Mongolian brief historyMongolia's recorded history spans 5,000 years; from nomads herding the Central Asian steppe to the formation of the powerful Mongol Empire and the gradual emergence of the Mongo¬lian Republic, conflict has shaped its history. Ancient Mongolians States
In 209 BC, a group called the Huns or the Huunu established the first state in what is now Mongolia. The name Hunnu comes from two ancient Mongolian words. "Hun" means "man" and "nu" translates to "sun". The first king to unite the Hun's was Modun Shan Yui, whose father, Tumen, was a chieftain of the Huns most influential tribe. The Huns' territory stretched from Korea in the far east to Tian Shan Mountain in northern China, and from the southern section of the Great Wall to Lake Baikal in southern Siberia. From 200 BC until its collapse in 98 AD, the Hun state was the most powerful nomadic nation residing in the sprawling Central Asian steppe. However, despite three hundred years of domination, internal strife between powerful chieftains ultimately ruined the Hun state. After the Hun state collapsed, several other ambitious clans established their own states, attempting to control the Mongolian territory until 1,200 AD. During this tumultuous time, the Sumbe State ruled until a group called the Toba, along with their tribal allies, overthrew them. The Toba in turn were forced into submission by the Nirun, who eventually relinquished control to the Turkic tribes that established the Tuger Kingdom of Mongolia in 552 AD. Thousands of Turkic people arrived from the far west via the Altai Mountains during the 4th century AD, extending their ancient feudal system into Mongolia, but ultimately falling victim to their own internal conflicts in 745 AD. Power then fell to the Uigar tribe, who became the most powerful force in Central Asia, although they were unable to conquer all of Mongolia. After biding their time, the Kidans, who had peacefully coexisted with several previous ruling tribes, took over Mongolia in 907. Their dominance lasted until the 12th century when a number of Central Asian tribes invaded simultaneously dividing the vast territory into antagonistic areas and creating A power vacuum: prime conditions for the emergence of a long leader. The Mongol Empire
Better known as Chinggis (Genghis) Khan, Temujin was born in 1162, the son of Esugui. His father was a chieftain of one of Mongolia's manifold tribes, but was killed by Tatars when Temujin was 9 years old. Despite a period of near anonymity and hardship after the murder, the ambitious young Temujin garnered influence and soon power on the steppe with support from from some of his father’s friends. Subduing rivals, and even crushing friends turned enemies, temujin established the Great Mongol state in 1189 By 1206 he united 81 different Mongolian tribes and established the great Mongolian Empire changing his name to Chinggis Khan in the process. After Mongolia’s greatest ruler died in 1227, subsequent Mongolian khans were chosen from the bloodline of Chingis Khan. During the 13-14th centuries, Mongolia developed its economy, culture, military strength and political influence as it forged a sprawling empire, which encompassed many present day Asian European nations. Known as the Golden Era of Mongolian history, the Mongol Empire ranked as the most powerful nation on earth during this time, and one of the greatest the world had seen. Mongolians view Chinggis Khan, the father of the Mongol nation, as a great military general, statesman and national hero. Yet, greatness cannot last for¬ever, and the Mongol Empire began to crumble in 1368, weakening significantly with the fall of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, which Chinggis Khan s Grandson Kublai Khan established in China after Beijing his empire's capital. Manchurians conquered Mongolia in 1691, ruling for the next 220 years. The beginning of the 20thcentury found Mongolians embroiled in a struggle for national liberation, which they finally achieved in December 1911, after the Manchurians withdrew and Mongolia proclaimed its independence in the streets of Urguu (as Ulaanbaatar was previously known). In the wake of au-tonomy, a theocratic ruler, the Bogd Khan, ascended to power across the country. Socialist and Democratic Mongolia
On 11 July 1921, Mongolia's socialist revolution, known somewhat derivatively as the People's Revolution, took place. In 1924, the Mongolian People's Party (which still exists today as the Mongolian People s Revolu¬tionary Party or MPRP) proclaimed Mongolia a People's Republic and established the state's first constitution. Mongolia maintained strong ties with and depended heavily on the Soviet Union over the next several decades, so when USSR collapsed, Mongolia took its first steps toward embracing democracy in 1990. The country's first multi-party election was held in June 1990, and Mongolia's new parliament adopted the country's first democratic constitution in January 1992. This constitution defined Mongolia as a democratic parliamentary republic, where both parliament and a president have to be directly elected by the general public. Throughout these political changes, Mongolia slowly paved its way toward a free market economy and away from the old centralized economic system The transition has been remark peaceful, but Mongolia's democracy faced an ugly incident after the 2008 parliamentary elections. A protest outside the victorious MPRP's headquarters over alleged vote fraud devolved into a riot. The headquarters were burned down and many were injured or arrested during the demonstration gone-wrong and the ensuing state of emergency. At least five people died during this violent period. Des some remaining tension, no political violence has occurred in Mongolia since that event, and the MRPR and their principal rival, the Democratic Party eventually formed a coalition government.
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