Zaisan () is an ancient title among the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

Buryats The Buryats are a Mongolic ethnic group native to southeastern Siberia who speak the Buryat language. They are one of the two largest indigenous groups in Siberia, the other being the Yakuts. The majority of the Buryats today live in their ti ...

Kalmyks Kalmyks (), archaically anglicised as Calmucks (), are the only Mongolic ethnic group living in Europe, residing in the easternmost part of the European Plain. This dry steppe area, west of the lower Volga River, known among the nomads as ...

Altaians The Altai people (, ), also the Altaians (, ), are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group of indigenous peoples of Siberia mainly living in the Altai Republic, Russia. Several thousand of the Altaians also live in Mongolia (Altai Mountains) and C ...

Khakas The Khakas are a Turkic indigenous people of Siberia, who live in the republic of Khakassia, Russia. They speak the Khakas language. The Khakhassian people are direct descendants of various ancient cultures that have inhabited southern Siberia ...

Telengits Telengits or Telengut () are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia that are recognized as one of the minor indigenous peoples of Russia. They mainly live in the Kosh-Agachsky District of the federal Altai Republic. History Chinese c ...

, denoting the hereditary ruler of the otok,

ulus Ulus may refer to: Places * Ulus, Bartın, a district in Bartin Province, Turkey * Ulus, Beşiktaş, neighborhood in Beşiktaş, Istanbul Province, Turkey *Ulus, Ankara, an important quarter in central Ankara, Turkey ** Ulus (Ankara Metro), an und ...

aimag An aimag ( ; ; ), originally a Mongolian word meaning 'tribe', is an administrative subdivision in Mongolia, Russia, and in the Inner Mongolia region of China. Mongolia In Mongolia, an aimag is the first-level administrative subdivision. ...

. In some cases, the title corresponded to the

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

.Чихачев П. А. Путешествие в Восточный Алтай / перевод с фр., предисл. и коммент. В. В. Цыбульского. М.: �аука,Гл. ред вост. лит., 1974.- 360 с. (Центральная Азия в источниках и материалах XIX- начала XXвека). Page. 88.Аристов Н.А. Заметки об этническом составе тюркских племен и народностей... Page. 341.

Etymology

The word "zaisan" comes from the name of the Chinese title " zaixiang", which served as chancellor.

The title of zaisan among Telengits

In the XVIII and XIX centuries, the title of the ruler of the Teles and Kebeks Otoks, which corresponded to

. Zaisan's power was almost limitless, even after joining the Russian Empire. The power of zaisan was higher than the power of the volost foreman. Zaisans in their volosts had the right to punish any Telengite without a trial"Живая старина" выпуск III и IV, 1896 год, А. Калачев "Поездка в теленгетам на Алтай". Page. 485.

The title of zaisan among Buryats

Zaisan () is a junior administrative rank in pre—revolutionary

Buryatia Buryatia, officially the Republic of Buryatia, is a republic of Russia located in the Russian Far East. Formerly part of the Siberian Federal District, it has been administered as part of the Far Eastern Federal District since 2018. To its nort ...

. Zaisans were at the head of the otok, sometimes the ulus as hereditary possessions.

References

Mongol Empire Culture of the Russian Empire History of Siberia Siberia Politics of Siberia Altai Mountains {{Russia-hist-stub