The Oirat, Western Mongol are the westernmost people group of the Mongols whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of western Mongolia. The most prominent population is located in the Republic of Kalmykia, a federal subject of the Russian Federation, where they are called Kalmyks.

From the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries the Kalmyk-Oirats numbered approximately two million and were one of the most formidable tribes of Central Asia. They opposed the eastern Mongols under Genghis Khan, but eventually allied with them and became a loyal and formidable faction of the Mongol war machine. After the dissolution of Genghis Khan's empire, they conquered the plains of Central Asia. Among the Oirats' enemies were the Chinese Manchu dynasty and the neighboring Turkic Kyrgyz, Kazakh, and Altai tribes.

The Oirats converted to Tibetan Buddhism around 1615. Although they often claim adherence to Buddhism, many practice shamanism.

View Enlarged Map of this People Group