Galdan, and in 1697 by his grandson, Tsevan Rabdan,
the latter of whom was recognized by both China
and Russia. He subdued many petty princes from
the Altai to the Balkhash, and exacted tribute from
Eastern Turkistan, as well as Samarkand, Bokhara,
and even Balkh. He married the daughter of Ayuka,
Khan of the Torgouts, a branch of the Oirats living
along the Irtish, but fell out with him, and compelled
the Torgouts to move westwards to the lower regions
of the Volga, where they were known as Kalmuks.
and whence they returned, on the invitation of the
Chinese, in 1771. Tsevan Rabdan also conquered
another branch of the Oirat in Tangut, attacked Tibet,
and even opposed the Lama.* He was likewise successful
in a war with China, and left his son, Galdan
Tsyran, to pursue, from 1727 to 1745, a similar career
of war and bloodshed. The power of Galdan’s sons
was overthrown by two tribal leaders, named Davatsi
and Amursana, whose quarrel with each other led to
Amursana being beaten and driven to Pekin, whence
with Chinese help he returned, and overthrew his opponent
to become ruler of Sungaria, in 1755.
Such were the Kalmuks. whose incursions against
the Russians began about the time of the fall of Kuchum
Khan, whose people they assisted. The Kalmuks
claimed that the Turkish tribes about Tara had been
their subjects from time immemorial, from whom
accordingly they had the right to collect tribute.
When they appeared to assert this claim in 1606, the
Russians beat them, but failed to drive them entirely
aw a y ; after which the Kalmuks laid claim to the salt
mines in the neighbourhood of Tara. Finding, how*
On these transactions in detail see Howorth’ s ‘ ‘ History of the
Mongols,” i., pp. 614— 646.
ever, their policy to be unwise, they feigned submission
to the Russians, till having been worsted in a contest
with Altan Khan of the Mongols, several of them in
1621 came wandering along the banks of the Irtish
and Obi, and in 1634 ravaged the neighbourhood of
Tara, and besieged the town. They were again repulsed
; and in 1638 they promised not to molest the
Russians further.
These transactions and struggles on the frontier
were no doubt carried on by small detached tribes,
largely on their own account ; but, meanwhile, the
Russians had determined to penetrate into the enemy’s
country. For the defence of the Barabinski Tatars,
who had become subjects of the Tsar, from the hostile
irruptions of the Kalmuks, as well as the plunderings
of the Kirghese, the Russian Government determined
at the beginning of the seventeenth century to occupy
the Upper Irtish, and to build along it a line of forts,
added to which a less justifiable motive urged the
invaders towards Central A s ia ; for, in 1713, Prince
Gagarin, Governor of Siberia, reported to the Great
Peter, who had now ascended the throne, the possibility
not only of constructing a line of forts along the
Irtish, but of continuing it through Sungaria as far as
Yarkand, where gold was said to abound.
This excited both the cupidity and the aggressive
spirit of Peter the Great, who, in 1714, directed
Colonel Bukholts to take a detachment of 1,500
men to Yamyshef lake, there to build a fortress and
occupy it until the spring, and thence to proceed—
building redoubts for dépôts and communications as
he went— to the Irk et, whence was supposed to be
brought the gold. Bukholts built a fortress at Lake
Yamyshef, in 1715, from which, however, he was