Mongols

Mongols
Монголчууд
ᠮᠣᠩᠭ᠋ᠣᠯᠴᠤᠳ
Total population
	approx. 10,000,000
Regions with significant populations
Languages
	Mongolian, Buryat, Kalmyk, other Mongolic languages and dialects, also Chinese and Russian
Religion
	Mostly Tibetan Buddhism, Animism, Christianity, Shamanism, Islam
Related ethnic groups
	Turkic people, Tungusic peoples

The Mongol people (Mongolian: Монголчууд/ᠮᠣᠩᠭ᠋ᠣᠯᠴᠤᠳ), are a Altaic ethnic group that is indigenous to North Asia (also known as Siberia), East Asia and Central Asia, more often conceived as Mongolic people.

Due to sharing the same ancestry and even lifestyle (nomadic) as the Turkic peoples, the histories between the two often-not intertwine. In addition, certain Mongolic groups such as the Buryats and Kalmyks of Russia are known by those names, rather than Mongol proper. The only country soleley based off of a Mongol identity is the sparsely-populated country of Mongolia, bordering to the south is the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia, which has the twice the number of Mongols than Mongolia itself.

During the Russian Civil War, the Mongolic peoples of Russia (namely Buryats and Kalmyks), served in the White forces against the communists, and the Mongolian conservatives and monarchists were also aligned with the White Russians.

History

Early History

The idea of a unified "Mongol" ethnicity did not exist in Siberia. Most of the tribes that today known as Mongols were nomadic people from the Altaic region of Asia who relied on clan-rule and warred with other tribes. Anthropologists often referred to these nomads as Mongolic (not to be mistaken for Mongoloid) and Turkic peoples by the distinct dialects they spoke. The Mongolic people were the tribes in East Asia, specifically Siberia; and the Turkic people were the tribes from Central Asia; both groups were closely related. Modu Shanyu; a native of Mongolia (Chinese: 冒顿单于) made the earliest attempt to create a nature of some unity among the Mongolic tribes of Siberia and northern China known as the Xiongnu.^[5] This confederation eventually became a military threat to the Chinese Qin Dynasty (Chinese: 秦朝) which eventually led to the latter construction of the Great Wall of China, and dominated Central Asia for about 500 years.^[6] Mongolic and Turkic rulers became known as khans (Mongolian: хаан), Buddhism and Shamanism became the main religions of the Mongolic and Turkic peoples.

Yuan Dynasty 1279-1368

Unity only prevailed when a soldier by the name of Genghis Khan, who came from a tribe known as the Borjigin or the Chinggisid, united the warring tribes that eventually became today's Mongols. He eventually rose from a devastasted childhood and became the Great Khagan or khan of the Mongol Empire. Under Genghis Khan and his descendants, the new unified kingdom conquered territory that was seemed necessary for a stronghold. Therefore Genghis Khan is considered the father of modern-day Mongolia.^[7] At the height of its peak, the Mongol Empire stretched from southern Russia, all of China into Vietnam and Afghanistan. When Kublai Khan (Mongolian: Хубилай хаан), a descendant of Genghis Khan took over China by defeating the

Yuan Dynasty coins — Coins from the Yuan Dynasty

remaining Song Dynasty armies, he established the Yuan Dynasty (1279 A.D.-1368 A.D.) and established China as a firm stronghold of the Mongol Empire. The Yuan Dynasty is regarded as both period of time in Mongolia's history and one of China's imperial dynasties. The Yuan Dynasty was also one of the only dynasties where a non-Chinese emperor ruled China. Much to his respect for Chinese culture, he titled himself using both Mongol and Chinese traditions. Kublai Khan was both Chinese emperor and the great Khagan of the Mongol Empire and renamed Beijing to Dadu, which was designated as the capital of the Yuan Dynasty. In China, he was known as Emperor Shizu of Yuan (Chinese: 元世祖). The Yuan Dynasty was ended when the Chinese rebelled which overthrew the Mongol rule in China. After the Yuan Dynasty's destruction and decay, the Chinese pushed the Mongol forces back and took over Mongolia. The remnants of the Mongol Empire that retreated to Mongolia were known as the Northern Yuan Dynasty (1368 A.D.-1635 A.D.).^[8]

Northern Yuan Empire 1368-1635

In 1351, a prophetic and messianic Buddhist section known as the White Lotus Society (Chinese: 紅巾起義), found by Kuo Tsu-hsing, initiated a rebellion against the Yuan rulers of China as a result of the government's failure to address problems that Chinese farmers were facing. This rebellion is known as the Red Turban Rebellion

220px-Tsogtiin tsagaan baishin — "Tsogt Taij's White House (White Castle)" was built in 1601.

(Chinese: 紅巾起義).^[9] Zhu Yuanzhang, a Chinese peasant began the the Ming Dynasty. The Chinese forces took the city of Yingchang in Inner Mongolia, and continued to push the Mongols back to Mongolia. In 1388, the throne of this remnant empire that became known as the Northern Yuan was taken by Yesüder, a ruler from the Tolui clan, not the Kublai clan and of a western Mongolic tribe known as the Oirats (Mongolian: Ойрад). The Northern Yuan Empire represented a reminiscent of the pre-Genghis Khan history of the Mongols, characterized by an era of quarreling over throne-succession and civil war. Despite some turbulences, the Northern Yuan rulers still retained relations with the Ming Dynasty of China. The Oirat tribes continued to be the ruling and governing tribe of the Northern Yuan dynasty. In 1479, the empire was back under the rule of Genghis Khan's descendants, a man by the name of Batumöngke, who would receive the title Dayan Khan (Mongolian: Даян Хаан). Dayan Khan eliminated the policies of the former Oirat rulers and reunited the Mongols of the Northern Yuan Dynasty and organized the Mongol army into units of 10,000 men known as tümens. The Manchus, an ethnic group native to Manchuria in China gave the Mongols their influence and established the Jin Dynasty. Relations with the Manchus proved to be troublesome, wars with the Chinese forces led to the Northern Yuan's defeat and was eventually ceded to the Qing Dynasty.^[10]

Chinese Annexation 1636-1949

Following the defeat of the Manchus and the Northern Yuan, came the cession to the Chinese Qing Dynasty in 1644, a Manchu-dynasty in China.

Mongolia remained part of China until Damdin Sükhbaatar (Mongolian: Дамдины Сүхбаатар), a military leader from Ulaanbaatar; started the Mongolian Revolution which was an independence movement of Mongolia from China. He is credited as Mongolia's national hero after Genghis Khan. The Chinese never stopped trying to take back Mongolia. The Russians helped the Mongols drive the remaining Chinese forces out of Mongol territory and for some brief time, under the leadership of Russian-Baltic German general Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, the Bogd Khanate was restored under his rule.

Russian Annexation 1771-1921

During the reign of Ivan IV, or Ivan the Terrible, the Tsardom of Russia began its eastward expansion and various conquests in the far east, territories inhabited by Mongolic peoples. The Imperial Russians utilized and grafted the various Mongolic chiefs, as well as their cultures and traditions in service of the Empire, a common tradition when the Russians annxed new territories.

In 1630, Kalmyks aligned themselves with the expanding Russian Empire, as the inhabited territories that were once part of the Astrakhan Khanate, which had been defeated and conquered by the Russian Empire. They clashed with the Nogai Horde. The Kalmyks, then known by the name of their predecessors, the Oirets, were a vital force within the Imperial Russian military, and countered the Cossacks, namely in their quasi-independent nature and were treated like the Cossacks. Non-coincidentally, it is the Cossacks who mostly did much of the annexing of Mongolic and Asiatic territories for the Russian Empire.

The Kalmyk Khanate (Kalmyk: Хальмг хана улс, Xal'mg xana uls) became an official ally of the Russian Empire, that aided the Russians in their war against the Crimean Tatars. In 1724, after the death of Ayuka Khan, the khanate fell apart in a typical fashion. More Russian and German settlers settled on traditionally Oirat-Kalmyk lands, and Orthodox missionary work introduce Russian Orthodoxy to the Kalmyk people.

In 1770, Ubashi Khan attempted to have the Kalmyks re-migrate to Dzungaria, under Chinese Qing control, but was only half-successful due to the climate issues regarding the melting of ice in the Volga. In 1771, Empress of Russia, Catherine the Great offiically annexed the former Khanate, and transferred all powers to the Governor of Astrakhan.

Chinese & Russian Revolutions & Civil Wars

Within Russia, many of the Mongolic peoples served as part of the White Army opposing the communists. They were led mainly by half-Buryat Cossack leader, Ataman Grigory Semyonov and Baltic German general Baron Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, with the latter leading the Asiatic Cavalry Division, where many Buryats and Mongols served.

Both Semyonov and Ungern-Sternberg were pan-Mongolists, and wanting to unify the Mongols, the former being a fluent speaker of Buryat and Mongolian, and the latter wanting to rule as the Bogd Khan of Mongolia, which he did for a short time before being executed by Bolsheviks. Ungern-Sternberg was heavily known to favor Mongolic over Russian officers.

Cold War

During the first phases of the Cold War, particlarily the 1930s, the Mongols, iwere under communist rule as the Buryats and Kalmyks were living within the Soviet Union. Mongolia adopted fell under the Soviet bloc, with its leader, Khorloogiin Choibalsan being an avid-Stalinist and mimicking the Stalinist terrors in Mongolia. On the positive military consequences, the Soviet armies repulsed Japanese invasions against Mongolia.

In 1949, China submitted and recognized Outer Mongolia's independence which simply became Mongolia.^[11] This Mongolian state became a Soviet puppet state, but even the Mongols within northern China, in the Inner Mongolia region, lived under a communist Maoist regime after the defeat of the rightist factions of the Kuomintang. Being under a Soviet influence had negative implications for native culture in Mongolia, as the Classical Mongolian alphabet was almost displaced by Cyrllic, which continues to be standard, although the Mongolian government has re-officiated Classical script as well. Buryat and Kalmyk too, are written in Cyrllic.

Language

The Mongol people are native speakers of the Mongolic group of languages, which belong to the Altaic family, along with the Turkic languages of Central Asia and Tungusic languages of Siberia and northeastern China. Within the Mongolic languages, standard Mongolian, which is descended from the Mongolic Khalkha language, has the largest amount of speakers, and functions as the national language of Mongolia and is spoken by the ethnic Mongols in

Mongol bichig01 — The traditional Mongolian-Uyghur alphabet

China. It is considered a recognized minority in China, and co-official to Mandarin in the province of Inner Mongolia, however Mongols are a minority in Inner Mongolia. There is also another small Mongolic-speaking group in China known as the Dongxiang people (Chinese: 撒尔塔), they speak their own language. However, the Dongxiang people are normally regarded as a separate ethnic group from the Mongols and other Mongolic people.

In spite of the Chinese keeping the Classical Mongolian writing system as co-official in Inner Mongolia, the Mongols of China are becoming victims to gradual assimilation, a fate suffered by the Manchus, who no longer speak Manchu. The latter generations of native Mongols from Inner Mongolia are losing their usage of Mongolian.

Kalmykrussian — A bilinguial Russian and Kalmyk sign in Elista, capital of Kalmykia, reading "Clean zone!"

There are two types of Mongolic ethnicities from Russia, the Buryats (Buryat: Буряад) and the Kalmyks (Kalmyk: Хальмгуд). the latter descended from the Oirat language. These are co-official to Russian in the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia respectively, named after the ethnic groups, Buryat is mutually intelligible to Mongolian, and is often-not, considered by many to be a major dialect of Mongolian. However of the two, it is Kalmykia where the Kalmyks form the majority, making it Europe's only predominantly-Buddhist region, while Buryats are a minority in Buryatia.

Writing System

The Mongolic languages are written in a number of different scripts. The standard Mongolian language contains two different alphabets, depending on where the speaker comes from. In Mongolia, it is written in the Cyrillic script as a result of Soviet influence. In northern China, it is written in the traditional Classical Mongolian alphabet, which was used in the era prior to Soviet influence. This alphabet is derived from the classical Uyghur script, and written vertically. It is the same alphabet that was used for the Manchu language, as well as other Tungusic and Old Turkic languages. Both the standard Mongolian and Manchu languages were written in the Mongolian script. In China's Inner Mongolia province, public signs are normally printed in both Chinese and Classical Mongolian. There are attempts to revive the script in Mongolia, the alphabet has been implemented into Mongolia's currency as well as passports and other identification cards. However, attempts to revive its practical use in Mongolia has proven to be difficult and futile.

6199821559 6b28d4d4d7 z — Street signs in Inner Mongolia, China displaying both Chinese and classic Mongolian translation

Buryat and Kalmyk languages of Russia also use the Cryllic alphabet. The Dongxiang people use the Chinese and Arabic scripts for their language. The Tibetan language functions as the liturgical language of Tibetan Buddhism.^[12] The groups of Mongolia and China use the Tibetan script simply for its liturgical uses.^[13]

Religion

Most Mongols follow the Tibetan section of Buddhism. The Mongols from Mongolia and China are mostly Tibetan Buddhists. Tibetan Buddhism is indigenous to Tibet, a region in China that had been fought over by the armies of the surrounding regions for centuries. However, Shamanist and Animistic traditions still live on in Mongol culture. There is still a small minority of Mongols practicing Shamanism and Animism themselves. Many Mongol nomads in the Gobi Desert are earth-worshippers. Therefore, many of these people do not wear boots that dig into the earth.

There is a population practicing Christianity and Islam, mostly in Central Asia and Russia. The Kalmyk and Buryat people of Russia are Buddhist, as Buddhism is considered one of Russia's "heritage faiths" alongside Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam. However, many Kalmyks and Buryats too, are Russian Orthodox. There are also descendents, or self-proclaimed descendents of Mongolic rulers in Central Asia and Russia, for they are Muslim or Orthodox. The House of Yusopov for example, a historical Russian dynasty, are descendents of the Mongol Manghuds and were Orthodox. The historical ruling family of Bukhara, a preceding state of modern-day Uzbekstan, were also self-proclaimed Manghuds, and were Shia Muslim. The Dongxiang people from China and Moghol people of Afghanistan are Muslims, the Dongxiang people make up one of China's minority Muslim populations.

Architecture

Traditional Mongol architecture highly reflects their way of living. Most Mongols live a very traditional nomadic way of life. They live in a tent-like structure known as the ger (Mongolian: гэр), also known commonly as a yurt which is also traditional in Central Asia. Gers/yurts are able to withstand the harsh Siberian weather. Yurts are sturdy structure that can be build within at four hours, usually made of felt pads. The crown of the yurt is one of the most important parts, which is usually passed on from generations of the past.

Yurt decoration is based on certain patterns. These patterns are generally not according to taste, but are derived from sacred ornaments with certain symbolism. Symbols representing strength are among the most common, including the khas (swastika) and four powerful beasts (lion, tiger, garuda and dragon), as well as stylized representations of the five elements (fire, water, earth, metal, and wood), considered to be the fundamental, unchanging elements of the cosmos. Such patterns are commonly used in the home with the belief that they will bring strength and offer protection.

The yurt design has also been integrated even into Mongolian urban culture, such as Ulan Bator's famous wrestling stadium which continas a yurt-style roof. Additionally, many Mongolian restaurants and eateries in Ulan Bator and other cities in Mongolia use yurt-style architecture. Mongols have

also absorbed some Chinese and Russian influence in their architecture as a result of interactions with China and Russia. Traditional Buddhist temples build Chinese style can be found in Mongolia, such as the famous Gandan monstary (Mongolian: Гандан, Chinese: 甘丹寺) which contains a blend of Chinese and Tibetan style. The name is actually short for Gandantegchinlen (Mongolian: Гандантэгчинлэн) which means "Great Place of Joy" and houses over 150 monks. The Erdene Zuu Monastery (Mongolian: Эрдэнэ Зуу хийд) is a traditional Tibetan temple in the Övörkhangai Province of Mongolia, near the ancient city of Karakorum which is the earliest surviving Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. It was ordered into construction by ruler Abtai Sain Khan and his grandfather Zanabazar. Additionally, because Mongolia was a former Soviet puppet state during the Cold War, many Soviet-era buildings remain in tact in Ulan Bator.

Cuisine

Mongol cuisine has a strong correlation with the culture and nomadic way of life of the Mongols. Mongols from Mongolia and China also focus their eating habits and cultural ways back to Genghis Khan and his army. Due to historical interactions as well as geographic proximity, Mongols have adopted some Russian, Chinese and Central Asian influences. Temperatures in Mongolia and other areas in the Siberian region can plummet to dangerously low temperatures. Most food is either boiled or steamed but fried foods do exist. Mongols prefer to eat foods that are high in fat due to the dangerously low temperatures in Siberia. Consequently, meat and dairy products are

heavily regarded as one of the most important parts of a Mongol diet. The fat is the most favored parts of the animal. Sheep, marmot, yaks, beef, game and mutton are the main staple meats in Mongol cuisine. Buuz (Mongolian: Бууз) is a dumpling dish most popular with Mongolians and Buryat people from Russia. Instead of using pork; Mongols use mutton or lamb for buuz. The Dongxiang people do not use pork due to Islam's prohibition against pork. Buuz can be steamed, fried (known as kuushur). Boiled buuz is usually eaten in soups. Buuz is typically dipped in fermented mare's milk or vodka as a sauce. In case of fried foods such as kuushur (fried buuz), Mongols usually use animal fat as the oil. A soup popular in Mongolia is

Buuz being prepared inside a ger

havirigata nogol shul, sheep rib soup. Mongolia has two national dishes, one eaten by nomads mostly and the other eaten by all Mongolians in general and the Mongols from China. Boodog (Mongolian: боодог) is a national delicacy eaten by Mongolian nomads and Mongols from China during feasts and big holidays. A true Mongolian "barbeque", boodog is usually made of either a goat, lamb or marmot that is cooked inside out. First the animal gets deboned, as a fire is prepared with stones. The empty carcass is then reloaded with the fixed meat and hot stones, and cooked over the fire. There is another version, known as khorkhog (Mongolian: Xopxoг), however the difference is that a metal tin can or pot is used instead of an animal carcass. Boodog/khorkhog is a precious food with typical Mongol families as they do not get to make it very often. Mongols are very careful to finish the meal to the last bite. An entire family could go to as a far as two years without making bodoog or khorkhog! Another national dish in Mongolia is boiled sheep's head. This dish is eaten by all Mongolians as well as Mongols from China. The head is kept boiling for hours until ready to eat. Boiled sheep head is prepared in a very traditional manner, one where even gender plays a determining factor. When eating boiled-sheep's head, the main person in charge of the family decides who gets

which part of the boiled head. Sheep's head is also sold in some eateries and restaurants in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital and largest city, for a rather expensive price. Boortsog (Mongolian: боорцог) is a biscuit/cookie dessert popular with the Turkic people of Central Asia as well. Boortsog is probably the only known existing dessert in Mongolia or Mongol communities. Fruits and vegetables are almost never found in any Mongol style cuisine, with the exception of the Dongxiang from China. The only possible vegetable found in Mongol cuisine is potatoes which are usually used as ingredients and toppings for soups. Occasionally sweet pickles and carrots may be sold at food markets in Ulaanbaatar. Mongol-style beverages mostly consist of milk and vodka. Airag is the national beverage of Mongolia, a drink made from fermented-mare's milk.

Mongols are known for their high practice and belief of hospitality. A guest entering a Mongol family's ger/yurt will always be offered something to eat. People are even invited to stay in a ger if it is necessarry.^[14]^[15] In many western and East Asian countries, there is a cuisine commonly known as Mongolian grill or Mongolian barbeque (Chinese: 蒙古烤肉), both Traditional Chinese and Chinese-American cuisine often-not makes misusage of the term Mongolian, such as Mongolian beef (Chinese: 蒙古牛肉), which neither the ingredients or cooking style is actually Mongolian.

Notable Mongols or People of Mongol Origin

Genghis Khan	Born as Temüjin, the founder and Great Khan (emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his demise. He came to power by uniting many of the warring nomadic tribes of northeast Asia. After founding the Mongol Empire and being proclaimed "Genghis Khan," he started the Mongol invasions that resulted in the conquest of most of Eurasia. He is a national hero in Mongolia, and a role model for many Mongols today.
Kublai Khan	The fifth ruler of the Mongol Empire, who was most famous for his conquest of China. He found the Yuan Dynasty of China, which is regarded as both an imperial dynasty in Chinese history and an era in Mongolian history. He became the first Mongol and non-Chinese emperor of China, and was given the temple imperial name Shizu.
Dayan Khan	Ruler of the Northern Yuan Empire, reunited the Mongols under Chinggisid supremacy in the Northern Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia. His reigning title, "Dayan", means the "Great Yuan" who eliminated the Oirat supremacist rulers and recovered Genghis Khan's ruling dynasty, re-united the Mongol tribs of Siberia
Mandakhai Khatun	The wife of Dayan Khan, a princess and military leader who re-united the warring Mongolic tribes in the Northern Yuan Dynasty
Subutai	A skilled Mongolian general, and the primary military strategist of Genghis Khan and Ögedei Khan. He directed more than twenty campaigns in which he conquered thirty-two nations and won sixty-five pitched battles, during which he conquered or overran more territory than any other commander in history.
Hulagu Khan	A Mongol ruler who conquered much of Southwest Asia. Son of Tolui and the Kerait princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of Ariq Böke, Möngke Khan, and Kublai Khan. His army greatly expanded the southwestern portion of the Mongol Empire, founding the Ilkhanate of Persia, a precursor to the eventual Safavid dynasty, and then the modern state of Iran.
Ayuka Khan	Khan of the Kalmyks, who brought the Khanate to the apex of power, under his reign the Khanate became an ally of the Russian Empire, providing armed services for the Russians against the Muslims of Central Asia, North Caucasus and Crimea, even in the Great Northern War in which Russia defeated the Swedish Empire, he awarded a precious treasure by Peter the Great, he also defeated Turkmen and and Kazakh tribes, making them his tributaries and was blessed by the Dali Lama
Babur	Persian military leader and conqueror who found the Mughal Empire after conquering the Indian Subcontinent, a descendant of Genghis Khan through his mother, born a Central Asian Muslim and adopted Persian culture
Zanabazar	The first Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism for the Khalkha in Outer Mongolia. His name 'Zanabazar' is the Mongolian rendition of the Sanskrit 'Jnana-vajra' meaning thunderbolt (vajra) of wisdom (jnana)
Damdin Sükhbaatar	Mongolian military leader, a founding member of the Mongolian People's Party and leader of the Mongolian partisan army that liberated Khüree during the Outer Mongolian Revolution of 1921. Enshrined as the "Father of Mongolia's Revolution", he is remembered as one of the most important figures in Mongolia's struggle for independence
Sükhbaataryn Yanjmaa	A widow of Damdin Sukhbaatar, who as Chairperson of the Presidium of the State Great Khural from September 1953 to July 1954 became only the second woman in history to be elected or appointed head of state
Byambin Renchin	Mongolian linguist and author who is a descendant of Genghis Khan, one of the founders of modern Mongolian literature, a translator of literature and a scholar in various areas of Mongolian studies, especially linguistics.
Tsendiin Damdinsuren	Mongolian writer and linguist. He wrote the text to one version of the national Anthem of Mongolia, he also wrote poetry that was well received in Mongolia and produced prose and literary studies, and a translation of The Secret History of the Mongols into modern Mongolian.
Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal	One of the leaders of Mongolia from 1952 to 1984. During his political life, he served as prime minister and general secretary of the Mongolian People's Party. His foreign policy was marked by efforts to bring Mongolia into ever closer cooperation with the USSR.
Jugderdemidiin Gurragchaa	Mongolia's defense minister from 2000-2004, first Mongolian and Asian into outer space, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on March 30, 1981. The Zaisan Memorial, a monument south of Ulaanbaatar dedicated to Russian–Mongolian friendship, includes a mural which depicts amongst its scenes Gürragchaa's 1981 flight. Gürragchaa also worked as the chief of staff of air defence for the Mongolian Armed Forces.
Tsakhiagin Elbegdorj	The current president of Mongolia, who has established himself as one of the principal champions in emerging markets and was one of the architects of democracy in Mongolia, he was one of the key figures of the 1990 Mongolian democratic revolution and served as the Prime Minister of Mongolia in 1998, and from 2004-2006
Asashōryū Akinori	Born as Dolgorsürengiin Dagvadorj, a Mongolian former professional sumo wrestler, he was the 68th yokozuna in the history of the sport in Japan. He was one of the most successful yokozuna ever. In 2005 he became the first wrestler to win all six official tournaments (honbasho) in a single year. Over his entire career, he won 25 top division tournament championships, placing him fourth on the all-time list.
Ulanhu	The founder of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in China, Ulanhu had the nickname of "Mongolian Khan" during his political career. During the Second World War, Ulanhu led his forces to stop the Japanese from advancing towards Hohhot and led his officers to march to Shanbei where he continued battling against the Japanese forces. He served as China's Vice-President under President Li Xiannian from 1983-1988.
Mengke Bateer	A Chinese retired professional basketball player remembered for his time with Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) where he also played for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers and the Sichuan Blue Whales, winning a CBA championship in 2014 with the Ducks. He also played in the National Basketball Association (American NBA), for the Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs and the Toronto Raptors, winning an NBA Championship with the Spurs in 2003. He is one of two players from China to win an NBA title. He is an ethnic Mongol from Inner Mongolia province of China.
Bao Xishun	A native herdsman from Inner Mongolia, China, who was recognized by Guinness World Records as one of the world's tallest living men, standing at 7 feet and 9 inches. Guinness World Records had returned the title of world’s tallest man to him after Ukrainian Leonid Stadnyk took over the title briefly. After Stadnyk refused to be measured under new guidelines, which required him to be independently measured by Guinness World Records’s adjudicators, the title was returned to Xishun.
Grigory Mikhaylovich Semyonov	Imperial and White Russian general, Siberian Cossack or "Ataman" of Buryat ethnicity who the main leader of White forces in the Transbaikal region, he was Japanese-supported and was also a pan-Mongol who wanted to unite all of the Mongols, he spoke both fluent Buryat and Mongolian.
Kirsan Ilymuzhinov	A multi-millionare Kalmyk from Russia who was the first president of the Russian Republic of Kalmykia who has been the President of FIDE (or the "World Chess Federation"), the world's pre-eminent international chess organization, since 1995. He has also been in the forefront of promoting chess in schools in Russia and overseas. He is the founder of Novy Vzglyad Publishing House. In addition to his native Kalmyk and Russian, he can speak English, Japanese, and a bit of Korean, Mongolian and Chinese languages.