Oirat (Oirads, Oyirads, Oirots) is the common name of several pastoral nomadic tribes of Mongolian origin whose ancestral home is in the Dzungaria and Amdo regions of western China and also western Mongolia. Although the Oirats originated in the eastern parts of Central Asia, the most prominent group today is located in the Republic of Kalmykia, a federal subject of the Russian Federation, where they are called Kalmyks. The Kalmyks migrated from Dzungaria to the southeastern European part of the Russian Federation nearly 400 years ago.
Historically, the Oirats were composed of four major tribes: Choros or Ölöt, Torghut, Dörbet, and Khoshut. The minor tribes include: Khoit, Bayid, Mangit, Zakhachin, and Darkhat.
In the 17th century, Zaya Pandita, a Gelug monk of the Khoshut tribe, devised a new writing system called Todo Bichig (clear script) for use by the Oirat people. This system was developed on the basis of the older Mongolian script, but had a more developed system of diacritics to exclude misreading, and reflected some lexic and grammar differences of the Oirat language from Mongolian.
The Todo Bichig writing system remained in use in Russia until the mid-1920s when it was replaced by a Cyrillic alphabet. It likewise was replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet in Mongolia in 1941. Some Oirats in China still use Todo Bichig as their primary writing system, as well as Mongolian script.
The name Oirat may derive from a corruption of the group's original name Dörvn Öörd, meaning "The Allied Four." Perhaps inspired by the designation Dörvn Öörd, other Mongols at times used the term "Döchin Mongols" for themselves ("Döchin" meaning forty), but there was rarely as great a degree of unity among larger numbers of tribes as among the Oirats.
Comprised of the Khoshut (Хошууд Hošuud), Choros or Ölöt (Өөлд Ööld), Torghut (Торгууд Torguud), and Dörbet (Дөрвөд Dörvöd) tribes, they were dubbed Kalmak or Kalmyk, which means "remnant" or "to remain," by their western Turkic neighbors. Various sources also list the Bargut, Buzav, Kerait, and Naiman tribes as comprising part of the Dörvn Öörd; some tribes may have joined the original four only in later years. This name may reflect the Kalmyks' remaining Buddhist rather than converting to Islam; or the Kalmyks' remaining on Altay region when the Turkic people migrated to the West.
After the collapse of the Yuan dynasty in Mongolia and China, the Oirats reemerged in history as a loose alliance of the four major West Mongolian tribes (Dörben Oirat). The alliance grew to power in the remote region of the Altai Mountains, northwest of the Hami oasis. Gradually they spread eastward, annexing territories then under control by the East Mongols and hoping to reestablish a unified nomadic rule under their banner.
The greatest ruler of the Dörben Oirat was Esen Tayisi who led the Dörben Oirat from 1439 to 1454, during which time he unified Mongolia (both Inner and Outer) under his rule. In 1449 Esen Tayisi mobilized his cavalry along the Chinese border and invaded the Ming Empire, defeating and destroying the Ming defenses at the Great Wall and the reinforcements sent to intercept his cavalry. In the process, the Zhengtong Emperor was captured at Tumu. The following year, Esen returned the emperor. After claiming the title of khan, to which only lineal descendants of Genghis Khan could claim, Esen was deposed. Shortly afterwards, Oirat power declined.
From the 14th until the middle of the 18th century, the Oirats were often at war with the East Mongols. Illustrative of this history is the Oirat epic song, "The Rout of Mongolian Shulum Ubushi Khong Tayiji," about the war between the Oirats and the first Altan Khan of the Khalkha.
Kho Orlök, tayishi of the Torghuts, and Dalai Batur, tayishi of a small group of Derbets, led their people westward at the beginning of the 17th century. By some accounts this move was precipitated by internal divisions or by the Khoshot tribe; other historians believe it more likely the migrating clans were seeking pastureland for their herds, scarce in the Central Asian highlands. Part of the Khoshot and Ölöt tribes would join the migration almost a century later.
The Kalmyk migration had reached as far as the steppes of southeast Europe by 1630. At the time, that area was inhabited by the Nogai Horde. But under pressure from Kalmyk warriors, the Nogai fled to the Crimea and the Kuban River. All other nomadic peoples in the European steppes subsequently became vassals of the Kalmyk Khanate.
Amdo, meanwhile, became home to the Khoshuts. In 1717, the Dzungars invaded Tibet and killed Lha-bzang Khan (or Khoshut Khan), a great-grandson of Güshi Khan and the fourth Khan of Tibet.
In 1723 Lobzang Danjin, another descendant of Güshi Khan, defended Amdo against attempts to extend Qing rule into Tibet, but was crushed in the following year. Thus, Amdo fell under the domination of Qing.
The Qing (or Manchu) conquered China in the mid-17th century and sought to protect its northern border by continuing the divide-and-rule policy their Ming predecessors instituted successfully against the Mongols. The Manchu consolidated their rule over the East Mongols of Manchuria. They then persuaded the East Mongols of Inner Mongolia to submit themselves as vassals. Finally, the East Mongols of Outer Mongolia sought the protection of the Manchu against the Dzungars.
Bordering Gansu and west of Irgay River is called Alshaa, and Mongols moved there are called the Alshaa Mongols.
Törbaih Güüsh Khan’s 4-th son Ayush was to the Khan’s brother Baibagas. Ayush’s eldest son is Baatar Erkh Jonon Khoroli. After the battle between Galdan Boshigt Khan and Ochir Setsen, Khoroli moved to Tsaidam with his 10,000 households. 5-th Dalai Lama wanted land for them from the Qing government, thus in 1686, Emperor permitted them to reside in Alshaa.
In 1697, Alshaa Mongols were administered to khoshuu and sum units. A khoshuu with eight sums was created, Khoroli was appointed to Beil, Alshaa was thus a zasag-khoshuu. Alshaa was however like an aimag and never administered under a chuulgan.
In 1707, when Khoroli was died, his son Abuu succeeded him. He was in Beijing from his youth ages, served as bodyguard of the Emperor, and a princess (of the Emperor) was given to him, thus making him a Khoshoi Tavnan, i.e., Emperor’s groom. In 1793, Abuu became Jün Wang.
Mongols lived in the Ejine River was originated from Ravjir, a grandson of Torguud-in Ayush Khan from Ijil (Volga) River.
In 1678, Ravjir with his mother, younger sister and 500 people came to Tibet to pray. While he was going back via Beijing in 1704, Enkh Amgalan Khan (Kangxi Emperor) let him stay there for some years and later organized a khoshuu in a place called Sertei, and made Ravjir the governor.
In 1716, the Emperor sent him to Hami, near the Qing and Dzungar border, for intelligence purposes against Oirats. When Ravjir was died, his eldest son Denzen succeeded him. He was afraid of the Dzungar and wanted Qing government to allow him to move far from the border. He were settled in Dalan Uul – Altan. When Denzen was died in 1740, his son Lubsandarjaa succeeded him and became Beil.
In 1753, they were settled in Ejine River banks and the Ejine River Torguud khoshuu was then formed.
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