# Campaign of Yesim Khan against Kalmyk uluses (1619–1621)

By the end of the second decade of the 17th century, as V. A. Moiseyev noted, significant changes occurred in Kalmyk-Kazakh relations. Yesim Khan managed to achieve a series of victories over the Kalmyks and force them into peace. According to interpreter P. Semenov’s 1620 report, in 1619, the Kalmyk taishas sent envoys to him for negotiations. However, during the talks, certain Kalmyk taishas attacked some Kazakh uluses. Enraged by this, Yesim Khan killed the Kalmyk envoys and launched a campaign against the uluses of two Kalmyk taishas, which ended successfully for the Kazakhs. Shortly thereafter, the Kalmyks were also defeated by the forces of the Altan Khan.
According to V. A. Moiseyev, Bai-Bagish Taisha, Dalai-Batyr, Kho-Urluk, and Chokur sought peace with Yesim Khan, understanding that simultaneous conflict with three strong opponents could not end successfully. They also intended to launch a joint campaign with him against the domains of Tursun Khan and his ally, the Ashtarkhanid Imam Quli Khan, although this campaign did not take place for unknown reasons. The attack on the Kazakhs during the negotiations was carried out by their rivals leading other Kalmyk tribes. It is known that Bai-Bagish Taisha and Chokur (Chokur Ubashi) were heads of the Khoshut ulus, Dalai-Batyr led the Derbets, and Kho-Urluk (Kho-Orleg) headed the Torgut ulus.
Thus, the attack on Yesim Khan’s domains was likely carried out by the Choros (Zuun Gar or Dzungars) led by Khara-Khula Taisha. This indicates that during this period, the Kalmyks were divided into two factions: one group consisted of the three main Kalmyk uluses (Khoshuts, Derbets, and Torguts), while the other, hostile group was composed of the Choros ulus.
In 1620, Tursun-Muhammad Khan also sent his envoys to the Kalmyks, who conveyed their ruler's demand to refrain from attacking trade caravans traveling to the Russian state.
Commenting on this, A. I. Isin noted that the "subordinate" position of the Kazakh Great Horde under the Oirats (if it existed at all) was very brief, lasting approximately between 1616 and 1618. Afterward, the Kazakh Great Horde joined an alliance with Yesim Khan, the Nogais, and the Mongol Altan Khan.
Yesim Khan’s campaign against the Kalmyks, which began in 1620, continued until early 1621, according to A. I. Isin. It involved Kazakhs, Nogais, and Khalkha Mongols. As a result, the Kalmyks were pushed back to the region of the Ob River. The allied relations between the Kazakhs and the Altan Khan's state are confirmed by Russian archival materials. For instance, in September 1620, Tobolsk voivode M. Godunov wrote to Russian Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich: "The Altan Tsar and the Kazakh Horde are waging war against the Kalmyk taishas." A month later, Ufa voivode O. Pronchishchev reported: "The Kalmyk taishas have faced great hardships from the Kazakh Horde and Yesim Tsar, who have killed many of their people, as have the people of the Altan Tsar."
The involvement of Nogai mirzas in this campaign, allied with the Kazakhs and Mongols, is also noted in a dispatch by Tomsk voivode I. Shakhovsky. In September 1621, he wrote: "The Altan Tsar has allied with the Kazakh land, and the Kazakh people with the Nogais."
Yesim Khan largely succeeded in his campaigns against the Kalmyks. However, as previously noted, he suffered a defeat in his internal struggle against Tursun-Muhammad Khan, who was supported by the Ashtarkhanid Imam Quli Khan. After Tursun-Muhammad Khan's ascension to power in Tashkent, Yesim Khan was forced to retreat with part of his entourage to the neighboring Mughal state (Eastern Turkestan) and Kyrgyzstan. There, Yesim Khan continued his fight against the Kalmyks, though not always successfully. For instance, Mahmud Ibn Wali’s Bahr al-Asrar recounts a severe defeat he suffered at the hands of the Kalmyk Sultan-Taisha, who, after this victory, was nicknamed Ildai-Taisha ("Wind Taisha," meaning "swift as the wind")".