
Lamaism) during one of his raids in Tibet, Altan Khan commissioned the construction of
the first lamaist monasteries in Mongolia and made Lamaism the state religion.^137 Sonam
Gyatso, the leader of the Yellow Hat order of Tibetan Buddhism, later visited Altan Khan
in Mongolia. There, the Mongolian leader conferred the title of Dalai Lama upon him
(the first such use of that title).^138
Mongolia received its own Buddhist spiritual lineage in 1635, when a Khalkha Khan
identified his son as the living reincarnation of an ancient Tibetan Buddhist scholar
whose virtue was Buddha-like. The young prince was given the title Jebtsundamba
Khutuktu (loosely translated as “Living Buddha”), thus starting a line of reincarnated
Mongolian lamas similar to the Dalai Lama in Tibet. The Jebtsundamba Khutuktu lineage
continued for nearly 300 years.
139
The Qing Dynasty
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Manchus, a nomadic
group from Northeast China (Manchuria), increasingly pressured
Mongolian lands from the south and east. As the Manchus
prepared for their assault on the Ming Dynasty, they first took
control of southern Mongolia (modern-day Inner Mongolia in
China), which they administratively organized into their
burgeoning empire.^140 Ligdan Khan, leader of a southern
Mongol tribe affiliated with the Khalkha, had some success
resisting the Manchus and the Khalkha tribes that had joined
forces with the Manchus. Ultimately, however, he had to flee
westward, and his death in 1634 effectively marked the end of
eastern Mongol resistance to the Manchus.^141
(^137) 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.
Subsequently in
(^138) The title Dalai Lama is actually a marriage of the Tibetan word (“lama”) for “guru” or “spiritual
teacher” and the Mongolian word for “ocean.” The latter word is a translation of the Tibetan personal name
Gyatso, which also means “ocean” in Tibetan. See London Tibetan Productions, “His Holiness The WIV
Dalai Lama’s 75th Birthday Celebration 6 July 2010,” n.d., http://www.londonney.com/dalailamabirthday
celebration.html and Webster’s Online Dictionary, “Extended Definition: Gyatso,” 2011,
http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/GYATSO?cx=partner-pub-
0939450753529744%3Av0qd01-tdlq&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8&q=GYATSO&sa=Search#906
(^139) Robert L. Worden, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Mongolia in Transition, 1368–1911: Caught Between
the Russians and the Manchus,” in Mongolia: A Country Study, 2nd ed. (Washington, DC: U.S.
Government Printing Office, 1991), 34.
(^140) Encyclopædia Britannica Online, “Mongolia: History: The Ascendancy of the Manchu,” by Owen
Lattimore, 2011, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/389335/Mongolia/27423/Internecine-strife
(^141) Robert L. Worden, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Mongolia in Transition, 1368–1911: Caught Between
the Russians and the Manchus,” in Mongolia: A Country Study, 2nd ed. (Washington, DC: U.S.
Government Printing Office, 1991), 33.