In 1206 CE, a single Mongolian state was formed based on nomadic tribal groupings under the leadership of Chinghis Khan (see Genghis Khan). He and his immediate successors conquered nearly all of Asia and European Russia and sent armies as far as central Europe and Southeast Asia. Genghis Khan's grandson Kublai Khan, who conquered China and established the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368 AD), gained fame in Europe through the writings of Marco Polo.

Kúblái, brother of Mangku, who succeeded him in 1260, was the fifth great Khan and the first real Emperor China of the Yuan Dynasty (1280). His ancestors have the following dynastic titles or miao hao: T'ai Tsu (Jenghiz), T'ai Tsung (Okkodai), Ting Tsung (Kuyuk), Hien Tsung (Mangku). Kúblái himself has the miao hao of She Tsu and the two reign-titles (nien hao) of Chung T'ung (1260) and Che Yuan (1264). The list of his successors according to their miao hao, with nien hao in parentheses, is as follows: Ch'êng Tsung, 1295 (Yuan Chêng, 1295; Ta Teh, 1297); Wu Tsung, 1308 (Che Ta, 1308); Jên Tsung, 1312 (Hwang K'ing, 1312; Yen Yew, 1314); Ying Tsung, 1321 (Che Che, 1321); Tai Ting Ti, 1324; (Tai Ting, 1324; Che Ho, 1328); Ming Tsung, 1329 (T'ien Li, 1329); Wen Ti, 1330 (T'ien Li, 1330, Che Shup, 1330); Shun Ti, 1333 (Yuan Tung, 1333; Che Yuan, 1335; Che Chêng, 1341). The misconduct of the emperors led a Chinese priest, Chu Yuan-chang, to raise the standard of rebellion and expel the Mongols, in 1368. The priest ascended to the throne under the title of Hung Wu, and established his dynasty, the Ming, at Nan-king. Of the Court of Kúblái Khan the Venetian traveller Marco Polo has left us a glorious account. China was then divided into twelve sheng, or provinces: Cheng Tung, Liao Yang, Chung Shu, Shen-si, Ling Pe (Karákorum), Kan Su, Sze-ch'wan, Ho-nan, Kiang-Pe, Kiang-che, Hiang-se, Hu-Kwang, and Yun-Nan.

Although Mongol-led confederations sometimes exercised wide political power over their conquered territories, their strength declined rapidly after the Mongol dynasty in China was overthrown in 1368. The Manchus, a tribal group which conquered China in 1644 and formed the Qing dynasty, were able to bring Mongolia under Manchu control in 1691 as Outer Mongolia when the Khalkha Mongol nobles swore an oath of allegiance to the Manchu emperor. The Mongol rulers of Outer Mongolia enjoyed considerable autonomy under the Manchus, and all Chinese claims to Outer Mongolia following the establishment of the republic have rested on this oath. In 1727, Russia and Manchu China concluded the Treaty of Khyakta , delimiting the border between China and Mongolia that exists in large part today.

Mongolia held its first direct presidential elections on June 6, 1993.

See also

• Mongolia
• Mongolia region
• Timeline of Mongolian history

External links

• Mongolia - Entry on Mongolia from the 1907 Catholic Encyclopedia.
• History of Mongolia - Offers a history of Mongolia from 1203 to the present.