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. In war he was almost invariably unfortunate,
and it was with no great difficulty, therefore, that his brother
Ki Wang detached the greater part of the Kerait tribes from
his banner, and founded the Torgod chieftainship,
The Torgod.
named probably from the country where they settled
themselves. The unrest peculiar to the dwellers in the Mongolian
desert disturbed the Torgod as much as their neighbours. Their
history for several centuries consists of nothing but a succession
of wars with the tribes on either side of them, and it was not
until 1672, when Ayuka Khan opened relations with the Russians,
that the country obtained an even temporarily settled existence.
Its position, indeed, at this time made it necessary that Ayuka
should ally himself either with the Russians or with his southern
neighbours the Turks, though at the same time it was obvious
that his alliance with the one would bring him into collision with
the other. His northern neighbours, the Cossacks of the Yaik
and the Bashkirs, both subject to Russia, had the not uncommon
propensity for invading his borders and harassing
his subjects. This gave rise to complaints of the tsar’s government
and a disposition to open friendly relations with the Krim
khan. A rupture with Russia followed, and Ayuka carried
his arms as far as Kazan, burning and laying waste the villages
and towns on his route and carrying off prisoners and spoils.
Satisfied with this vengeance, he advanced no farther, but made
a peace with the Russians, which was confirmed in 1722 at an
audience which Peter the Great gave him at Astrakhan. On
Ayuka’s death shortly after this event, he was succeeded by
his son Cheren Donduk, who received from the Dalai Lama a
patent to the throne. But this spiritual support availed him
little against the plots of his nephew Donduk Ombo, who so
completely gained the suffrages of the people that Cheren Donduk
fled before him to St Petersburg, where he died, leaving his
nephew in possession. With consummate impartiality the
Russians, when they found that Donduk Ombo had not only
seized the throne but was governing the country with vigour
and wisdom, formally invested him with the khanate. At his
death he was succeeded by Donduk Taishi, who, we are told,
went to Moscow to attend the coronation of the empress Elizabeth,
and to swear fealty to the Russians. 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. Flushed
with these successes, he was in no mood to listen patiently
to the taunts of the governor of Astrakhan, who likened him
to a “bear fastened to a chain,” and he made up his mind to
break away once and for all from a tutelage which was as galling
as it was oppressive. He determined, therefore, to migrate
eastward with his people, and on the 5th of January 1771 he
began his march with 70,000 families. 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. By this desperate venture the Torgod escaped,
it is true, the oppression of the Russians, but they fell into
the hands of other masters, who, if not so exacting, were equally
determined to be supreme. 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. Death carried him off in 1444, and his throne devolved upon The Kalmuck. his son Ye-seen, who was no degenerate offspring. Being without individual foes in Mongolia he turned his arms against China, which through all history has been the happy hunting-ground of the northern tribes, and had the unexampled good fortune to take prisoner the Chinese emperor Chēng-t’ung. But victory did not always decide in his favour, and after having suffered reverses at the hands of the Chinese, he deemed it wise to open negotiations for the restoration of his imperial prisoner. Thus, after a captivity of seven years Chēng-t’ung re-entered his capital in 1457, not altogether to the general satisfaction of his subjects. 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. Having been partly educated at Lhasa, he was well versed in Asiatic politics, Galdan Khan. and, taking advantage of a quarrel between the Black and White Mountaineers of Kashgar he overran Little Bokhara, and left a viceroy to rule over the province with his capital at Yarkand. At the same time he opened relations with China, and exchanged presents with the emperor. Having thus secured his powerful southern neighbour, as he thought, he turned his arms against the Kalkas, whose chief ground of offence was their attachment to the cause of his brothers. But his restless ambition created alarm at Peking, and the emperor K’ang-hi determined to protect the Kalkas against their enemy. The emperor, in person commanding one of the two forces, marched into Mongolia. After enduring incredible hardships during the march through the desert of Gobi the imperial army encountered the Kalmucks at Chao-modo. The engagement was fiercely contested, but ended in the complete victory of the Chinese, who pursued the Kalmucks for ten miles, and completely dispersed their forces. Galdan, with his son, daughter and a few followers, fled westward and escaped; and thus collapsed a power which had threatened at one time to overshadow the whole of Central Asia. For a time Galdan still maintained resistance to his powerful enemy, but death overtook him while yet in the field against the Chinese.
But though Galdan was dead the Chinese did not enjoy that complete immunity from war at the hand of his successor that they had looked for. Tsi-wang Arabtan was, however, but the shadow of his brother and predecessor, and a dispute which arose with the Russians during his reign weakened his power in other directions. Little Bokhara was said to be rich in gold mines, and therefore became a coveted region in the eyes of the Russians. Under the vigorous administration of Peter the Great an expedition was despatched to force a passage into the desired province. To oppose this invasion the Kalmucks assembled in force, and after a protracted and undecided engagement the Russians were glad to agree to retire down the Irtish and to give up all further advance.
To Tsi-wang Arabtan succeeded Amursama owing to the support he received from the Chinese emperor K’ien-lung, who nominated him khan of the Kalmucks and chief of Dzungaria. But, though to the ear these titles were as high-sounding as those of his predecessors, in reality the power they represented was curtailed by the presence of Chinese commissioners, in whose hands rested the real authority. The galling weight of this state of dependence drove Amursama before long into revolt. He dispersed the Chinese garrisons stationed in Ili (Kulja), killed the generals, and advanced his own forces as far as Palikun on the river Ili. To punish this revolt, K’ien-lung sent a large force into the rebellious province. As on the previous occasion. the
