Dzungar genocide

The Dzungar genocide was a period of mass extermination targeting the Dzungar people. The Dzungars were a confederation of Oirat Mongol tribes. They formed the last great nomadic empire in Asia. This empire existed from the early 17th century through the mid-18th century. They controlled vast lands stretching from the Great Wall of China to modern Siberia.

The Dzungars were highly advanced for nomadic groups. They manufactured their own gunpowder weapons. They also built a mixed economy of farming and herding. They even created an empire-wide system of laws using the Oirat language.

The conflict began during the Dzungar–Qing War. The Qing dynasty was a powerful empire led by the Manchus. In 1755, the Qing first conquered the Dzungar Khanate. They tried to divide the Dzungar tribes into four smaller groups. A Dzungar leader named Amursana was chosen to lead one group. However, Amursana rejected this plan. He wanted to lead a single, united Dzungar nation. This led him to rebel against the Qing dynasty.

The Qianlong Emperor became enraged by this rebellion. He issued orders to eradicate the entire Dzungar nation and their name.

The extermination was carried out through several methods. The Qianlong Emperor ordered his troops to show no mercy. He told his commanders to target rebels and their followers. The Qing army included Manchu, Han, Salar, and Khalkha Mongol troops. These forces used warfare to destroy the Dzungar population. Disease also played a massive role in the deaths. Smallpox was a major killer during this period.

Some scholars describe this as a complete destruction of a people. It was an explicit policy of extermination that lasted for two years.

The scale of the loss was enormous. Scholars estimate that 70 to 80 percent of the Dzungar population died. This equals roughly 500,000 to 800,000 people. The scholar Wei Yuan recorded specific details about these deaths. He noted that smallpox killed about 40 percent of Dzungar households. Manchu bannermen were responsible for killing about 30 percent of the households. About 20 percent of the people managed to flee to Russia or Kazakh tribes.

The population of the region did not recover for many generations.

Many other groups were caught in the violence. The Qing troops often could not distinguish between different nomadic groups. Because of this, Turkic Kipchak nomads like the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz were also targeted. Many Kazakhs and Kyrgyz died during the genocide. This caused deep and lasting anger toward the Qing. This resentment eventually helped trigger the First Sino-Kazakh War.

The violence against these groups created a point of no return in relations with China.

Some groups actually helped the Qing military. The Uyghur people had been living under Dzungar rule in Altishahr. The Dzungar rulers had imposed heavy taxes on the Uyghurs. Some Uyghur leaders, like Emin Khoja, worked with the Qing. They provided supplies and acted as intermediaries. The Qing used this help to crush the Dzungar state.

However, the Uyghurs did not find lasting peace. Disputes soon broke out because the Qing did not honor promises of autonomy.

The genocide changed the entire landscape of the region. After the Dzungars were gone, the Qing government resettled the area. They moved Han, Hui, Uyghur, Salar, and Sibe people into Dzungaria. They also moved Manchu Bannermen to the region. These people established state farms on the former grasslands.

This process turned much of the steppe into farmland. The Qing gave this new territory the name Xinjiang. This shift moved the region from a nomadic empire to a settled agricultural area.