Abstract
Tsogtu Khong Tayiji (1581-1637) was a Khalkha prince of the Eastern Mongols and poet who supported Ligdan Khan and opposed the Dalai Lama's Gelug ("Yellow Hat"; Tib.: Dge-lugs-pa) sect. His lifetime encompassed the short rise and fall of Khalkha-Mongol supremacy in Tibet. This article draws on Mongolian sources, Chinese and English translations of Tibetan sources, and Chinese, Japanese and English secondary research in order to illustrate the political importance of a Mongolian prince in seventeenth-century Tibetan history. It argues that after Isogtu Khong Tayiji there was no longer a politico-military force from Mongolia proper that could compete with the Khoshud domination of Tibet until the Manchu incorporation of Tibet in 1720. Therefore, Tsogtu's downfall marks a withdrawal of the Eastern Mongols' involvement with Tibet. From that point until 1720, Western Mongolian forces (first Khoshud, then Zünghar) in collaboration with the Dge-lugs sect maintained supremacy in Tibet.
Keywords
Tsogtu Khong Tayiji, Mongolia, Khalkha, Oirat, Tibet
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