Kalmyk Khanate (St. George's Night)

The Kalmyk Khanate was a state founded in 1629 by migratory Oirats from Mongolia, who subjugated the pre-existing Khanate of Kazan, a Turco-Mongol successor state of the Golden Horde. The Kalmyk state is often treated by historians as one of the "Gunpowder Empires", along with Safavid Persia: a new form of regime established by new military technology, which was able to accomplish large-scale cultural and political changes as a result. The arrival of the Kalmyks in Kazan is usually treated by historians as the key moment that halted Muscovite expansion eastward into Siberia. Its extended confrontations with Russia in the mid-1600s also interest historians, as they represent the first clash between gunpowder-driven European and Asian armies.