A Historical Aspect of Mazan Baatar’s Biography

Abstract

With evidence from Russian and Oirat primary sources as well as the oral tradition, the articles investigates the ancestry and clan history of Mazan Baatar and clears up some mistakes introduced by previous researchers. Apart from the fact that Mazan Baatar was actually a historical person, the statement found in some sources that his father’s name was Öljeitü is wrong: a number of texts written in the Clear Script testify that the latter’s name was Očir. Furthermore, Mazan Baatar was a relative of Ayuka Khan of the Torghuts. As reflected by Russian archival materials, he held the title ‘Prince’ and, thus, was a representative of the royal family of the Torghuts possessing a high social status in the Kalmyk Khanate. Members of the Erketen clan within the Volga Torghut Khanate were not mentioned as Mazan Baatar’s subjects but had been first attested in the time of his great-grandfather, Cecen Noyan, and might have existed even earlier. Taking part in numerous wars and battles, Mazan Baatar spread the fame of his clan and got it deeply ingrained in the memory of the Oirat people so that even in the time of his son Yaman the Erketen clan retained its independence. After Yaman’s death reported to have been Mazan Baatar’s most eminent son, the internal turmoil, disputes and struggle for leadership among the nobility of the Torghut Khanate - which was aggravated by Russia’s pressure - resulted in the fact that the Erketen clan was successively ruled by different nobles and, finally, became subject to Russia while some of its branches were absorbed by the diverse Kalmyk clans.