The population of the Kalmyk Khanate in the second half of the XVII–XVIII centuries and its mobilization potential

The paper deals with the analysis of the population of the Kalmyk Khanate from its emergence in the mid-XVII century until its dissolution in 1771, as well as its mobilization potential. The study revealed that in the mid-XVII century, the population of the Kalmyk Khanate amounted to 50, 000 families (tents), and in the following decades it increased to 100 thousand through seizures and natural growth. However, since the late XVII century, civil strife and rebellions began to significantly decrease the population of the Kalmyk Khanate. The civil strife ceased only by the early 1740s, when the population decreased to 30,000 tents, in part due to the increase in the number of families per tent. In subsequent years, the population increased to 40,000-45,000 families, but in 1771, the leadership of the Kalmyk Khanate took most of the Kalmyks to Dzhungaria. An analysis of the mobilization potential showed that the maximum number of the Kalmyk cavalry was limited to the norm of “one warrior per two families.” Exceeding this limit was impossible for economic reasons. In the wars of the second half of the XVII - first third of the XVIII century, the Kalmyk Khanate fielded troops of up to 10,000 horsemen. In subsequent wars, up to 20,000 horsemen were sent on campaigns, indicating a significant strain on mobilization forces.