10 Facts About Dawachi

Dawachi was the last khan of the Dzungar Khanate from 1753 until his defeat at the hands of Qing and Mongol forces at Ili in 1755.

Dawachi traced his ancestry back directly to Erdeni Batur, the founder of the Dzungar Khanate.

Dawachi's brother, Tsewang Rabtan, led the Dzungar invasion and occupation of Tibet in 1717.

Dawachi's father was the second cousin of Galdan Tseren, the Khong Tayiji of the Dzungar Khanate from 1727 to 1745.

In 1751, Lama Dorji's pre-emptive military strike defeated forces loyal to Dawachi, who was forced to flee across the border into Kazakh Khanate territory.

Dawachi refused and instead attacked Amursana in 1754, forcing him to flee east to Khovd where he swore allegiance to the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Empire.

The Qianlong Emperor agreed to support Amursana's plans to defeat Dawachi, which included the retaking of Ili and neighboring Kashgar.

In desperation, Dawachi sent a delegation to Beijing led by his son, who expressed his father's desire to become a vassal of the Qing Empire.

Dawachi was captured by Hakim Beg Khojis, Muslim Governor of Us-Turfan, who sent him on to Beijing.

The last years of Dawachi's life were spent in Kalgan where, in 1759, he died from excessive alcohol consumption.