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Central Asia · Timur and the khanates

Tümed

drawn on the map 1547–1699

The Tümed (Mongolian: ᠲᠦᠮᠡᠳ; Chinese: 土默特) are a Southern Mongol subgroup whose name derives from tümen, "ten thousand." They were never a sovereign state in the conventional sense but a major tribal tümen (division) of the eastern Mongols that, under Altan Khan in the 16th century, formed the core of a powerful de facto principality centered on the Hohhot (Köke Khota) plain of modern Inner Mongolia.

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Shown on the map
1547–1699
Peak area
2.7M km²
Region
Central Asia

Overview and identity

The Tümed (Mongolian: ᠲᠦᠮᠡᠳ; Chinese: 土默特) are a Southern Mongol subgroup whose name derives from tümen, "ten thousand." They were never a sovereign state in the conventional sense but a major tribal tümen (division) of the eastern Mongols that, under Altan Khan in the 16th century, formed the core of a powerful de facto principality centered on the Hohhot (Köke Khota) plain of modern Inner Mongolia. The "peak 2.7M km²" figure in the project data is not attested in the sources consulted and should be treated as an uncertain estimate of the zone of influence of Altan Khan's Right-Wing Mongol confederation rather than of a bounded Tümed polity.

Origins and ethnolinguistic background

Two ancestral strands are distinguished. The Khori-Tümed lived west of Lake Baikal from roughly the 9th to the 13th century (in what is now southern Irkutsk Oblast, Tuva, and southwestern Buryatia); in 1207 Genghis Khan conquered them and relocated some groups south toward the Gobi. The historically prominent Tümed, however, appear in the mid-15th century as the following of the warlord Dogolon Taishi; Mongolian chronicles speak of "Seven Tümeds" and later "Twelve Tümeds," the larger number probably reflecting the adhesion of the Kharchin and other clans.

Chronology and rulers

Under Dayan Khan (r. 1464–1517/1543) and his successors, the Tümed formed part of the Right Wing (western tümens) of the reunified eastern Mongols. They reached their apex under Altan Khan (1507–1582), who became effective leader of the Right-Wing tümens around 1542. Altan raided the Ming repeatedly — besieging Beijing in 1550 (the Gengxu Incident) — campaigned against the Oirats, recaptured Karakorum from them, and in 1571 made peace with the Ming, receiving the title Shunyi Wang ("Obedient and Righteous Prince") and border horse markets. In 1575 he founded Köke Khota (Hohhot, "Blue City"; Ming name Guihua), the first permanent city south of the Gobi, with a large settled Chinese population.

Territory and government

The Tümed heartland was the plain around Hohhot (modern Tumed Left and Right Banners near Hohhot and Baotou); an eastern branch lived around Chaoyang, Liaoning. Government was the classic Mongol appanage system: a Chinggisid khan ruling a tümen of subordinate otoks and clans.

Economy, culture, religion

Altan Khan promoted agriculture and craft settlement alongside pastoralism. The Tümed are famed as the first Mongol tribe to convert (re-convert) to Tibetan Buddhism: in 1578 Altan met the Gelug hierarch Sonam Gyatso, bestowed on him the title "Dalai Lama" (applied retroactively to his two predecessors), and was proclaimed a reincarnation of Kublai Khan. His great-grandson Yonten Gyatso became the Fourth Dalai Lama. Shamanism persisted alongside Buddhism.

Decline and legacy

The Tümed submitted to the rising Manchus, allied against Ligdan Khan of the Chahars, and were incorporated into the Qing Josotu League as banners. Linguistically Sinicized in the late 19th–early 20th century, the Tümed nonetheless produced leading 20th-century Mongol figures — most notably Ulanhu (1906–1988), the highest-ranking Mongol in the Chinese Communist Party — and spearheaded Mongolian-language schooling revival in Inner Mongolia from the 1950s and again after 1979.

Common questions

What were the Tümed?
The Tümed (Mongolian: ᠲᠦᠮᠡᠳ; Chinese: 土默特) are a Southern Mongol subgroup whose name derives from tümen, "ten thousand." They were never a sovereign state in the conventional sense but a major tribal tümen (division) of the eastern Mongols that, under Altan Khan in the 16th century, formed the core of a powerful de facto principality centered on the Hohhot (Köke Khota) plain of modern Inner Mongolia.
When are the Tümed shown on the map?
The border data draws the Tümed 1547–1699. The source samples borders at fixed dates, so a span can begin late or run on past the end.
How large were the Tümed?
At their greatest extent drawn on this map, the Tümed covered about 2.7 million km². That is the largest area the border data gives them across the years they are drawn, not necessarily their greatest extent in history.
Where were the Tümed?
The Tümed heartland was the plain around Hohhot (modern Tumed Left and Right Banners near Hohhot and Baotou); an eastern branch lived around Chaoyang, Liaoning. Government was the classic Mongol appanage system: a Chinggisid khan ruling a tümen of subordinate otoks and clans.
Who ruled the Tümed?
Under Dayan Khan (r. 1464–1517/1543) and his successors, the Tümed formed part of the Right Wing (western tümens) of the reunified eastern Mongols. They reached their apex under Altan Khan (1507–1582), who became effective leader of the Right-Wing tümens around 1542.
How did the Tümed end?
The Tümed submitted to the rising Manchus, allied against Ligdan Khan of the Chahars, and were incorporated into the Qing Josotu League as banners. Linguistically Sinicized in the late 19th–early 20th century, the Tümed nonetheless produced leading 20th-century Mongol figures — most notably Ulanhu (1906–1988), the highest-ranking Mongol in the Chinese Communist Party — and spearheaded Mongolian-language schooling revival in Inner Mongolia from the 1950s and again after 1979.
What did the economy and culture of the Tümed rest on?
Altan Khan promoted agriculture and craft settlement alongside pastoralism. The Tümed are famed as the first Mongol tribe to convert (re-convert) to Tibetan Buddhism: in 1578 Altan met the Gelug hierarch Sonam Gyatso, bestowed on him the title "Dalai Lama" (applied retroactively to his two predecessors), and was proclaimed a reincarnation of Kublai Khan.

Sources

Every source below was consulted while writing this entry.

This entry was written from the sources above and last updated .

This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made

Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.

Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).

Around the same time

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