View source for Mongols

{{Short description|East Asian ethnic group}}
{{About|the East Asian ethnic group}}
{{Distinguish|Mongolic peoples}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Mongols<!-- According to GPB (Georgian Public Broadcasting) -->
| native_name      = {{lang|mn|Монголчууд}}<br />{{transliteration|mn|Mongolchuud}}<br />{{MongolUnicode|{{lang|mn|ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯᠴᠤᠳ}}}}
| native_name_lang = 
| image            = Naadam, Mongolian traditional festival.jpg
| caption          = Mongolians in [[Deel (clothing)|traditional dress]]<br>during [[Naadam]] festival
| total            = {{circa|10 million}}
| region1          = {{flag|China}}
| pop1             = [[Mongols in China|6,290,204]]<ref name="Census2020_1">{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817185.html|title=Main Data of the Seventh National Population Census|website=Stats.gov.cn|access-date=25 July 2021|archive-date=11 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511031334/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817185.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| ref1             = 
| region2          = {{flag|Mongolia}}
| pop2             = 3,046,882
| ref2             = <ref>{{Cite web|title=2020 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS OF MONGOLIA /summary/|url=https://www.1212.mn/BookLibraryDownload.ashx?url=Census2020_Mongolia_Eng.pdf&ln=En|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715110250/https://www.1212.mn/BookLibraryDownload.ashx?url=Census2020_Mongolia_Eng.pdf&ln=En |archive-date=2021-07-15 }}</ref>
| region3          = {{flag|Russia}}
| pop3             = 651,355
| ref3             = <ref>2,986 Mongols proper, 461,389 [[Buryats]], 183,372 [[Kalmyks]], 3,608 [[Soyot]]s ([[Russian Census (2010)]])</ref>
| region4          = {{flag|South Korea}}
| pop4             = 37,963
| ref4             = <ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20210926000093| title = Number of foreigners in Korea up for 1st time in 20 months| date = 26 September 2021| access-date = 22 November 2021| archive-date = 30 September 2023| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230930223640/https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20210926000093| url-status = live}}</ref>
| region5          = {{flag|Japan}}
| pop5             = 20,416
| ref5             = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/publications/press/13_00047.html |title=令和６年６月末現在における在留外国人数について |website=moj.go.jp |language=ja |date=2024-10-18 |access-date=19 October 2024}}</ref>
| region6          = {{flag|United States}}
| pop6             = 19,170
| ref6             = <ref name="Census2020">{{cite web |url=https://www.1212.mn/BookLibraryDownload.ashx?url=Census2020_Main_report_Eng.pdf&ln=En |title=2020 Population and housing census of Mongolia |publisher=National Statistical Office of Mongolia |access-date=22 November 2021 |archive-date=17 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817174257/https://www.1212.mn/BookLibraryDownload.ashx?url=Census2020_Main_report_Eng.pdf&ln=En |url-status=live }}</ref>
| region7          = {{flag|Kyrgyzstan}}
| pop7             = 12,000
| ref7             = <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.president.mn/eng/newsCenter/viewNews.php?newsId=697|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161206105008/http://www.president.mn/eng/newsCenter/viewNews.php?newsId=697|title=President of Mongoli Received the Kalmyk Citizens of the Kyrgyz. 2012|archive-date=December 6, 2016}}</ref>
| region8          = {{flag|Czech Republic}}
| pop8             = 10,236
| ref8             = <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.czso.cz/documents/11292/27914491/2006_c01t13.pdf/67393c23-669d-4730-b367-e75ca1cab680?version=1.0 |title=T13 Cizinci podle typu pobytu a pohlaví – 25 nejčastějších státních občanství k 30. 6. 2020 |language=Czech |website=czso.cz |access-date=30 July 2021 |archive-date=5 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305221613/https://www.czso.cz/documents/11292/27914491/2006_c01t13.pdf/67393c23-669d-4730-b367-e75ca1cab680?version=1.0 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| region9          = {{flag|Canada}}
| pop9             = 9,090
| ref9             = <ref>{{cite web|title=Canada Census Profile 2021|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A000011124&HEADERlist=31&SearchText=Canada|website=Census Profile, 2021 Census|date=7 May 2021|publisher=Statistics Canada Statistique Canada|access-date=3 January 2023|archive-date=3 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103201320/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A000011124&HEADERlist=31&SearchText=Canada|url-status=live}}</ref>
| region10         = {{flag|Kazakhstan}}
| pop10            = 7,218
| ref10            = <ref name="Census2020"/>
| region11         = {{flag|Sweden}}
| pop11            = 6,992
| ref11            = <ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.scb.se/hitta-statistik/statistik-efter-amne/befolkning-och-levnadsforhallanden/befolkningens-sammansattning-och-utveckling/befolkningsstatistik/pong/tabell-och-diagram/utrikes-fodda--medborgarskap-och-utlandsksvensk-bakgrund/befolkning-efter-fodelseland-och-ursprungsland-31-december-2024-totalt/|title=Befolkning efter födelseland och ursprungsland, 31 december 2024, totalt|journal=Utrikes födda, medborgarskap och utländsk/Svensk bakgrund|language=sv|trans-title=Foreign-born, citizenship and foreign/Swedish background|date=December 2024|publisher=Statistiska centralbyrån}}</ref>
| region12         = {{flag|Australia}}
| pop12            = 5,538
| ref12            = <ref name="Census2020"/>
| region13         = {{flag|Germany}}
| pop13            = 3,972
| ref13            = <ref name="Census2020"/>
| region14         = {{flag|France}}
| pop14            = 3,102
| ref14            = <ref name="Census2020"/>
| region15         = {{flag|Turkey}}
| pop15            = 2,716
| ref15            = <ref name="Census2020"/>
| region16         = {{flag|Austria}}
| pop16            = 2,658
| ref16            = <ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.statistik.at/fileadmin/pages/407/Bev_Staatb_Geschl_Bundesl_2022.ods|title= Bevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeit und Geburtsland|trans-title= Population by citizenship and country of birth|language= de}}</ref>
| languages        = [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]] and other [[Mongolic languages]]<br />[[Mandarin Chinese]]{{·}}[[Russian language|Russian]]
| religions        = Predominantly:<br />[[Tibetan Buddhism]]<ref name='mongolian'>{{cite book |author=[[National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China]] |title=Tabulation of the 2010 Population Census of the People's Republic of China |publisher=China Statistics Press |date=April 2012 |url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/pcsj/rkpc/6rp/indexch.htm |access-date=2013-02-19 |isbn=978-7-5037-6507-0 |archive-date=2012-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813031919/http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/pcsj/rkpc/6rp/indexch.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.china.org.cn/e-groups/shaoshu/shao-2-mongolian.htm| title = China.org.cn – The Mongolian ethnic minority| access-date = 2013-05-29| archive-date = 2018-08-16| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180816211312/http://www.china.org.cn/e-groups/shaoshu/shao-2-mongolian.htm| url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/EthnicGroups/136937.htm| title = China.org.cn – The Mongolian Ethnic Group| access-date = 2008-10-15| archive-date = 2017-10-19| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171019145235/http://china.org.cn/english/features/EthnicGroups/136937.htm| url-status = live}}</ref>{{·}}[[Mongolian shamanism]]{{sfn|Bira|2011}} ([[Tengrism]])
<br />Minorities:<br />[[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodox Christianity]]{{·}}[[Sunni Islam]]
| related-c        = Other [[Mongolic peoples]]
}}
'''Mongols'''{{efn|({{langx|mn|Монголчууд}}, {{MongolUnicode|ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯᠴᠤᠳ}}, {{transliteration|mn|Mongolchuud}}, {{IPA|mn|ˈmɔɴ.ɢɔɬ.t͡ʃot|}}; {{zh|c=蒙古族|p=Ménggǔ zú}}; {{langx|ru|Монголы|Mongoly}})}} are an [[East Asian people|East Asian]] [[ethnic group]] native to [[Mongolia]] and [[China]] ([[Inner Mongolia]] and other 11 [[Mongols in China#Distribution|autonomous territories]]), as well as the republics of [[Buryatia]] and [[Kalmykia]] in [[Russia]]. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of [[Mongolic peoples]]. The [[Oirats]] and the [[Buryats]] are classified either as distinct ethno-linguistic groups or as subgroups of Mongols.

The Mongols are bound together by a common heritage and [[ethnic group|ethnic identity]], descending from the [[Proto-Mongols]]. Their indigenous dialects are collectively known as the [[Mongolian language]]. The contiguous geographical area in which the Mongols primarily live is referred to as the [[Mongol heartland]], especially in discussions of the Mongols' history under the [[Mongol Empire]].

== Definition ==
Broadly defined, the term includes the Mongols proper (also known as the [[Khalkha Mongols]]), [[Buryats]], [[Oirats]], the [[Kalmyks]] and the Southern Mongols. The latter comprises the [[Abaga Mongols]], [[Abaganar]], [[Aohans]], Arkhorchin, [[Asud]], [[Baarins]], [[Chahars]], Darkhan ([[Shar Darkhad]]), Dörvön Khüükhed, [[Eastern Dorbet]]s, [[Gorlos Mongols]], Ikhmyangan, Jalaids, Jaruud, [[Kharchin Mongols|Kharchins]], [[Khishigten]], [[Khorchin Mongols|Khorchins]], Khuuchid, Muumyangan, [[Naimans]], Onnigud, [[Ordos Mongols|Ordos]], Sunud, [[Tumed]], [[Urad Mongols|Urad]] and [[Üzemchin Mongols|Üzemchins]].{{sfn|Ochir|2008}}

The designation "Mongol" briefly appeared in 8th century records of [[Tang dynasty|Tang China]] to describe a tribe of [[Shiwei people|Shiwei]]. It resurfaced in the late 11th century during the [[Khitan people|Khitan]]-ruled [[Liao dynasty]]. After the fall of the Liao in 1125, the [[Khamag Mongol]]s became a leading tribe on the [[Mongolian Plateau]]. However, their wars with the [[Jurchen people|Jurchen]]-ruled [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin dynasty]] and the [[Tatar confederation]] had weakened them.

In the thirteenth century, the word Mongol grew into an umbrella term for a large group of [[Mongolic languages|Mongolic-speaking]] tribes united under the rule of [[Genghis Khan]].<ref name="britannica">{{cite encyclopedia
 | title = Mongolia: Ethnography of Mongolia
 | url = https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-27420/Mongolia#394579.hook
 | encyclopedia = [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]
 | access-date = 2007-07-22
 | archive-date = 2008-07-06
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080706041059/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-27420/Mongolia#394579.hook
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref>

=== Etymology ===
{{See also|Mugulü}}
There are several proposals for the ethnonym Mongol's etymology:
* A [[Language change|change]] from ''Mongkhe-[[tengri]]-gal'' ("Eternal Sky Fire");<ref>National University of Mongolia, School of Social Sciences, Department of History (1999). "2. Хүний үүсэл, Монголчуудын үүсэл гарвал" [2. Origins of Humanity; Origins of the Mongols]. Монгол улсын түүх [History of Mongolia] (in Mongolian). Admon. pp. 67–69.</ref>
* A derivation from the personal name, transcribed in Chinese-language sources as {{lang|zh|木骨閭}} '''Mùgǔlǘ''' (from [[Middle Chinese]] *''muwk-kwot-ljo''), of the [[Mugulü|progenitor]] of [[Rouran Khaganate]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Сүхбаатар|first= Гүнжийн|title=Монголын эртний түүх судлал, III боть |year=1992 |volume=3 |pages=330–550 |language=mn |trans-title=Historiography of Ancient Mongolia, Volume III |chapter=Монгол Нирун улс |trans-chapter=Mongol Nirun ([[Rouran]]) state}}</ref>

== History ==

{{Main|History of Mongolia}}

 {{see also|Genetic history of East Asians}}
[[File:Map of the Rouran Khaganate.png|thumb|right|upright=1.65|Asia in 330{{endash}}555, showing the [[Rouran Khaganate]] and its neighbors, including the [[Tuoba Wei]] and the [[Tuyuhun]], all of which were established by Proto-Mongols]]

The ethnogenesis of Mongolic peoples is largely linked with the expansion of [[Ancient Northeast Asian]]s. The Mongolian pastoralist lifestyle may in part be derived from the [[Western Steppe Herders]], but without much geneflow between these two groups, suggesting cultural transmission.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Population dynamics and the rise of empires in Inner Asia: Genome-wide analysis spanning 6,000 years in the eastern Eurasian Steppe gives insights to the formation of Mongolia's empires |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201105183836.htm |access-date=4 June 2023 |website=ScienceDaily |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Yang |first1=Xiaomin |last2=Sarengaowa |last3=He |first3=Guanglin |last4=Guo |first4=Jianxin |last5=Zhu |first5=Kongyang |last6=Ma |first6=Hao |last7=Zhao |first7=Jing |last8=Yang |first8=Meiqing |last9=Chen |first9=Jing |last10=Zhang |first10=Xianpeng |last11=Tao |first11=Le |last12=Liu |first12=Yilan |last13=Zhang |first13=Xiu-Fang |last14=Wang |first14=Chuan-Chao |date=2021 |title=Genomic Insights Into the Genetic Structure and Natural Selection of Mongolians |journal=Frontiers in Genetics |volume=12 |article-number=735786 |doi=10.3389/fgene.2021.735786 |issn=1664-8021 |pmc=8693022 |pmid=34956310 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In various times Mongolic peoples have been equated with the [[Scythians]], the [[Gog and Magog|Magog]], and the [[Tungusic peoples]]. Based on Chinese historical texts the ancestry of the Mongolic peoples can be traced back to the [[Donghu people|Donghu]], a nomadic confederation occupying eastern Mongolia and [[Manchuria]]. The Donghu neighboured the [[Xiongnu]], whose identity is still debated today. Although some scholars maintain that they were [[proto-Mongols]], they were more likely a multi-ethnic group of Mongolic and [[Turkic tribes]].<ref name="Geng 2005">Geng 2005</ref>{{full citation needed|date=October 2023}} It has been suggested that the language of the [[Huns]] was related to the Xiongnu.<ref>Étienne de la Vaissière, Xiongnu. [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/xiongnu Encyclopædia Iranica online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104081516/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/xiongnu |date=2012-01-04 }}, 2006</ref>
<!-- <ref>Dr. Obrusánszky, Borbála : The History and Civilization of the Huns. Paper of the University of Amsterdam, 8 October 2007. Page 60. [http://www.epa.oszk.hu/00000/00007/00028/pdf/00028.pdf PDF]</ref> The autonomous Hunnic language was evidenced – [http://hunsarecoming.oxyhost.com/orighunlang.htm summary], Prof. Uchiraltu: The words of Hunnic language, 2007, Inner Mongolian University Press</ref><ref>The Asian Huns in the Chinese sources. Katalin Csornai, 2007, Budapest, Hungary [http://hunsarecoming.oxyhost.com/articles/asianhuns_chinesesources.htm summary]</ref> -->

The Donghu, however, can be much more easily labeled proto-Mongol since the Chinese histories trace only Mongolic tribes and kingdoms ([[Xianbei]] and [[Wuhuan]] peoples) from them, although some historical texts claim a mixed Xiongnu-Donghu ancestry for some tribes (e.g. the [[Khitan people|Khitan]]).<ref>Pulleyblank, Edwin G. (1983). "The Chinese and Their Neighbors in Prehistoric and Early Historic China," in ''The Origins of Chinese Civilization''. University of California Press, pp. 411–466.</ref><ref>[[Frances Wood]], ''The Silk Road: two thousand years in the heart of Asia'', p. 48</ref>

=== In the Chinese classics ===
{{see also|Timeline of Mongols prior to the Mongol Empire}}
[[File:元骑马武士俑1.jpg|thumb|left|[[Yuan dynasty]] Mongol rider]]
The Donghu are mentioned by [[Sima Qian]] as already existing in [[Inner Mongolia]] north of [[Yan (state)|Yan]] in 699–632 BCE along with the [[Shanrong]]. Unofficial Chinese sources such as ''[[Yi Zhou Shu]]'' ("Lost Book of Zhou")<ref>''Yi Zhou Shu'', [https://ctext.org/lost-book-of-zhou/wang-hui/zh "Wanghui jie"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203155740/https://ctext.org/lost-book-of-zhou/wang-hui/zh |date=2021-12-03 }} quote: "'''東胡'''黃羆。... 正北空同、大夏、莎車、姑他、旦略、豹胡、代翟、匈奴、樓煩、月氏、孅犁、其龍、'''東胡'''，請令以橐駝、白玉、野馬、騊駼、駃騠、良弓為獻。"</ref> and the ''[[Classic of Mountains and Seas]]''<ref>''Classic of Mountains and Seas'', [https://ctext.org/shan-hai-jing/hai-nei-xi-jing?searchu=%E6%9D%B1%E8%83%A1&searchmode=showall#result "Classic of the Regions Within the Seas: West"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203155740/https://ctext.org/shan-hai-jing/hai-nei-xi-jing?searchu=%E6%9D%B1%E8%83%A1&searchmode=showall#result |date=2021-12-03 }} quote: "'''東胡'''在大澤東。夷人在'''東胡'''東。" translation: "Donghu are located east of the Great Marsh. [[Dongyi|Yi people]] are located east of Donghu."</ref> project the Donghu's activities back to the [[Shang dynasty]] (1600–1046 BCE). However, the Hu (胡) were not mentioned among the non-Shang ''fang'' (方 "border-region"; modern term ''fāngguó'' [[:zh:方國|方國]] "fang-countries") in the extant oracle bones from the Shang period.<ref>For a list of known fang-countries see Anderson, Matthew Mccutchen. (2015). "Change and Standardization in Anyang: Writing and Culture in Bronze Age China". ''Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations''. 1589. [https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1589 https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1589] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524194604/https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1589/ |date=2022-05-24 }} pp. 96–98</ref>

The Xianbei formed part of the Donghu confederation, and possibly had in earlier times some independence within the Donghu confederation as well as from the Zhou dynasty. During the Warring States the poem "[[The Great Summons]]" ({{CJKV|t=大招|s=大招|p=Dà zhāo}}) in the anthology [[Chu Ci|Verses of Chu]] mentions small-waisted and long-necked Xianbei women,<ref>''Chu Ci'', [https://ctext.org/chu-ci/da-zhao#n51934 "Da Zhao"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318135244/https://ctext.org/chu-ci/da-zhao#n51934 |date=2022-03-18 }}. quote: "小腰秀頸，若'''鮮卑'''只。". translation (by Gopal Sukhu, 2017): "And she is as small-waisted and long-necked [a]s a '''Xianbei''' woman."</ref> and possibly also the book ''[[Guoyu (book)|Discourses of the States]]'', which states that during the reign of [[King Cheng of Zhou]] (reigned 1042–1021 BCE) the Xianbei came to participate at a meeting of Zhou subject-lords at Qiyang (岐阳) (now [[Qishan County]]) but were only allowed to perform the fire ceremony under the supervision of [[Chu (state)|Chu]] since they were not [[Vassal state#Ancient China|vassals]] (诸侯) by [[Fengjian|enfeoffment and establishment]]. The Xianbei chieftain was appointed joint guardian of the ritual torch along with Chu viscount [[Xiong Yi (11th century BC)|Xiong Yi]].<ref>''Discourses of the States'', [https://ctext.org/guo-yu/jin-yu-ba "Discourses of Jin 8"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203161711/https://ctext.org/guo-yu/jin-yu-ba |date=2021-12-03 }} quote: "昔成王盟諸侯于岐陽，楚為荊蠻，置茅蕝，設望表，與鮮卑守燎，故不與盟。今將與狎主諸侯之盟，唯有德也，子務德無爭先，務德，所以服楚也。"</ref><ref>Zhang, Zhengming. (2019) A History Of Chu (Volume 1) Honolulu: Enrich Professional Publishing. p. 42-46</ref>{{efn|Zhang Zhengming (2017) accepts the reading 鮮卑<ref>Zhang, Zhengming. (2019) A History Of Chu (Volume 1) Honolulu: Enrich Professional Publishing. [https://books.google.com/books?id=kthDEAAAQBAJ&q=xianbei+%E9%AE%AE%E5%8D%91 p. 45] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003212058/https://books.google.com/books?id=kthDEAAAQBAJ&q=xianbei+%E9%AE%AE%E5%8D%91 |date=2023-10-03 }}. quote: "and tending the shrine flames together with the '''Xianbei 鮮卑''' clan leader."</ref> (also seen in the early 19th century version published by Jinzhang bookstore ({{lang|zh|錦章図書局}}) in Shanghai<ref name = "gy-wul-2-36">''Guoyu'', explained by Wei Zhao, "Jinyu 8". Jinzhang Bookstore's version, vol. 2 [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:WUL-bunko01_01820_%E5%9C%8B%E8%AA%9E_2.pdf&page=36 p. 36] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109001052/https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:WUL-bunko01_01820_%E5%9C%8B%E8%AA%9E_2.pdf&page=36 |date=2023-11-09 }} Waseda University Library's copy</ref>) as the ethnonym of the people who accompanied the Chu. However, 鮮卑 Xianbei is likely a scribal error for '''鮮牟 Xianmou''' (as in other versions like Sibu Congkan ([[:w:zh:四部叢刊|四部叢刊]]),<ref name = "gy-sbck-140">''Guoyu'', explained by Wei Zhao, "Jinyu 8". 1st edition Sibu Congkan version, vol. 3 [https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=en&file=77610&page=140#%E9%AE%AE%E7%89%9F p. 140] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613202958/https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=en&file=77610&page=140#%E9%AE%AE%E7%89%9F |date=2023-06-13 }} of 154</ref> or [[Siku Quanshu]] ([[:w:zh:四庫全書|四庫全書]])<ref name = "gy-skqs-42">''Guoyu'', explained by Wei Zhao, "Jinyu 8". Siku Quanshu version, vol. 3-7, [https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=en&file=68900&page=42#%E9%AE%AE%E7%89%9F p. 42] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613202956/https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=en&file=68900&page=42#%E9%AE%AE%E7%89%9F |date=2023-06-13 }} of 148</ref>). [[Eastern Wu]] scholar [[Wei Zhao (Eastern Wu)|Wei Zhao]] states that the 鮮牟 Xianmou were an [[Dongyi|Eastern Yi]] nation,<ref name = "gy-sbck-140-wz">''Guoyu'', "Jinyu 8", explained by Wei Zhao, 1st edition Sibu Congkan version, vol. 3 [https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=en&file=77610&page=140#%E9%AE%AE%E7%89%9F%E6%9D%B1%E5%A4%B7%E5%9C%8B p. 140] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613202958/https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=en&file=77610&page=140#%E9%AE%AE%E7%89%9F%E6%9D%B1%E5%A4%B7%E5%9C%8B |date=2023-06-13 }} of 154. quote: "鮮牟東夷國"</ref><ref name = "gy-skqs-43">''Guoyu'', "Jinyu 8", explained by Wei Zhao. Siku Quanshu version, vol. 3-7, [https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=en&file=68900&page=43#%E9%AE%AE%E7%89%9F p. 43] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613202959/https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=en&file=68900&page=43#%E9%AE%AE%E7%89%9F |date=2023-06-13 }} of 148. quote: "鮮牟東夷國"</ref> while the 鮮卑 Xianbei were of [[Shanrong|Mountain Rong]] origin.<ref>''Guoyu'', explained by Wei Zhao, "Qiyu", 1st edition Sibu Congkan version, vol. 2, [https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=en&file=77609&page=90#%E5%B1%B1%E6%88%8E%E4%BB%8A%E4%B9%8B%E9%AE%AE%E5%8D%91 p. 90] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613203001/https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=en&file=77609&page=90#%E5%B1%B1%E6%88%8E%E4%BB%8A%E4%B9%8B%E9%AE%AE%E5%8D%91 |date=2023-06-13 }} of 160, quote: "山戎今之鮮卑"</ref><ref>''Guoyu'', explained by Wei Zhao, "Qiyu". Siku Quanshu version, vol. 6-8, [https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=en&file=68894&page=28 p. 28] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613203210/https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=en&file=68894&page=28 |date=2023-06-13 }} of 111, quote: "山戎今之鮮卑"</ref> The apparent scribal error results in contradicting statements, apparently by Wei Zhao, that the Xianbei were an Eastern Yi nation<ref name = "gy-wul-2-36-dy">''Guoyu'', explained by Wei Zhao, "Jinyu 8". Jinzhang Bookstore's version, vol. 2 [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:WUL-bunko01_01820_%E5%9C%8B%E8%AA%9E_2.pdf&page=36 p. 36] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109001052/https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:WUL-bunko01_01820_%E5%9C%8B%E8%AA%9E_2.pdf&page=36 |date=2023-11-09 }}. quote: "鮮卑東夷國". Waseda University Library's copy</ref> and a people of Mountain Rong origin.<ref name="gy-wul-1-42-sr">''Guoyu'', explained by Wei Zhao, "Qiyu". Jinzhang Bookstore's version, [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:WUL-bunko01_01820_%E5%9C%8B%E8%AA%9E_1.pdf&page=42 p. 42] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116155305/https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:WUL-bunko01_01820_%E5%9C%8B%E8%AA%9E_1.pdf&page=42 |date=2023-11-16 }}. quote: "山戎今之鮮卑". Waseda University Library's copy</ref> [[Huang Pilie]] (1763-1825) states that the reading 鮮卑 Xianbei was inauthentic and identifies the 鮮牟 Xianmou with '''根牟 [[Genmou]]''', an Eastern Yi nation conquered by the [[Lu (state)|Lu state]] in the 9th year of Duke Xuan of Lu's reign (600 BCE).<ref>''[[Spring and Autumn Annals|Chunqiu]] [[Zuo Zhuan]]'' "Duke Xuan's 9th year" [https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%98%A5%E7%A7%8B%E5%B7%A6%E6%B0%8F%E5%82%B3/%E5%AE%A3%E5%85%AC#%E7%B6%93_9 jing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405052350/https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%98%A5%E7%A7%8B%E5%B7%A6%E6%B0%8F%E5%82%B3/%E5%AE%A3%E5%85%AC#%E7%B6%93_9 |date=2023-04-05 }}; quote:（ 秋，取根牟。）; rough translation: "In autumn, [Lu] conquered Genmou." [https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%98%A5%E7%A7%8B%E5%B7%A6%E6%B0%8F%E5%82%B3/%E5%AE%A3%E5%85%AC#%E5%82%B3_9 zhuan] ; quote:（秋，取根牟，言易也。）; rough translation: "In autumn, [Lu] conquered Genmou. It's said that was easy."</ref><ref>[[Du Yu]], 《春秋經傳集解》 ''Chunqiu Zuozhuan - Collected Explanations'', "vol. 2" [https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&file=77349&page=151#%E6%A0%B9%E7%89%9F%E6%9D%B1%E5%A4%B7%E5%9C%8B%E4%B9%9F p. 151 of 190] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109000700/https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&file=77349&page=151#%E6%A0%B9%E7%89%9F%E6%9D%B1%E5%A4%B7%E5%9C%8B%E4%B9%9F |date=2023-11-09 }}. quote:（ 根牟東夷國也 ）</ref><ref>Xu Yuangao & Wang Shumin (2002). 國語集解 (''Discourses of the States - Collected Explanations'') Publisher: [[Zhonghua Book Company]]. p. 430. quote:（ 黃丕烈曰：「鮮牟，一本作『鮮卑』，非。『鮮牟』即宣九年之『根牟』也，…… 。」）; rough translation: "Huang Pilie said: 'Xianmou (鮮牟), in one copy it is written as Xianbei (鮮卑), which is inauthentic. The Xianmou (鮮牟) are the Genmou (根牟) in (Duke) Xuan's 9th year. [...].'"</ref>}}

These early Xianbei came from the nearby [[Zhukaigou culture]] (2200–1500 BCE) in the [[Ordos Desert]], where maternal DNA corresponds to the Mongol [[Daur people]] and the Tungusic [[Evenks]]. The Zhukaigou Xianbei (part of the [[Ordos culture]] of Inner Mongolia and northern [[Shaanxi]]) had trade relations with the Shang. [[Liu Song dynasty]] commentator Pei Yin (裴駰), in his Jixie (集解), quoted [[Han dynasty#Eastern Han|Eastern Han dynasty]] scholar Fu Qian (服虔)'s assertion that [[Shanrong]] (山戎) and Beidi (北狄) are ancestors of the present-day Xianbei (鮮卑).<ref>[[Sima Qian]]'s [[Shiji]], [https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98%E4%B8%89%E5%AE%B6%E8%A8%BB/%E5%8D%B7110 ch. 110] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720135707/https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98%E4%B8%89%E5%AE%B6%E8%A8%BB/%E5%8D%B7110 |date=2021-07-20 }}, with commentaries; text: "服虔云：「山戎蓋今鮮卑。」"</ref><ref>''Shiji: Sanjiazhu'', text: "〔一〕集解服虔曰:「山戎, 北狄, 蓋今鮮卑也。」, [https://books.google.com/books?id=29pjCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT491 page 491]"</ref> Again in Inner Mongolia another closely connected core Mongolic Xianbei region was the [[Upper Xiajiadian culture]] (1000–600 BCE) where the Donghu confederation was centered.

After the Donghu were defeated by Xiongnu king [[Modu Chanyu]], the [[Xianbei]] and [[Wuhuan]] survived as the main remnants of the confederation. [[Tadun]] Khan of the Wuhuan (died 207 AD) was the ancestor of the proto-Mongolic [[Kumo Xi]].<ref>[[Xin Tangshu]] 219. 6173.</ref> The Wuhuan are of the direct Donghu royal line and the ''[[New Book of Tang]]'' says that in 209 BCE, Modu Chanyu defeated the Wuhuan instead of using the word Donghu. The Xianbei, however, were of the lateral Donghu line and had a somewhat separate identity, although they shared the same language with the Wuhuan. In 49 CE the Xianbei ruler Bianhe (Bayan Khan?) raided and defeated the Xiongnu, killing 2000, after having received generous gifts from [[Emperor Guangwu of Han]]. The Xianbei reached their peak under [[Tanshihuai]] (reigned 156–181) who expanded their vast but short lived [[Xianbei#Xianbei Confederation|confederation]].
[[File:Genomic_evidence_from_Avar_period_human_remains.png|thumb|Analysis of DNA extracted from the remains of [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]] found in Hungary has provided evidence that they originated in what is now Mongolia.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gnecchi-Ruscone |first1=Guido Alberto |title=Ancient genomes reveal origin and rapid trans-Eurasian migration of 7th century Avar elites |journal=Cell |date=14 April 2022 |volume=185 |issue=8 |pages=1402–1413.e21 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2022.03.007 |pmid=35366416 |pmc=9042794 |s2cid=247859905 |language=en |issn=0092-8674}}</ref>]] 
Three prominent groups split from the [[Xianbei state]] as recorded by the Chinese histories: the [[Rouran]] (claimed by some to be the [[Pannonian Avars]]), the [[Khitan people]] and the [[Shiwei people|Shiwei]] (a subtribe called the "Shiwei Menggu" is held to be the origin of the Genghisid Mongols).<ref>University of California, Berkeley. Project on Linguistic Analysis, ''Journal of Chinese linguistics'', p. 154</ref> Besides these three Xianbei groups, there were others such as the [[Murong]], [[Duan (tribe)|Duan]] and [[Tuoba]]. Their culture was nomadic, their religion [[shamanism]] or [[Buddhism]] and their military strength formidable. There is still no direct evidence that the Rouran spoke [[Mongolic languages]], although most scholars agree that they were Proto-Mongolic.<ref>Thomas Hoppe, ''Die ethnischen Gruppen Xinjiangs: Kulturunterschiede und interethnische'', p. 66</ref> The Khitan, however, had two scripts of their own and many Mongolic words are found in their half-deciphered writings.

Geographically, the [[Tuoba]] Xianbei ruled the southern part of Inner Mongolia and northern China, the Rouran ([[Yujiulü Shelun]] was the first to use the title [[khagan]] in 402) ruled eastern Mongolia, western Mongolia, the northern part of Inner Mongolia and northern Mongolia, the Khitan were concentrated in eastern part of Inner Mongolia north of [[Korea]] and the Shiwei were located to the north of the Khitan. These tribes and kingdoms were soon overshadowed by the rise of the [[First Turkic Khaganate]] in 555, the [[Uyghur Khaganate]] in 745 and the [[Yenisei Kirghiz]] states in 840. The Tuoba were eventually absorbed into China. The Rouran fled west from the Göktürks and either disappeared into obscurity or, as some say, invaded Europe as the Avars under their Khan, [[Bayan I]]. Some Rouran under Tatar Khan migrated east, founding the [[Tatar confederation]], who became part of the [[Shiwei people|Shiwei]]. The Khitans, who were independent after their separation from the [[Kumo Xi]] (of [[Wuhuan]] origin) in 388, continued as a minor power in Manchuria until one of them, [[Abaoji]] (872–926), established the [[Liao dynasty]] (916–1125).

===Mongol Empire===
{{Main|Mongol Empire|Northern Yuan}}

[[File:YuanEmperorAlbumKhubilaiPortrait.jpg|thumb|A portrait of [[Kublai Khan]] by [[Araniko]] (1245–1306)]]
[[File:Anonymous - Tartar Huntsman - 19.166 - Metropolitan Museum of Art.jpg|thumb|Mongol huntsmen, [[Ming dynasty]]]]

The destruction of the Uyghur Khaganate by the Kirghiz resulted in the end of Turkic dominance in Mongolia. According to historians, Kirghiz were not interested in assimilating newly acquired lands; instead, they controlled local tribes through various ''[[manap]]s'' (tribal leaders). The Khitans occupied the areas vacated by the Turkic Uyghurs bringing them under their control. The [[Yenisei Kirghiz]] state was centered on [[Khakassia]] and they were expelled from Mongolia by the Khitans in 924. Beginning in the 10th century, the Khitans, under the leadership of [[Abaoji]], prevailed in several military campaigns against the [[Tang dynasty]]{{'}}s border guards, and the [[Kumo Xi|Xi]], [[Shiwei people|Shiwei]] and [[Jurchen people|Jurchen]] nomadic groups.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = The Other Press| isbn = 978-983-9541-88-5| last = San| first = Tan Koon| title = Dynastic China: An Elementary History| date = 2014-08-15}}</ref>

Remnants of the Liao dynasty led by [[Yelü Dashi]] fled west through Mongolia after being defeated by the [[Jurchen people|Jurchen]]-led [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin dynasty]] and founded the [[Qara Khitai]] (Western Liao dynasty) in 1124 while still maintaining control over western Mongolia. In 1218, [[Genghis Khan]] incorporated the Qara Khitai after which the Khitan passed into obscurity. Some remnants surfaced as the [[Qutlugh-Khanids|Qutlugh-Khanid dynasty]] (1222–1306) in Iran and the [[Dai Khitai (Hazara tribe)|Dai Khitai]] in Afghanistan. With the expansion of the [[Mongol Empire]], the Mongolic people settled over almost all Eurasia and carried on military campaigns from the [[Adriatic Sea]] to [[Indonesia]]n [[Java]] and from [[Mongol invasion of Japan|Japan]] to [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]. They simultaneously became [[Padishah]]s of [[Persia]], [[Emperors of China]], and [[Great Khans]] of the Mongols, and one ([[Al-Adil Kitbugha]]) became [[Sultan of Egypt]]. The Mongolic peoples of the [[Golden Horde]] established themselves to govern Russia by 1240.<ref name="Jerry Bentley 1993">Jerry Bentley, ''Old World Encounters: Cross-Cultural Contacts and Exchange in Pre-Modern Times'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 136.</ref> By 1279, they conquered the Song dynasty and brought all of [[China proper]] under the control of the [[Yuan dynasty]].<ref name="Jerry Bentley 1993"/>

{{blockquote|... from Chinggis up high down to the common people, all are shaven in the style ''pojiao''. As with small boys in China, they leave three locks, one hanging from the crown of their heads. When it has grown some, they clip it; the strands lower on both sides they plait to hang down on the shoulders.{{sfn|Garcia|2012|p=325}}|Zhao Gong}}

With the breakup of the empire, the dispersed Mongolic peoples quickly adopted the mostly Turkic cultures surrounding them and were assimilated, forming parts of Afghanistan's [[Hazaras]], [[Azerbaijanis]], [[Uzbeks]], [[Karakalpaks]], [[Tatars]], [[Bashkirs]], [[Turkmens]], [[Uyghurs]], [[Nogais]], [[Kyrgyzs]], [[Kazakhs]], [[People of Caucasus|Caucasus peoples]], [[Iranian peoples]] and [[Mughal (tribe)|Moghuls]]; linguistic and cultural [[Persianization]] also began to be prominent in these territories. Some Mongols assimilated into the [[Yakuts]] after their migration to northern Siberia and about 30% of [[Yakut language|Yakut words]] have Mongol origin. However, remnants of the Yuan imperial family retreated north to Mongolia in 1368, retaining their language and culture. There were 250,000 Mongols in southern China and many Mongols were massacred by the rebel army. The survivors were trapped in southern China and eventually assimilated. The [[Dongxiangs]], [[Bonans]], [[Yugur]] and [[Monguor people]] were invaded by the [[Ming dynasty]].

===Northern Yuan===
[[File:Northern Yuan and Golden Horde.svg|thumb|280px|The [[Northern Yuan dynasty]] and [[Turco-Mongol tradition|Turco-Mongol]] residual states and domains by the 15th century]]

After the fall of the Yuan dynasty in 1368, the Mongols continued to rule the [[Northern Yuan]] in northern China and the Mongolian steppe. However, the [[Oirad]]s began to challenge the Eastern Mongols under the [[Borjigin]] monarchs in the late 14th century and Mongolia was divided into two parts: [[Western Mongolia]] ([[Oirats]]) and [[Tatar (Mongolia)|Eastern Mongolia]] ([[Khalkha]], [[Inner Mongols]], [[Barga Mongols|Barga]], [[Buryats]]). The earliest written references to the plough in [[Middle Mongol language]] sources appear towards the end of the 14th c.<ref>MOLNÁR, ÁDÁM. "THE PLOUGH AND PLOUGHING AMONG THE ALTAIC PEOPLES." Central Asiatic Journal 26, no. 3/4 (1982): 215–24.</ref>

In 1434, Eastern Mongol [[Taisun Khan]]'s (1433–1452) Oirat prime minister Togoon Taish reunited the Mongols after killing [[Adai Khan]] in [[Ejin Banner|Ejin]]. Togoon died in 1439 and his son [[Esen Taish]] became ruler of Northern Yuan dynasty. Esen later unified the Mongol tribes. The Ming dynasty attempted to invade the Northern Yuan in the 14–16th centuries, however, the Ming dynasty was defeated by the Oirat, Southern Mongol, Eastern Mongol and united Mongol armies. Esen's 30,000 cavalries defeated 500,000 Chinese soldiers in the 1449 [[Tumu Crisis]]. Within eighteen months of his defeat of the titular Khan Taisun, in 1453, Esen himself took the title of [[Great Khan]] (1454–1455) of the [[Great Yuan]].<ref>Sechin Jagchid, Van Jay Symons – Peace, war, and trade along the Great Wall: Nomadic-Chinese interaction through two millennia, p.49</ref>

The Khalkha emerged during the reign of [[Dayan Khan]] (1479–1543) as one of the six [[Tumen (unit)|tumen]]s of the Eastern Mongolic peoples. They quickly became the dominant Mongolic clan in Mongolia proper.<ref>[[Juha Janhunen|Janhunen, Juha]] ''The Mongolic languages'', p.177</ref><ref>Elizabeth E. Bacon ''Obok: A Study of Social Structure in Eurasia'', p.82</ref> He reunited the Mongols again. In 1550, [[Altan Khan]] led a [[Tumed]] Mongol raid on Beijing. The Mongols voluntarily reunified during Eastern Mongolian [[Tümen Zasagt Khan]] rule (1558–1592) for the last time (the Mongol Empire united all Mongols before this).

Eastern Mongolia was divided into three parts in the 17th century: [[Outer Mongolia]] (Khalkha), [[Inner Mongolia]] (Inner Mongols) and the Buryat region in southern [[Siberia]].

The last Mongol khagan was [[Ligdan Khan|Ligdan]] in the early 17th century. He got into conflicts with the [[Manchu people|Manchus]] over the looting of Chinese cities, and managed to alienate most Mongol tribes. In 1618, Ligdan signed a treaty with the Ming dynasty to protect their northern border from the Manchus attack in exchange for thousands of taels of silver. By the 1620s, only the [[Chahars]] remained under his rule.

=== Qing era ===
{{see also|Mongolia under Qing rule}}

[[File:Qing Dzungar wars.jpg|upright=1.3|thumb|Map showing [[Dzungar–Qing Wars|wars]] between Qing dynasty and Dzungar Khanate]]
[[File:Langshining mao.jpg|thumb|A [[Dzungar people|Dzungar]] soldier called [[Ayusi]] from the high Qing era, by [[Giuseppe Castiglione (Jesuit painter)|Giuseppe Castiglione]], 1755]]
[[File:Battle of Oroi-Jalatu.jpg|thumb|upright=1.30|The Battle of Oroi-Jalatu in 1755 between the Qing (that ruled China at the time) and Mongol Dzungar armies. The fall of the [[Dzungar Khanate]]]]

The Chahar army was defeated in 1625 and 1628 by the Inner Mongol and Manchu armies due to Ligdan's faulty tactics. The Qing forces secured their control over Inner Mongolia by 1635, and the army of the last khan Ligdan moved to battle against Tibetan [[Gelugpa]] sect (Yellow Hat sect) forces. The Gelugpa forces supported the Manchus, while Ligdan supported [[Kagyu]] sect (Red Hat sect) of [[Tibetan Buddhism]]. Ligden died in 1634 on his way to [[Tibet]]. By 1636, most Inner Mongolian nobles had submitted to the [[Qing dynasty]] founded by the Manchus. Inner Mongolian Tengis [[noyan]] revolted against the Qing in the 1640s and the Khalkha battled to protect Sunud.

Western Mongol Oirats and Eastern Mongolian Khalkhas vied for domination in Mongolia since the 15th century and this conflict weakened Mongol strength. In 1688, the Western Mongol [[Dzungar Khanate]]'s king [[Galdan Boshugtu Khan|Galdan Boshugtu]] attacked Khalkha after murder of his younger brother by Tusheet Khan Chakhundorj (main or Central Khalkha leader) and the Khalkha-Oirat War began. Galdan threatened to kill Chakhundorj and [[Zanabazar]] (Javzandamba Khutagt I, spiritual head of Khalkha) but they escaped to Sunud (Inner Mongolia). Many Khalkha nobles and folks fled to Inner Mongolia because of the war. Few Khalkhas fled to the Buryat region and Russia threatened to exterminate them if they did not submit, but many of them submitted to Galdan Boshugtu.

In 1683 [[Galdan Boshugtu Khan|Galdan]]'s armies reached [[Tashkent]] and the [[Syr Darya]] and crushed two armies of the [[Kazakhs]]. After that Galdan subjugated the [[Kyrgyz people|Black Khirgizs]] and ravaged the [[Fergana Valley]]. From 1685 Galdan's forces aggressively pushed the Kazakhs. While his general Rabtan took [[Taraz]], and his main force forced the Kazakhs to migrate westwards.<ref>Michael Khodarkovsky – Where Two Worlds Met: The Russian State and the Kalmyk Nomads, 1600–1771, p.211</ref> In 1687, he besieged the [[Turkistan (city)|City of Turkistan]]. Under the leadership of [[Abul Khair Khan]], the Kazakhs won major victories over the Dzungars at the Bulanty River in 1726, and at the Battle of Anrakay in 1729.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/2282291?zid=306&ah=1b164dbd43b0cb27ba0d4c3b12a5e227 |title=Country Briefings: Kazakhstan |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=1 June 2010 |archive-date=8 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208113054/http://www.economist.com/node/2282291?zid=306&ah=1b164dbd43b0cb27ba0d4c3b12a5e227 }}</ref>

The Khalkha eventually submitted to [[Mongolia under Qing rule|Qing rule]] in 1691 by [[Zanabazar]]'s decision, thus bringing all of today's Mongolia under the rule of the Qing dynasty but Khalkha ''de facto'' remained under the rule of Galdan Boshugtu Khaan until 1696. The Mongol-Oirat's Code (a treaty of alliance) against foreign invasion between the Oirats and Khalkhas was signed in 1640, however, the Mongols could not unite against foreign invasions. Chakhundorj fought against Russian invasion of [[Outer Mongolia]] until 1688 and stopped Russian invasion of [[Khövsgöl Province]]. Zanabazar struggled to bring together the Oirats and Khalkhas before the war.

Galdan Boshugtu sent his army to "liberate" Inner Mongolia after defeating the Khalkha's army and called Inner Mongolian nobles to fight for Mongolian independence. Some Inner Mongolian nobles, [[Tibetans]], [[Kumul Khanate]] and some [[Moghulistan]]'s nobles supported his war against the Manchus, however, Inner Mongolian nobles did not battle against the Qing.

There were three khans in Khalkha and Zasagt Khan Shar (Western Khalkha leader) was Galdan's ally. Tsetsen Khan (Eastern Khalkha leader) did not engage in this conflict. While Galdan was fighting in Eastern Mongolia, his nephew [[Tseveenravdan]] seized the Dzungarian throne in 1689 and this event made Galdan impossible to fight against the Qing Empire. The Russian and Qing Empires supported his action because this coup weakened Western Mongolian strength. Galdan Boshugtu's army was defeated by the outnumbering Qing army in 1696 and he died in 1697. The Mongols who fled to the Buryat region and Inner Mongolia returned after the war. Some Khalkhas mixed with the Buryats.

The Buryats fought against Russian [[Russian conquest of Siberia|invasion]] since the [[Expansion of Russia 1500–1800|1620s]] and thousands of Buryats were massacred. The Buryat region was formally annexed to Russia by treaties in 1689 and 1727, when the territories on both the sides of [[Lake Baikal]] were separated from Mongolia. In 1689 the [[Treaty of Nerchinsk]] established the northern border of [[Manchuria]] north of the present line. The Russians retained [[Trans-Baikal]]ia between Lake Baikal and the [[Argun River (Asia)|Argun River]] north of Mongolia. The [[Treaty of Kyakhta (1727)]], along with the Treaty of Nerchinsk, regulated the relations between Russian and Qing empires until the mid-nineteenth century, and established the [[Mongolia-Russia border]]. [[Oka River (Siberia)|Oka]] Buryats revolted in 1767 and Russia completely conquered the Buryat region in the late 18th century. Russia and Qing were rival empires until the early 20th century, however, both empires carried out united policy against Central Asians.

The Qing Empire conquered Upper Mongolia or the Oirat's [[Khoshut Khanate]] in the 1720s and 80,000 people were killed.<ref name="montaa.mn">[http://montaa.mn/content/view/73/ БУЦАЖ ИРЭЭГҮЙ МОНГОЛ АЙМГУУД] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131115172101/http://montaa.mn/content/view/73/ |date=2013-11-15 }} '''(Mongolian)'''</ref> By that period, Upper Mongolian population reached 200,000. The [[Dzungar Khanate]] conquered by the Qing dynasty in 1755–1758 because of their leaders and military commanders conflicts. Some scholars estimate that about 80% of the [[Dzungar people|Dzungar]] population were destroyed by a combination of warfare and disease during the Qing conquest of the Dzungar Khanate in 1755–1758.<ref>[http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/uploads/approved/adt-QGU20061121.163131/public/02Whole.pdf Michael Edmund Clarke, ''In the Eye of Power'' (doctoral thesis), Brisbane 2004, p37] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706114903/http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/uploads/approved/adt-QGU20061121.163131/public/02Whole.pdf |date=July 6, 2011 }}</ref> Mark Levene, a historian whose recent research interests focus on [[genocide]],<ref>[http://www.soton.ac.uk/history/profiles/levene1.html Dr. Mark Levene] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216135041/http://www.soton.ac.uk/history/profiles/levene1.html |date=2008-12-16 }}, [[Southampton University]], see "Areas where I can offer Postgraduate Supervision". Retrieved 2009-02-09.</ref> has stated that the extermination of the Dzungars was "arguably the eighteenth century genocide par excellence."<ref>A. Dirk Moses (2008). "''[https://books.google.com/books?id=RBgoNN4MG-YC Empire, Colony, Genocide: Conquest, Occupation, and Subaltern Resistance in World History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316173830/https://books.google.com/books?id=RBgoNN4MG-YC |date=2023-03-16 }}''". Berghahn Books. p.188. {{ISBN|1845454529}}</ref> The Dzungar population reached 600,000 in 1755.

About 200,000–250,000 Oirats migrated from western Mongolia to [[Volga River]] in 1607 and established the [[Kalmyk Khanate]].The Torghuts were led by their Tayishi, [[Kho Orluk]]. Russia was concerned about their attack but the [[Kalmyks]] became a Russian ally and a treaty to protect the southern Russian border was signed between the Kalmyk Khanate and Russia. In 1724 the Kalmyks came under control of Russia. By the early 18th century, there were approximately 300,000–350,000 Kalmyks and 15,000,000 Russians.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}} The [[Tsardom of Russia]] gradually chipped away at the autonomy of the Kalmyk Khanate. These policies, for instance, encouraged the establishment of Russian and German settlements on pastures the Kalmyks used to roam and feed their livestock. In addition, the Tsarist government imposed a council on the Kalmyk Khan, thereby diluting his authority, while continuing to expect the Kalmyk Khan to provide cavalry units to fight on behalf of Russia. The [[Russian Orthodox church]], by contrast, pressured Buddhist Kalmyks to adopt Orthodoxy. In January 1771, approximately 200,000 (170,000)<ref name="oirad.mn">[http://www.oirad.mn/2011/12/%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B2-%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD-%D0%BD%D2%AF%D2%AF%D0%B4%D1%8D%D0%BB/ ТИВ ДАМНАСАН НҮҮДЭЛ] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130628032215/http://www.oirad.mn/2011/12/%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B2-%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD-%D0%BD%D2%AF%D2%AF%D0%B4%D1%8D%D0%BB/ |date=2013-06-28 }} (Mongolian)</ref> Kalmyks began the migration from their pastures on the left bank of the Volga to Dzungaria, through the territories of their [[Bashkirs|Bashkir]] and [[Kazakhs|Kazakh]] enemies. The last Kalmyk khan [[Ubashi Khan|Ubashi]] led the migration to restore Mongolian independence. Ubashi Khan sent his 30,000 cavalries to the [[Russo-Turkish War (1768–74)]] to gain weapon before the migration. The Empress [[Catherine the Great]] ordered the Russian army, Bashkirs and Kazakhs to exterminate all migrants and the Empress abolished the Kalmyk Khanate.<ref name="oirad.mn"/><ref>[http://www.olloo.mn/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=1186139 Ижил мөрөн хүртэлх их нүүдэл] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20131130070013/http://www.olloo.mn/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=1186139 |date=2013-11-30 }} '''(Mongolian)'''</ref><ref>[http://www.shudarga.mn/news/10489.html Тал нутгийн Нүүдэлчин Халимагууд Эх нутаг Монгол руугаа тэмүүлсэн түүх] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203120601/http://www.shudarga.mn/news/10489.html |date=2013-12-03 }} '''(Mongolian)'''</ref><ref>[http://www.hicheel.mn/index.php?module=menu&cmd=content&id=3007&menu_id=437 Баруун Монголын нүүдэл суудал] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203001654/http://www.hicheel.mn/index.php?module=menu&cmd=content&id=3007&menu_id=437 |date=2013-12-03 }} '''(Mongolian)'''</ref><ref>[http://new.hist.asu.ru/biblio/V2/45-54.pdf К вопросу о бегстве волжских калмыков в Джунгарию в 1771 году] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725190713/http://new.hist.asu.ru/biblio/V2/45-54.pdf |date=2012-07-25 }} '''(Russian)'''</ref> The [[Kyrgyzs]] attacked them near [[Balkhash Lake]]. About 100,000–150,000 Kalmyks who settled on the west bank of the [[Volga River]] could not cross the river because the river did not freeze in the winter of 1771 and Catherine the Great executed influential nobles of them. After seven months of travel, only one-third (66,073)<ref name="oirad.mn"/> of the original group reached Dzungaria (Balkhash Lake, western border of the Qing Empire).<ref>Michael Khodarkovsky (2002)."''[https://archive.org/details/trent_0116405117767 Russia's Steppe Frontier: The Making Of A Colonial Empire, 1500–1800]''". Indiana University Press. p.142. {{ISBN|0253217709}}</ref> The Qing Empire transmigrated the Kalmyks to five different areas to prevent their revolt and influential leaders of the Kalmyks died soon (killed by the Manchus). Russia states that Buryatia voluntarily merged with Russia in 1659 due to Mongolian oppression and the Kalmyks voluntarily accepted Russian rule in 1609 but only [[Georgia (country)#Within the Russian Empire|Georgia]] voluntarily accepted Russian rule.<ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FIvp2uSOsIYC&pg=PA49| title = Владимир Андреевич Хамутаев, Присоединение Бурятии к России: история, право, политика| year = 2012| publisher = ARAMNG| isbn = 978-5-8200-0251-9}} '''(Russian)'''</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20131214084211/http://burinfo.org/news/kham_u/ Известный бурятский ученый Владимир Хамутаев собирается получить политическое убежище в США]}} '''(Russian)'''</ref>
[[File:Mongolia, near Ulaanbaatar.jpg|thumb|A Mongolian Buddhist noble in [[Niislel Hüree|Urga]], 1913]]
In the early 20th century, the late Qing government encouraged [[Han Chinese]] settlement of Mongolian lands under the name of "[[New Policies]]" or "New Administration" (xinzheng). As a result, some Mongol leaders, especially those of Outer Mongolia, decided to seek Mongolian independence. After the [[Xinhai Revolution]], the [[Mongolian Revolution of 1911|Mongolian Revolution on 30 November 1911]] in Outer Mongolia ended an over 200-year rule of the Qing dynasty.

=== Post-Qing era ===
[[File:A Mongolian lady sits for her portrait before a Chinese photographer (cropped).png|thumb|A Mongol woman seated for a [[portraiture]], 1921]]
With the independence of Outer Mongolia, the Mongolian army controlled Khalkha and Khovd regions (modern day [[Uvs Province|Uvs]], [[Khovd Province|Khovd]], and [[Bayan-Ölgii Province|Bayan-Ölgii provinces]]), but Northern [[Xinjiang]] (the Altai and Ili regions of the Qing empire), [[Upper Mongolia]], [[Barga Mongols|Barga]] and [[Inner Mongolia]] came under control of the newly formed [[Republic of China (1912–49)|Republic of China]]. On February 2, 1913, the [[Mongolia (1911–24)|Bogd Khanate of Mongolia]] sent Mongolian cavalries to "liberate" Inner Mongolia from China. Russia refused to sell weapons to the Bogd Khanate, and the Russian czar, [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]], referred to it as "Mongolian imperialism". Additionally, the [[United Kingdom]] urged Russia to abolish Mongolian independence as it was concerned that "if Mongolians gain independence, then Central Asians will revolt". 10,000 Khalkha and Inner Mongolian cavalries (about 3,500 Inner Mongols) defeated 70,000 Chinese soldiers and controlled almost all of Inner Mongolia; however, the Mongolian army retreated due to lack of weapons in 1914. 400 Mongol soldiers and 3,795 Chinese soldiers died in this war. The Khalkhas, Khovd Oirats, Buryats, Dzungarian Oirats, [[Upper Mongols]], [[Barga Mongols]], most Inner Mongolian and some Tuvan leaders sent statements to support Bogd Khan's call of [[Pan-Mongolism|Mongolian reunification]]. In reality however, most of them were too prudent or irresolute to attempt joining the Bogd Khan regime.<ref>Proceedings of the Fifth East Asian Altaistic Conference, December 26, 1979 – January 2, 1980, Taipei, China, p144</ref> Russia encouraged Mongolia to become an autonomous region of China in 1914. Mongolia lost [[Barga Mongols|Barga]], Dzungaria, [[Tuva]], Upper Mongolia and Inner Mongolia in the [[Treaty of Kyakhta (1915)|1915 Treaty of Kyakhta]].

In October 1919, the Republic of China occupied Mongolia after the suspicious deaths of Mongolian patriotic nobles. On 3 February 1921 the [[White movement|White Russian]] army—led by [[Baron Ungern]] and mainly consisting of Mongolian volunteer cavalries, and Buryat and Tatar [[cossacks]]—liberated [[Ulaanbaatar]]. Baron Ungern's purpose was to find allies to defeat the [[Soviet Union]]. The Statement of Reunification of Mongolia was adopted by Mongolian revolutionaries in 1921. The Soviet, however, considered Mongolia to be Chinese territory in 1924 during a secret meeting with the Republic of China. Finally, the  [[Nationalist government|National Government of the Republic of China]] officially [[1945 Mongolian independence referendum|recognized Mongolian independence in 1945]]. Although the Soviet Union supported the Mongolian People's Republic, Soviets carried out various policies (political, economic and cultural) against Mongolia until its fall in 1991 to prevent Pan-Mongolism and other [[List of active separatist movements in Asia#China|irredentist]] [[List of active separatist movements in Europe#Russia|movements]].{{cn|date=August 2025}}

On 10 April 1932, Mongolians [[1932 armed uprising in Mongolia|revolted]] against the government's new policy and Soviets. The government and Soviet soldiers defeated the rebels in October.

The Buryats started to migrate to Mongolia in the 1900s due to Russian oppression. [[Joseph Stalin]]'s regime stopped the migration in 1930 and started a campaign of ethnic cleansing against newcomers and Mongolians. During the [[Stalinist repressions in Mongolia]], almost all adult Buryat men and 22,000–33,000 Mongols (3–5% of the total population; common citizens, monks, Pan-Mongolists, nationalists, patriots, hundreds of military officers, nobles, intellectuals and elite people) were shot dead under Soviet orders.<ref>[http://www.olloo.mn/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=113303 Богд хааны жолооч хилс хэрэгт хэлмэгдсэн нь] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203021133/http://www.olloo.mn/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=113303 |date=2013-12-03 }} '''(Mongolian)'''</ref><ref name="Death Tolls">{{cite web| url = http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat5.htm#Mong2| title = Twentieth Century Atlas – Death Tolls| access-date = 2013-12-01| archive-date = 2019-10-22| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191022115708/http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat5.htm#Mong2| url-status = live}}</ref> Some authors also offer much higher estimates, up to 100,000 victims.<ref name="Death Tolls"/> Around the late 1930s the [[Mongolian People's Republic]] had an overall population of about 700,000 to 900,000 people. By 1939, Soviet said "We repressed too many people, the population of Mongolia is only hundred thousands". The proportion of victims in relation to the population of the country is much higher than the corresponding figures of the [[Great Purge]] in the Soviet Union.

[[File:Khalkhin Gol George Zhukov and Khorloogiin Choibalsan 1939.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|[[Khorloogiin Choibalsan]], leader of the [[Mongolian People's Republic]] (left), and [[Georgy Zhukov]] consult during the [[Battle of Khalkhin Gol]] against Japanese troops, 1939]]
The [[Manchukuo]] (1932–1945), puppet state of the [[Empire of Japan]] (1868–1947) invaded [[Barga Mongols|Barga]] and some part of Inner Mongolia with Japanese help. The Mongolian army advanced to the [[Great Wall of China]] during the [[Soviet–Japanese War (1945)|Soviet–Japanese War of 1945]] (Mongolian name: ''Liberation War of 1945''). Japan forced Inner Mongolian and Barga people to fight against Mongolians but they surrendered to Mongolians and started to fight against their Japanese and Manchu allies. Marshal [[Khorloogiin Choibalsan]] called Inner Mongolians and Xinjiang Oirats to migrate to Mongolia during the war but the [[Soviet Army]] blocked Inner Mongolian migrants' way. It was a part of a Pan-Mongolian plan and few Oirats and Inner Mongols ([[Huuchid]]s, Bargas, [[Tümed]]s, [[Üzemchin Mongols|about 800 Uzemchins]]) [[Demographics of Mongolia#Ethnic groups of Mongolia|arrived]]. Inner Mongolian leaders carried out active policy to merge Inner Mongolia with Mongolia since 1911. They founded the [[Inner Mongolian Army]] in 1929 but the Inner Mongolian Army disbanded after ending World War II. The Japanese Empire supported Pan-Mongolism since the 1910s but there have never been active relations between Mongolia and Imperial Japan due to Russian resistance. The nominally independent Inner Mongolian [[Mengjiang]] state (1936–1945) was established with support of Japan in 1936; also, some Buryat and Inner Mongol nobles founded a Pan-Mongolist government with the support of Japan in 1919.

[[File:Monumento ruso en Ulan Bator, Mongolia.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|World War II [[Zaisan Memorial]], Ulaanbaatar, from the [[Mongolian People's Republic]] era.]]

The Inner Mongols established the short-lived [[Inner Mongolian People's Republic]] in 1945, before its integration into the [[Chinese Communist Party]]-led zones.

Another part of Choibalsan's plan was to merge Inner Mongolia and Dzungaria with Mongolia. By 1945, Chinese communist leader [[Mao Zedong]] requested the Soviets to stop Pan-Mongolism because China lost its control over Inner Mongolia and without Inner Mongolian support the Communists were unable to defeat Japan and [[Kuomintang]].{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

Mongolia and thea Soviets supported the [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]] and [[Kazakhs|Kazakh]] [[Second East Turkestan Republic|separatist movement]] during the 1930s and 1940s. By 1945, the Soviets refused to support them after their alliance with the [[Chinese Communist Party]] and Mongolia interrupted its relations with the separatists under pressure. Xinjiang Oirat militant groups operated together the Turkic peoples but the Oirats did not have the leading role due to their small population. [[Basmachi movement|Basmachi]]s or Turkic and [[Tajiks|Tajik]] militants fought to liberate [[Soviet Central Asia]] until 1942.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

On February 2, 1913, the [[Treaty of friendship and alliance between the Government of Mongolia and Tibet|Treaty of Friendship and Alliance between the Government of Mongolia and Tibet]] was signed. Mongolian agents and the Bogd Khan disrupted Soviet secret operations in [[Tibet (1912-51)|Tibet]] to change its regime in the 1920s.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

On October 27, 1961, [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 166|Mongolia officially became an official member of the United Nations]].

The powerful states of Russia and China have committed many abuses against Mongols in their homeland, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, sometimes characterized as [[cultural genocide]], with targets among the Mongol language, culture, tradition, history, religion, and ethnic identity. [[Peter the Great]] said: "The headwaters of the [[Yenisei River]] must be Russian land".<ref>L.Jamsran, Mongol states in Russia, 1995</ref> The Russian Empire sent the Kalmyks and Buryats to war to reduce the populations ([[World War I]] and other wars). During the 20th century, Soviet scientists attempted to convince the Kalmyks and Buryats that they were not Mongols under its demongolization policy. 35,000 Buryats were killed during a rebellion in 1927, and around one-third of the Buryat population in Russia died in the 1900s–1950s.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.pandia.ru/text/77/152/9539.php| title = Войны ХХ века и их жертвы /тысяч человек/}}{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} '''(Russian)'''</ref><ref>[http://horidoimergen.blog.gogo.mn/read/entry128563 Буриад-Монголын үндэстний хөдөлгөөн, тулгамдсан асуудлууд] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203121332/http://horidoimergen.blog.gogo.mn/read/entry128563 |date=2013-12-03 }} '''(Mongolian)'''</ref> 10,000 Buryats of the Buryat-Mongol Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic were massacred by Stalin's order in the 1930s.<ref>[http://baigalmirny.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1336&Itemid=96 История (до и начало XX века)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227122719/http://baigalmirny.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1336&Itemid=96 |date=2014-12-27 }} '''(Russian)'''</ref> In 1919, the Buryats established a small [[theocratic]] Balagad state in the [[Kizhinginsky District]] of Russia which later fell in 1926. In 1958, the name "Mongol" was removed from the name of the Buryat-Mongol Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

On 22 January 1922, Mongolia proposed to migrate the Kalmyks during the Kalmyk Famine, but Bolshevik Russia refused. 71,000–72,000 (93,000?; around half of the population) Kalmyks died during the [[Russian famine of 1921–22]].<ref name="Munkhbayar">{{cite web| url = http://sonin.mn/blog/Munkhbayar/21142| title = XX зууны 20, 30-аад онд халимагуудын 98 хувь аймшигт өлсгөлөнд автсан| access-date = 2013-11-24| archive-date = 2013-10-31| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131031003919/http://sonin.mn/blog/Munkhbayar/21142}} '''(Mongolian)'''</ref> The Kalmyks revolted against the Soviet Union in 1926, 1930 and 1942–1943. In 1913, [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]], tsar of Russia, said: "We need to prevent from the Volga [[Tatars]]. But the Kalmyks are more dangerous than them because they are the Mongols so send them to war to reduce the population".<ref name="ulstor.com">[http://www.ulstor.com/2010/10/blog-post_1768.html Халимагийн эмгэнэлт түүхээс] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227071634/http://www.ulstor.com/2010/10/blog-post_1768.html |date=2014-12-27 }} '''(Mongolian)'''</ref> On 23 April 1923 [[Joseph Stalin]], communist leader of Russia, said: "We are carrying out wrong policy on the Kalmyks who related to the Mongols. Our policy is too peaceful".<ref name="ulstor.com"/> In March 1927, Soviet deported 20,000 Kalmyks to Siberia, the [[tundra]] and [[Karelia]].The Kalmyks founded the sovereign [[List of Mongol states#Modern states|Republic of Oirat-Kalmyk]] on 22 March 1930.<ref name="ulstor.com"/> The Oirats' state had a small army and 200 Kalmyk soldiers defeated 1,700 Soviet soldiers in Durvud province of Kalmykia but the Oirats' state was destroyed by the Soviet Army in 1930. Kalmykian [[nationalists]] and Pan-Mongolists attempted to migrate Kalmyks to Mongolia in the 1920s. Mongolia suggested to migrate the Soviet Union's Mongols to Mongolia in the 1920s but Russia refused the suggestion.

Stalin [[Kalmyk deportations of 1943|deported]] all Kalmyks to [[Siberia]] in 1943 and around half of the (97,000–98,000) Kalmyks deported to Siberia died before being allowed to return home in 1957.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/4580467.stm| title = Regions and territories: Kalmykia| date = 29 November 2011| access-date = 24 November 2013| archive-date = 14 October 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181014073605/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/4580467.stm| url-status = live}}</ref> The government of the Soviet Union forbade teaching the [[Kalmyk language]] during the deportation. The Kalmyks' main purpose was to migrate to Mongolia and many Kalmyks joined the German Army. Marshal [[Khorloogiin Choibalsan]] attempted to migrate the deportees to Mongolia and he met with them in Siberia during his visit to Russia. Under the Law of the Russian Federation of April 26, 1991 "On Rehabilitation of Exiled Peoples," repressions against Kalmyks and other peoples were qualified as acts of genocide.
[[File:Dmitry Medvedev in Mongolia August 2009-26.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Mongolian President [[Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj]] (right)]]

On 3 October 2002, the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Republic of China)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] announced that Taiwan [[Foreign relations of Taiwan#Mongolia|recognizes]] Mongolia as an independent country,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/archives/2002/10/11/0000175237|title=Mongolian office to ride into Taipei by end of the year|newspaper=Taipei Times|date=2002-10-11|access-date=2009-05-28|quote=In October 1945, the people of Outer Mongolia voted for independence, gaining the recognition of many countries, including the Republic of China. (...) Due to a souring of relations with the Soviet Union in the early 1950s, however, the ROC revoked recognition of Outer Mongolia, reclaiming it as ROC territory.|archive-date=2009-02-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210192036/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/archives/2002/10/11/0000175237}}</ref> although no legislative actions were taken to address concerns over its constitutional claims to Mongolia.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1842387.stm|title=Taiwan 'embassy' changes anger China|work=BBC News|date=2002-02-26|access-date=2009-05-28|archive-date=2004-05-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040526084615/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1842387.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Offices established to support Taipei's claims over Outer Mongolia, such as the [[Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtac.gov.tw/pages.php?lang=5|title=The History of MTAC|publisher=Mongolian & Tibetan Affairs Commission|access-date=2009-05-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508080715/http://www.mtac.gov.tw/pages.php?lang=5|archive-date=2009-05-08}}</ref> lie dormant.

[[Agin-Buryat Okrug]] and [[Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug]]s merged with [[Irkutsk Oblast]] and [[Chita Oblast]] in 2008 despite Buryats' resistance. Small scale protests occurred in Inner Mongolia in [[2011 Inner Mongolia unrest|2011]]. The [[Inner Mongolian People's Party]] is a member of the [[Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization]]<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.unpo.org/members/7883| title = unpo.org| access-date = 2014-01-23| archive-date = 2012-03-02| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120302213407/http://www.unpo.org/members/7883| url-status = live}}</ref> and its leaders are attempting to establish a sovereign state or merge Inner Mongolia with Mongolia.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

[[File:Gurvger.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.35|A Mongolic [[yurt|Ger]]]]

== Language ==
{{Main|Mongolic languages}}

[[File:MongolicLanguagesGraph.svg|thumb|left|Chronological tree of the Mongolic languages]]
Mongolian is the official national language of Mongolia, where it is spoken by nearly 2.8&nbsp;million people (2010 estimate),<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book|last1=Janhunen|first1=Juha|title=Mongolian|date=November 29, 2012|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|page=11|chapter=1}}</ref> and the official provincial language of China's [[Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region]], where there are at least 4.1&nbsp;million ethnic Mongols.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tsung|first1=Linda|title=Language Power and Hierarchy: Multilingual Education in China|date=October 27, 2014|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|page=59|chapter=3}}</ref> Across the whole of China, the language is spoken by roughly half of the country's 5.8&nbsp;million ethnic Mongols (2005 estimate)<ref name="ReferenceA"/> However, the exact number of Mongolian speakers in China is unknown, as there is no data available on the language proficiency of that country's citizens. The use of Mongolian in China, specifically in Inner Mongolia, has witnessed periods of decline and revival over the last few hundred years. The language experienced a decline during the late Qing period, a revival between 1947 and 1965, a second decline between 1966 and 1976, a second revival between 1977 and 1992, and a third decline between 1995 and 2012.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tsung|first1=Linda|title=Language Power and Hierarchy: Multilingual Education in China|date=October 27, 2014|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|chapter=3}}</ref> However, in spite of the decline of the Mongolian language in some of Inner Mongolia's urban areas and educational spheres, the ethnic identity of the urbanized Chinese-speaking Mongols is most likely going to survive due to the presence of urban ethnic communities.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Iredale|first1=Robyn|last2=Bilik|first2=Naran|last3=Fei|first3=Guo|title=China's Minorities on the Move: Selected Case Studies|date=August 2, 2003|page=84|chapter=4}}</ref> The multilingual situation in Inner Mongolia does not appear to obstruct efforts by ethnic Mongols to preserve their language.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Janhunen|first1=Juha|title=Mongolian|date=November 29, 2012|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|page=16|chapter=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Otsuka|first1=Hitomi|title=More Morphologies: Contributions to the Festival of Languages, Bremen, 17 Sep to 7 Oct, 2009|date=30 Nov 2012|page=99|chapter=6}}</ref> Although an unknown number of Mongols in China, such as the Tumets, may have completely or partially lost the ability to speak their language, they are still registered as ethnic Mongols and continue to identify themselves as ethnic Mongols.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Iredale|first1=Robyn|title=China's Minorities on the Move: Selected Case Studies|date=August 2, 2003|publisher=Routledge|pages=56, 64–67|chapter=3}}</ref> The children of inter-ethnic Mongol-Chinese marriages also claim to be and are registered as ethnic Mongols.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Janhunen|first1=Juha|title=Mongolian|date=November 29, 2012|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|page=11|chapter=1}}{{cite book|last1=Iredale|first1=Robyn|last2=Bilik|first2=Naran|last3=Fei|first3=Guo|title=China's Minorities on the Move: Selected Case Studies|date=August 2, 2003|page=61|chapter=3}}</ref>

The specific origin of the Mongolic languages and associated tribes is unclear. Linguists have traditionally proposed a link to the [[Tungusic languages|Tungusic]] and [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] language families, included alongside Mongolic in the broader group of [[Altaic languages]], though this remains controversial. Today the Mongolian peoples speak at least one of several Mongolic languages including Mongolian, Buryat, Oirat, Dongxiang, Tu and Bonan. Additionally, many Mongols speak either Russian or Mandarin Chinese as languages of inter-ethnic communication.

== Religion ==
{{Main|Buddhism in Mongolia|Mongolian Shamanism}}

[[File:Dmitry Medvedev in Buryatia August 2009-2.jpg|thumb|Buddhist temple in [[Buryatia]], Russia]]
[[File:Tamerlan.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|[[Timur]] of Mongolic origin himself had converted almost all the [[Borjigin]] leaders to [[Islam]].]]

The original religion of the Mongolic peoples was [[Mongolian shamanism]]. The Xianbei came in contact with [[Confucianism]] and [[Daoism]] but eventually adopted Buddhism. However, the Xianbeis and some other people in Mongolia and [[Rouran]]s followed a form of shamanism.{{sfnm|1a1=Bira|1y=2011|1pp=|2a1=Schlehe|2y=2004|2pp=283–96|3a1=Balogh|3y=2010|3pp=229–38|4a1=Bumochir|4y=2014|4pp=473–91}} In the 5th century the Buddhist monk Dharmapriya was proclaimed "State Teacher" of the [[Rouran Khaganate]] and 3,000 families and some Rouran nobles became Buddhists. In 511 the Rouran [[Douluofubadoufa Khan]] sent Hong Xuan to the Tuoba court with a pearl-encrusted statue of the Buddha as a gift. The Tuoba Xianbei and Khitans were mostly Buddhists, although they still retained their original Shamanism. The Tuoba had a "sacrificial castle" to the west of their capital where ceremonies to spirits took place. Wooden statues of the spirits were erected on top of this sacrificial castle. One ritual involved seven princes with milk offerings who ascended the stairs with 20 female shamans and offered prayers, sprinkling the statues with the sacred milk. The Khitan had their holiest shrine on Mount Muye where portraits of their earliest ancestor Qishou Khagan, his wife Kedun and eight sons were kept in two temples. Mongolic peoples were also exposed to [[Zoroastrianism]], [[Manicheism]], [[Nestorianism]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]] and [[Islam]] from the west.

The Mongolic peoples, in particular the Borjigin, had their holiest shrine on [[Burkhan Khaldun|Mount Burkhan Khaldun]] where their ancestor Börte Chono (Blue Wolf) and Goo Maral (Beautiful Doe) had given birth to them. [[Genghis Khan]] usually fasted, prayed and meditated on this mountain before his campaigns. As a young man he had thanked the mountain for saving his life and prayed at the foot of the mountain sprinkling offerings and bowing nine times to the east with his belt around his neck and his hat held at his chest. Genghis Khan kept a close watch on the Mongolic supreme shaman Kokochu Teb who sometimes conflicted with his authority. Later, [[Tengrism]], the imperial cult of Genghis Khan centered on the [[Mausoleum of Genghis Khan|eight white gers]] and nine white banners in [[Ordos Loop|Ordos]] grew into a highly organized indigenous religion with scriptures in the [[Mongolian script]].{{sfn|Bira|2011|p=14}} Indigenous moral precepts of the Mongolic peoples were enshrined in oral wisdom sayings (now collected in several volumes), the anda (blood-brother) system and ancient texts such as the ''Chinggis-un Bilig'' (Wisdom of Genghis) and ''Oyun Tulkhuur'' (Key of Intelligence). These moral precepts were expressed in poetic form and mainly involved truthfulness, fidelity, help in hardship, unity, self-control, fortitude, veneration of nature, veneration of the state and veneration of parents.

[[:ja:メリク_(オゴデイ家)|Melig]], the younger son of [[Ögedei Khan|Ögedei]], was the first of the [[Borjigin|Mongolian royal]] line to accept [[Islam]].
[[File:Szaman.jpg|thumb|A Mongolian shaman, photo by Sakari Pälsi, 1909]]
In 1254 [[Möngke Khan]] organized a formal religious debate (in which [[William of Rubruck]] took part) between Christians, Muslims and Buddhists in [[Karakorum]], a cosmopolitan city of many religions. The Mongolic Empire was known for its religious tolerance, but had a special leaning towards Buddhism and was sympathetic towards Christianity while still worshipping [[Tengri]]. The Mongolic leader [[Abaqa Khan]] sent a delegation of 13–16 to the [[Second Council of Lyon]] (1274), which created a great stir, particularly when their leader 'Zaganus' underwent a public baptism. A joint crusade was announced in line with the [[Franco-Mongol alliance]] but did not materialize because Pope Gregory X died in 1276. [[Yahballaha III]] (1245–1317) and [[Rabban Bar Sauma]] (c. 1220–1294) were famous Mongolic Nestorian Christians. The [[Keraites]] in central Mongolia were Christian. In Istanbul the [[Church of Saint Mary of the Mongols]] stands as a reminder of the [[Byzantine-Mongol alliance]].

The western Khanates, however, eventually adopted Islam (under [[Berke]] and [[Ghazan]]) and the Turkic languages (because of their commercial importance), although allegiance to the Great Khan and limited use of the Mongolic languages can be seen even in the 1330s. In 1521 the first Mughal emperor Babur took part in a military banner milk-sprinkling ceremony in the Chagatai Khanate where the Mongolian language was still used. [[Al-Adil Kitbugha]] (reigned 1294–1296), a Mongol Sultan of Egypt, and the half-Mongol [[An-Nasir Muhammad]] (reigned till 1341) built the [[Madrassa of Al-Nasir Muhammad]] in Cairo, Egypt. An-Nasir's Mongol mother was Ashlun bint Shaktay. The Mongolic nobility during the Yuan dynasty studied Confucianism, built Confucian temples (including [[Beijing Confucius Temple]]) and translated Confucian works into Mongolic but mainly followed the [[Sakya (Tibetan Buddhist school)|Sakya]] school of Tibetan Buddhism under [[Drogön Chögyal Phagpa|Phags-pa Lama]].
[[File:Zanabanzar self-portrait.jpg|thumb|Self-portrait of [[Zanabazar]], the Buddhist spiritual leader of Mongolia from 1649 until his death in 1723]]
The general populace still practised [[Shamanism]]. [[Dongxiang people|Dongxiang]] and [[Bonan people]] adopted Islam, as did [[Moghol language|Moghol]]-speaking peoples in Afghanistan. In the 1576 the [[Gelug]] school of Tibetan Buddhism became the state religion of Mongolia. The Red Hat school of Tibetan Buddhism coexisted with the Gelug Yellow Hat school which was founded by the half-Mongol [[Je Tsongkhapa]] (1357–1419). Shamanism was absorbed into the [[Buddhism in Mongolia|state religion]] while being marginalized in its purer forms, later only surviving in far northern Mongolia. Monks were some of the leading intellectuals in Mongolia, responsible for much of the literature and art of the pre-modern period. Many Buddhist philosophical works lost in Tibet and elsewhere are preserved in older and purer form in Mongolian ancient texts (e.g. the Mongol [[Kangyur|Kanjur]]). [[Zanabazar]] (1635–1723), [[Zaya Pandita]] (1599–1662) and [[Danzanravjaa]] (1803–1856) are among the most famous Mongol holy men. The 4th Dalai Lama [[Yonten Gyatso]] (1589–1617), a Mongol himself, is recognized as the only non-Tibetan [[Dalai Lama]] although the current 14th Dalai Lama is of Mongolic [[Monguor people|Monguor]] extraction.<ref name="hill">{{cite book |last=Hill |first=Nathan |title=Review of Sam van Schaik. Tibet: A History |work=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |location=London and New York |publisher=Yale University Press |date=2011 |volume=75 |issue=1 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X11001108 |url=http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/13173/1/Hill_rv_2012_van_Schaik_review.pdf |quote=Finally, the remark that '[[Yonten Gyatso]] ... remains the only non-Tibetan to have held the role of Dalai Lama' (p. 177) presents a [[Monpa people|Monpa]] ([[sixth Dalai lama]]), and a Monguor (fourteenth Dalai Lama) as Tibetan although neither spoke Tibetan natively. |access-date=2018-10-04 |archive-date=2018-12-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212151717/https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/13173/1/Hill_rv_2012_van_Schaik_review.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The name is a combination of the Mongolian word dalai meaning "ocean" and the Tibetan word (bla-ma) meaning "guru, teacher, mentor". 

Many Buryats became Orthodox Christians due to the Russian expansion. During the socialist period religion was officially banned, although it was practiced in clandestine circles. Today, a sizable proportion of Mongolic peoples are [[atheist]] or [[agnostic]]. In the most recent census in Mongolia, almost forty percent of the population reported as being atheist, while the majority religion was Tibetan Buddhism, with 53%.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.toollogo2010.mn/doc/Main%20results_20110615_to%20EZBH_for%20print.pdf| title = National Census 2010 Preliminary results| language = mn| access-date = 2011-08-31| archive-date = 2013-10-25| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131025083636/http://www.toollogo2010.mn/doc/Main%20results_20110615_to%20EZBH_for%20print.pdf| url-status = live}}</ref> Having survived suppression by the Communists, Buddhism among the Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western Mongols is today primarily of the [[Gelugpa]] school of [[Tibetan Buddhism]]. There is a strong shamanistic influence in the Gelugpa sect among the Mongols.{{sfn|Heissig|1980}}

== Kinship and family life ==
{{See also|Society of the Mongol Empire}}
[[File:Across Mongolian plains; a naturalist's account of China's "great northwest", by Roy Chapman Andrews photographs by Yvette Borup Andrews (1921) (16769576222).jpg|thumb|350px|Mongols grazing livestock, by Roy Chapman Andrews photographs in 1921]]
The traditional Mongol family was patriarchal, patrilineal and patrilocal. Wives were brought for each of the sons, while daughters were married off to other clans. Wife-taking clans stood in a relation of inferiority to wife-giving clans. Thus wife-giving clans were considered "elder" or "bigger" in relation to wife-taking clans, who were considered "younger" or "smaller".<ref>Vreeland 1962:160</ref><ref>Aberle 1953:23–24</ref> This distinction, symbolized in terms of "elder" and "younger" or "bigger" and "smaller", was carried into the clan and family as well, and all members of a lineage were terminologically distinguished by generation and age, with senior superior to junior.

In the traditional Mongolian family, each son received a part of the family herd as he married, with the elder son receiving more than the younger son. The youngest son would remain in the parental tent caring for his parents, and after their death he would inherit the parental tent in addition to his own part of the herd. This inheritance system was mandated by law codes such as the [[Yassa]], created by Genghis Khan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mypolice.ca/research_and_publications/MongolianLawCodeYasa.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130615073730/http://www.mypolice.ca/research_and_publications/MongolianLawCodeYasa.htm|title=THE INFLUENCE OF THE GREAT CODE "YASA" ON THE MONGOLIAN EMPIRE|archive-date=June 15, 2013}}</ref> Likewise, each son inherited a part of the family's camping lands and pastures, with the elder son receiving more than the younger son. The eldest son inherited the farthest camping lands and pastures, and each son in turn inherited camping lands and pastures closer to the family tent until the youngest son inherited the camping lands and pastures immediately surrounding the family tent. Family units would often remain near each other and in close cooperation, though extended families would inevitably break up after a few generations. It is probable that the Yasa simply put into written law the principles of customary law.

{{blockquote|It is apparent that in many cases, for example in family instructions, the yasa tacitly accepted the principles of customary law and avoided any interference with them. For example, Riasanovsky said that killing the man or the woman in case of adultery is a good illustration. Yasa permitted the institutions of polygamy and concubinage so characteristic of southerly nomadic peoples. Children born of concubines were legitimate. Seniority of children derived their status from their mother. Eldest son received more than the youngest after the death of father. But the latter inherited the household of the father. Children of concubines also received a share in the inheritance, in accordance with the instructions of their father (or with custom).|Nilgün Dalkesen|Gender roles and women's status in Central Asia and Anatolia between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries<ref>{{cite thesis |url=http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12608663/index.pdf |title=Gender Roles and Women's Status in Central Asia and Anatolia Between the Thirteenth and Sixteenth Centuries |last=Dalkesen |first=Nilgün |type=PhD thesis |publisher=Middle East Technical University |date=August 2007 |access-date=30 July 2021 |hdl=11511/17218 |archive-date=27 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127001136/https://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12608663/index.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
[[File:Mongoliërs in een tent in Mongolië, KITLV 152237.tiff|thumb|A Mongol family in their [[Yurt|''ger'']], 1920]]
After the family, the next largest social units were the subclan and clan. These units were derived from groups claiming patrilineal descent from a common ancestor, ranked in order of seniority (the "conical clan"). By the [[Chingissid]] era this ranking was symbolically expressed at formal feasts, in which tribal chieftains were seated and received particular portions of the slaughtered animal according to their status.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qcSsoJ0IXawC&q=%22Mongols%22+%22seniority%22+%22conical+clan%22&pg=PA77 | title=Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History| isbn=978-1-56639-832-9| last1=Adas| first1=Michael| year=2001| publisher=Temple University Press}}</ref> The lineage structure of [[Central Asia]] had three different modes. It was organized on the basis of genealogical distance, or the proximity of individuals to one another on a graph of kinship; generational distance, or the rank of generation in relation to a common ancestor, and birth order, the rank of brothers in relation to each another.<ref>Cuisenier (1975:67)</ref> The paternal descent lines were collaterally ranked according to the birth of their founders, and were thus considered senior and junior to each other. Of the various collateral patrilines, the senior in order of descent from the founding ancestor, the line of eldest sons, was the most noble. In the steppe, no one had his exact equal; everyone found his place in a system of collaterally ranked lines of descent from a common ancestor.<ref>Krader (1963:322, 269)</ref> It was according to this idiom of superiority and inferiority of lineages derived from birth order that legal claims to superior rank were couched.<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 178975|title = Kinship Structure and Political Authority: The Middle East and Central Asia|journal = Comparative Studies in Society and History|volume = 28|issue = 2|pages = 334–355|last1 = Lindholm|first1 = Charles|year = 1986|doi = 10.1017/S001041750001389X|hdl = 2144/3845| s2cid=131825544 |hdl-access = free}}</ref>

The Mongol kinship is one of a particular patrilineal type classed as [[Omaha kinship|Omaha]], in which relatives are grouped together under separate terms that crosscut generations, age, and even sexual difference. Thus, one uses different terms for a man's father's sister's children, his sister's children, and his daughter's children. A further attribute is strict terminological differentiation of siblings according to seniority.

The anthropologist Herbert Harold Vreeland visited three Mongol communities in 1920 and published a highly detailed book with the results of his fieldwork, ''Mongol community and kinship structure''.<ref>{{cite book| url = http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015008324819;view=1up;seq=1| title = Mongol community and kinship structure. Vreeland, Herbert Harold, 1920| year = 1953| publisher = Human Relations Area Files| access-date = 2013-10-25| archive-date = 2016-01-17| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160117164832/http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015008324819;view=1up;seq=1| url-status = live}}</ref>

== Royal family ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2024}}
[[File:Shazishan Tomb Fresco, Yuan Dynasty, Chifeng Museum.jpg|thumb|Mural of a Mongol family, [[Yuan dynasty]]]]
[[File:Humayun (left) with his father Babur (right), painted circa 1640 (Late Shah Jahan Album).jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|The Mughal emperor [[Babur]] and his heir [[Humayun]]. The word ''Mughal'' is derived from the Persian word for Mongol.]]

The royal clan of the Mongols is the [[Borjigin]] clan descended from [[Bodonchar Munkhag]] ({{circa|850–900}}). This clan produced Khans and princes for Mongolia and surrounding regions until the early 20th century. All the Great Khans of the Mongol Empire, including its founder [[Genghis Khan]], were of the Borjigin clan. The royal family of Mongolia was called the ''Altan Urag'' (Golden Lineage) and is synonymous with Genghisid. After the fall of the Northern Yuan dynasty in 1635 the Dayan Khanid aristocracy continued the Genghisid legacy in Mongolia until 1937 when most were killed during the Stalinist purges. The four hereditary Khans of the Khalkha ([[Tüsheet Khan]], [[Sechen Khan|Setsen Khan]], [[Zasagt Khan]] and [[Sain Noyan Khan]]) were all descended from [[Dayan Khan]] (1464–1543) through Abtai Sain Khan, Sholoi Khan, Laikhur Khan and Tumenkhen Sain Noyan respectively. Dayan Khan was himself raised to power by [[Mandukhai|Queen Mandukhai]] ({{circa|1449–1510}}) during the crisis of the late 15th century when the line of Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, was on the verge of dying out.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

The [[Khongirad]] was the main consort clan of the Borjigin and provided numerous Empresses and consorts. There were five minor non-Khonggirad inputs from the maternal side which passed on to the Dayan Khanid aristocracy of Mongolia and Inner Mongolia. The first was the [[Keraite]] lineage added through Kublai Khan's mother [[Sorghaghtani Beki]] which linked the Borjigin to the Nestorian Christian tribe of [[Cyriacus Buyruk Khan]]. The second was the Turkic [[Karluks|Karluk]] lineage added through Toghon Temur Khan's mother Mailaiti which linked the Borjigin to [[Bilge Kul Qadir Khan]] (840–893) of the [[Kara-Khanid Khanate]] and ultimately to the Lion-Karluks as well as the [[Ashina tribe]] of the 6th century [[Göktürks]]. The third was the Korean lineage added through Biligtü Khan's mother [[Empress Gi]] (1315–370) which linked the Borjigin to the [[Haengju Gi clan]] and ultimately to King [[Jun of Gojoseon|Jun of Gojeoson]] (262–184 BC) and possibly even further to [[King Tang of Shang]] (1675–1646 BCE) through [[Jizi]]. The fourth was the [[Esen Taishi]] lineage added through Bayanmunkh Jonon's mother Tsetseg Khatan which linked the Borjigin more firmly to the [[Oirats]]. The fifth was the [[House of Aisin-Gioro|Aisin-Gioro]] lineage added during the Qing dynasty. To the west, Genghisid Khans received daughters of the Byzantine emperor in marriage, such as when the Byzantine princess [[Maria Palaiologina]] married to Abaqa Khan (1234–1282), while there were also connections with European royalty through Russia, where, for example, Prince Gleb (1237–1278) married Feodora Sartaqovna the daughter of [[Sartaq Khan]], a great-grandson of Genghis Khan.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

The Dayan Khanid aristocracy still held power during the [[Bogd Khanate of Mongolia]] (1911–1919) and the Constitutional Monarchy period (1921–1924). They were accused of collaboration with the Japanese and executed in 1937 while their counterparts in Inner Mongolia were severely persecuted during the Cultural Revolution. Ancestral shrines of Genghis Khan were destroyed by the Red Guards during the 1960s and the Horse-Tail Banner of Genghis Khan disappeared.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

== Historical population ==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Population !! Notes
|-
| 1 AD || 1–2,000,000? ||
|-
| 1000 || 2,500,000? ||[[Liao dynasty#Government|750,000 Khitans]]
|-
| 1200 || 2,600,000? || [[List of medieval Mongolian tribes and clans|1,5–2,000,000]] Mongols
|-
| 1600 || 2,300,000? ||77,000<ref>[http://www.bur-culture.ru/index.php?id=news-detail&tx_ttnews=42&cHash=effe903f9ae6737362277ed761d6c2ca]{{Dead link|date=July 2020|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} Традиционная материальная культура бурятского этноса Предбайкалья. Этногенез и расселение. Средовая культура бурят (Russian)</ref><ref>[http://www.ugaizam.narod.ru/num_012/n_0012_001.html П.Б. Абзаев. Буряты на рубеже XX-XXI вв. Численность, состав, занятия] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225065931/http://www.ugaizam.narod.ru/num_012/n_0012_001.html |date=2019-12-25 }} (Russian)</ref> Buryats; 600,000 Khalkhas
|-
|1700 ||2,600,000? ||600,000 Khalkhas; 1,100,000? [[Oirats]]: 600,000 [[Zunghar Khanate|Zunghars]], 200–250,000? [[Kalmyks#Demographics|Kalmyks]], 200,000 [[Upper Mongols]]<ref name="montaa.mn"/>
|-
|1800 ||2,000,000? ||600,000 Khalkhas; 440,000? Oirats: 120,000 Zunghars, 120,000? Upper Mongols
|-
| 1900||2,300,000?||[[Buryatia#Ethnic groups|283,383]]<ref>[http://www.kyrgyz.ru/?page=225 Б.З. Нанзатов,ПЛЕМЕННОЙ СОСТАВ БУРЯТ В XIX ВЕКЕ] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203040827/http://www.kyrgyz.ru/?page=225 |date=2013-12-03 }} '''(Russian)'''</ref> Buryats (1897); 500,000? Khalkhas (1911); 380,000 Oirats: 70,000? Mongolian Oirats (1911), 190,648 Kalmyks (1897), 70,000? Dzungarian and [[Inner Mongolia]]n Oirats, 50,000 Upper Mongols;<ref name="montaa.mn"/> 1,500,000? [[Southern Mongols]] (1911)
|-
| 1927 ||2,100,000? ||'''600,000 Mongolians'''<ref>[http://www.burtgel.gov.mn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=726:civilregister&catid=178:history&Itemid=374 ИРГЭНИЙ БҮРТГЭЛИЙН ТҮҮХЭН ТОЙМ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204061204/https://www.burtgel.gov.mn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=726:civilregister&catid=178:history&Itemid=374 |date=2013-12-04 }} '''(Mongolian)'''</ref> — 230,000? Buryats: 15,000? Mongolian Buryats, [[Buryatia#Ethnic groups|214,957]] Buryats in Russia (1926); 500,000? Khalkhas (1927); 330,000? Oirats: 70,000 Mongolian Oirats, 128,809 Kalmyks (1926)
|-
|1956||2,500,000?||228,647 Buryats: 24,625 Mongolian Buryats (1956), 135,798 Buryats of the ([[Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]]; 1959), [[Agin-Buryat Okrug#Ethnic groups|23,374 Agin-Buryats]] (1959), [[Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug#Ethnic groups|44,850 Ust-Orda Buryats]] (1959); [[Demographics of Mongolia#Ethnic groups of Mongolia|639,141 Khalkhas]] (1956); 240,000? Oirats: 77,996 Mongolian Oirats (1956), 100,603 Kalmyks (1959), [[Demographics of China#Ethnic groups|1,462,956 Mongols in China]] (1953)
|-
|1980||4,300,000?||317,966? Buryats: 29,802 Mongolian Buryats (1979), 206,860 [[Buryatia]]n Buryats (1979), 45,436 Usta-Orda Buryats (1979), 35,868 Agin-Buryats (1979); 1,271,086 Khalkhas; 398,339 Oirats: 127,328 Mongolian Oirats (1979), 140,103 Kalmyks (1979), 2,153,000 Southern Mongols (1981)<ref name="lupm.org">[http://www.lupm.org/mn/pages/101026mn.htm Түмэдхүү, ӨМӨЗО-НЫ ХҮН АМЫН ХУВИРАЛТЫН ЗУРГИЙГ ҮЗЭЭД] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201133320/http://www.lupm.org/mn/pages/101026mn.htm |date=2018-12-01 }} (Southern) Mongolian Liberal Union Party '''(Mongolian)''' Millions of [[Han Chinese]] registered as "Mongol" and "[[Manchu people|Manchu]]" according to Chinese policy since the 1980s.There is no enough information about [[Ethnic minorities in China|Chinese ethnic minorities]] due to the government policy.</ref><ref name="sodonmedeelel.blog.gogo.mn">[http://sodonmedeelel.blog.gogo.mn/read/entry464126 Өвөр Монголын хүн ам] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203041738/http://sodonmedeelel.blog.gogo.mn/read/entry464126 |date=2013-12-03 }} '''(Mongolian)'''</ref>
|-
| 1990 ||4,700,000?||376,629 Buryats: 35,444 Mongolian Buryats (1989), 249,525 Buryatian Buryats (1989), 49,298 Usta-Orda Buryats (1989), 42,362 Agin-Buryats (1989); 1,654,221 Khalkhas; 470,000? Oirats: 161,803 Mongolian Oirats (1989), 165,103 Kalmyks (1989), 33,000 Upper Mongols (1987);<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=cn |title = ethnologue.com information |archive-url = https://archive.today/20121209163810/http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3Axtpd1oBnb-0J%3Awww.ethnologue.com%2Fshow_country.asp%3Fname%3Dcn+kok+nur+mongols+statistic+populations&cd=1&hl=mn&ct=clnk&gl=mn |archive-date = 9 December 2012 |access-date = 30 July 2022 }}</ref>
|-
| 2010 || 5–9,200,000?<ref>768,000 families in Mongolia (2013).</ref> ||500,000? Buryats (45–75,000 Mongolian Buryats, 10,000 [[Hulunbuir]] Buryats); 2,300,000 Khalkhas (including [[Dariganga Mongols|Dariganga]], [[Darkhad]], [[Eljigin]] and [[Sartuul]]); 638,372 [[Oirats]]: 183,372 Kalmyks, 205,000 Mongolian Oirats, 90–100, 000 Upper Mongols, 2010 — 140,000 Xinjiang Oirats; 2013 — 190,000? Xinjiang Oirats: 100,000? Torghuts (Kalmyks), 40–50,000? Olots, 40,000? other Oirats: mainly Khoshuts; 1,5–4,000,000? 5,700,000? Southern Mongols<ref name="lupm.org"/>
|}

[[File:Mongols-map.png|thumb|upright=2.05|right|This map shows the boundary of the 13th-century [[Mongol Empire]] and location of today's Mongols in modern Mongolia, Russia and China.]]

== Geographic distribution ==
Today, the majority of Mongols live in the modern states of Mongolia, China (mainly Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang), Russia, [[Kyrgyzstan]] and Afghanistan.

The differentiation between tribes and peoples (ethnic groups) is handled differently depending on the country. The [[Tumed]], [[Chahar (Mongols)|Chahar]], [[Ordos people|Ordos]], [[Barga Mongols|Barga]], [[Altai Uriankhai]], [[Buryats]], [[Dörbed|Dörböd]] (Dörvöd, Dörbed), [[Torguud]], [[Dariganga Mongols|Dariganga]], [[Üzemchin]] (or Üzümchin), [[Bayads]], [[Khoton]], [[Myangad]] (Mingad), [[Eljigin]], [[Zakhchin]], [[Darkhad]], and [[Olots]] (or Öölds or Ölöts) are all considered as tribes of the Mongols.

=== Subgroups ===
The Eastern Mongols are mainly concentrated in Mongolia, including the [[Khalkha Mongols|Khalkha]], [[Eljigin|Eljigin Khalkha]], [[Darkhad]], [[Sartuul|Sartuul Khalkha]], and [[Dariganga Mongols|Dariganga]] (Khalkha).

The Southern or Inner Mongols mainly are concentrated in [[Inner Mongolia]], China. They comprise the [[Abaga Mongols]], [[Abaganar]], [[Aohans]], Arkhorchin, [[Asud]], [[Baarins]], [[Chahars|Chahar]], Darkhan ([[Shar Darkhad]]), Dörvön Khüükhed, [[Durved]], [[Gorlos]], [[Kharchin]], [[Khishigten]], [[Khorchin]], Huuchid, Ikhmyangan, Jalaid, Jaruud, Muumyangan, [[Naiman (Southern Mongols)]], [[Onnigud]], [[Ordos Mongols|Ordos]], Sunud, [[Tümed]], [[Urad Mongols|Urad]], and [[Uzemchin]].

=== Sister groups ===
[[File:The Soviet Union 1963 CPA 2911 stamp (Regional Sports. Buryat archery).jpg|thumb|Buryat archery displayed on a Soviet stamp, 1963]][[File:Kalmyks 01.jpg|thumb|Kalmyk traditional dance]]The [[Buryats]] are mainly concentrated in their homeland, the [[Buryat Republic]], a federal subject of Russia. They are the major northern subgroup of the Mongols.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Shimamura|first1=Ippei|title=The Roots Seekers: Shamanism and Ethnicity Among the Mongol Buryats|date=2014|publisher=Shumpusha|location=Kanagawa, Japan|isbn=978-4-86110-397-1}}</ref> The Barga Mongols are mainly concentrated in Inner Mongolia, China, along with the [[Buryats]] and [[Hamnigan]]. Some orientalists also include the [[Soyots]] in the Buryat sub-ethnic groups.<ref name="Zhukovskaia">Natalia Zhukovskaia (2005).[https://static.iea.ras.ru/books/Schaman/Vol%2011.pdf "Бурятские шаманки на международной конференции (тункинский опыт, июль 2004 г.) // Женщина и возрождение шаманизма."]. Москва: Российская академия наук. Институт этнологии и антропологии имени Н. Н. Миклухо-Маклая. Page 129. In Russian: ''"... здесь сформировался тот этнический состав населения, который относительно стабильно сохраняется до сегодняшнего дня - булагаты, хонгодоры, сойоты, которые (одни раньше, другие позже) вошли как субэтносы в состав бурят."''</ref><ref>{{cite book |surname=Nanzatov |given=B. Z. |chapter=Племенной состав бурят в XIX веке. |trans-chapter=Buryat tribe composition in the 19th century |chapter-url= https://www.academia.edu/4344018  |title=Народы и культуры Сибири. Взаимодействие как фактор формирования и модернизации  |place=Irkutsk |year=2003 |pages=15–27 |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Балдаев С. П. |title=Родословные легенды и предания бурят. Ч. 1 |language=ru |location=Улан-Удэ |year=1970 |page=166}}</ref>

The Western [[Oirats]] are mainly concentrated in Western Mongolia:
*184,000 Kalmyks (2010) — [[Kalmykia]], Russia
*205,000 Mongolian Oirats (2010)
*140,000 Oirats (2010) — [[Xinjiang]] region, China
*90,000 Upper Mongols (2010) — [[Qinghai]] region, China. The Khoshuts are the major subgroup of the Upper Mongols, along with the [[Choros people|Choros]], [[Khalkha]] and [[Torghut]]s.
*12,000 [[Sart Kalmyks]] (Zungharian descents) (2012) — [[Kyrgyzstan]]. Religion: [[Sunni Islam]].

[[Altai Uriankhai]], [[Baatud]], [[Bayads|Bayad]], [[Chantuu]], Choros, [[Durvud]], [[Khoshut]], [[Khoid]], [[Khoton]], [[Myangad]], [[Olots]], [[Sart Kalmyks]] (mainly Olots), [[Torghut]], [[Zakhchin]].
*[[Kalmyks]] — [[Baatud]], [[Buzava]], Choros, [[Durvud]], [[Khoid]], [[Olots]], [[Torghut]].
*[[Upper Mongols|Upper Mongolian Oirats]] — Choros, [[Khoshut]], [[Torghut]].

=== Mongolia ===
{{See also|Demographics of Mongolia#Ethnicity and languages}}

In modern-day Mongolia, Mongols make up approximately 95% of the population, with the largest ethnic group being [[Khalkha Mongols]], followed by Buryats, both belonging to the Eastern Mongolian peoples. They are followed by Oirats, who belong to the Western Mongolian peoples.

'''Mongolian ethnic groups:'''
{{div col|colwidth=10em}}
*[[Baarins|Baarin]]
*[[Baatud]]
*[[Barga Mongols|Barga]]
*[[Bayads|Bayad]], [[Buryats|Buryat]]
*[[Chahar Mongols|Selenge Chahar]]
*[[Chantuu]]
*[[Darkhad]]
*[[Dariganga Mongols|Dariganga]]
*[[Dörbet Oirat]]
*[[Eljigin]]
*[[Khalkha Mongols|Khalkha]]
*[[Hamnigan]]
*[[Kharchin Mongols|Kharchin]]
*[[Khoid]]
*[[Khorchin Mongols|Khorchin]]
*[[Khotogoid]]
*[[Khotons|Khoton]]
*[[Huuchid]]
*[[Myangad]]
*[[Olots]]
*[[Sartuul]]
*[[Torgut]]
*[[Tümed]]
*[[Üzemchin Mongols|Üzemchin]]
*[[Zakhchin]].
{{Div col end}}
=== China ===
{{Main|Mongols in China}}

[[File:Six Strongmen In Traditional Dress, China.jpg|thumb|250px|Strong Mongol men at August games. Photo by Wm. Purdom, 1909]]
The 2010 census of the People's Republic of China counted more than 7&nbsp;million people of various Mongolic groups. The 1992 census of China counted only 3.6&nbsp;million ethnic Mongols.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}} The 2010 census counted roughly 5.8&nbsp;million ethnic Mongols, 621,500 Dongxiangs, 289,565 Mongours, 132,000 Daurs, 20,074 Baoans, and 14,370 Yugurs.{{citation needed|date=December 2010}} Most of them live in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, followed by [[Liaoning]]. Small numbers can also be found in provinces near those two.

There were 669,972 Mongols in Liaoning in 2011, making up 11.52% of Mongols in China.<ref>"Tianya" network: [http://bbs.tianya.cn/post-259-10066-1.shtml General situation of Mongols in Liaoning] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120937/http://bbs.tianya.cn/post-259-10066-1.shtml |date=2014-08-26 }} (in Chinese)</ref> The closest Mongol area to the sea is the Dabao Mongol Ethnic Township ({{lang|zh-hans|[[:zh:大堡蒙古族乡|大堡蒙古族乡]]}}) in [[Fengcheng, Liaoning|Fengcheng]], Liaoning. With 8,460 Mongols (37.4% of the township population){{citation needed|date=March 2020}} it is located {{convert|40|km|abbr=on}} from the North Korean border and {{convert|65|km|abbr=on}} from [[Korea Bay]] of the Yellow Sea. Another contender for closest Mongol area to the sea would be Erdaowanzi Mongol Ethnic Township ({{lang|zh-hans|[[:zh:二道湾子蒙古族乡|二道湾子蒙古族乡]]}}) in [[Jianchang County]], Liaoning. With 5,011 Mongols (20.7% of the township population){{citation needed|date=March 2020}} it is located around {{convert|65|km|abbr=on}} from the [[Bohai Sea]].
[[File:Oirat Caravan.jpg|thumb|A photo of an Oirat caravan taken in the early 20th century]]
Other peoples speaking Mongolic languages are the [[Daur people|Daur]], [[Sogwo Arig]], [[Monguor people]], [[Dongxiangs]], [[Bonans]], [[Sichuan Mongols]] and eastern part of the [[Yugur people]]. Those do not officially count as part of the Mongol ethnicity, but are recognized as ethnic groups of their own. The Mongols lost their contact with the Mongours, Bonan, Dongxiangs, Yunnan Mongols since the fall of the Yuan dynasty. Mongolian scientists and journalists met with the Dongxiangs and Yunnan Mongols in the 2000s.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}

[[Inner Mongolia]]: Southern Mongols, [[Barga Mongols|Barga]], [[Buryats|Buryat]], [[Dörbet Oirat]], [[Khalkha Mongols|Khalkha]], [[Dzungar people]], [[Ejin Banner|Eznee Torgut]].

[[Xinjiang]] province: [[Altai Uriankhai]], [[Chahars|Chahar]], [[Khoshut]], [[Olots]], [[Torghut]], [[Zakhchin]].

[[Qinghai]] province: [[Upper Mongols]]: [[Choros people|Choros]], [[Khoshut]]

=== Russia ===
{{Main|Buryats|Kalmyks|Demographics of Russia|Demographics of Siberia}}

[[File:Khagdaev 02.jpg|thumb|Buryat [[shaman]] of [[Olkhon Island|Olkhon]], [[Lake Baikal]] in eastern Siberia]]  
Two Mongolic ethnic groups are present in Russia; the 2010 census found 461,410 [[Buryats]] and 183,400 Kalmyks.<ref>{{cite web
| title = Kalmyks
| url = http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=2497
| publisher = World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples
| year = 2005
| access-date = 2008-05-18
| archive-date = 2008-06-14
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080614030236/http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=2497
| url-status = live
}}</ref>

=== Elsewhere ===
{{main|Mongolian diaspora}}

Smaller numbers of Mongolic peoples exist in Western Europe and North America. Some of the more notable communities exist in [[Mongolians in South Korea|South Korea]], the [[Mongolian American|United States]], the [[Mongolians in the Czech Republic|Czech Republic]] and the [[Mongolians in the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]].

== See also ==
{{colbegin|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Altan Telgey]]
* [[American Center for Mongolian Studies]]
* [[Horse culture in Mongolia]]
* [[List of medieval Mongol tribes and clans]]
* [[List of modern Mongol clans]]
* [[List of Mongolians]]
* [[List of Mongol states]]
* [[Mongolian name]]
* [[Mongoloid]]
* [[Qara'unas]]
{{colend}}

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

=== Secondary sources ===
* {{cite journal |surname=Balogh |given=Matyas |title=Contemporary shamanisms in Mongolia |journal=Asian Ethnicity |year=2010 |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=229–38 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14631361003779489 |doi=10.1080/14631361003779489 |s2cid=145595446 |access-date=2021-06-27 |archive-date=2022-06-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612091852/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14631361003779489 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite book|surname=Bira |given=Shagdaryn |author-link=Shagdaryn Bira |title=Монголын тэнгэрийн үзэл: түүвэр зохиол, баримт бичгүүд |trans-title=Mongolian Tengerism: selected papers and documents |year=2011 |place=Ulaanbaatar |publisher=Sodpress |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BnsLmwEACAAJ |language=mn |isbn=978-99929-55-93-2}}
* {{cite journal |surname=Bumochir |given=D. |year=2014 |title=Institutionalization of Mongolian shamanism: from primitivism to civilization |journal=Asian Ethnicity |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=473–91 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14631369.2014.939331 |doi=10.1080/14631369.2014.939331 |s2cid=145329835 |access-date=2021-06-27 |archive-date=2021-06-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627061303/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14631369.2014.939331 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite book |surname=Garcia |given=Chad D.|year=2012 |title=A New Kind of Northerner}}
* {{cite book|surname=Heissig |given=Walther |author-link=Walther Heissig |title=The religions of Mongolia |translator=G. Samuel |place=London; Henley |publisher=Routledge; Kegan Paul |year=1980 |orig-date=1970 |isbn=0-7103-0685-7}}
* {{cite book |surname=Ochir |given=Taĭzhiud Ai︠u︡udaĭn |editor=Sh. Choĭmaa |year=2008 |title=Монголчуудын гарал, нэршил |trans-title=On the origin of Mongolian family: clan names and ethnonyms |place=Ulaanbaatar |publisher=[[International Institute for the Study of Nomadic Civilizations]] |language=mn |isbn=978-99929-59-97-8 |oclc=505674246}}
* {{cite conference |surname=Schlehe |given=Judith |editor-surname=Rasuly-Paleczek |editor-given=Gabriele |title=Shamanism in Mongolia and in New Age Movements |book-title=Central Asia on Display: Proceedings of the VIIth Conference of the European Society for Central Asian Studies |place=Vienna |publisher=[[LIT Verlag]] |date=2004 |volume=1 |pages=283–96 |isbn=3-8258-8309-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q4olreTVoj0C&q=judith+schlehe+and+weber+2001&pg=PA283}}

=== Primary sources ===
* {{cite book|title=[[The Secret History of the Mongols]]: a Mongolian Epic Chronicle of the Thirteenth Century |translator=[[Igor de Rachewiltz]] with a historical and philological commentary |place=Leiden |publisher=Brill |volume=1–2 |year=2004 |orig-date=1971–85 |series=Inner Asian library |isbn=978-90-04-15363-9}}

== External links ==
{{commons}}
{{wiktionary|Mongol}}
* "[http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1741-7007-8-15.pdf Evidence that a west–east admixed population lived in the Tarim Basin as early as the early Bronze Age] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427172440/http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1741-7007-8-15.pdf |date=2011-04-27 }}" Li et al. ''BMC Biology'' 2010, 8:15.
* [http://www.chriskaplonski.com/images/ethnicmap_med.jpg Ethnic map of Mongolia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060127115944/http://www.chriskaplonski.com/images/ethnicmap_med.jpg |date=2006-01-27 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160101193742/http://www.360doc.com/content/12/0813/22/276037_230028707.shtml Map share of ethnic by county of China] (archived 1 January 2016)
*{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Mongols |volume=18 |pages=712–721 |first1=Robert Kennaway |last1=Douglas |first2=Bernhard |last2=Jülg |short=1}}

{{Mongol ethnic groups}}
{{Ethnic groups in Mongolia}}
{{Mongolia topics}}
{{East Asian topics}}
{{Yuan dynasty topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mongols| ]]
[[Category:Mongol peoples| ]]
[[Category:History of Mongolia| ]]
[[Category:Modern nomads]]
[[Category:Nomadic groups in Eurasia]]