Mongolian history

The Mongols have long prehistory and most remarkable history. The Huns, a people who lived in Central Asia from the 3rd to the 1st century BCE, may have been their ancestors. A united Mongolian state of nomadic tribes was formed in the early 13th century CE by Genghis Khan. His successors controlled a vast empire that included much of China, Russia, Central Asia, and the Middle East. The Mongol Empire eventually collapsed and split up, and from 1691 northern Mongolia was colonized by Qing China. With the collapse of Qing rule in Mongolia in 1911/12, the Bogd Gegeen , Mongolia’s religious leader, was proclaimed Bogd Khan, or head of state. He declared Mongolia’s independence, but only Autonomy under China’s suzerainty was achieved. From 1919, nationalist revolutionaries, with Soviet assistance, drove out Chinese troops attempting to reoccupy Mongolia, and in 1921 they expelled the invading White Russian cavalry. July 11, 1921, then became celebrated as the anniversary of the revolution. The Mongolian People’s Republic was proclaimed in November 1924, and the Mongolian capital, centered on the main monastery of the Bogd Gegeen, was renamed Ulaanbaatar (“Red Hero”).