Kalmyks in Leh, and the mosque that came of it
Editorial contextThe only mosque in Leh, Izzet Ullah was told, was founded by Ibrahim Khan, a Mughal noble sent to help the king of Ladakh when the Kalmaks had seized the city. The king converted to Islam and swore vassalage, then soon went back to his own faith. This is a memory of the Tibet-Ladakh-Mughal war of 1679 to 1684. On the same page he describes Leh's thousand houses of stone or unburnt brick, three or four storeys high.
It was founded by Ibrahim Khan, one of the nobles of the Mogul Court, at a time when the Kalmaks … had got possession of the city, and the Raja of Tibet had recourse to the Sultan of Hindustan for succour. Ibrahim Khan, who was sent to his assistance, defeated the Kalmaks, and restored the Raja;
About Kalmaks (Oirat Mongols) and Ladakhis
Keep in mind
Local tradition about events some 130 years earlier.
'It is generally asserted that it was built by the Mongols, which is an error'
Editorial contextThe chronicle credits King Nyima Namgyal with building a long mani wall near Leh. Karl Marx's note adds that local people generally claimed the wall was built by the Mongols, and calls that belief an error. A small but telling case of a structure popularly credited to the Mongols that the written record gives to someone else.
It is generally asserted that it was built by the Mongols, which is an error.
About Ladakhi king Nyima Namgyal; Mongols in local belief
Keep in mind
An editorial note, not the chronicle text.
Leh: a town of a thousand houses
Editorial contextGerard describes Leh, the capital of Ladakh, standing a few miles from the Indus, as a town of nearly 1,000 houses built like those of Spiti, with Muslim and Hindu shopkeepers but mostly Tartar (Tibetan) people. It holds fairs attended by Punjabis, Yarkandis, Kinnauris and Kashmiris.
… contains nearly 1,000 houses, built like those in Speetee. There are some Mahommedan and Hindoo shop-keepers, but the greater part of the inhabitants are Tartars.
About Tibetans of Ladakh
Keep in mind
Gerard does not say he visited Leh; the description reads as gathered from others.
'Sokpo, also called Giongar, that is to say, independent Tartary'
Editorial contextDescribing Ladakh, Desideri lists its neighbours and names the land to the north as 'Sokpo, also called Giongar, that is to say, independent Tartary'. Sokpo is the Tibetan word for the Mongols, and Giongar is the Dzungar state. The same page describes Leh, the Ladakhi capital, as a town climbing a mountain to the palace and fort, with 'no large towns' elsewhere, only villages, farmsteads and castles.
On the former side it borders on Baltistan, towards the north on Caxkar and some parts of the kingdom of Sokpo, also called Giongar, that is to say, independent Tartary.
About Dzungar Mongols
Keep in mind
Translation by Wessels from the manuscript; Desideri knew Ladakh first hand but the Dzungar lands only by report.