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Prehistory

Sites of significance in Mongolia include Paleolithic cave drawings that belong to the Khovd province and others in the Bayankhongor province. In the Dornod province, a Neolithic farming settlement has been uncovered.

Other contemporary findings from western Mongolia feature items belonging to fishers and hunters. What is considered Mongolia today was inhabited and ruled by numerous nomadic empires including the Rouran, the Xiongnu, the Goturks and the Xianbei to name a few. After, which the Mongol Empire was found. The first out of these confederations was the Xiongnu, which was organized back in 209 B.C. They were defeated by the Chinese and soon replaced by other tribes.

The Mongol period

In the 12th century Mongolia was characterized by several rival tribes and khalings or confederations. Towards the early 12th century the confederations starting becoming more like statehoods and finally came to be recognized as the Khamag Mongol confederacy.

This confederacy then occupied an extremely fertile land on river basins, by the rivers Tuul, Onon and Kherlen. In the late 20th century Temujin, a young 20 year old untied a vast majority of the Mongol tribes. Finally in 1189, he was named Genghis Khan, which means universal king. Being a greatly successful king, he soon conquered a large part of Asia, which included Russia and the Middle East as well.

The strength of this Mongolian Empire waned after Genghis Khan's centerpiece was overthrown. In 1691, the Manchus took over Mongolia and it became a province of Chine until 1911, marking a large part of the history of Mongolia under Chinese rule. Mongolia also fell under Chinese rule between 1919 and 1921.

The border that exists today between Inner and Outer Mongolia was created in 1727, when the Treaty of Khiakta was signed by China and Russia. While the Manchu Qing Dynasty began getting weak, Russia encouraged Mongolian nationalism, which eventually declared independence from China in 1911.

Outer Mongolia got independence and became a Peoples Republic in 1924. Japan invaded the country by were thrown back in 1939, by Soviet-Mongolian troops. In 1961, Mongolia became a part of the UN.

Mongolia has begun pulling away from the USSR since 1987 and the development of the country to a democracy has been peaceful and steady. The country is currently a parliamentary republic.