Robert Kennaway Douglas and Bernhard Jülg

“ But though the prowess of the Ordu Mongols was still unsubdued, their mode of living was as barren and rugged as the steppes and rocky hills which make up their territory. Their flocks and herds, on. which they are entirely dependent for food and clothing, are not numerous, and, like their masters, are neither well fed nor well favoured. But though living in this miserable condition their princes yet keep up a certain amount of barbaric state, and the people have at least the reputation of being honest. ”

“ But Toghon Timur by a hasty flight escaped from his enemies, and sought safety on the shores of the Dolon-nor in Mongolia. For a time the western provinces of China continued to hold out against the rebels, but with the flight of Toghon Timur the Mongol troops lost heart, and in 1368 the ex-Buddhist priest ascended the throne as the first sovereign of the Ming or “Bright” dynasty, under the title of Hung-wu.
Thus ended the sovereignty of the house of Jenghiz Khan in China, nor need we look far to find the cause of its fall. Brave and hardy the Mongols have always shown themselves to be ”

“ A campaign against Persia made a diversion in the wars which were constantly waged between the Krim khan and the Russians, Cossacks and Poles. So hardly were these last pressed by their pertinacious enemies in 1649 that they bound themselves by treaty to pay an annual subsidy to the khan. But the fortunes of war were not always on the side of the Tatars, and with the advent of Peter the Great to the Russian throne the power of the Krim Mongols began to decline. ”

“ The Chinese, flattered by the compliment implied by the transference of allegiance, settled them on lands in the province of Ili, in the neighbourhood of the Altai mountains, and to the west of the desert of Gobi. But the price they were made to pay for this liberality was absorption in the Chinese empire.
Among the Mongol chiefs who rose to fame during the rule of the Ming dynasty of China was Toghon, the Kalmuck khan, who, taking advantage of the state of confusion which reigned among the tribes of Mongolia, established for himself an empire in north-western Asia. ”

“ After sustaining a siege for some weeks, and enduring all the horrors of starvation, the garrison submitted to the Mongols, and at the same time the emperor committed suicide by hanging. Thus fell in 1234 the Kin or “Golden” dynasty, which had ruled over the northern portion of China for more than a century.
But though Ogdai’s first care was to extend his empire in the rich and fertile provinces of China, he was not forgetful of the obligation under which Jenghiz Khan’s conquests in western Asia had laid him to maintain his supremacy over the kingdom of Khwarizm. ”

“ Another tribe separated from the rest of the Mongols is the so-called Hazāra (the thousand) , and the four Aimak (i.e. tribes) , who wander about as herdsmen in Afghanistan, between Herat and Kabul. In external characteristics they are Mongols, and in all probability they are the remains of a tribe from the time of the Mongol dynasty. Their language, which shows, of course, Persian influence, is strictly Mongolian, more particularly West Mongolian or Kalmuck, as has been proved by H. C. von der Gabelentz. ”

“ Not content with having recovered China, the emperor Hungwu sent an army of 400,000 men into Mongolia in pursuit of the forces which yet remained to the khakan. Even on their own ground the disheartened Mongols failed in their resistance to the Chinese, and at all points suffered disaster. Meanwhile Toghon Timur, who did not long survive his defeat, was succeeded in the khakanate by Biliktu Khan, who again in 1379 was followed by Ussakhal Khan. ”

“ Every one who has tried to read Mongolian knows how many difficulties have to be overcome, arising from the ambiguity of certain letters, or from the fact that the same sign is to be pronounced differently, according to its position in the word. ”

“ The power in the hands of the successors of Toktamish never revived after the last campaign of Timur. They were constantly engaged in wars with the Russians and the Krim Tatars, with whom the Russians had allied themselves, and by degrees their empire decayed, until, on the seizure and death of Ahmed Khan at the beginning of the 16th century, the domination of the Golden Horde came to an end. ”

“ For many years during the 16th century he carried on a not altogether unsuccessful war with China, and finally, when peace was made (1571) , the Chinese were fain to create him a prince of the empire and to confer a golden seal of authority upon him. In Tibet his arms were as successful as in China; but, as has often happened in history, the physical conquerors became the mental subjects of the conquered. ”

“ The fatherland proper of the Mongols is Mongolia (q.v.) . The sum total of the Mongol population under Chinese government is calculated at between two and three millions.
Generally the whole Mongol tribe may be divided into three branches: East Mongols, West Mongols and Buriats.
1. The East Mongols are divided into the Kalkas in the borders just mentioned, the Shara Mongols south of the Gobi along the Great Wall north-eastward to Manchuria, and lastly the Shiraigol or Sharaigol in Tangut and in northern Tibet. ”

“ In vain the Russians attempted to recall the fugitives, who, in spite of infinite hardships, after a journey of eight months reached the province of Ili, where they were welcomed by the Chinese authorities. Food for a year’s consumption was supplied to each family; and land, money and cattle were freely distributed. It is believed that 300,000 persons survived to receive the hospitality of the Chinese. ”

“ When the khakan sat on his throne the queen was on his left hand, and a step lower two others of his women, while at the bottom of the steps stood the other ladies of his family. All those who were married wore upon their heads the foot of a man as it were a cubit and a half in length, and at the top of the foot there were certain cranes’ feathers, the whole foot being set with great pearls, so that if there were in the whole world any fine and large pearls they were to be found in the decoration of those ladies. ”

“ The usual explanation given is that the single tribes consider themselves as being related to each other—hence Mongol Oirad, “the Mongol related tribe.” This is the favourite name among Kalmucks. Dōrbōn Oirad, or the four related tribes, comprise (1) Dzungars, (2) Torgod, (3) Koshod, (4) Derbet. The signification of the name Oelōd, in the East Mongolian Oegeled, now the most widely-spread among the tribes living in China, is likewise very doubtful. Some assert that “Oelod” is nothing but the Chinese transcription of Oirad, as the ordinary Chinese language does not possess the sound r. ”

“ Under the wise command of Kublai all indiscriminate massacres were forbidden, and probably for the first time in Mongol history the inhabitants and garrisons of captured cities were treated with humanity. While carrying on the war in the province of Szech’uen Mangu was seized with an attack of dysentery, which proved fatal after a few days’ illness. ”

“ An Indian and Tibetan influence may also be noticed, while the arrangement of the characters in perpendicular lines is common to the Chinese. The writing was brought into its present shape by the learned Lamas Saskya Pandita, Phags-pa Lama, and Tshoitshi Odser in the 13th century, [3] but is exceedingly imperfect. To express the frequently-occurring letters borrowed from Sanskrit and Tibetan, which are wanting in the Mongol alphabet, a special alphabet, called Galik, is employed. ”

“ The main population of the Kalmucks live, or rather drag out, their existence after the usual fashion of nomad tribes in Dzungaria, in the eastern part of the Tian-shan, on the south border of the Gobi, on Koko-nor, and in the province of Kan-suh. ”

“ He fixed his headquarters on the Volga, and there set up his Golden Tent from which the horde acquired the name of the Golden Horde. In 1255 Batu died and was succeeded by his brother Bereke Khan. During the reign of this sovereign the exactions which were demanded from the Russian Christians by the Mongols aroused the Christian world against the barbarian conquerors, and at the command of Pope Alexander IV. a general crusade was preached against them. But. though the rage of the Christians was great, they lacked that united energy which might have availed them against their enemies ”

“ The order of words and sentences in construction is pretty much the opposite of that which we follow. In a simple sentence the indication of time and place, whether given by an adverb or a substantive with a post-position, always comes first ”

“ But his vengeance was not satisfied, and, having refreshed his troops by this halt, he marched northwards against Astrakhan, which he utterly destroyed. The inhabitants were driven out into the country to perish with the cold, while the commander of the city was killed by being forced beneath the ice of the Volga. Sarai next shared the same fate, and, Timur, having thus crushed for the second time the empire of Toktamish, set out on his return home by way of Derbent and Azērbāijān. ”

“ On the death of Yi-sien, shortly after this event, the Kalmucks lost much of their power in eastern Asia, but retained enough in other portions of their territory to annoy the Russians by raids within the Russian frontier, and by constant acts of pillage. In the 17th century their authority was partly restored by Galdan, a Lama, who succeeded by the usual combination of wile and violence to the throne of his brother Senghē. ”

“ The appointment of Ogdai as his successor being contrary to the usual Mongol custom Ogdai Khan.of primogeniture, gave rise to some bitterness of feeling among the followers of Jagatai. But the commands of Jenghiz Khan subdued these murmurs, and Ogdai was finally led to the throne by his dispossessed brother amid the plaudits of the assembled Mongols. In accordance with Mongol customs, Ogdai signalized his accession to the throne by distributing among his grandees presents from his father’s treasures, and to his father’s spirit he sacrificed forty maidens and numerous horses. ”

“ After a short reign he died, and his throne was occupied by his son Ubasha. The position of the Torgod at this time, hemmed in as they were between the Russians and Turks, was rapidly becoming unbearable, and the question of migrating “bag and baggage” was very generally mooted. In the war between his two powerful neighbours in 1769 and 1770, Ubasha gave valuable assistance to the Russians. His troops took part in the siege of Ochakov, and gained a decided victory on the river Kalaus. ”

“ More merciful than Toktamish, he transported the inhabitants to Samarkand, but in order to mark his anger against the rebellious Wars with Timur.city he levelled it with the ground and sowed barley on the site where it had stood. On the banks of the Oxus he encountered his enemy, and after a bloody battle completely routed the Kipchaks, who fled in confusion. A lull followed this victory, but in 1390 Timur again took the field. To each man was given “a bow, with thirty arrows, a quiver, and a buckler. ”

“ These, last, however, instead of being filled with skins of the liquor which Mongolians love so well, contained armed men, who, when the Tatar was feasted, rushed from their concealment and killed him. A grandson of Merghus was the celebrated Wang Khan, who was sometimes the ally and sometimes the enemy of Jenghiz Khan, and has also been identified as the Prester John of early western writers. ”

“ These Transbaikalian Buriats came to these parts only towards the end of the 17th century from the Kalkas. While Mongols and Kalmucks generally continue to live after the usual fashion of nomads, we find here agricultural pursuits, most likely, however, due mainly to Russian influence. Christianity is also making its way. ”