Sonam Rapten was the chief attendant during the youth of the 5th Dalai Lama (1617-1682). He drew up plans to end persecution of the Gelug and unify Tibet with the help of Güshi. The Gelug monasteries appealed for help against the Karmapa and Bon partisans such as the Khalkha prince Choghtu Khong Tayiji, who had recently settled in Amdo. This was a very bold move since the Mongols had a reputation of ruthlessness against military foes and civilians alike. Güshi was known for his devotion to the Gelugpa and responded positively. He was joined in a pro-Gelugpa league by the other Oirat princes: his nephews Uchirtu Sechen and Ablai Tayiji in the Zaysan and Ertis areas; furthermore Erdeni Batur, whose Dzungar and Dörbet Oirat subjects lived by the Ulungur, Irtysh and Emil Rivers, and even the Torghut chief Kho Orluk, who was in the process of subduing areas to the north of the Aral and Caspian Seas. As it turned out, it would nevertheless take several years to install the "Great Fifth" as the head of a unified Tibetan state.