2022-12-13T08:08:52Z https://www.mongoluls.net/feed/atom/ WordPress John <![CDATA[Religion in Mongolia]]> https://www.mongoluls.net/religion-in-mongolia.html 2022-06-10T07:58:44Z 2022-06-09T07:49:54Z We were very excited to talk about this topic, that is religion in Mongolia, because of the long and rich history of it and the many twists and turns along the way. We’ll waste no more time on the introduction and go straight to discussing the two most prominent religions in the history of Mongolia. […]

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We were very excited to talk about this topic, that is religion in Mongolia, because of the long and rich history of it and the many twists and turns along the way. We’ll waste no more time on the introduction and go straight to discussing the two most prominent religions in the history of Mongolia.

Tengrism

We had to start with the religion that people associate the most with Mongolia – Tengrism. It may also fall under the umbrella of shamanism (especially nowadays with the census system), but one thing is certain – the Mongols believed in Tengri (also known as Tenger and Tangra among others) who stood at the pedestal of the pantheon of gods.

Tengri is often called “the Eternal Sky” and Mongolia is still known as “the land of the Eternal Blue Sky” for that reason. Although Tengrism is technically a polytheistic religion that includes other major deities such as the Earth Mother (Etugen, Eje etc.), its focus is on Tengri, making it almost appear as a monotheistic pagan religion.

In fact, the Mongols often opened documents with the words “Mongke Tenggiri-yin Kucun-dur or ‘By the Power of Eternal Heaven.’ Mongols believed that their power came straight from Tengri and that they were destined to conquer the world. Genghis Khan attributed his military success to his love for Tengri.

Mongolian Tengrism was not an institutionalised religion, nor did it boast of impressive temples; the latter was likely mostly due to the nomadic nature of the Mongols. Rather, Tengrists utilised nature, having sacred locations and scribing on big stones. Natural phenomena was thought to come from the gods and it was thus interpreted religiously.

The interpreters were the shamans who were generally male, but sometimes also female. A shaman could be a person with pronounced sensitivity to spirits or one that has come in close contact with death. The shamans would sacrifice animals and make predictions based on their parts. They’d also go into trance to connect to the spiritual world, sometimes calling on spirit animals (Tengri’s animal is the horse).

Tengrism was the official religion of the Mongols until the late 13th century, but many other religions were practiced as well. One can find Christian and Muslim temples, for example, that are more than a millennium old.

Genghis Khan himself allowed his new subjects to freely practice their religion and their religious institutions were tax-exempt. It’s also believed that Tengrism was rather “progressive” as it didn’t seek to convert people and that the righteous, no matter their religion, could also join Tengri and his heavenly kingdom when they die.

It’s difficult to estimate how many Mongolians still practice Tengrism, but it’s thought that about 2 to 3% hold shamanistic beliefs today.

Buddhism

With the expansion of the Mongolian Empire and the sophisticated trade system that Genghis Khan created, many missionaries found their way to the heart of Mongolia. Some of them were Christians and Muslims, but they didn’t have the same impact that Tibetan Buddhists did.

Buddhism, however, found its way to Mongolia long before Genghis Khan’s empire. Even the first Mongol state, Xiongnu (209 BC-93 AD), received Buddhist missionaries and even had Buddhist temples. The Chinese dynasties of Liao and Jin also looked upon it favourably, so the grounds for massive conversion were already laid out long before it happened.

Emperor Möngke, a grandson of Genghis Khan, held great respect for Buddhism, appointing a chief for the Buddhists in Mongolia and even ruling in their favour in a dispute with Taoists. His younger brother, Kublai Khan, invited Buddhist monks to spread the religion and tasked them with creating a new script to unify the empire.

Kublai Khan became the creator of the Yuan dynasty that came to rule “China proper”, along with Mongolia, and this expansion necessitated the unification of the empire, which is best done through religion. Buddhism became the de-facto official religion of the Mongols during the Yuan period.

It’s interesting to note though that the first Mongol prince to convert was Prince Kötön in the mid-1200’s.

After the Yuan dynasty was defeated by the Ming dynasty in 1368, Tengrism found its way back. There was a continuous struggle for power over the religious identity of the Mongols with some Mongol leaders uniting with Buddhists to achieve legitimacy such as Altan Khan.

Buddhism eventually became the official Mongolian religion by slowly and peacefully converting people, rather than being forced upon the population. Mongols adhered to Tibetan Buddhism, more specifically Yellow Church (a Tibetan Gelukpa sect), as it was perhaps reminiscent of their previously shamanistic beliefs due to its rituals.

The Qing dynasty (1632-1912) and later the Bogd Khaganate (20th century) build gorgeous Buddhist temples and supported the Buddhist clergy and scholars. Nowadays, Buddhism is still the dominant religion with more than 53% of Mongolians identifying themselves as Buddhist.

However, when the communists seized power in the 1920’s, Buddhists were persecuted, similarly to Christians in the Soviet Union, with many monks and followers alike losing their lives. Atheism penetrated Mongolian society and nowadays, 40% of Mongolians identify as atheists, making them the largest group after Buddhists, followed by shamanists, and a small number of Christians and Muslims.

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John <![CDATA[The Beginning of the Mongolian Empire]]> https://www.mongoluls.net/the-beginning-of-the-mongolian-empire.html 2022-06-10T07:49:49Z 2022-05-14T07:43:23Z In this article, we’ll tell you more about the Mongols and before Genghis Khan, and of course, we’ll detail his impressive rise to power and the inner workings of his massive empire. Before the Empire The history of Mongolia did not start with the birth of Genghis; in fact, it stretches back for at least […]

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In this article, we’ll tell you more about the Mongols and before Genghis Khan, and of course, we’ll detail his impressive rise to power and the inner workings of his massive empire.

Before the Empire

The history of Mongolia did not start with the birth of Genghis; in fact, it stretches back for at least a millennium. The first state on the territory of Mongolia was the Xiognu state in the 3rd century BC. There have been many other states in Mongolia, but the Mongols were only truly united in the Medieval Age.

Around the 12th and 13th centuries, there were major struggles for power in Mongolia. The biggest stretch of land was long ruled by the Chinese Liao dynasty, but they were overthrown by another Chinese dynasty, the Jin, who took control of Mongol lands in 1125. The Jin emperors tried to keep Mongol tribes divided to avoid them contesting their power.

Genghis Khan, Beginnings

The native tribes of Mongolia were loosely organized in tribal confederations (usually with khans ruling over each tribe), that often fought with each other, and were also nomadic, which made centralization a much harder task. One such confederation was the Khamag Mongol, from which emerged Genghis Khan.

Genghis was born Temujin around 1162 as the son of chieftain Yesugei and his wife Hoelun. Both his parents had noble lineage with deep roots in the Khamag Mongol and the Khongirad, which gave him legitimacy, as well as powerful allies.

Tragedy struck when Yesugey was poisoned by the Tatars and Temujin and his mother lost their previously elevated status. They barely survived and the situation got even worse when Temujin was enslaved by the Tayichi’ud in 1177. He managed to escape, however, which earned him respect and allies (most notably Jelme and Bo’orchu).

By that time, Temujin was already married to his first wife, Börte (only her sons were allowed to inherit their father). When she was kidnapped in 1184 by the Merkits (common occurrence at the time), Temujin sought the help of khan Toghrul of the Keraites and he successfully saved Börte, which was a pivotal moment in his military career.

Creating the Mongol Empire

In 1186, Temujin was elected khan of the Mongols. His old friend Jamukha contested his power and eventually defeated him. Temujin, along with his patron Toghrul were exiled. In 1197, however, they won their positions back by helping the Jin attack the Tatars.

Temujin’s rise threatened Toghrul’s leadership and the old khan turned against his former ally with the help of Jamukha. Curiously, many of Toghrul’s and Jamukha’s allies joined Temujin. This could be explained by his political philosophy, which was centred around meritocracy, rather than noble blood, enriching those who excel in military strategy and politics.

He was also well-liked by the common folk due to his treatment of conquered tribes; the tribes were made equal “citizens” of his growing dominion where they could keep practicing their religion and culture. They were also offered unprecedented protection from attacks with a popular saying postulating that a man could cross the Mongol Empire covered in gold without being robbed.

Temujin won the battle against Toghrul and continued his conquest, defeating the Merkits, Keraites and Tatars. He faced Jamukha once again after the khan was betrayed by his friends and turned to Temujin. Jamukha recognised Temujin as the superior leader and asked for a noble death rather than allyship.

Genghis Khan, the Great Khan

Temujin changed his name to Genghis meaning “sea”, with Genghis Khan meaning “ruler of the sea” or “universal ruler”. That happened when he was elected the Great Khan, leader of all Mongols, in 1206, which formally began the Mongol Empire.

His new title inspired him to dream big and lead his troops to Western Xia which he soon conquered. This allowed him to open up the Silk Road, which he turned into an even more sophisticated trading route that earned him a lot of revenue for his campaigns and allowed for the first-of-its-kind international trade.

Genghis Khan then set his eyes on the Jin dynasty, the Chinese royals claiming ownership of Mongol land. The Jins decided to barricade inside Beijing and use the Great Wall as protection. Little did they know that their positions would be revealed to the enemy. Genghis Khan captured the capital in 1215 and started expanding westward.

He began a war with the Khwarazmian Empire after a few peaceful Mongol convoys were attacked by the shah. Genghis Khan created three military divisions that would attack from different sides, which exhausted Khwarazmian troops. After a long and very bloody war, the empire fell.

Genghis Khan continued expanding westward, raiding Afghanistan and reaching Russia. The Mongols conquered the kingdom of Georgia, sacked Crimea and defeated Kievan Rus, although the latter didn’t join the empire until 1237 after being defeated by the Golden Horde. On their way back, the Mongols captured Persia as well.

The last successful military campaign of Genghis Khan was the one against Western Xia against the Chinese. The Western Xia allied with the defeated Jins against the Mongols, but the state eventually fell in 1227 with Genghis Khan killing the whole imperial family, thus putting an end to their line.

Soon after, Genghis Khan died. Some attributed his demise to illness, while others to battle wounds, and even an accidental fall from his horse. Whatever the case is, he left his empire in good hands and his successors kept on conquering neighbouring kingdoms.

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John <![CDATA[Discussing the Geography of Mongolia]]> https://www.mongoluls.net/discussing-the-geography-of-mongolia.html 2022-12-13T08:08:52Z 2022-04-17T07:37:21Z There are a lot of misconceptions online regarding the Mongolian landscape, so we decided that a Mongolia-centred blog ought to settle the matter the best way possible – by providing facts in a comprehensive and interesting manner. Learn about the Mongolian steppes, deserts and everything in-between on this page. Geography The nature of Mongolia is […]

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There are a lot of misconceptions online regarding the Mongolian landscape, so we decided that a Mongolia-centred blog ought to settle the matter the best way possible – by providing facts in a comprehensive and interesting manner. Learn about the Mongolian steppes, deserts and everything in-between on this page.

Geography

The nature of Mongolia is much more diverse than it’s perhaps thought of. Yes, the country is rightfully known for its enormous plains, but Mongolia is not exactly the Netherlands; quite on the contrary, the Asian country is home to four mountain ranges.

With this little statement, we wanted to show you how wrong the geographical stereotypes are. Now we can begin our lesson.

Territory and Borders

Mongolia is a country in Central and East Asia, situated at approximately 41° and 52° N and 87° and 120°E. Mongolia is landlocked (the biggest landlocked country) and it borders China to the south and Russia to the north.

It spawns over 1,564,116 km2 (603,909 square miles) with 2400 km from east to west and 1260 km from north to south, making it the 18th biggest country in the world. Despite its enormous size, its population numbers a little over 3 million (3,278 million to be exact), thus being the most scarcely populated country on the globe with about 2 people per km2.

Geographical Regions

Mongolia can be separated into four geographical regions (from north to south):

  • The Mountain Region
  • The Steppe
  • The Desert
  • The Semi-desert

Returning to the statement we made earlier, not only is Mongolia not flat, but in fact most of it is mountainous. Moreover, most of Mongolia is elevated with many towns and cities sitting at approximately 1,500 m above sea level.

The first region is the biggest out of the four and it comprises of four mountain ranges, which make for a very secure border with their northern neighbour Russia. These four ranges are the Altai Mountains in the west (west to southwest), the Khangai Mountains in central Mongolia (central to north), the Khövsgöl Mountains in the north, and the Khentii Mountains in the northeast.

The Altai Mountains are the highest of the bunch with their highest peak, Khüiten Peak, standing proud at 4,374 m. The Khanagai Mountains occupy most of central Mongolia, and they are older and thus lower than the Altai; they are characterised by vast alpine pastures and luscious forests.

Altai mountains in Mongolia

The Khövsgöl Mountains are relatively young, and they have Alpine characteristics, similarly to the Khanagai Mountains, with high peaks. Last, but not least, the Khentii Mountains that spawn over central and north-eastern Mongolia are home to the impressive taiga with numerous lakes and rivers flowing through it. It’s also where the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar is situated.

The second region is of course the most famous one – the steppes. It’s safe to say that we’ve all pictured the Mongols riding on their horses along the great steppes, and while we proved that Mongolia is in no way a plains-only country, the steppes make a big portion of the land and there still are a lot of people leading a nomadic or semi-nomadic life there (thought to be 30% of the total population).

The steppes cover big portions of central and eastern Mongolia and they’re part of the larger Mongolian-Manchurian grassland that crosses Mongolia, Russia, and China. The Mongolian steppes are some of the best-preserved natural lands in the world because of the nomadic way of life that their inhabitants lead.

The ecosystem of the steppes is thus in perfect shape and balance. Some of the fauna includes rare animals like the Mongolian gazelle, corsac foxes, Pallas’ cats, Daurian hedgehog, steppe eagle, and Amur falcon, among others.

The third geographical region is the semi-desert, the Alashan Plateau semi-desert, which starts at the Altai Mountains and ends in northern China. Although much of the land is barren, you can still find flora and fauna in the region.

The last and one of the vastest regions in Mongolia is the desert one that encompasses the Gobi Desert, which is the sixth biggest desert in the world. It is mostly comprised of rocks and cliffs, but you can also find dunes. Gobi is divided into “desert proper” and rangelands. Gobi is a rather cold desert and if you’re lucky, you can see dunes covered in snow.

Climate

Despite how big Mongolia is, its climate is surprisingly not that diverse. Mongolia’s climate is strongly continental meaning that there are hot summers and cold winters, with summer being shorter than in other countries in the same climate category.

The average summer temperature is between 10 to 26° C, and the average winter temperature is between 15° C to – 30° C, although you can often see higher and/or lower temperatures. The desert region is naturally warmer, while the mountain region – colder.

The temperature varies greatly on the region, but even one region can have very unpredictable weather. This greatly affects agriculture, while permafrost makes it near impossible to build lasting infrastructure or support mining. For instance, there’s even a term for a winter that leads to massive livestock deaths – zud.

In terms of rain, the northern part of the country receives much more rain than the southern part, with some regions (e.g., the desert one) having almost no rain at all.

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John <![CDATA[Welcome to Our Blog Dedicated to Mongolia]]> https://www.mongoluls.net/welcome-to-our-blog-dedicated-to-mongolia.html 2022-06-10T07:36:59Z 2022-03-05T07:32:43Z We wish to extend our warmest welcome to our readers who must be as much fascinated and curious about Mongolia as we are. We are certainly very excited to finally present you with our blog after many hours of research and writing. We hope our blog meets your expectations and that you find it informative, […]

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We wish to extend our warmest welcome to our readers who must be as much fascinated and curious about Mongolia as we are. We are certainly very excited to finally present you with our blog after many hours of research and writing. We hope our blog meets your expectations and that you find it informative, as well as interesting and fun to read.

In our first blog post, we thought we might tell you a little more about the blog such as its contents, and of course, a little bit more about Mongolia itself. Enjoy reading!

Mongolia, a Land of Beauty

Mongolia is situated in Central and East Asia, spawning over more than 1 million square kilometres, making it among the biggest countries in the world. The population of just above 3 million people though is scarcely spread along the vast land.

A third of the population still leads a nomadic or semi-nomadic life, which further attributes to the distribution of people. The rough climate of its enormous mountain and desert regions also makes some places uninhabitable.

The official language of Mongolia is Mongolian and it is written in both its traditional script, as well as in Mongolian Cyrillic, which was first introduced in the 1940’s under Soviet influence.

The economy of Mongolia is emerging/developing, because the country mainly relies on agriculture, and although it later experienced an industrial boom during its communist era, the fall of communism set Mongolia back and the country is still recovering.

Since the economy is export-based, it’s highly volatile and it’s negatively affected by the changing prices of its mineral deposits such as copper, coal, tungsten, tin and gold. This also makes it suspectable to every regional financial crisis and/or import bans. However, it’s thought that Mongolia would be the next “Asian tiger” with lightning-paced economic growth.

The major religion in Mongolia remains Buddhism (Tibetan) with the next big group being atheism due to the communist past of the country. Mongolia is home to ancient temples of many religions as the nation has always been famous for its unprecedented religious tolerance, going all the way back to the first Mongolian state.

Blog Contents

Our blog intends to include various articles centred around Mongolia. We will discuss important historical events, figures, and eras that you’d hopefully find fascinating. Apart from that, we will also talk about present-day Mongolia such as the form of government, its economy and everything in-between.

You’ll also find articles that give general information about the country like ones detailing its various regions and climate. Last, but not least, we will discuss the past and present Mongolian culture.

If you have any suggestions about future articles, we’d be happy to take a look at them and perhaps use them as research topics.

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