Many of the Torghut, the westernmost of…

Many of the Torghut, the westernmost of the Oirat Mongols, have meanwhile begin to migrate westward in approximately 1620.

Possibly the movement is a reaction to the growing dominance of the Dzungar Mongols, an Oirat subclan and neighbors of the Torgut to the south.

In any event, the Torghut fight their way through Kyrgyz and Kazakh territory, to cross the Embe River.

Becoming better known as the Kalmyk tribe, they subsequently settle in the Trans-Volga steppe and raid Russian settlements on both sides of the river.

Finally submitting to Russia in 1646, they maintain  autonomy under their own khan.

They become an excellent source of light cavalry for the Russians, who will later use them in campaigns against the Crimean Tatars and in Inner Asia.