Altan Khan

Altan Khan, also known as Anda, was the leader of the Tümed Mongols and the de facto ruler of the Right Wing, or western tribes, of the Mongols. He was the grandson of Dayan Khan (1464–1543), a descendant of Kublai Khan (1215–1294). The Mongols under the rule of Altan relatively prospered in the Tumed and many Chinese refugees joined him. In 1571, he made peace with the Ming China to open large markets to sell Mongolian horses in exchange for goods in the diguise of tributary relationship and became a patron of the Gelug Tibetan Buddhists to counter the potential impact of Chinese influence. For the first time in history, Altan confered the title Dalai Lama to bSodnom rgya-mtsho.