The Kazakh–Dzungar Wars were a series of military conflicts between the Kazakh jüzes (three tribal confederations of the Kazakh Khanate) and the Dzungar Khanate lasting from the 17th to the mid-18th century. The conflict between the Kazakhs and the Oirats (Soon the Dzungars) started from the first half of the 16th-century, all the way down to the later half of the 18th-century. Both nations later fought against the Qing dynasty, particularly in the First Sino–Kazakh War of the Ten Great Campaigns.
Background
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the Inner Asian nomadic peoples incorporated into the Mongol Empire gradually coalesced into various uluses under the rule of Chinggisid dynasties, such as the Ulus of Chagatai (Moghuls and Timurids), the Ulus of Jochi (Uzbeks, Kazakhs, and Tatars), and the Mongols of the Northern Yuan (Modern Khalkha Mongols). The Oirats, however, were a notable exception. They formed an independent political community and a major non-Chinggisid ulus, Dörben Oirat.
The Formation of the Dzungar Khanate
In the mid-1630s, the Oirats, who had been migrating across the vast expanses of Southern and Western Siberia, started to unite under the leadership of Kharkhul from the Choros clan. This group among the Oirat tribes was called "Zün hār" (left wing, or more accurately, the left arm) — the Dzungars. In 1634, after the death of Kharkhul, his son Erdeni took over the leadership of the union. In 1638, the Dalai Lama granted him the title Baghatur Khong Tayiji. The year 1635 is considered the first year the new and powerful state of Mongol-speaking nomads, the Dzungar Khanate, appeared on the ethno-political map of Central Asia. It was considered as the "last great nomadic empire in Central Asia," by Russian historian, Vasily Bartold.
The internal fragmentation of the Kazakh Khanate in the late 16th and early 17th centuries weakened its position and contributed to the rise of a new regional power—the Dzungar Khanate, established in the early 17th century. The first phase of clashes between the Kazakhs and the Dzungars began in 1635, shortly after the formation of the Dzungar state.
Notes
Overview
Kazakh–Dzungar War (1635–1636)
In the spring of 1635, Jangir Sultan, in alliance with a Dörbet-Khoshut group led by Khundelen Taisha, launched a preemptive campaign against the Torghut leader Kho Orluk. This offensive effectively pushed the Torghuts west of the Yaik and Emba rivers. However, the Dzungars launched a swift counter-invasion later that year. Led by Batur Khongtayiji and defecting Oirat chiefs, the Dzungar forces engaged the Kazakhs in a massive battle during the winter of 1635. Although the Kazakhs initially held their ground, they were eventually defeated; many were killed, and Jangir Sultan was captured alive. During this campaign, Dzungar forces also pushed nomadic Naimans from the Ulytau region toward the northwest. The war continued into 1636 with further Dzungar offensives targeting the groups of Janybek Khan beyond the Irtysh River. Despite these setbacks, the Kazakhs launched successful counter-attacks in the following years, eventually securing the release of Jangir Sultan from captivity. This early war set the stage for decades of prolonged military confrontation, prompting Jangir Khan to strengthen defensive alliances with the Khanate of Kashgar, Khanate of Bukhara and Khanate of Khiva.
Kazakh–Dzungar War (1643–1647) He soon launched a second Dzungar campaign into Kazakh lands in 1640. This time it was also successful for the Dzungar feudal lords, capturing 16,000 Kazakh-Kyrgyz Tokmaks between the Issyk-Kul Lake and the Chu River.
According to Tursun Sultanov, Jangir's humiliating captivity made him an irreconcilable enemy of the Dzungars, and he devoted the rest of his life to fighting them. In this struggle, Jangir demonstrated personal bravery and military talent, and his name became famous. For his bravery and military successes, people nicknamed him “Salqam Jangir Khan”.
In 1643, an army led by Erdeni Batur invaded Jetisu. The Battle of Orbulaq took place in the Orbulaq River gorge on the Ili River. A detachment of 600 Kazakh warriors led by Jangir Khan held back a 50,000 Dzungar army in a narrow mountain pass for some time. After the Dzungars reached the plain, they engaged a 20,000-strong relief army brought by the Emir of Samarkand, Yalangto'sh Bakhodir. The Dzungar army was stopped, and Erdeni Batur turned back to Dzungaria. This failure led Erdeni to punish those who had not joined the campaign, causing internal unrest in the Dzungar Khanate. He also attempted to organize a joint campaign with the Volga Kalmyks against the Kazakhs, but failed.
In 1645–1646, Erdeni Batur launched a new campaign against the Kazakhs, inflicting heavy casualties and devastation on the Kazakh Khanate. Russian ambassador D. Arshinsky reported that before his arrival at the Dzungar headquarters in May 1646:
However, the Oirat-Kazakh War of the 1640s and 1650s ultimately brought victory to the Oirats. In the 1650s, the eastern part of Semirechye, as well as the territory between the upper reaches of the Irtysh and Lake Balkhash, was dependent on the Dzungar Khanate. The headquarters of the Khuntaiji was located on the upper reaches of the Irtysh. Thus, Erdeni Batur significantly expanded the borders of his state.
Jangir Khan fought the Dzungars with varying success and fought three major battles with Dzungar troops in 1635, 1643, and 1652, but he was killed in the last battle. According to the Oirat chronicle “Moonlight: The History of Rabjam Zaya-Pandita”, he was killed by the 17-year-old Khoshut tayiji Galdamba, which is also supported by Altangerel's biography of Galdamba. He later defeated a Bukharan relief force on the Chu and Talas River, killing Abushukher Noyan in 1658. The border was consolidated from the Ayagöz River to the Talas River. During the war, Onchon Taisha contracted smallpox and was captured by the Kazakhs.
After the death of Erdeni Batur, a succession war began in the Dzungar Khanate, which Sengge won. Sengge made friendly relations with the Kazakhs. However, after Sengge was killed in a coup by Zotov Batur and Chechen tayiji, Tauke Khan led an 80,000-strong army against the Dzungar Khanate. He gained fame as a military expert and a brave man in battle, and for this he was awarded the honorary title of “batyr” (“hero; brave man”) by his subjects. He took Jetisu while taking advantage of the succession war.
Galdan Boshugtu Khan's expeditions into Jetisu & Syr-Darya (1681-1684) In 1681, Galdan Boshughtu Khan started his campaign on Jetisu and Southern Kazakhstan. Eventually, Galdan arrived to the city of Sayram. He attempted to siege the city of Sayram in 1681, but he failed and later attempted another siege of Sayram in 1683, which failed again. However, he was able to capture two Kazakh sultans as POW (Prisoner of War). In 1684, Galdan's general, Tsewang Rabtan had successfully took the city of Sayram and Galdan had appointed a minister and a military garrison for the city. However, the civilians of Sayram soon revolted and destroyed the Dzungar garrison. Which led to Galdan's return and his recapture of the city, which was reported as a plunder. Galdan later continued his advance to the city of Tashkent. According to Russian ambassadorial reports, Galdan Boshugtu's forces captured 9 cities in the Syr Darya region that had previously recognized the authority of Tauke Khan. Dzungar troops captured cities included Sayram, Mankent, Kharasman, Shymkent (Chimget), Tekek, Baban Yilgan, Kharamurol, and Chinak. The Dzungars bypassed Yasi (Turkestan), as Tauke Khan was stationed there with his main forces. Meanwhile, the residents of Tashkent surrendered and voluntarily recognized the authority of the Oirat khan. The nomads of Desht-i-Kipchak put up fierce resistance, but in the decisive battles, Tauke Khan’s levies were routed, and the Kazakh ruler’s son was taken prisoner and sent to Lhasa as a hostage.Бобров Л. А., Борисенко А. Ю., Худяков Ю. С. Взаимодействие тюркских и монгольских народов с русскими в Позднее Средневековье. Новосибирск: Новосибирский университет, 2010. — С. 158. — 288 с.
Historian Vladimir Moiseev suggests that sending Tauke's son to the Dalai Lama demonstrated Galdan's political intention to spread Lamaism among the Kazakh nobility. Galdan Boshugtu Khan also led wars against the Kyrgyz people and the people residing on the Fergana Valley, as he led campaigns against them from 1682 to 1685. The conflict also led to the subjugation of the Baraba Tatars and imposed yasak on them. Converting the Baraba Tatars to Orthodox Christianity and becoming Russian subjects to find an excuse not to pay their tribute to the Dzungars. This also led to the uncontested Dzungar rule over the region of Jetisu.
Tauke Khan's raids against Galdan Boshugtu Khan (1686–1689)
According to Russian ambassadors, in 1687, Tauke Khan received a 10,000-strong army from Subhan Quli Khan of Bukhara, with which he set out on a campaign against the Dzungars of Galdan Boshugtu Khan. The campaign was successful for them, and according to Krasnoyarsk governor I.V. Bashkovskyrom, the Kazakhs expelled Boshugdo Khan from their lands.
Taking advantage of the mobilization of the main forces of the Dzungars to Kalkha in 1688, the Kazakhs attacked the Oirat nomads. The Kyrgyz also fought on the side of the Oirats in the battles with the Kazakhs, and many Kyrgyz nobles were killed in these battles. Military operations in 1688 proved successful, as the bulk of the Dzungar forces was diverted by the war with the Eastern Mongols. Tauke Khan managed to inflict a series of defeats on the enemy and recapture Tashkent, which had previously been seized by the Dzungars By the end of the year, the voivode of Krasnoyarsk reported that, according to his information, "...the Kazakh Horde drove the Kalmyk Taisha Boshugtu Khan off his lands..." Notably, Galdan's own nephew, Chokur, fought against him as part of the Kazakh forces. After his father was killed by Galdan, Chokur found refuge with Tauke Khan, who likely planned to install him as the ruler of the Dzungar Khanate, though this plan ultimately failed.
In 1689, a coalition of the Kazakh Khanate under Tauke Khan, Ochiroi Khan, and Zanbazar Lama launched a major offensive into the Dzungar rear while Galdan Boshugtu Khan was campaigning in the east. The alliance devastated Galdan's western territories, devastated many of his uluses, and took many people captive . Russian reports noted that Galdan's whereabouts and remaining forces became completely unknown, effectively rendering him missing in action in the region. In the same year, the Kazakhs destroyed the Boshugdokhan-kid temple near Zaisan, and after that, this flourishing temple ceased to exist.
This invasion forced Galdan to face a multi-front war, significantly weakening his position during his conflict with the Qing dynasty. At the time, Galdan's whereabouts were unknown to Russian officials, leading to reports that he had been effectively displaced from his primary territories. This contributed to the First Dzungar–Qing War. Galdan was defeated and died in 1697. His death marked a new stage in relations between the Dzungars and the Kazakhs.
Kazakh–Dzungar War (1698–1703) At the beginning of the 18th century, a struggle broke out between Kazakh associations and the troops of the Dzungar khan, Tsewang Rabtan, for control over the oases and trade and craft centers of southern Kazakhstan. In 1698, a 40,000-strong Dzungar army defeated the Kazakh uluses of the Senior jüz, who roamed the Chu and Talas rivers. Several thousand people were killed and 10,000 prisoners were taken.