The Mongol-Oirat Laws of 1640
The law code agreed by Mongol and Oirat princes in 1640, with later additions, edited in Russian in 1880.
Full title The Mongol-Oirat Laws of 1640, the supplementary decrees of Galdan Khung Taiji, and the laws compiled for the Volga Kalmyks under Donduk Dashi (St Petersburg 1880)
Монголо-ойратские законы 1640 года, дополнительные указы Галдан-Хун-Тайджия и законы, составленные для волжских калмыков при калмыцком хане Дондук-Даши
Konstantin Golstunsky (editor and translator)
In 1640 a Khalkha and Oirat assembly adopted a written code of laws for the steppe peoples. Later supplements were made under Galdan in the 1670s and 1680s and, for the Volga Kalmyks, under Donduk Dashi in the 1740s. Konstantin Golstunsky published the Oirat clear-script text with a Russian translation in St Petersburg in 1880, working from Kalmyk manuscripts. The atlas holds a stored machine reading (OCR) of this scan, of good quality, but a keyword search found no passages mentioning Tartars, so nothing was read for this guide.
- How they knew
- Official record
- Who “Tartar” means here
- Not recorded. The card names the Khalkha Mongols, the Oirats (Dzungars), the Volga Kalmyks and the Russian state.
- Why read it
- It is a native legal text of the steppe polities of the seventeenth century, showing how Mongol and Oirat rulers described their own order, independent of European Tartary framing.
- Watch out
- Golstunsky's text comes from Kalmyk manuscripts, and the card says a fuller critical edition by Dylykov (1981) was not found open.
What it says
No quotes from this one yet. Its text is out of reach for now, or the scan could not be read.
The fine print
How we know
official or contemporary record An official document or a record made at the time.
official record: text of the 1640 code adopted by the Khalkha and Oirat assembly, with later Dzungar and Kalmyk supplements; Kalmyk (Oirat clear script) text with Russian translation
Research notes
- Golstunsky's text is from Kalmyk manuscripts; Dylykov 1981 gives a fuller critical edition (not located open).
Why it matters
Native legal text of the steppe polities of the 17th century: shows the political self-description of Mongol and Oirat rulers and the Kalmyk-Russian relationship, independent of European 'Tartary' framing.
Places named
Mongolia; Dzungaria; Volga Kalmyk steppe
Peoples named
Khalkha Mongols; Oirats / Dzungars (Galdan); Volga Kalmyks (Donduk Dashi); Russia