Altai

The Altai principality of the Telengits emerged in the Altai Mountains in the fourteenth century. Its princes, known as biy, retained considerable independence between Russia and the Dzungar Khanate. In the 1700s the Dzungars conquered the Telengits and resettled some on the Ili River; during the khanate's turmoil, these people attempted to return to the Altai.