Dzungar genocide

Dzungar genocide
Part of the Conquest of Dzungaria
The Battle of Oroi-Jalatu (1756). Chinese general Zhao Hui attacked the Dzungar camp at night, in present Wusu, Xinjiang.
LocationDzungar Khanate (modern-day Dzungaria, Western Mongolia, Kazakhstan, northern Kyrgyzstan, southern Siberia, Xinjiang)
Date1755–1758
TargetDzungars
Attack type
Genocide, mass murder, ethnic cleansing
Deaths420,000[1]–480,000[2] (70%–80% of the Dzungar population, from both warfare and disease)
InjuredUnknown
PerpetratorsQing Eight Banners, Khalkha Mongols, Kazakhs, Uyghur and Hui rebels

The Dzungar genocide (Chinese: 準噶爾滅族; lit. 'extermination of the Dzungar tribe') was the mass extermination of the Mongol Dzungar people by the Qing dynasty.[3] The Qianlong Emperor ordered the genocide after the rebellion in 1755 by Dzungar leader Amursana against Qing rule, after the dynasty first conquered the Dzungar Khanate with Amursana's support. The genocide was perpetrated by Manchu generals of the Qing army, supported by Turkic oasis dwellers (now known as Uyghurs) who rebelled against Dzungar rule.

The Dzungar Khanate was a confederation of several Tibetan Buddhist Oirat Mongol tribes that emerged in the early 17th century, and the last great nomadic empire in Asia. Some scholars estimate that about 80% of the Dzungar population, or around 500,000 to 800,000 people, were killed by a combination of warfare and disease during or after the Qing conquest in 1755–1757.[2][4] After wiping out the native population of Dzungaria, the Qing government then resettled Han, Hui, Uyghur, and Sibe people on state farms in Dzungaria, along with Manchu Bannermen to repopulate the area.

  1. ^ Perdue 2009, p. 285.
  2. ^ a b Clarke 2004, p. 37.
  3. ^ Klimeš, Ondřej (8 January 2015). Struggle by the Pen: The Uyghur Discourse of Nation and National Interest, c.1900-1949. BRILL. pp. 27–. ISBN 978-90-04-28809-6.
  4. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)