Zunghars in Southern Russia in the Late 17th Сentury

Abstract

The article is devoted to the migration of a part of Zunghars (Dzungar people) from Central Asia to the borders of South Russia in the late 17 century, which still remains insufficiently explored in the historiography. The further fate of this group of Kalmyks requires more serious and detailed studies. It is known that the Dzungarian ulus of Danzin Tyuri who moved from Ayuka for some reason and joined Tsagan-Batur, was soon divided between two brothers Tsagan-Batur and Baakhan-Manzhi. Baakhan together with the part of his men settled at Taganrog, where he happened to have a personal meeting with the Russian Tsar Peter I. After that meeting, he together with his ulus people took the decision to baptize under the name of Moisey Alekseev. The other part of Zunghars settled among the Don Cossacks, where they subsequently founded the village - Zuyngarskaya. The fate of the taisha Tsagan-Batur is, unfortunately, not yet known, but the research in this section is still ongoing. Thus, on the basis of newly received archival information we can present one of the least known chapters in the history of the Oirats of the 17 century. Besides, the circumstances and the exact time of the first appearance of Zunghars on the banks of the Volga and the Don as well as written evidence of the main participants of those events are now known. In the future, we are going to have a more thorough study of the archival material that could shed light on the fate of this group of Kalmyks. Of great interest for us are also the letters, written by Dzungar taishas.

Keywords

• zunghars
• kalmyks
• 17 century
• ayuka khan
• southern russia
• don cossacks
• azov
• xvii век