Bogd Khan | |||||||||
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Khagan of Mongolia | |||||||||
Reign |
29 December 1911 – 1919 1921 – 20 May 1924 |
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Enthronement | 29 December 1911 | ||||||||
Predecessor | Ejei Khan | ||||||||
Successor | Republic declared | ||||||||
Born | c. 1869 Tibet |
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Died | 20 May 1924 (aged 54–55) Niyslel Hüree, Mongolia |
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Spouse | Tsendiin Dondogdulam | ||||||||
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Religion | Tibetan Buddhism |
Full name | |
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Jabzandamba Khutagt Bogd Gegeen Ezen Khaan | |
Era name and dates | |
Olnoo Örgögdsön: (1911–1924) |
The Bogd Khan (Mongolian: Богд Живзундамба Агваанлувсанчойжинямданзанванчүг, Bogd Jivzundamba Agvaanluvsanchoijinyamdanzanvanchüg; 1869–1924) was enthroned as Khagan of Mongolia (Bogd Khaganate) on 29 December 1911, when Outer Mongolia declared independence from the Qing dynasty after the Xinhai Revolution. He was born in Tibet. As the 8th Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, he was the third most important person in the Tibetan Buddhism hierarchy, below only the Dalai and Panchen Lamas, and therefore also known as the "Bogdo Lama". He was the spiritual leader of Outer Mongolia's Tibetan Buddhism. His wife Tsendiin Dondogdulam, the Ekh Dagina ("Dakini Mother"), was believed to be a manifestation of White Tara.
The future Bogd Khan was born in 1869 in the family of a Tibetan official. The boy was officially recognized as the new incarnation of the Bogd Gegen in Potala in the presence of the 13th Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. The new Bogd Gegen arrived in Urga, the capital of Outer Mongolia, in 1874. After this he lived only in Mongolia.
According to one eyewitness,
"...he did not become a puppet in the hands of the lamas but, on the contrary, took them in hand. Since his young years he wanted to restore the great Mongolian kingdom of Genghis Khan or, at least, to liberate Mongolia from the Chinese and make it self-dependent. Local princes feared him, but the masses liked him... An independent and clever first hierarch and ruler was unacceptable neither for Tibet, nor for the Chinese".