How do the Kalmyks differ from the Dzungars, Oirats, and Torguts?
And how do the Kalmyks differ from their relatives, the Torguts, Dzungars, and Oirats? Some would say that they are one people with different names, and they would be right. But…
Nevertheless, I will try to distinguish between these concepts. To do so, we must delve into ancient times and understand the geopolitics of such distant times.
The beginning of the 17th century. The Ming Empire. Dzungaria.
Great China was in deep crisis and was unable to control events taking place far beyond its borders. Meanwhile, two powerful empires emerged in the world that could challenge the immutability of the Celestial Empire. These were the Mughal Empire and the Ottoman Caliphate. And then there was the Safavid Empire, lost between them. In addition to these global players, there was the Great Steppe with countless warriors ready to support any new ruler capable of conquering their hearts and the whole world.
It can be said that the Islamic world was almost like that in those years.
China’s policy of isolation (Ming) over a century and a half led to this kind of balance of power. If a personality like Genghis Khan had appeared at that time, the global crescent would have covered the entire Earth. (The map is not entirely accurate, but it reflects the realities of the 17th century). But…
the influence of the Mongols extended far beyond the borders of states and religions.
The Islamic world was dominant only within the Indian Ocean and was divided into many parts. The Ottomans and the Maghreb, the Safavids and the Mughals. And many other lands.
But let’s return to the main topic of the article. Who are the Kalmyks?
The bearers of the ancient culture of cuneiform writing were able to transmit information in wartime using coded signals. This method of transmitting information allowed them to coordinate the actions of troops across vast territories with minimal time expenditure.
This is not an entirely accurate map of the Kalmyk lands. The lands controlled by the Kalmyks were much larger.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the Ottoman Empire posed a threat to absorb the entire Islamic world. But the Kalmyks, having created their own state in the northern Caspian region, established their power in the region from the Danube to China and did not allow the Ottomans to absorb the Safavid state and the Habsburg Empire. Otherwise, all the lands of the Danube, Don, Volga, and modern Kazakhstan would have fallen under the rule of Turkey. And then Iran would have capitulated to the power of the Ottomans. Or, conversely, the Mughal Empire would have expanded.
The ethnonym Kalmyk comes from the German word Halm, meaning “stalk,” and Halmik, meaning “central stalk.” The Kalmyks provided only a few hundred horsemen who decided the outcome of battles involving thousands of troops. The name came from the Austrians. It should be remembered that Russia was once part of the German states and was openly ruled by their aristocracy. Well, the Russian coat of arms is still Dzungarian.
I couldn’t find Dzungarian, but Seljuk would also work.