Tseveenravdan

Who was Tseveenravdan?

Tseveenravdan was a Choros-Oirat prince and the Khong Tayiji of the Zunghar Khanate from 1697 until his death in 1727. He was married to Lha-bzang Khan's sister.

Tsewang Rabtan married his daughter to Lha-bzang Khan's son in 1714. He used the occasion to destroy some of Lha-bzang's troops in preparation for an invasion of Tibet. He consolidated Zunghar power by 1715, and in 1717 sent one army of 300 to Amdo to retrieve the 7th Dalai Lama, planning to consolidate Tibetan support by bringing him to Lhasa, and another army of 6000, led by his brother Tseren Dondub, that successfully took Lhasa from the Khoshut and killed Lha-bzang Khan. However, the first army failed to acquire the Dalai Lama, having been defeated by Qing troops at Kumbum. What is more, his troops went on a rampage through Lhasa and its environs, looting, raping and killing. Soon, the Tibetans were appealing to Kangxi to rid them of the Zunghars. The Zunghar occupation of Tibet became more difficult to maintain as time passed and tough they managed to defeat a poorly organized Chinese invasion at the Battle of the Salween River in 1718, the Qing troops took Lhasa in 1720.