Dzungarian Gates

Kyrgyz Kazakh or Kazakh Horde: (Alt: Kyrgyz Qazaq or Qazaq Horda)The Kazakhs/Kirgiz have their lands to the west of Lake Balkhash, with the lake itself acting as the border between the Kazakhs and Dzungars. The northern border goes straight northwards from the eastern edge of Lake Balkhash up the Irtysh River and Russian Siberia. Meanwhile the Dzungar’s southern border envelops the upper Chu and Talas Rivers, and continuing down to the Fergana Valley. Only a single city is shown in the Kazakh realm; that being Jussu or rather Turkestan. Their reach might extend down to the Fergana as well, into the region where the Burut and Uzbeks live but it is unclear.

Part of Siberia: The northern most part of the map depict a part of Russian Siberia. Siberia is depicted as being north of the Irtysh river, going into Lake Zaysan. However in reality this area would have been under firm Dzungar control, with Russian forts constructed further down the river. No clear demarcations between the Russian and Dzungar states existed at this time and border disputes were frequent. There is a faint border on the upper Irtysh that might distinguish between Russian and Dzungar Siberia. There is one inscription above lake Lake Zaysan titled ¨Jaеrn Waеrck¨, which means Iron Works, this is possibly this is the Iron works that Renat oversaw when he was constructing cannons for the Dzungars.

Dzungars: The ruling Choros clan took on the name Dzungar for both their own family and the realm as a whole when transitioning the Oirat confederation into a more unified state. Meanwhile Kalmyck was the general term Europeans used for the Oirats as a whole. The Choros have their tents in the Ili valley and the Jetisu region, whilst other Oirats under the Dzungars primarily dwell in the Dzungarian basin. The Regent’s Tent is located on the northern bank of the Ili river, regent in Swedish can mean both a regent like in English or something like sovereign or monarch, here it is most likely referring to the capital where the Khong Taiji stays. The Dzungar capital has been lost and it is unknown what exactly it looked like or even its exact name, but most likely it was situated around modern day Khulja and was made up of both buildings and tents. Many other noblemen’s tents located on the Ili river’s tributaries. Just east of the Regent’s tent are two green circles containing five smaller circles, it is unclear what exactly these are but they might be the famous mile long gardens maintained by the Dzungars, Though they are referred to as gardens, it might be more accurate to call them fenced of sections of maintained forests. To the east of lake Ebi is a forest named ”Carangoi” that is noted for having wild camels, it is the only large forest on the map with the exception of a few around the valleys and up on the mountains of the Dzungarian Alatau. The Dzungar cities of Khovd and ÜrÜmqi/Ürmç were the only majority Dzungar towns that were originally founded by the Dzungars themselves. However it is not clear if these town is depicted on the map.

Mongols: Primarily Khalkha Mongols under the rulership of the Manchu Qing Empire. They came under the Qing Empire mainly through marriage alliance and the threat that the Dzungars posed to them both. The Khalkha were see as generally more passive at this time compared to their warlike cousins: the Oirat Dzungars. In the territory of Outer Mongolia (what is today the country of Mongolia) loyal Khalkha were thus given their own smaller Khanates to govern under Qing control.

Kuchi: Kuchi most likely refers to the Kumul Khanate that used to be part of the Dzungar realm before defecting to the Qing in the 1690s. The territory contains the city of Chamil, the Mongol spelling/pronunciation of Hami or Kumul. However Barkul is shown to be within the Dzungar Realm,

Under China: The lands and people subjugated by the Manchu lead Qing Dynasty in China. During internal strife within the Ming Dynasty, the Aisin-Gioro clan of the Manchus lead multiple successful military campaigns into China and forged their own Manchu lead dynasty: The Qing Dynasty. The Mongols, Kumul, as well as the Khoshuts and Tanguts are shown as being part of China, they were additional military and political acquisition the Qing had accomplished, in large part due to their rivalry with the Dzungars to their west. Lop Nur is depicted as part of China. This might either be an error or because the Dzungars had difficulty reaching the lake and the region was actually an uncontrolled area. There is also a possibility that the wandering lake that is Lop Nur was further to the east during this time period.

Hoton/Khoton: Hoton is an oasis town in the Tarim Basin, it is not one of the biggest or most influential Uyghur settlements so it is unknown why it is labeled as being the entire Tarim or Uyghurs as a whole. The term ”Bukharans” was also used to refer to Uyghurs, in reference to the city that they supposedly originated from. The area also contains cities like Yarkant, Aksu, Kashgar and Kucha. The city of Keriya is noted to contain gold. Many of these cities possesses walls for defense, however they were not actually surrounding the cities themselves, and were instead situated far away from the cities deep in the countryside. These walls were extremely long but also short and only really meant to prevent cavalry from easily crossing and were usually made out of rock, dirt and bushes. Cities like Turpan too is show as being part of the Uyghur administration in spite of being far away from the other oasis settlements.

Bukharans: Was an independent Khanate situated around the city of Bukhara, with most of the people in the Khanate being Uzbeks. Bukhara was one of the most influential cities in Central-Asia for Muslim scholars; thus the term Bukharan was sometimes used for Muslims as a whole in Central-Asia. The cities of Samarkand and Jizzakh are shown.

Buruts. Kyrgys and Uzbeks: A general list of ethnic groups living to the South-West of the Dzungars around the Fergana Valley. Burut was the old name for the Kyrgyz living in the Alatau, instead of being divided between Kyrgyz and Kazakh, the distinction was made between steppe Kyrgyz/Kazakh and mountain dwelling Burut. Uzbeks were distinct and mainly lived in the Bukharan Khanate. The Tajiks are however not mentioned.

Badakhshanians: Badakhshanians are the people that inhabit the mountainous region of Badakhshan in Eastern Afghanistan, at this time it was part of the Mughal Empire. The eastern mountains are noted as containing gold.

Shigar: Shigar a small independent state ruled by the Amāchas dynasty. The people in Shigar are subgroup of Tibetan Muslims called the Balti. The state was later conquered by Kashmir.

Kashmiris: Kashmir used to be an independent sultanate prior to the Mughal conquest of India. At this time it was a province of the Mughal Empire, inhabited by the Kashmiri people.

Garriker: Garrik could refer to a variety of things. One possibility is Garhwal, a small kingdom and tributary state of the Mughals in northern India. it could also refer to Nepalis in general using the term Gurkha or the Mughal Empire as a whole with their dynastic name: Gurkhani.

Khoshuts and Tanguts: The Khoshuts are Oirat Mongols that during this time were primarily situated in Qinghai. They had extended their rule south to Tibet and had take over its military affairs. Meanwhile the Tanguts refers to Tibetans, or people related to Tibetans like the Golok that live around Amdo.