Medicinal registers of the viceroys of the Kalmyk khanate

The article examines the medicinal registers of Tseren-Donduk and Donduk-Dashi, viceroys of the Kalmyk Khanate, dating from the first half to the mid-eighteenth century. The study is based on archival materials from the National Archive of the Republic of Kalmykia and documents published by Professor N.N.Palmov. These registers are analyzed as a distinct body of historical sources that provides insight into the provision of medicines to the court of the Kalmyk rulers and the interaction between the Kalmyk ruling elite and Russian administrative and pharmaceutical institutions. The study establishes that the provision of medicines was a multi-stage process involving the preparation of requests, the transmission of names and samples of required substances, their identification, search, examination, and subsequent delivery. The registers contain information on medicinal substances of plant, animal, and mineral origin. It is concluded that the medicinal registers constitute a valuable source for studying the mechanisms of medicine supply in the Kalmyk Khanate, practices of translating medical and pharmacopeia terminology, and interaction between the Kalmyk rulers’ court and Russian governmental and pharmaceutical institutions in the eighteenth century.

1. Badmaev, A. V. (2014). Oirat manuscript on pharmacopoeia. The World of “Clear Script” . 88–89 (in Russian).

2. Bichurin, N. Ya. [Iakinf] (1851). Collection of information about the peoples who inhabited Central Asia in ancient times . Saint Petersburg. 4 vols. (in Russian).

3. Bichurin, N. Ya. [Iakinf] (1833). Historical review of the Oirats or Kalmyks from the 15th century to the present. Journal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs . 5. VIII. 36–111 (in Russian).

4. Bichurin, N. Ya. [Iakinf] (1833). Historical review of the Oirats or Kalmyks from the 15th century to the present. Journal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs . 8. IX. 381–445 (in Russian).

5. Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire. First Collection. From 1649 to December 12, 1825 (1830). Saint Petersburg. 6 (in Russian).

6. Crowley, R. (2026). Spices. A History of the Great Geographical Discoveries . Moscow (in Russian).

7. Doctors and methods of healing among the Kalmyk people (from the notes of N. Nefedev) (1834). Northern Bee . 117. 467–468 (in Russian).

8. Georgi, I. G. (1799). Description of all peoples inhabiting the Russian state . IV. Saint Petersburg (in Russian).

9. Great Encyclopedic Dictionary of Medicinal Plants (2015). Ed. by G. P. Yakovlev. Saint Petersburg (in Russian).

10. Nefedev, N. (1834). Detailed information about the Volga Kalmyks collected on site . Saint Petersburg (in Russian).

11. Omakaeva, E. U. (1997). Folk medicine as an important part of the traditional culture of the Kalmyks. Shambala . 5–6. 46 (in Russian).

12. Omakaeva, E. U. (2001). Tibetan medicine and folk healing among the Kalmyks (based on archival and field sources). Sarepta and the Peoples of the Volga Region in the History and Culture of Russia: Collection of Scientific Articles Based on the Materials of the Scientific Conference . Volgograd. 77–82 (in Russian).

13. Omakaeva, E. U. (2002). Medical knowledge among the Kalmyks (based on archival and field sources). Proceedings of Scientific Readings Dedicated to the Memory of Professor A. Sh. Kichikov . 278–281 (in Russian).

14. Omakaeva, E.U. (2023). Achievements of Tibetan medicine and their reflection in Kalmyk Buddhist medical terminology: Tibetan-Oirat parallels, their semantics and etymology (based on written sources on the “Clear writing” and their russian translations). Nomadic civilization: historical research . 3(4): 85-95. https://doi.org/10.53315/2782-3377-2023-3-4-85-95 (in Russian).

15. Palmov, N. N. (1926). Studies on the History of the Volga Kalmyks . I. Astrakhan. (in Russian).

16. Palmov, N. N. (1927). Studies on the History of the Volga Kalmyks . II. Astrakhan. (in Russian).

17. Pashkov, A. M. (2020). Peter the Great’s resort “Marcial Waters” in the perception of foreign contemporaries. Proceedings of Petrozavodsk State University . 42. 4. 99–106 (in Russian).

18. Shantaev, B. A. (2005a). Folk medicine recipes among the Kalmyks. T. A. Bertagaev (on the 100th Anniversary of His Birth): Collection of Scientific Articles . Elista. 341–344 (in Russian).

19. Shantaev, B. A. (2005b). Childbirth rituals and methods of treating children in traditional Kalmyk culture. Youth in Science: Problems, Searches, Prospects: Collection of Scientific Articles . II. Elista. 147–153 (in Russian).

20. Shantaev, B. A. (2008). Folk medicine of the Kalmyks, Buryats and Altaians (on some correspondences). Oirats and Kalmyks in the History of Russia, Mongolia and China: Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference. Elista, May 9–14, 2007: in 3 Parts . 3. Elista. 81–90 (in Russian).

21. The National Archive of the Republic of Kalmykia (NA RK).

22. Jährig, J. (1779). Extraits des Rapports envoyes a l’Academie. Acta Academiae Scientiarum Imperialis Petropolitanae . I. 65–68.