People or range · Self-governing peoples of Mongolia and the Steppe · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Buryat ancestors

The Mongolic and Turkic hunters, herdsmen and fishers of the western shore of Baikal, the Angara headwaters, Olkhon island and the upper Lena.

They live by hunting and fishing, with horses and cattle on the steppe pockets; Olkhon's Cape Burkhan is a shaman's place. They are generally taken to be the Buriyat of the Secret History and the ancestors of the Buryats (the identification is later and not certain). No chief is named for 1200.

Who holds it

Title
Clan chiefs not named
Since
not known
Born
not known
Family
not known
Confidence
low

The Secret History names the Buriyat among the forest peoples subdued in 1207. The clans known later as the Bulagat and the Ekhirit (west of Baikal) and the Khongodor (Tunka) are their descendants or the same people; the 1200 clan structure is not known.

Overlord

None attested.

What it holds

  • Hunting and fishing grounds on the Angara, Olkhon and the upper Lena
  • Steppe pockets for horses and cattle

How it was acquired

By long use.

Allies and rivals

Neighbours of the Tumat on the south-west, the Bargut on the east shore, the taiga hunters on the north-west.

How things stand that morning

In winter camps on the Angara, the Lena and the Olkhon strait; no overlord attested.

Wealth

Furs, fish (the omul of Baikal, the seal), game; no figures.

Military

Hunters and archers; no numbers.

Threats

  • Dzud
  • Merkit refugees

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. 1207Jochi subdues the Buriyat among the forest peoples (one line; after the opening date).Depends on: Temujin's rise. Stopped by: No Mongol empire.

Places of note

  • Angara and Olkhon winter camps (approximate): Approximate.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Name from the Secret History; clan structure from later records.

On the map: A rough range from later placing.

Sources and studies

  1. Wikipedia, Mongol campaigns in Siberia
  2. Igor de Rachewiltz, The Secret History of the Mongols (Brill 2004; abridged ed. ANU/CEDAR 2015). Section numbers quoted from memory of the text; not re-read this session
  3. Rashid al-Din, Jami al-tawarikh (Thackston translation, 1998-99), Keraites and Merkits chapters. Quoted from memory; not re-read this session
  4. Wikipedia, Barga (tribe) (snapshot copy)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.