Mongolia

Mongolia (Mongolian: Монгол Улс) is the largest fully landlocked country typically classified as being a part of East Asia, though it is sometimes considered as being a part of Central Asia instead. more...

Home
Africa
Asia
Albania
Austria
Belgium & Colonies
Bhutan
Bulgaria
China
Collections/ Mixture
Croatia
Czechoslovakia
Denmark/ Faroe Is
Estonia/ Latvia/ Lithuania
Europe
Finland
France & Colonies
Germany & Colonies
Greece
Greenland
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Italy & Area
Japan
Korea
Laos
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Monaco
Mongolia
Nepal
Netherlands & Colonies
Norway
Other Asian Stamps
Other European Stamps
Philippines
Poland
Portugal & Colonies
Romania
Russia & Area
Spain & Colonies
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Vietnam
Yugoslavia
Commonwealth/ British...
Great Britain
Ireland
Latin America
Middle East
Philately/ Postal History
Rest of the World
Thematics
United States

It is bordered by Russia to the north and the People's Republic of China to the south. Its capital and largest city is Ulaanbaatar.

Mongolia was the center of the Mongol Empire in the thirteenth century and was later ruled by China during the Manchu Qing Dynasty from the end of the seventeenth century until 1911, when an independent government was formed with Russian assistance. Following the end of the Cold War, and after the fall of communism in Mongolia in 1990, Mongolia adopted a new, democratic constitution which was ratified in 1992. This officially marked the birth of Mongolia as a democratic country, making it one of the world's youngest democracies.

At 1,564,116 square kilometres, Mongolia is the nineteenth largest country in the world. However, the country contains very little arable land as much of its area is covered by arid and unproductive steppes with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. Approximately 30 percent of the country's 2.8 million people are nomadic or semi-nomadic. The predominant religion in Mongolia is Tibetan Buddhism, and the majority of the state's citizens are of the Mongol ethnicity, though Kazakhs and Tuvans also live in the country, especially in the west. About one-third of the population lives in Ulaanbaatar.

History

A large number of ethnicities have inhabited Mongolia since prehistoric times. Most of these people were nomads who, from time to time, formed great confederations that rose to prominence. The first of these, the Xiongnu, were brought together to form a confederation by Modu Shanyu in 209 BC. They defeated the Donghu, who had previously been the dominant power in eastern Mongolia. The Xiongnu became the greatest enemy of China for the following three centuries; the Great Wall of China was built partly as defence against the Xiongnu. Marshal Meng Tian of the Qin Empire dispersed more than 300,000 soldiers along the Great Wall to prevent an expected invasion from the North. It is believed that after their decisive defeat by the Chinese in 428-431, some of the Xiongnu migrated West to become the Huns. After the Xiongnu migrated west, Rouran, a close relative of the Mongols, came to power before being defeated by the Gokturks, who then dominated Mongolia for centuries.

Early history

During the seventh and eighth centuries, Mongolia was controlled by Gokturks, who were succeeded by the ancestors of today's Uigur and then by the Khitan and Jurchen. By the tenth century, the country was populated predominantly by Mongols believed to be a branch of the Xianbei. During this period the country was divided into numerous tribes linked through transient alliances.

Read more at Wikipedia.org