Oirats
Oirat people with tovshuur | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 758,578 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| China (mainly in Xinjiang and Qinghai) | 272,000 (2010) |
| Mongolia | 230,000 (2010) |
| Russia | 195,500 (2021 census) |
| ∟ Kemerovo Oblast | 500 (2021) |
| Tajikistan | 43,078 (2009) |
| Kyrgyzstan | 12,000 (2018) |
| Uzbekistan | 1,000 |
| Other | 5,000 |
| Languages | |
| Mainly: Oirat, Russian, other Mongolian languages Regional: Chinese | |
| Religion | |
| Tibetan Buddhism, Mongolian shamanism Minority: Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Kalmyks, Southern Altaians, and other Mongol peoples | |
Oirats (/ˈɔɪræt/; Mongolian: Ойрад [ˈɞe̯ɾə̆t]) or Oirds (Mongolian: Ойрд [ˈɞe̯ɾə̆t]; Kalmyk: Өөрд [ˈøːɾə̆t]), formerly known as Eluts and Eleuths (/ɪˈluːt/ or /ɪˈljuːθ/; Chinese: 厄魯特, Èlǔtè) are the westernmost group of Mongols, whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia.
The first documented reference to Elut and Yelut was in the Onginsk "rune" inscriptions dated in the sixth century. Historically, the Oirats were composed of four major tribes: Dzungar (Choros or Olots), Torghut, Dörbet and Khoshut.
The political elite of the Rouran Khaganate were YELÜ-T Mongolic speakers. Although these two empires encompassed multilingual populations, the language of diplomacy, trade, and culture was an ÖLÜ (YELÜ) dialect of ancient Mongolic descent. When the Tabgach destroyed the Rouran Empire, the Mongolic-speaking people escaped into the Caspian steppes.
The modern Kalmyks of Kalmykia on the Caspian Sea in southeastern Europe are Oirats.