Greater Mongolia
Encyclopedia
Greater Mongolia as a region, is the contiguous territories primarily inhabited by ethnic Mongols
. It approximately includes the modern state
of Mongolia
, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
in the People's Republic of China
(PRC), and the Buryat Republic as well as a few smaller territories in Russia
.
The people in this area share the common traditional culture
to varying degrees, and they speak one of several Mongolic languages
. With the exception of the state of Mongolia, Mongols now only form a minority in most of these areas.
, Wuhuan
, Rouran
, Tuoba
, Murong
, Shiwei
, Kumo Xi
and Khitan
. The Donghu, the first relatively certain Mongolic people, are first mentioned by Sima Qian
as already existing in Inner Mongolia north of the state of Yan in 699-632 BC. Except for periods of Turkic rule during the Gokturk Empire (555-745), Uyghur Empire (745-840) and Kyrgyz domination (840-907), the lands of Greater Mongolia were generally under the rule of Mongolic peoples, including the Donghu (632 BC-208 BC), Xianbei (208 BC-234 AD), Rouran (330-555) and Khitan (388-1125). During the periods of Turkic rule, Mongolic Xianbei peoples continued to live in the land as subjects. Ever since the establishment of the Mongolic Liao dynasty
in 907, the area of Greater Mongolia, in particular the Mongolian Plateau
, began to be inhabited largely by speakers of Mongolic languages, as the Uyghurs and Kyrgyz permanently left the area.
The Mongols, in other words the Menggu sub-tribe of the Shiwei Xianbei, resisted attempts by the Tungusic Jin dynasty from Manchuria to increase its influence in the greater Mongolia region. This was during the Khamag Mongol
period in the 12th century. During the Mongol Empire
(1206-1368) the area of Greater Mongolia grew ever more important as the original land of the Mongol Khans and continued to retain its Mongol character. After the fall of the Empire, the Mongols continued to hold the area as the Northern Yuan Dynasty until the last Khan, Ligdan Khan
, died in 1634. During this time, in the 15th century, the Ming Dynasty
controlled parts of Inner Mongolia and sent expeditions into Outer Mongolia. Because of the Mongol threat, the Ming occasionally strengthened and retreated behind the Great Wall. In 1691 the princes of Khalkha submitted to the Qing Emperor at Dolon Nur due to their military conflict with the Oirat
. The Manchu Qing Dynasty
also sponsored Mongolian literature and Mongolian Buddhism, while allowing Greater Mongolia to be ruled by Genghisid khaganates such as Tushiyetu Khaganate (1577-1937), Sechen Khaganate and Jasagtu Khaganate. For example, the Mongol-Manchu bilingual golden seal of the hereditary Tushiyetu Khan has an inscription in Mongolian script
which reads "Qalqa-yin Wchirai Batu Tushiyetu Qagan-u Tamga" (Seal of the Thunderbolt Firm Supported Khagan
of the Khalkha
). Nationalism among Mongols became especially strong in the late 19th century, reaching a height during the unexpected Qing sinification policy (prompted by fears of Russian expansion) of 1900. In the end, the Manchus were thoroughly sinified by the 20th century, while the Mongols were not only culturally "untouched", but fervently anti-Chinese as well.
After Outer Mongolia's Declaration of independence in late 1911, the Bogd Khan
government initially sought to unify both Inner and Outer Mongolia. Troops were sent into Inner Mongolia, but had to be called back after Russia became worried that these moves might provoke a conflict with the Empire of Japan
. In 1911 the Tushiyetu Khan Dashnyam, as the Khan of the Senior Genghisid Khanate ruling central Outer Mongolia, sought the title of supreme Khan of Mongolia and nearly succeeded. In 1919, the Japanese set up a pan-Mongolian movement under Grigory Semyonov
in northeastern Inner Mongolia, but the Bogd Khan government refused to join. Roman Ungern von Sternberg
also made some references to pan-Mongolism.
After Ungern von Sternberg's defeat by the Red Army
on the Russian territory, the new socialist regime of Mongolia further considered the idea. But under pressure of the Komintern, which regarded alienating China for the sake of less than two million Mongols as a non-issue, these policies had to be dropped in the mid-1920s. The 23rd and last Tushiyetu Khagan Dorjsurenkhoroljav (1908-1937) gave up his royal status to become a lama with the new name of Damdindorj before being executed in the Stalinist purges of 1937. The book called "Short History of Mongolia" (Ulaanbaatar, 1934) written by Prime Minister Anandyn Amar
is an early pan-Mongolist manifesto.
Another revival of pan-Mongol sentiments came at the end of World War II, when Outer Mongolian troops took part in the Soviet Operations against Mengjiang
(see Soviet invasion of Manchuria). However, Outer Mongolian troops were quickly withdrawn after the end of hostilities.
Following Mongolia's democratic reforms in 1991, several non-governmental organizations reintroduced efforts to advocate pan-Mongolianism. In Mongolia those are the "Movement for Unity of the Mongol Nation", in Buryatia the "Movement for National Unity Negeden" and the "Buryat-Mongol People's Party". However, none of those organizations has gained any significant political influence.
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
. It approximately includes the modern state
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
of Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
(PRC), and the Buryat Republic as well as a few smaller territories in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
The people in this area share the common traditional culture
Culture of Mongolia
Mongolian culture has been heavily influenced by the Mongol nomadic way of life. Other important influences are from Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism, and from China. Since the 20th century, Russian and, via Russia, European culture have had a strong effect on Mongolia...
to varying degrees, and they speak one of several Mongolic languages
Mongolic languages
The Mongolic languages are a group of languages spoken in East-Central Asia, mostly in Mongolia and surrounding areas plus in Kalmykia. The best-known member of this language family, Mongolian, is the primary language of most of the residents of Mongolia and the Mongolian residents of Inner...
. With the exception of the state of Mongolia, Mongols now only form a minority in most of these areas.
History
The area of Greater Mongolia, combining both Inner and Outer Mongolia, has been inhabited by Mongolic peoples descended from the Donghu people, including the XianbeiXianbei
The Xianbei were a significant Mongolic nomadic people residing in Manchuria, Inner Mongolia and eastern Mongolia. The title “Khan” was first used among the Xianbei.-Origins:...
, Wuhuan
Wuhuan
The Wuhuan were a proto-Mongolic nomadic people who inhabited northern China, in what is now the provinces of Hebei, Liaoning, Shanxi, the municipality of Beijing and the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia....
, Rouran
Rouran
Rouran , Mongolia name Jujan or Nirun Ruanruan/Ruru , Tan Tan , Juan-Juan or Zhu-Zhuwas the name of a confederation of nomadic tribes on the northern borders of Inner China from the late 4th century until the middle 6th century...
, Tuoba
Tuoba
Tuoba, or Tabgach, were a clan of Xianbei people of ancient China.-Xianbei Tuoba:Tuoba was a clan of the Xianbei people in the early centuries of the 1st millennium AD. They established the State of Dai from 310 to 376 AD, and the Northern Wei Dynasty from 386 to 536 AD...
, Murong
Murong
Murong refers to an ethnic Xianbei tribe who are a Mongolic people attested from the time of Tanshihuai . Different strands of evidence exist linking the Murong to the language family of Mongols. Murong is also a Chinese surname...
, Shiwei
Shiwei
Shiwei were a Mongolic people that inhabited far-eastern Mongolia, northern Inner Mongolia and northern Manchuria and were recorded from the time of the Northern Wei until the rise of the Mongols of Genghis Khan in 1206 when the name "Mongol" and "Tatar" were applied to all the Shiwei tribes....
, Kumo Xi
Kumo Xi
The Kumo Xi ) were a Mongolic steppe people located in current Manchuria from 207 AD to 907 AD. After the death of their ancestor Tadun in 207 they were no longer called Wuhuan but joined the Khitan Xianbei in submitting to the Yuwen Xianbei. Their history is widely linked to the more famous Khitan...
and Khitan
Khitan
The history of the Khitans dates back to the 4th century AD. The Khitan people dominated much of Mongolia and modern Manchuria by the 10th century, under the Liao Dynasty, and eventually collapsed by 1125 ....
. The Donghu, the first relatively certain Mongolic people, are first mentioned by Sima Qian
Sima Qian
Sima Qian was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes of the Han Dynasty. He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian , a "Jizhuanti"-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to...
as already existing in Inner Mongolia north of the state of Yan in 699-632 BC. Except for periods of Turkic rule during the Gokturk Empire (555-745), Uyghur Empire (745-840) and Kyrgyz domination (840-907), the lands of Greater Mongolia were generally under the rule of Mongolic peoples, including the Donghu (632 BC-208 BC), Xianbei (208 BC-234 AD), Rouran (330-555) and Khitan (388-1125). During the periods of Turkic rule, Mongolic Xianbei peoples continued to live in the land as subjects. Ever since the establishment of the Mongolic Liao dynasty
Liao Dynasty
The Liao Dynasty , also known as the Khitan Empire was an empire in East Asia that ruled over the regions of Manchuria, Mongolia, and parts of northern China proper between 9071125...
in 907, the area of Greater Mongolia, in particular the Mongolian Plateau
Mongolian Plateau
The Mongolian Plateau is part of the larger Central Asian Plateau and has an area of approximately 2,600,000 square kilometres. It is occupied by Mongolia in the north and Inner Mongolia in the south. The plateau includes the Gobi Desert as well as dry steppe regions...
, began to be inhabited largely by speakers of Mongolic languages, as the Uyghurs and Kyrgyz permanently left the area.
The Mongols, in other words the Menggu sub-tribe of the Shiwei Xianbei, resisted attempts by the Tungusic Jin dynasty from Manchuria to increase its influence in the greater Mongolia region. This was during the Khamag Mongol
Khamag Mongol
Khamag Mongol was a major tribal confederation in Mongolian plateau in 12th century. It is sometimes also considered a predecessor state to the Mongol Empire....
period in the 12th century. During the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
(1206-1368) the area of Greater Mongolia grew ever more important as the original land of the Mongol Khans and continued to retain its Mongol character. After the fall of the Empire, the Mongols continued to hold the area as the Northern Yuan Dynasty until the last Khan, Ligdan Khan
Ligdan Khan
Ligdan Khutugtu Khan was the last in the Borjigin clan of Mongol Khans who ruled the Mongols from Chakhar. His unpopular reign generated violent opposition due to his harsh restrictions over the Mongols...
, died in 1634. During this time, in the 15th century, the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
controlled parts of Inner Mongolia and sent expeditions into Outer Mongolia. Because of the Mongol threat, the Ming occasionally strengthened and retreated behind the Great Wall. In 1691 the princes of Khalkha submitted to the Qing Emperor at Dolon Nur due to their military conflict with the Oirat
Oirats
Oirats are the westernmost group of the Mongols who unified several tribes origin whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of western Mongolia. Although the Oirats originated in the eastern parts of Central Asia, the most prominent group today is located in the Republic of Kalmykia, a federal...
. The Manchu Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
also sponsored Mongolian literature and Mongolian Buddhism, while allowing Greater Mongolia to be ruled by Genghisid khaganates such as Tushiyetu Khaganate (1577-1937), Sechen Khaganate and Jasagtu Khaganate. For example, the Mongol-Manchu bilingual golden seal of the hereditary Tushiyetu Khan has an inscription in Mongolian script
Mongolian script
The classical Mongolian script , also known as Uyghurjin, was the first writing system created specifically for the Mongolian language, and was the most successful until the introduction of Cyrillic in 1946...
which reads "Qalqa-yin Wchirai Batu Tushiyetu Qagan-u Tamga" (Seal of the Thunderbolt Firm Supported Khagan
Khagan
Khagan or qagan , alternatively spelled kagan, khaghan, qaghan, or chagan, is a title of imperial rank in the Mongolian and Turkic languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate...
of the Khalkha
Khalkha
Khalkha is the largest subgroup of Mongol people in Mongolia since 15th century. The Khalkha together with Tsahar, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by the Altan Urag Khans until the 20th century; unlike the Oirat people who were ruled by the Dzungar nobles or the Khorchins who were ruled by...
). Nationalism among Mongols became especially strong in the late 19th century, reaching a height during the unexpected Qing sinification policy (prompted by fears of Russian expansion) of 1900. In the end, the Manchus were thoroughly sinified by the 20th century, while the Mongols were not only culturally "untouched", but fervently anti-Chinese as well.
After Outer Mongolia's Declaration of independence in late 1911, the Bogd Khan
Bogd Khan
The Bogd Khan was enthroned as the Great Khaan of Mongolia on 29 December 1911, when Outer Mongolia declared independence from the Qing Dynasty after the Xinhai Revolution. He was born in the Kham region of eastern Tibet, today's Sichuan province of the People's Republic of China...
government initially sought to unify both Inner and Outer Mongolia. Troops were sent into Inner Mongolia, but had to be called back after Russia became worried that these moves might provoke a conflict with the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
. In 1911 the Tushiyetu Khan Dashnyam, as the Khan of the Senior Genghisid Khanate ruling central Outer Mongolia, sought the title of supreme Khan of Mongolia and nearly succeeded. In 1919, the Japanese set up a pan-Mongolian movement under Grigory Semyonov
Grigory Semyonov
Grigory Mikhaylovich Semyonov, or Semenov , was a Japanese-supported leader of the White movement in Transbaikal and beyond from December 1917 to November 1920, Lieutenant General and Ataman of Baikal Cossacks .-Biography:Semyonov was born in the Transbaikal region of eastern Siberia...
in northeastern Inner Mongolia, but the Bogd Khan government refused to join. Roman Ungern von Sternberg
Roman Ungern von Sternberg
Baron Roman Nikolai Maximilian von Ungern-Sternberg was a Russian Yesaul , Lieutenant-general, and a hero of World War I...
also made some references to pan-Mongolism.
After Ungern von Sternberg's defeat by the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
on the Russian territory, the new socialist regime of Mongolia further considered the idea. But under pressure of the Komintern, which regarded alienating China for the sake of less than two million Mongols as a non-issue, these policies had to be dropped in the mid-1920s. The 23rd and last Tushiyetu Khagan Dorjsurenkhoroljav (1908-1937) gave up his royal status to become a lama with the new name of Damdindorj before being executed in the Stalinist purges of 1937. The book called "Short History of Mongolia" (Ulaanbaatar, 1934) written by Prime Minister Anandyn Amar
Anandyn Amar
Anandyn Amar , was the head of state of the Mongolian People’s Republic from 1932 to 1936 as well as prime minister from 1928–1930 and again from 1936-1939.-Early life and career:...
is an early pan-Mongolist manifesto.
Another revival of pan-Mongol sentiments came at the end of World War II, when Outer Mongolian troops took part in the Soviet Operations against Mengjiang
Mengjiang
Mengjiang , also known in English as Mongol Border Land, was an autonomous area in Inner Mongolia, operating under nominal Chinese sovereignty and Japanese control. It consisted of the then-Chinese provinces of Chahar and Suiyuan, corresponding to the central part of modern Inner Mongolia...
(see Soviet invasion of Manchuria). However, Outer Mongolian troops were quickly withdrawn after the end of hostilities.
Following Mongolia's democratic reforms in 1991, several non-governmental organizations reintroduced efforts to advocate pan-Mongolianism. In Mongolia those are the "Movement for Unity of the Mongol Nation", in Buryatia the "Movement for National Unity Negeden" and the "Buryat-Mongol People's Party". However, none of those organizations has gained any significant political influence.