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Altan Khan

Type Figure Region Mongolia Time 1507–1582 Also known as Altan Khan、阿拉坦汗、俺答、阿剌坦

Altan Khan (1507–1582), Tumed leader in the Ming era, unified the tribes south of the Gobi, raided the Ming frontier for decades, accepted the title …

Timeline

  1. 1547–1569Tumed tribe · Tumed MongoliaAltan Khan unified the tribes of the southern Gobi and built a city at the southern foot of the Daqing Mountains. During the Jiajing reign he repeatedly led raids into Ming Xuanfu-Datong and Jizhen areas, and in the Gengxu Incident of 1550 his forces reached the walls of Beijing, making him one of the greatest frontier threats on the Ming's northern border.
  2. 1570–1571Datong · Datong PrefectureDuring the Longqing reign Altan sent his son to sue for peace; the Ming invested him as Prince Shunyi and opened horse markets at Datong and Xuanfu. Altan accepted Ming investiture, ending decades of war, and Mongol-Chinese trade and cultural exchange flourished thereafter.
  3. 1571–1582Qinghai · QinghaiAltan Khan converted to the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism; in 1578 he invited the Third Dalai Lama Sonam Gyatso to a meeting by Qinghai Lake and bestowed on him the title 'Dalai Lama', promoting the widespread adoption of the Yellow School among the Mongol tribes and laying the groundwork for the Mongol-Tibetan union of religion and state.

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