Altan Khan

Altan Khan

Altan Khan (ᠠᠯᠲᠠᠨ
ᠬᠠ, Altan qaγan ; Andaᠠᠨᠳ, * 1507 ; † 1582 ), son of Bars Bolod and grandson of Batu-Möngke Dayan Khan , was an important Mongolian prince of the Northern Yuan .

Regency

Altan Khan was originally only a partial ruler in the Right Wing (that is, in the east), and sat north of Shanxi in what is now Inner Mongolia . Depending on the representation, the Tümed people or the Ordos were subordinate to him . The personal ulus (territory with people) of his older brother Gün-bilig (* 1505; † 1552/3) formed the Ordos, in addition Gün-bilig was also the supreme leader of the right wing as "Jinong" and there a kind of viceroy. The brothers inherited this position from their father Bars Bolod (* 1484; † 1531/2), the third son of Batu-Möngke Dayan Khan . They had also inherited the rivalry with the actual ruler (titled as " Khagan ", who headed the "Left Wing" in the west and was always a descendant of Dayan Khan's eldest son Toru Bolod (* 1482; † 1523)).

When the Chagan Bolod Alag (* 1503; † 1547) died, Altan was named "Protector of the Khan Empire" and thus, so to speak, the regent. The new official "Chagan" Darayisun (* 1520, r. 1547 / 8-1557, also: Kudang) preferred to withdraw the Chakhar eastward over the Khingan to the Liao River with his personal followers , which is what the true balance of power in Mongolia revealed (1547). Finally, both princes reached an agreement that allowed Altan Khan to take action against the dangerous, also Mongolian Oirats , who had once again established themselves north in the Karakoram area . Altan Khan expelled the Oirats in 1552 and transferred the land to the Khalkha , specifically the descendants of Dayan Khan's eleventh son Geresenje (* 1489; † 1549). In the 1960s there were more isolated battles against the Oirats, who were slowly pushed into the jungle .

Darayisun's son and successor Tumen Zasagt Khan (r. 1557–1592) remained an opponent of Altan Khan. Tumen Zasagt Khan expanded his power in the east (including against the Jurchen ) and also refused to pay tribute to Ming China.

Foreign policy towards Ming China

Altan Khan threatened Ming China several times since 1541 , for example, he appeared in front of Beijing in 1550 . In 1571 he made peace in exchange for trade rights and a prince title ("The obedient and righteous prince"). During the campaigns he was actively supported by his great-nephew of the Ordos, Khutugtai Secen (* 1540; † 1586). The successful wars against Ming China, however, were not based on any intentions to conquer, but only on trade rights, which one usually got with the "permission" to " pay tribute ". The nomads, with their specialized livestock farming, were dependent on trade for the procurement of additional food (grain, rice, beans) and missing goods (e.g. iron), especially in spring or after a five-month drought. But the Ming emperor Jiajing (ruled 1521–1567) refused any contact with the “barbarians” and Altan Khan's ambassadors were turned away or even executed with consistent regularity. The nomads were repeatedly threatened with starvation; the only alternative was the raid in northern China. Altan Khan was lucky at this point, because the Ming's military system was in great need of reform at the time and the government relied on the Great Wall , which was simply bypassed. After Altan's army appeared in front of Beijing, the emperor briefly allowed trade with the Mongols (1551–1552). But it was not until 1571 that Altan Khan's Mongols got their tribute payment and trade rights (Chancellor Zhang Juzheng ) and peace reigned. In 1572 Altan Khan took to the field against the Kazakhs and the Kyrgyz .

Furthermore, the Portuguese Fernando Mendez Pinto (* approx. 1510; † 1583) tells a somewhat exaggerated story of a campaign by the Khan against the Ming. Pinto was then a prisoner in China.

Domestic politics

Altan Khan promoted a semi-sedentary lifestyle, the income from which constituted a significant part of his income and was indispensable in the face of repeated famine. His base camp was Hohhot , now the capital of Inner Mongolia, which was then expanded by Chinese workers into a city with Chinese-style buildings and a walled palace. Altan was by no means hostile to Chinese culture. B. show some inscriptions on the palace.

The aged Khan re-established the old ties to the lamas , promoted Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia (1576/78) and expanded Mongolia's influence back to Tibet. His great-nephew of the Ordos, Khutugtai Secen (* 1540; † 1586) is said to have moved him to take this step, who introduced him to the fact that “doctrine and rules” are necessary for this and future life. As a suitable spiritual teacher (and ally) one identified bSod-nams rgya-mcho (* 1543; † 1588) of the yellow hats , who was invited to the Kokonor and honored with the title Dalai Lama , which is still worn today (1578). ( "You have to renounce evil and follow the path of good prescribed by the Buddha. Murder, pillage, and women robbing other tribes have to stop; on the contrary, you should learn to respect the life, property and rights of everyone." ) Altan Khan then had the Chakhar code published, which granted protection and privileges to Buddhists. With the renewal of the old alliance (from the days of Kubilai and Phagspas ), Tibetan Buddhism prevailed in Mongolia, literature and ceremonies were also taken over with religion, and the monasteries soon became important economic factors. Khan relative arbor at the Chalcha , Abdai Khan († 1588 grandchildren Geresenjes) did both according to established and 1585/6 the convent Erdene Zuu Monastery the south of the decaying Karakorum .

Altan Khan's successor was his eldest son Sengge Düüreng (d. 1586), and after that the power of his clan faded at the latest .

Altan Khan's great-grandson, Yönten Gyatsho , became the fourth Dalai Lama .

literature

• Roland Barraux: The History of the Dalai Lamas , Frechen 2000
• Rene Grousset: The steppe peoples , Essen 1975
• Karénina Kollmar-Paulenz: Erdeni tunumal neretü sudur. The biography of the Altan qaγan of the Tümed Mongols. Harrassowitz-Verlag, Wiesbaden 2001, ISBN 3-447-04352-0 .
• Julia Lovell : The Great Wall , Stuttgart 2007
• Denis Twitchett & Frederick W. Mote: The Cambridge History of China Vol. 7 - The Ming Dynasty 1368-1644 Part 1. Cambridge University Press, 1988, ISBN 0-521-24332-7
• Michael Weiers (ed.): The Mongols: Contributions to their history , Darmstadt 1986
• Michael Weiers: History of the Mongols, Stuttgart 2004
• Genghis Khan and his heirs. The Mongol Empire. Exhibition catalog Bonn / Munich (Munich 2005)

Web links

• Literature by and about Altan Khan in the catalog of the German National Library