Tibet plus Mongolia make 'great Tartary'
Editorial contextWriting from Tsaparang in 1626, the Portuguese Jesuit Antonio de Andrade lists the kingdoms of Tibet and says that, together with the empire of the 'Sopo' (Mongols), they make up 'great Tartary'. He also demotes fabled Cathay to a single large town ruled by the Mongol king. It is a neat example of how elastic the European label 'Tartary' was: here it swallows Tibet as well as Mongolia.
Together with the great empire of the Sopò [Mongolia], which borders on China on the one side and on Moscovia on the other, they form great Tartary". … "The famous Cathayo is not a separate kingdom but a large town which is called Katay, the capital of a province situated much nearer to China and which is said to be ruled by the great king of the Sopôs"
About Tibetans and the Sopo (Mongols)
Keep in mind
Andrade had not been to Mongolia; his picture of 'great Tartary' and Cathay comes from what he was told in western Tibet and from European maps.