Mongolia, a city forged through a ruthless army, run by an even more mighty leader. The history of Mongolia is one of great detail and facination to many, and the events that constructed this country are anything but unpretentious...
The Proto-Mongols
Some of the earliest evidence of Proto-Mongols (original or first mongols) can be found over 800,000 years ago during the time of the Stone Age. Moving next into the Bronze and Irons Ages, tribes began to form, diverge and converge. It was here when the Proto-Mongols first began a seemingly eternal fued with China; they began having conflict with early China over territory and dominance within their respective boundaries. Remember: this is long before Europe devised the state-system, it was much easier to fight over territory that had no global or even region officiation.
Not only did the first Mongol tribes fight with China, but began to have disputes over supremacy within their own region. The Rouran Khaganate was a tribe created by the Xianbei people which stood from 333 B.C to 555 AD until it was defeated by the Göktürks, who later created the Turkic Khaganate (552-744). The Turkic Khaganate were very succesful for some time, but were no match for the Tang Dynasty who eventually subdued and destroyed the tribe.
A group of statues said to be depicting Xianbei soldiers.
The Great Khan
Genghis Khan or Chinggis Khaan (1162-1227) as it is pronounced (in Mongolia and among historians) is one of the most fearsome conquerers to have ever existed and established the largest land empire to have ever existed. Coming from humble beginnings, Genghis Khan was born under the name Temüjin (meaning "of iron" and "blacksmith") and grew up by his father, who himself was ruler of a Mongol clan; legend says that he was born, clutching a blood clot in his right hand. He also had 3 brothers, a sister, and a few half-siblings. His father was poisoned when he was very young, and his clan desserted him and his family to avoid having to care for them.
Temüjin's first rise to power began not much time later, when he killed his older half-brother and established himself head of the household. Enduring capture, enslavement, and escape, he later married his first (arranged) wife, Borte, with whom he the first of many children later to come.
His powertrip, however, only esclated. Going agaist tradtion, he killed the leaders of neighouring tribes and assimilated thier people into his own clan. This simple strategy, along with fear mongering, rape, and mass killing, Temüjin was able to create the largest empire in history. By 1205, he had vanquished all of his former rivals, and was left to expand beyond their reaches. The following year he was crowned with the name "Genghis Khan" or "Universal Ruler" - and that he was.
By the end of his reign, Genghis Khan had succeeced in absorbing more than 12 million square miles of territory, double what any other such person has achieved, and killed an estimated 40 million people. Though his rutheless ways seem exteremely horrifying to any such person living in the United States, the Mongols hold him extremely high regard and believe him to be a great ruler. And he did achieve greatness; Genghis Khan created the world's first postal system, which entailed extremely fast horseman along trade routes stretching from the edges of his empire. Not only that, but 1 in 200 men is a direct descendent of Genghis Khan and their exist alive approximately 16 million of his descendents.
Though no exact record of his appearance exists - due to the fact that he prohibited paintings of himself - this statue is one of the best approximations of how Genghis Khan may have looked.
The Khans and Khanates
The death of Genghis Khan in no way hindered the growth of Mongol Empire, and many of His succesors followed wonderfully in his footsteps. Ögedei pushed the empire in to the Koreas and begun the invasion of Europe, which was further carried along by Batu Khan between 1234-1237. Though one of Genghis Khan's most great and famous successors was Kublai Khan, who unfortunately begun the Toluid Civil War with his younger brother, Ariq Böke and marked the end of a united empire.
The Toluid War laster 4 years (1260-1264), in which members of the Tolui family fought for the title of Great Khan. What was a relatively small-scale fight escalated into this civil war, a other such as Berke–Hulagu war and the Kaidu–Kublai war. Eventually the empire could not stand united in the face of battle and separated into four khanates: The Yuan Dynasty (Great Khan), Ilkhanate, the Golden Horde, and Chagatai Khanate.
Many years past and eventually, the Yuan Dynasty and its neighbours came to an end in the 1300s, life for the Mongols thereafter was left in the hands of fate, perhaps for others to decide.
Life After Death
The Qing Dynasty began it's 3000 year reign in Mongolia in the year 1635, and lasted then on until about 1915. Their empire expanded all through the Mongolian steppe and into the outer reaches of the area, it looked very similar to modern day China and Mongolia, together, in terms of land size and shape. During the Qing, Buddhism began to disperse through the kingdom when the converted Altan Khan invited the 3rd Dalai Lama into try in 1578. Within the next 50 years, nearly every Mongolian had become Buddhist.
Other accomplishments include the implementation of the Hüree culture into the Mongol society. Hüree is an ancient city that once stood where Ulaanbaatar does today and a breeding down for rich culture. One of the most impactful aspects was the incorperation of new styles of song such as "Alia Sender", "Arvan Tavnii Sar", "Tsagaan Sariin Shiniin Negen" and so many more. Mongolia's governance under the Qing Dynasty was not as a traditional country, and can be compared to the federal system in the United States. Each province or sector of Mongolia under Qing rule had it's own sort of governance, though most were based on military control.
Mongolian People's Repubic
This is the period of history between 1924-1992 in which Mongolia existed as a Central Asian, sovereign, landlocked, socialist state. The Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party ruled the state while remaining in close ties with the Soviet Union neighbours. The formation of this state began with the Qing Dynasty and its plans to further incorporate Outer Mongolia. The Mongolian aristocracy was not happy with the Qing Dysnasty's prospect of colinization and devlopments within Inner Mongolia, and looked to Soviet Russia for support. This lead to the Xinhai Revolution and the eventual collapse of the Qing Dynasty. WIth agreement from China and Russia, Mongolia was soon an autonomous state.
Between 1925-1928, a new regime was established, however Mongolia still existed as a poorer state, with little infrastructure and all wealth in the hands of the nobility and the religious. Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, built up socialism in Mongolia and ended up breaking down religion, the economy, and many lines of transportation when he collectivized jobs. Uprisings began which lead to further repression on his part. And The Great Purge began to drip into Mongolia, in which thousands of people, including a majority of Tibetan Buddhists were killed.
The collapse of the Mongolian People's Republic began in 1985 when Mikhail Gorbachev came into power over the Soviet Union. His tactics were to pull back from Mongolia when it came to control as well as aid and assistance. The people of Mongolia held a vote for the MPRP, and it one with 85% of voters in favor. However several years later in around 1996, the MPRP was voted out of office. It was then decided that Mongolia would remain in peaceful relations with both China and the Soviet Union, but under no circumstance would that follow the line of governance or leadership that either country possesed, bringing Mongolia into the more democratic state that it is today, as well as it's trasition into a stable market economy.
Soviet style paintings done during the time of the Mongolian People's Republic to promote socialist/Soviet ideals within Mongolia.