Overview
Sholoi was the first ruler to hold the title Setsen Khan, the founder of the eastern Khalkha house that later gave its name to the Setsen Khan aimag. A son of Möru Buima Noyan and a great-grandson of Gersenji, Dayan Khan's son, he received the title Gegeen Setsen Khan from the Fifth Dalai Lama in the early 1630s. His lands lay on the eastern edge of Khalkha, facing the southern Mongol princes who were then submitting one by one to the Manchus.
Rise to Power
Sholoi rose among the eastern Khalkha nobles in the early seventeenth century. His title from the Dalai Lama in the early 1630s set him alongside the Tüsheet and Zasagt khans as one of the three great khans of Khalkha.
Rule and Achievements
- Became the first Setsen Khan, establishing the eastern of the three Khalkha khanates
- Received his title from the Fifth Dalai Lama, part of the Buddhist legitimation shared by all the Khalkha houses
- Ruled the Khalkha frontier closest to the Manchu state during its rise to power over the southern Mongols and China
- Founded the line that held the Setsen Khan title until 1923; his fifth son Babu succeeded him
Legacy
Sholoi's house endured for nearly three centuries, through independence, submission to the Qing in 1691 and the revival of Mongolian independence in 1911. As the khan closest to the Manchus, he and his successors were the first to feel each shift in the balance of power to the east.