History History

According to archaeological remains - mainly primitive weapons and carved stones - found in the Gobi and Khangai, the first humans would have arrived in Mongolia between 200,000 and 100,000 years before our era.

Writings from 318 and 245 BC mention the Xiongnu, a nomadic Mongolian people who lived in the Orkhon and Selenge region and probably practiced shamanism.

The Xianbei, a proto-Turkish-Mongolian tribe, settled in Eastern Mongolia. They beat the Xiongnu, settled in the north.

The Turkic and Mongolian peoples clashed and settled one after the other in the steppes, on the territory of present-day Mongolia. After the Xianbei, the Ruanruan, Köktürks, Uyghurs, Kirghiz and Khitans followed. The latter founded the Liao dynasty and consolidated the pre-Mongol empire, before being invaded by the Jürchen from Manchuria between 1115 and 1125.

The Mongolian tribes, in conflict with each other, are divided, but Qabul Khan, father of Yesugaï and grandfather of Chinggis Khan, creates the first Mongolian confederation by gathering tribes under his aegis. It was however dislocated at his death.

Son of Yesugai, the chief of the Kiyat clan, of the Borjigin tribe, Chinggis Khan, also known in France as Genghis Khan, was born under the name of Temujin. His father quickly betrothed him to Börte "the Cerulean", from the Onggirat clan, before being killed by the Tatars. Rejected by the clan, Temujin eventually became the leader of the Kiyat at the age of 20.

Temujin took over the Borjigin tribe and began to unify the Mongolian tribes, which were being torn apart by internal wars in Central Asia.

Temujin is proclaimed Chinggis Khan by the Khuriltai, the plenary assembly of tribal chiefs, who recognize his sovereignty. He promulgates the Yassa, his legal and moral code that recalls above all his sovereignty, the unification of Mongol clans and the penalties for breaking the law. He imposed Khalkha as the common language of the unified tribes.

The great Khan subdued the Western Xia dynasty in China and rallied several peoples including the Uyghurs, from whom he borrowed the alphabet that would become Mongolian Bitchig. He then conquered Manchuria, overthrew the Jin dynasty and took Beijing in 1215. The city became part of the Mongolian empire. Chinggis Khan could then leave for Southwest Asia. In 1226, he conquered the kingdom of Khwarezm and occupied Samarkand. The Mongols headed for Europe and China, where they fought against the Tangus, the Western Xia and the Jin.

Chinggis Khan died of a fall from a horse on August 18. He was buried in a secret place in Mongolia, probably in the Khentii Mountains. Tolui, the youngest son of Chinggis Khan and his principal wife Börte, assumed the regency of the Empire. This one has not yet reached its territorial apogee, the conquests being still in full swing.

Ögodei, the third son of Chinggis Khan and his principal wife, Börte, became Khagan (emperor) following a new khuriltai. He continued the expansion of the Empire founded by his father and conquered Korea. He installed the capital of the Mongol Empire in Karakorum in 1235.

Beginning of the conquest of Russia led by Batu, grandson of Chinggis Khan, and creation of the Golden Horde.

The Golden Horde establishes its sovereignty over Russia.

Ögodei dies, his widow, Töregene, assumes the regency. The conquest of Europe is stopped in Vienna, Austria.

The son of Ögodei succeeds his father and becomes Great Khan. He invaded Tibet but died two years later.

Möngke, grandson of Chinggis Khan, became Great Khan in his turn. He leads the second invasion in Tibet and conquers Southeast Asia.

The Franciscan monk William of Rubrouck stays in Karakorum.

Death of Möngke Khan. It is the beginning of the division of the Mongolian empire, the Khan having died without having designated a successor.

Defeat of the Mongols against the Mamelukes of Egypt.

Khubilai and Ariq Boqa, Tolui's sons and grandsons of Chinggis Khan, came into conflict for the succession and the status of Great Khan after the death of Möngke, their brother. Khubilai was proclaimed Khan in 1261 but only managed to defeat Ariq Boqa in 1264.

Khubilaï installs the capital of the Mongol empire in Beijing. Marco Polo put himself at his service. He will remain there 17 years.

The Mongols tried to invade Japan but their fleet was destroyed by a storm.

Khubilai defeated the Chinese and annexed Hangzhou, the capital of the Song. He became emperor of China and founded the Yuan dynasty. The Mongol Empire was split into four distinct Khanates: the Golden Horde in Russia, the Yuan Dynasty in China, the Khanate of Djaghataï in Central Asia and the Ilkhanat in Persia.

The second invasion of Japan led by Khubilai was again unsuccessful due to the arrival of a typhoon. These unsuccessful attempts put a brake on the Mongolian expansion towards the Pacific Ocean.

Death of Khubilai Khan.

While the pretenders to the title of Great Khan were tearing each other apart after the death of Témur Khan, the Chinese peasants, exploited by the feudal lords, rose up. The nationalist movements are growing and announce the end of the Mongol sovereignty in China.
In 1333, Togoontomor, the ninth and last successor of Khubilai, ascended the Chinese throne.
In its last years, the Yuan dynasty was weakened by famine, population uprisings, the Black Death and internal and external conflicts. Khubilai Khan's successors lost their influence over the rest of the Mongol Empire

The Mongols lost control of China, from which they were driven out. Togoontomor Khan fled to Shangdu. It is the end of the Yuan dynasty, replaced by the Ming dynasty.

Karakorum is attacked and destroyed by the Chinese armies.

Civil war calling into question the Mongolian unity.

Dayan Khan succeeded in unifying the Mongols.

The Golden Horde, weakened, splits and falls. It is the end of the control of the Mongols on the Russian steppes.

Altan Khan, grandson of Dayan Khan, creates the title of Dalai Lama and attributes it to Sonam Gyatso, religious leader of the Tibetan Buddhist Gelugpa school. He converted to Buddhism.

Buddhism becomes the state religion. Erdene Zuu, the oldest Buddhist monastery in the country, was built in the Orkhon Valley.

Zanabazar becomes both head of state and religious leader of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia. He is the first Bogd Gegeen, the supreme spiritual authority of the Gelugpa school known as the Yellow Caps.

The Manchus conquered Mongolia. After the first Dzugar-Qing war, the Mongols of the Dzugar Khanate accepted the sovereignty of the Qing dynasty. It is the beginning of the Chinese domination.

The Chinese operate a division of the territory in two parts, Inner Mongolia and Outer Mongolia.

The Mongolian lords are placed under the sovereignty of the Qing emperor. They no longer had any power in the aimags. The Mongolian nobles received Manchu titles. The former khans kept their titles, but they had very limited powers.

On December¹, Mongolia declared its independence. The eighth Bogd Gegeen - the highest religious hierarchy of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism - became sovereign of the country and took the title of Bogdo Khan. On the 28th of the same month, he established an autonomous theocratic government.

Russia recognized the independence of Mongolia. The Russian and Mongolian governments signed an agreement.

The Sino-Russian treaty of Kiakhta recognized the independence of Outer Mongolia, but Inner Mongolia remained under Chinese sovereignty. Mongolia is placed under the protection of Russia until the October revolution.

In October 1919, Chinese troops invaded Mongolia, defeated the Mongolian armed forces and settled in Urga. The Bogdo Khan was placed under surveillance. On November 22, a new decree put an end to the independence of the country. Two independence movements were created simultaneously: one led by Damdin Sükhbaatar and the other by Horloogiyn Choybalsan.

Sükhbaatar and Choybalsan settled in Irkutsk. Their two independence movements merged to take the name of Mongolian People's Party at the beginning of 1921. The Party established a provisional people's government and appointed Sükhbaatar as Minister of War. Baron Ungern Von Sternberg entered Mongolia and drove out the Chinese troops with White Russians. He seized Urga in February 1921. Sükhbaatar, at the head of the Mongolian army, retook the city and proclaimed the independence of Mongolia on September 14. Baron Ungern-Sternberg was handed over to the Soviets, who shot him. On November 5, the Soviets recognized the Mongolian People's Government.

Premature death of Damdin Sükhbaatar, considered as the revolutionary hero of Mongolia.

Urga, the capital, was renamed Ulaanbaatar, "red hero", in reference to Sükhbaatar. The Mongolian People's Party became the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP). It is the only party of the country. On November 25, the Communists proclaimed the People's Republic of Mongolia and the leaders aligned themselves with the Soviet Union.

On January 24, Choybalsan became President of Mongolia.

With Choybalsan in power, the bloodiest purges in Mongolian history are organized to eradicate Buddhist clergy and monks, but also dissidents and ethnic minorities. Important repressions take place to suppress the religious communities, and monasteries are closed or destroyed. In 1932, the collectivization of herds and land, coupled with the prohibition of Buddhist practice, led to an insurrection, which was suppressed by the army.

On January 5, China recognized Mongolia's independence for the first time. Trade was established between the two countries.

Death of Choybalsan. Tsedenbal succeeded him as Prime Minister. That same year, an economic and cultural agreement was signed with China.

Mongolia, supported by the USSR, enters the UN.

The first diplomatic relations are established with the United States.

The first pro-democracy demonstrations took place, demanding an end to the one-party system. New nationalist and democratic parties were created.

In July, the first multiparty elections were held. They were won by the PPRM, which remained in power.

A new constitution was adopted on January 3. It was the beginning of parliamentary democracy. The name of People's Republic of Mongolia was abandoned, as was the red star on the flag. The PPRM won again the parliamentary elections in June. The last troops of the former Soviet Union left the country.

Mongolia is marked by high political instability, with successive governments marred by corruption scandals, notably in 2012, 2017 and 2018. On average, a government does not stay in office for more than a year and a half. The political system is structured around two major parties, the Mongolian People's Party (MAN), the historic communist party, and the Democratic Party, which alternate in power through presidential and parliamentary elections.

A züd ravaged the country and killed about 18% of the livestock, or 8.5 million animals. This is one of the coldest winters ever recorded in Mongolia, and probably the deadliest.

On July 1, Mongolia ratified the abolition of the death penalty.

As elsewhere in the world, Mongolia is affected by the health crisis. The authorities are implementing very strict measures to deal with the pandemic. Confinement, border closures, compulsory wearing of masks, social distancing, quarantine measures... In fact, local transmissions are rare, with only imported cases reported.

Following a political crisis and demonstrations linked to the management of the health crisis, Prime Minister Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, a member of MAN, submits his resignation to the Great Hural.

Former Prime Minister Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh is elected President of the Republic. MAN wins the presidential elections and makes a strong comeback to power.

To ensure greater political stability, the constitution was amended in November 2021. This amendment, which took effect in March 2022, strengthened the powers of the Prime Minister and the independence of the judiciary.

In 2023, a constitutional amendment adopted by the State Great Hural, Mongolia's parliament, increased the number of deputies from 76 to 126 and introduced a mandatory quota of 30% female candidates per party. This quota is set to rise to 40% by 2028.

On June 28, 2024, the first parliamentary elections after the reform of the State Great Hural were held. The Mongolian People's Party (MAN) won an absolute majority with 68 of the 126 seats, but suffered a significant setback. Several opposition parties, such as HUN and the Democratic Party (AN), made significant gains. Following the election results, Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene opted to form a coalition government comprising ministers from MAN, AN and HUN, in order to implement his economic reforms.

Parliamentary reform has also had a positive impact on women's representation rates: 32 women were elected in the 2024 legislative elections, representing around a quarter of Parliament, compared with 17.1% in 2020. This is a significant increase.