Erdeni Batur (in modern Mongolian: Эрдэнэбаатар, Erdenebaatar; d. 1653) was a Choros-Oirat prince generally considered to be the founder of the Dzungar Khanate, centered in the Dzungaria region,currently in north-westernmost part of China.
Erdenebaatar was the son of Khara Khula who was taishi (in modern Mongolian:тайж, taij, meaning "nobleman") of the dominant Choros tribe and the leader of the allied Four Oirat, collectively known as "Dzungars." After the death of his father in 1634, Erdeni Batur assumed his father's position and carried on his father's objective of unifying the Oirat tribes into a formal confederation with himself as the supreme military and political ruler.
Upon becoming ruler of the Dzungars, Erdeni Batur sought to consolidate his position around the Tarbagatai Mountains, the land his people roamed. In so doing, Erdeni Batur led the Dzungars to several victorious military campaigns over the Kazakhs to his west. To the north in southern Siberia, Erdeni Batur gave Russia access to salt mines, thereby ending a 20-year conflict, in exchange for diplomatic and trade relations. The commercial ties, which remained intact throughout his rule, and the prosperity generated by such ties with Russian outposts further solidified Erdeni Batur's prestige and position among the Oirats and the leaders of the adjacent nations.
Within the Khanate, Erdenebaatar set out on an ambition campaign of empire building activities. For instance, he established a capital city called Kubakserai south of Lake Zaisan on the Imil River, near the modern city of Tacheng, and built monasteries throughout Dzungar territory. He also promoted Buddhism to his subjects, and encouraged them to resettle to the new capital and to engage in both agriculture and small-scale manufacturing, like masonry and metal crafting.
Like his father, Erdenebaatar sought to build the Khanate's power and independence to be able to wage war against the Qing Dynasty of China for control over territory. His attempts to monopolize power among the Oirat tribes, however, was only partially successful. The dissension and skirmishes, for example, compelled Güshi Khan and his brother, Kundelung Ubasha, to move a substantial part of the Khoshut-Oirat tribe from the Lake Zaisan area to the area around Qinghai Lake - what the Chinese called Qinghai and the Tibetans called Amdo - in 1636, where they soon would establish the Khoshut Khanate and transform Tibet into a Qing protectorate. But the unity Erdeni Batur created among the remaining Oirat tribes, viz., Choros, Dörbet and Khoit tribes, further strengthened his power and his resolve to establish the Dzungar Khanate as the preeminent power in Central Asia.