At the beginning of the 17th century, the Manchus set out to conquer eastern Mongolia, a prospect that the Mongols themselves viewed in different ways: some resigned themselves to fate, believing that nothing more depended on them; others, well greased with Manchu gold beforehand, joyfully welcomed the conquerors, but there were also those among the Mongols who decided to fight to the end no matter what, led by the ruler of northeastern Mongolia, Sholoy-Setsen Khan, who, together with his wife Anu-Khatun, left a significant mark on Mongolian history.
Sholoy-Setsen Khan and Anu-Khatun.
Initially, Sholoy-Setsen Khan was just one of the northern Khalkha princes, vassal to the ruler of the Chahar Khanate, Ligden Khan, seeing him as the only legitimate ruler of Mongolia and the only one who could organize resistance to the conquerors. However, his vacillations toward the Manchus and Chinese caused him to become disillusioned with his suzerain and to save his own lands from the Manchus on his own. In 1624, Sholoy-Setsen Khan migrated to his lands and proclaimed himself the Great Khan of Mongolia. In the struggle for its reunification, he formed an alliance with the Uryankhai (Tuvans).
Ligden Khan (1588/92-1634).
Tuvan warriors.
Taking on the burden of opposing the Manchus and uniting Mongolia, Sholoy-Setsen Khan achieved significant success in this almost hopeless endeavor, managing to turn his clan’s aimak into a powerful independent state which was able to give a harsh rebuff to the Manchus and restore its control over the steppes of Eastern Transbaikalia. The Manchu military campaign against Sholoy-Setsen Khan’s state proved to be the most costly for them, both in terms of human losses and in terms of the money spent on it, which ultimately enabled them to win over a number of Mongolian and Buryat princes who were tormenting their native country no less than the foreign conquerors. Constantly repelling the Manchu onslaught from the south, Sholoy-Setsen Khan was unable to devote sufficient attention to his northern lands, where real anarchy had begun. He solved the problem in an original way, marrying his beloved daughter Sholon to the Khorein zaisan Turukhtai-Tabun, giving her the Transbaikal steppes as a dowry, which her husband would lease to Russian land surveyors, choosing them as an alternative to Manchu conquest.
Turuhtay-Tabun and Sholon.
The son-in-law’s actions took Sholoy-Setsen Khan by surprise, but nevertheless, he appreciated his wisdom and began negotiations for an alliance with the Russians. In the midst of these negotiations, in 1655, he died under strange circumstances, leaving his son, Babu-Setsen Khan, a strong, unified khanate.