The Zungharian polity was, according to Atwood,
[1]
"the last great independent power of the steppe". The tribal name "Zunghar" first appeared in the seventeenth century, as part of the Oirat confederation of steppe tribes; their rise to dominance within the confederation began under the leadership of Khara-Khula (d. 1634), but it was only in the 1670s, under Galdan, that they officially became the confederacy’s leading tribe, and recognised as such even by the Dail Lama, who gave Galdan the title of Boshogtu Khan.
[1]
At its height, the Zungharian polity included portions of Central Asia, Kazakhstan, western Mongolia, neighbouring areas of southern Siberia, and Xinjiang.
[2]
In 1755, the Qing empire was able to annex the Zungharians following a relatively quick and bloodless military campaign; because the Zungharians had successfully repelled the Chinese army several times before, the cause for this sudden collapse can most likely be found in the conflict between the successors of the last great Zugharian ruler, Galdan-Tseren (d. 1735).
[3]
Population and political organization
The Zungharian ruler, known as Khung-Taiji, benefited from the support of an office (yamu) or court (zarghu) composed of four chief officials, known as ministers (tüshimed), judges (zarghuchis), or grand councillors (zaisangs). Galdan-Tseren, the only Zungharian ruler to also be known by the title of Khan, added six additional councillors. Each of the tribes that made up the Zungharian-led confederacy (previously known as the Oirat confederacy) and its own ruler who was himself supported by his own councillors, as well as minor functionaries such as standard-bearers and trumpeters. Finally, each tribe was itself subdivided into otogs, which were themselves subdivided into smaller units (of 40 and then 20 households) governed by local commoner officials.
[4]
Sources say that the Zungharian polity included "200,000 households";
[4]
with a conservative estimate of 3-8 people per household, the population would therefore have been in the range of 600,000-1,600,000 people.
[1]: (Atwood 2004, 622)
[2]: (Rogers 2012, 236)
[3]: (Atwood 2004, 623-624)
[4]: (Atwood 2004, 421)
| Year Range | Zungharian Empire (mn_zungharian_emp) was in: |
|---|---|
| (1695 CE 1745 CE) | Orkhon Valley |
"Galdan had been subjugating Mongol tribes since the 1670s, taking control of all of eastern Turkestan by 1679."
[1]
"In sum, competition with the Qing state drove the Zunghars to undertake significant steps toward “self-strengthening.” Like many earlier nomadic empires, they established cities, developed agriculture, fostered trade, and generated tax revenues, but the primary motivation was not “as- similation” to settled societies’ customs but mobilization of resources for defense. Internal upheaval after the death of Galdan Tseren in 1745, however, curtailed these investments."
[2]
[1]: (Lorge 2005, 161)
[2]: (Perdue 2005, 307)
1635? “In 1635, the year following Ligdan Khan’s death, the Oirat prince Ba’atur Khongtaiji (1634-53) of the Choros clan united all four Oirat tribes and founded the Dzungar (Junghar) khanate, with himself as its leader (see Chapter 6 above). In1640, at his instigation, an assembly was convened of Oirat, Khalkha, Koko Nor and Kalmuk rulers and representatives of the high clergy, at which the Oirat Mongol Legal Code was drafted and enacted, under which all were urged to consolidate their own internal position and to pool their efforts in order to resist the Manchus. However, fragmented as they were, the Mongols found these measures extremely difficult to carry out in practice.
[1]
location of Kerulen river EXTERNAL_INLINE_LINK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kherlen_River
[1]: ( Ishjamts 2003, 219-220)
"By 1690 three different Oirat confederations, or states, had emerged. In Tibet the Khoshuds, with some Khoids and Torghuds, formed the khanate of Tibet under the descendants of Güüshi Khan (see UPPER MONGOLS). Strad- dling the Volga, the Torghuds, with some Dörböds and Khoshuds, formed the Kalmyk Khanate under Khoo-Örlög’s descendants. The Kalmyks numbered at their height 40,000-50,000 households. In the Oirat homeland of Zungharia, the ZÜNGHARS, an offshoot of the Dörböd also ruled by the Choros, displaced the Khoshud in 1676. The Zünghar principality included the Zünghars, Dör- böds, Khoshuds, and Khoids (with some attached Torghuds) and is said to have numbered 200,000 house- holds. From this time until 1771 the Oirats remained powerful players in Inner Asian politics." [1]
[1]: (Atwood 2004, 421)
“In 1688, on the pretext of supporting the Khalkha right wing, Galdan marched eastward, leading 30,000 Oirat troops over the Khangai into the Khalkha pastures. The Khalkha left-wing army commanded by Tüshiyetü Khan fought valiantly for three days but was routed. The khan and his younger brother, the first Jebzundamba Khutughtu, followed by hundreds of thousands of the Khalkha multitude, fled in panic across the Gobi into present-day Inner Mongolia to seek protection under the Manchu ( Qing) emperor Kang Xi." [1]
[1]: (Miyawaki et al 2003, 149)
“In 1688, on the pretext of supporting the Khalkha right wing, Galdan marched eastward, leading 30,000 Oirat troops over the Khangai into the Khalkha pastures. The Khalkha left-wing army commanded by Tüshiyetü Khan fought valiantly for three days but was routed. The khan and his younger brother, the first Jebzundamba Khutughtu, followed by hundreds of thousands of the Khalkha multitude, fled in panic across the Gobi into present-day Inner Mongolia to seek protection under the Manchu ( Qing) emperor Kang Xi." [1]
[1]: (Miyawaki et al 2003, 149)
"Atwood (2006, p. 209) describes the Zunghar political structure as ‘‘a confederated pattern of several ruling lineages competing for domination, and linked by marriage alliance.’’ Such a system contrasts sharply with the single-lineage type of power structure found in the earlier Mongol empire." [1]
[1]: (Rogers 2012, 236)
in squared kilometers. "At its height it encompassed a region that included portions of Central Asia, Kazakhstan, western Mongolia and surrounding areas of southern Siberia, and Xinjiang."
[1]
"The Zunghar Mongols were based in the grasslands of the Yili River region of northern Xinjiang, in the remote northwest of what is now China."
[2]
1928421.84 sq km based on Perdue’s map at the end of the 17th century, estimated using Google area calculator.
[3]
This would give us a range of 170,000-210,000 sq kilometers.
[1]: (Rogers 2012, 236)
[2]: (Holcombe 2010, 168)
[3]: (Perdue 2005, 3)
People. "The Zünghar principality included the Zünghars, Dörböds, Khoshuds, and Khoids (with some attached Torghuds) and is said to have numbered 200,000 households. From this time until 1771 the Oirats remained powerful players in Inner Asian politics."
[1]
With an estimate of 3-8 people per household, the population would be in the range of 600,000-1,600,000 people. (AD’s guess)
[1]: (Atwood 2004, 421)
levels.
Perdue’s map
[1]
indicates the presence of regional capitals and towns; however these probably corresponded to the Chinese administration.Erdeni Batur had built a capital for the Zunghars at Kubak Zar near Tashkent but it fell into disuse after his death (before the start of our polity)
[2]
Zunghar farms are also mentioned
[3]
From this we can infer at least two levels, towns and villages/farms, even though this society was nomadic.
1. Towns
2. Villages/hamlets/farms
"In sum, competition with the Qing state drove the Zunghars to un- dertake significant steps toward “self-strengthening.” Like many earlier nomadic empires, they established cities, developed agriculture, fostered trade, and generated tax revenues, but the primary motivation was not “as- similation” to settled societies’ customs but mobilization of resources for defense."
[4]
"Those Oirats who stayed in Jungaria, led by the Choros under their khan Baatur-Khongtaiji (1634-53), consolidated their hold on the area, symbolizing this by stabilizing their headquarters in the form of a city which became the modern Chuguchak (Tacheng)."
[5]
[1]: (Perdue 2005, 3)
[2]: (Perdue 2005,106)
[3]: (Perdue 2005)
[4]: (Perdue 2005, 307)
[5]: (Soucek 2000, 170)
levels.
"A nobleman might donate up to 10,000 horses for a single religious service or requisition his subjects to become bandi (novices) or lay servants in the monasteries. The clergy and their “disciples” were protected from both violence and state duties. Novices who had married without taking the major vows were probably common although legally discouraged. The monasteries were mostly nomadic, although in 1638 a Zünghar ruler requested pigs from Russia to give to the monasteries. At its height the Kalmyk chief lama’s estate of shabinar (disciples, or serfs), for example, reached 3,000-4,000 households. Galdan-Tseren organized the entire clergy into nine jisai (Mongolian, jisiya), with 9,000 lamas and 10,600 households of shabinar. To improve the clergy, he requisitioned 500 pupils, each with two yurts, three servants, two horses, and 100 sheep to be trained by a respected Tibetan lama. One special otog, or camp district, named Altachin, “goldsmiths,” was dedicated to making Buddhist images."
[1]
1. Lamas, divided into 9 jisai.
2. Novices (bandi)
[1]: (Atwood 2004, 422)
levels. Might have paralleled the administrative level (AD inference).
1. Khan (Khung Taiji)
2. Appanages (ulus or anggi) controlled by a noyod or taiji noble. - Military chief?3. Otog (a camp district composed of several clans and usually with 3,000 to 6,000 households) governed by zaisang officials. Otog military chief?4. Groups of 40 households governed by demchi officials. military chief?5. Groups of 20 households governed by shülengge officials. military chief?6. Individual soldier
levels.
1. Khung-Taiji ruler, later known as Khan
2. 54 albachi zaisang (tax officials) administering 24 otogs
2. Nobles administering 21 anggis (six Choros, one Khoshud, two Torghud, eight Khoid, and (presumably) four Dörböd)
"While often called the “Zunghar Khanate,” the Zünghar ruler bore the title of khan only rarely. Instead, the Zünghar ruler bore the title of Khung-Taiji, a title derived from Chinese huang-taizi, “crown prince” and originally meaning viceroy or regent for the khan. The title of khan was taken later, if at all, and only by special grant from an outside power, such as the Dalai Lama. While Galdan held the title of khan, his nephew and successor Tse- wang-Rabtan was merely Khung-Taiji. GALDAN-TSEREN (r. 1727-45) is usually called khan, but it is unclear from whom he received the title."
[1]
"Galdan-Tseren reorganized the Zünghar principality, nominally numbering 200,000 households, into directly ruled otogs and appanages, or anggis. His directly subject households, nomadizing in the Ili valley, numbered 24 otogs administered by 54 albachi zaisang (tax officials), with a nominal strength of 87,300 households. These were his personal Choros subjects, captured Siberian and Mongolian peoples, and functional units such as the 4,000 Kötöchi-Nar (equerries), 1,000 Buuchin (musketeers), 5,000 Uruud (craftsmen), and 2,000 ZAKHACHINs (borderers). The appanages of the great nobles, which surrounded the Ili center, were arranged into 21 anggis, specified as six Choros, one Khoshud, two Torghud, eight Khoid, and (presumably) four Dörböd. The anggis did not pay regular taxes to the ruler."
[1]
"The Kalmyk and Zünghar confederations were similar in many ways. Both were divided into tribes (AIMAG), which themselves were conglomerations of exogamous yasun (bones, or patrilineages). The khan or khung-taiji was assisted by an office (yamu) or court (zarghu) composed of four chief officials, variously called ministers (tüshimed), judges (zarghuchis; see JARGHUCHI), or zaisangs (from Chinese zaixiang, grand councillor). These were commoner retainers of the ruler’s tribe. The Zünghar ruler GALDAN-TSEREN (r. 1727-45) expanded the council by adding six zarghuchis to assist the four tüshimed.The people were assigned to appanages (ulus or anggi) controlled by a nobility (noyod or taiji; see NOYAN) of the tribes’ particular ruling “bones.” Below the noyods were the tabunangs, or sons-in-law or those who had married women of the noyod lineages. The positions of “four ministers,” or “judges,” were restricted to such tabunangs of the ruler. Below them were minor functionaries: standard bearers, trumpeters, aides-de-camp (kiya), and so on.Each appanage was divided into otogs (a camp district composed of several clans and usually with 3,000 to 6,000 households; see OTOG). The otogs were divided into groups of 40 households, and they in turn into 20s. Each of these units had officials: zaisangs, demchis, and shülengges, respectively. These local officials were all accounted commoners. Commoners without office were divided into the “good” (said), the “middle,” and the “base.” "
[2]
1. Khan
_Social structure_
2. Tribes3. Patrilineages (yasun)
_Central government_
2. 4 Chief officials at court, called ministers (tüshimed), judges (zarghuchis; see JARGHUCHI), or zaisangs. These were tabunangs of the ruler.3. Six zarguchis to assist them
_Distribution of the people_
2. Appanages (ulus or anggi) controlled by a noyod or taiji noble.
__Appanage central government__
3. Tabunangs: sons-in-law or those who had married women of the noyod lineages4. Minor functionaries: standard bearers, trumpeters, aides-de-camp, etc.
__Administrative hierarchy of the appanage__
3. Otog (a camp district composed of several clans and usually with 3,000 to 6,000 households) governed by zaisang officials.4. Groups of 40 households governed by demchi officials.5. Groups of 20 households governed by shülengge officials.
[1]: (Atwood 2004, 622)
[2]: (Atwood 2004, 421)
continuity with Mongolian Empire?
"At its height the Kalmyk chief lama’s estate of shabinar (disciples, or serfs), for example, reached 3,000-4,000 households. Galdan-Tseren organized the entire clergy into nine jisai (Mongolian, jisiya), with 9,000 lamas and 10,600 households of shabinar. To improve the clergy, he requisitioned 500 pupils, each with two yurts, three ser- vants, two horses, and 100 sheep to be trained by a respected Tibetan lama. One special otog, or camp dis- trict, named Altachin, “goldsmiths,” was dedicated to making Buddhist images." [1]
[1]: (Atwood 2004, 422)
continuity with Mongolian Empire?
This quotation suggests that there were no specialized government buildings (the ’palace yurt’ doubled as an elite residence and was also non-permanent): "Local officials were responsible for keeping their people in line and reporting external or internal disorder. The commoner officials were required to assemble periodically at the palace-yurt (örgöö) of their noyon, and otog elders had to assemble the demchis; failure to appear was subject to a fine." [1]
[1]: (Atwood 2004, 421-422)
Family connections used to obtain positions. "The Kalmyk and Zünghar confederations were similar in many ways. Both were divided into tribes (AIMAG), which themselves were conglomerations of exogamous yasun (bones, or patrilineages). The khan or khung-taiji was assisted by an office (yamu) or court (zarghu) composed of four chief officials, variously called ministers (tüshimed), judges (zarghuchis; see JARGHUCHI), or zaisangs (from Chinese zaixiang, grand councillor). These were commoner retainers of the ruler’s tribe. The Zünghar ruler GALDAN-TSEREN (r. 1727-45) expanded the council by adding six zarghuchis to assist the four tüshimed.The people were assigned to appanages (ulus or anggi) controlled by a nobility (noyod or taiji; see NOYAN) of the tribes’ particular ruling “bones.” Below the noyods were the tabunangs, or sons-in-law or those who had married women of the noyod lineages. The positions of “four ministers,” or “judges,” were restricted to such tabunangs of the ruler. Below them were minor functionaries: standard bearers, trumpeters, aides-de-camp (kiya), and so on."
[1]
[1]: (Atwood 2004, 421)
"Local officials were responsible for keeping their people in line and reporting external or internal disorder. The commoner officials were required to assemble periodically at the palace-yurt (örgöö) of their noyon, and otog elders had to assemble the demchis; failure to appear was subject to a fine. Government was maintained almost entirely by in-kind contributions. The commoners were required to give food, mounts, and other necessary supplies to government messengers and “feed” their own nobles, tabunangs, and the high officials."
[1]
This quote seems to indicate that high officials in the government were supported through tribute and had no other occupation. Besides, the presence of tax officials reinforces the probability that there were full-time bureaucrats. AD.
"According to Liang Fen, Galdan also established a rudimentary taxation system by delegating a traveling inspector to exact payments of horses, oxen, and sheep from fron- tier tribes, and to keep careful track of income and expenses. This man, who “represented Galdan’s eyes and ears . . . gathered up people and goods in his net.”7"
[2]
"Galdan-Tseren reorganized the Zünghar principality, nominally numbering 200,000 households, into directly ruled otogs and appanages, or anggis. His directly subject households, nomadizing in the Ili valley, numbered 24 otogs administered by 54 albachi zaisang (tax officials), with a nominal strength of 87,300 households. These were his personal Choros subjects, captured Siberian and Mongolian peoples, and functional units such as the 4,000 Kötöchi-Nar (equerries), 1,000 Buuchin (musketeers), 5,000 Uruud (craftsmen), and 2,000 ZAKHACHINs (borderers). The appanages of the great nobles, which surrounded the Ili center, were arranged into 21 anggis, specified as six Choros, one Khoshud, two Torghud, eight Khoid, and (presumably) four Dörböd. The anggis did not pay regular taxes to the ruler."
[3]
[1]: (Atwood 2004, 421-422)
[2]: (Perdue 2005, 305)
[3]: (Atwood 2004, 622)
Family connections used to obtain positions. "The Kalmyk and Zünghar confederations were similar in many ways. Both were divided into tribes (AIMAG), which themselves were conglomerations of exogamous yasun (bones, or patrilineages). The khan or khung-taiji was assisted by an office (yamu) or court (zarghu) composed of four chief officials, variously called ministers (tüshimed), judges (zarghuchis; see JARGHUCHI), or zaisangs (from Chinese zaixiang, grand councillor). These were commoner retainers of the ruler’s tribe. The Zünghar ruler GALDAN-TSEREN (r. 1727-45) expanded the council by adding six zarghuchis to assist the four tüshimed.The people were assigned to appanages (ulus or anggi) controlled by a nobility (noyod or taiji; see NOYAN) of the tribes’ particular ruling “bones.” Below the noyods were the tabunangs, or sons-in-law or those who had married women of the noyod lineages. The positions of “four ministers,” or “judges,” were restricted to such tabunangs of the ruler. Below them were minor functionaries: standard bearers, trumpeters, aides-de-camp (kiya), and so on." [1]
[1]: (Atwood 2004, 421)
Non-specialised function. "The Kalmyk and Zünghar confederations were similar in many ways. Both were divided into tribes (AIMAG), which themselves were conglomerations of exogamous yasun (bones, or patrilineages). The khan or khung-taiji was assisted by an office (yamu) or court (zarghu) composed of four chief officials, variously called ministers (tüshimed), judges (zarghuchis; see JARGHUCHI), or zaisangs (from Chinese zaixiang, grand councillor). These were commoner retainers of the ruler’s tribe. The Zünghar ruler GALDAN-TSEREN (r. 1727-45) expanded the council by adding six zarghuchis to assist the four tüshimed." [1]
[1]: (Atwood 2004, 421)
"In 1640 the Qalqa and the Oyirad gave up their traditional enmity to form an alliance in the face of the growing threat from the Ch’ing Empire, and jointly promulgated a Mongol-Oyirad Code. The existence of a unified code does not necessarily presuppose that of a unified nation. The Code was in the tradition of Mongol laws since the Yasa of Chingis Khan in that it was applicable only to cases involving more than one of the member groups of the alliance. The Code notwithstanding, a chief had a full possession of his subjects, and cases arising within a group were left to be disposed of by the group itself."
[1]
"the Oirats governed themselves pursuant to a document known as the Great Code of the Nomads (Iki Tsaadzhin Bichig). The Code was promulgated in 1640 by them, their brethren in Dzungaria and some of the Eastern Mongols who all gathered near the Tarbagatai Mountains in Dzungaria to resolve their differences and to unite under the banner of the Gelugpa sect. Although the goal of unification was not met, the summit leaders did ratify the Code, which regulated all aspects of nomadic life."
[2]
[1]: (Miyawaki 1984, 178)
[2]: Tsem Rinpoche. September 21, 2010. Kalmyk People’s Origin - VERY INTERESTING. Accessed: January 26, 2018. http://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/me/kalmyk-peoples-origin-very-interesting.html
Border markets. "The border trade not only altered Zunghar internal relations but also began to change relations with the frontier merchants. Border officials, realizing that merchants knew prices better than the government, decided to co- operate with them. They created a system of “merchant management under overall official supervision” (shangban er guan wei zongshe zhaokan).17 Nineteenth-century advocates of self-strengthening programs would later call this arrangement “official supervision and merchant management” (guandu shangban). The quantities of goods which the Zunghars brought to the border exceeded what local markets could bear. Dried grapes and rare medicinal products like sal ammoniac and antelope horn, obtained from mines in Turkestan and pastures in Mongolia, piled up in warehouses when no one could arrange distribution. Cattle and sheep served local interests better because they could be used to support military garrisons, but even these herds exceeded local demand. Furthermore, Zunghars constantly insisted on being paid in silver, thus threatening to cause a substan- tial bullion outflow." [1]
[1]: (Perdue 2005, 263)
"Tsewang Rabdan and Galdan Tseren also developed agricultural produc- tion at Ili, the Irtysh River, and Ürümchi by bringing in Turkic oasis dwellers, called Taranchi, who knew the special skills of high-yielding irrigated agriculture. A Qing soldier captured by Tsewang in 1731 reported seeing wide fields and gardens, and even some Zunghars themselves began to take up agriculture, in the form of military colonies, imitating Qing prac- tice.10" [1] "In northwestern Mongolia irrigation systems existed with channels and even simple aqueducts made of hollow logs (onggocha/ongots). Many of these irrigation systems were ancient, dating back to the military farms created under the Mongol Empire (see CHINQAI; QARA-QORUM; SIBERIA AND THE MON- GOL EMPIRE)." [2]
[1]: (Perdue 2005, 306)
[2]: (Atwood 2004, 175)
Warehouses at border markets. "The border trade not only altered Zunghar internal relations but also began to change relations with the frontier merchants. Border officials, realizing that merchants knew prices better than the government, decided to co- operate with them. They created a system of “merchant management under overall official supervision” (shangban er guan wei zongshe zhaokan).17 Nineteenth-century advocates of self-strengthening programs would later call this arrangement “official supervision and merchant management” (guandu shangban). The quantities of goods which the Zunghars brought to the border exceeded what local markets could bear. Dried grapes and rare medicinal products like sal ammoniac and antelope horn, obtained from mines in Turkestan and pastures in Mongolia, piled up in warehouses when no one could arrange distribution. Cattle and sheep served local interests better because they could be used to support military garrisons, but even these herds exceeded local demand. Furthermore, Zunghars constantly insisted on being paid in silver, thus threatening to cause a substan- tial bullion outflow. " [1]
[1]: (Perdue 2005, 263)
Caravans. There must have been established trade routes and possibly roads. "Although disputes continued to break out with Russia over levies of tribute, refugees, and Russian military expansion southward, Zunghar caravans traveled frequently to Semipalatinsk, Tobolsk, and Yamyshev and became a significant presence in Siberian markets.9 (See Table 8.1.)" [1]
[1]: (Perdue 2005, 306)
"Because of their need of weaponry the Dzungar rulers opened iron, copper and silver mines and produced spears, shields, gunpowder, cannon, bullets and iron utensils." [1] "Copper, lead, and fine steel came from the ground. Rocks by the water’s edge produced gold and pearls: [there were so many that] they put them aside and did not use them. No one could surpass them in swift horses and numbers of barbarian riders.” (As this passage indicates, he seems to have learned the technology of Persian steel refining from his contacts with east Turkestan.)" [2]
[1]: (Miyawaki et al 2003, 164)
[2]: (Perdue 2005, 304)
Oirat Mongolian is alphabetic, and so is the Tibetan script.
"Large numbers of Buddhist translations are mentioned, but the only surviving historical works from before the loss of indepen- dence are Zaya Pandita’s hagiography Sarayin gerel (Light of the moon), written in Zungharia around 1690, and Emchi (Physician) Ghabang-Sharab’s Dörbön Oyirodiyintöüke (History of the four Oirats), written in Kalmykia in 1737." [1]
[1]: (Atwood 2004, 422-423)
" Large numbers of Buddhist translations are mentioned, but the only surviving historical works from before the loss of indepen- dence are Zaya Pandita’s hagiography Sarayin gerel (Light of the moon), written in Zungharia around 1690, and Emchi (Physician) Ghabang-Sharab’s Dörbön Oyirodiyintöüke (History of the four Oirats), written in Kalmykia in 1737." [1]
[1]: (Atwood 2004, 422-423)
"To give an idea of the amount of trade involved in one of these official trade missions, in 1750 the Junghars “brought goods worth 186,000 taels, the largest amount ever, which they exchanged for 167,300 taels’ worth of cloth and tea, with the balance in silver.”23 The Junghars certainly profited from the trade, as did the urban peoples and merchants involved." [1]
[1]: (Beckwith 2009, 238-239)
"Caravan trade was tightly confined by the ecological parameters set by the desert, steppe, and oasis environment. Three institutions were critical to it: garrisons and watchtowers manned by soldiers to keep the peace; postal relay stations, originally established by the Mongol empire, for rapid communications; and caravanserai, to provide lodgings and trading places in the oases. " [1] This description refers to the wider geographic region, but we can infer that these features were also present in the Zungharian empire because of trade.
[1]: (Perdue 2005, 38)
Government messengers are mentioned. To what extent where they full-time? "Government was maintained almost entirely by in-kind contributions. The commoners were required to give food, mounts, and other necessary supplies to government messengers and “feed” their own nobles, tabunangs, and the high officials." [1]
[1]: (Atwood 2004, 421-422)
long been in use in the region. Majemir culture from 900 BCE is an example of one of the first iron-using cultures in the Altai region. [1] and by 300 BCE in the Ordos region of Mongolia iron was becoming much more frequently used for weapons and horse fittings. [2]
[1]: (Baumer 2012) Baumer, Christoph. 2012. The History of Central Asia: The Age of the Steppe Warriors. I.B.Tauris. London.
[2]: (Di Cosmo 2002, 84) Nicola Di Cosmo. 2002. Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
"What led to this sudden collapse? A few factors can be discounted. Neither the possession of firearms by the Qing nor some inherent weakness of nomadic polities seems plausible as an explanation, since the Zünghars had been overcoming these obstacles for many decades past." [1] "From 1697 on the Kalmyks as Russian allies received a regular supply of gunpowder and bullets from Russia as well as the use of cannons during war. Supplying Russian firearms to the Zünghars was still banned, however. Bukharan merchants and Zünghar trade missions frequently evaded these bans, and raids on Siberia also supplied firearms." [2]
[1]: (Atwood 2004, 624)
[2]: (Atwood 2004, 422)
"The first composite bow with bone reinforced ’ears’, a major development, may have been used around Lake Baikal, c.500 BC. Despite many individual external differences, across the steppe, and across time, the composite bow would remain essentially uniform in construction method." [1] and still used by the Qing: "Under the QING DYNASTY (1636-1912) training in archery was required of all bannermen. The military com- pound bow used was only about 1 1/4 meters (four feet) long, although ones more than two meters (six feet) long were also used for hunting." [2]
[1]: (Karasulas 2004, 19)
[2]: (Atwood 2004, 20)
Horses were the means of travel for mobile nomadic warriors since the establishment of cavalry forces by the mid-first millennium BCE