The high forest basin round Lake Khovsgol and the Darkhad depression west of it: taiga hunters, small herders of horses and, perhaps, reindeer keepers (not attested for 1200), and the smiths of the Sayan edge (inferred).
They lie next to the Oirat and the Merkit and answer to none that is named; no raid on them is recorded. The lake is a sacred water.
Who holds it
- Title
- Hunters and reindeer herders, no leader named
- Since
- not known
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
The Darkhad as a named people are later (the name means 'exempt' or 'smiths' and belongs to the Mongol and Qing centuries). The Tubas and Uriankhai of the later sources are the likely hunting and herding people of the Khovsgol basin; their names and chiefs for 1200 are not known. The Oirat of Qutuqa Beki (the mnw record) claim the forests to the west and north-west.
Overlord
None attested.
What it holds
- Hunting and fishing grounds round Khovsgol
- The taiga and its game; iron from the Sayan smiths (inferred)
How it was acquired
By long use.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours of the Oirat on the west and north-west, the Merkit on the east, the Tumat on the north.
How things stand that morning
In winter camps in the sheltered depression; whether the Oirat take tribute from them is not pinned.
Wealth
Furs, game, reindeer, iron; no figures.
Military
Hunters; no numbers.
Threats
- Oirat or Merkit raids
- Dzud
Places of note
- Darkhad depression winter camps (approximate): Approximate.
Where the sources disagree
- The assignment's 'Darhad' people are a later name; the record uses the place and says what is known.
Evidence: Place only; no source for 1200.
On the map: The west overlaps what the Oirat researcher may claim; the campaign decides.
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia, Mongol campaigns in Siberia
- 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
- Rashid al-Din, Jami al-tawarikh (Thackston translation, 1998-99), Keraites and Merkits chapters. Quoted from memory; not re-read this session
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.