The Tibetan-born reincarnate lama enthroned as the last great khan of Mongolia
'The princes feared him, the common people loved him.'
Born in Lhasa, Tibet, the 8th Jebtsundamba Khutuktu was, after the Dalai and Panchen Lamas, the highest living incarnation in Mongolian Buddhism. When the Qing dynasty collapsed in 1911, Mongol nobles enthroned him on 29 December as the 'Bogd Khan' ('Holy Ruler') of a new theocratic state. Stripped of power when China abolished autonomy in 1919, he was reinstated as a limited monarch after the 1921 revolution and died of throat cancer on 20 May 1924, ending the monarchy. The first and last great khan of Outer Mongolia since the late 17th century, he held Mongols together amid upheaval through his religious charisma.
Career Timeline
- 1874Arrived in Urga (Ih Hüree), recognized as head of Mongolian Buddhism
- 1911Enthroned as Bogd Khan on 29 December
- 1919Lost power as China abolished autonomy
- 1921Reinstated as limited monarch after the People's Revolution
- 1924Died of throat cancer, ending the monarchy