in the
Chengde Mountain Resort in 1754, in
萬樹園賜宴圖, painted in 1755 by
Jean-Denis Attiret A Dörben clan existed within the
Mongol tribe in the 12th–13th centuries, but the Dörbets appear as an
Oirat tribe only in the latter half of the 16th century. What their relation, if any, is to the Dörben clan of the 12th–13th centuries is unclear. The name probably means "döröv"; "four" (
Middle Mongolian: dörbe). In the 17th century, the leader of Dörbets was
Dalai Taishi (d.1637). In order to unite the
Oirats, Dalai Taishi used the method of
marriage of convenience; Dalai Taishi and
Khoshut leader
Güshi Khan married the
Torghut leader
Kho Orluk sisters. During the Dalai Taishi period (circa 1625), the Oirat tribes lived in harmony. In 1616, Dalai Taishi established
diplomatic relations with the
Tsardom of Russia. The next year Dalai Taishi's son Solom Tseren joined the
Kalmyks on the
Volga with 4,000 households. In 1699 a body of the Dörbets joined the
Don Cossacks, eventually becoming the
Buzava Kalmyks. Trapped west of the Volga, the Do'rbets could not join the 1771 flight of the Torguds, and hence dominated the remaining Kalmyks. In the early 19th century, they had split into the Lesser Dörbets, living in northern
Kalmykia and the Greater Dörbets, living around
Lake Manych-Gudilo. costume. Meanwhile, the Dörbets in the Oirat homeland remained a major sub-group of the
Dzungars. In 1753 during a worsening civil war amongst the Oirat, three Dörbet leaders submitted to the
Qing dynasty. They were resettled first in
Bayankhongor Province, and then in
Uvs Province in 1759. They formed into 16 banners of the Sain Zayaatu Leagues. The Dörbets nobility's 15,000 subjects included
Bayids and a small number of Khotongs. From the 1880s, the
Khalkha influenced Dörbet socio-economic trends. The Kalmyk
Dambijantsan headed the anti-communist disturbances; and separatist feeling remained strong until the 1930s. ==Number==