⏰ Timeline of Mongolian history
Timeline of Mongolian history
3rd century BC
2nd century BC
1st century BC
Year |
Date |
Event |
71 |
|
Various tribes invade the Xiongnu territory from all fronts; Wusun from the west, Dingling from the north, Wuhuan from the east, and Han forces from the south. |
60 |
|
Xiongnu civil war as factions fight for power following the death of Xulüquanqu, the 12th Chanyu |
53 |
|
The southern Xiongnu surrender and become tributaries to the Han after splitting into northern and southern dynasties. |
36 |
|
At the Battle of Zhizhi General Chen Tang and Protector General Gan Yanshou, acting without explicit permission from the Han court, kill Northern Xiongnu leader Zhizhi Chanyu at his capital city (present-day Taraz, Kazakhstan) |
1st century AD
Year |
Date |
Event |
49 |
|
Tsi Yung, allied with the Wuhuan and Xianbei, attacked the northern Xiongnu kingdom. Xianbei move into Xiongnu territory. |
93 |
|
The northern Xiongnu are dispersed by the Xianbei and the Chinese during the Battle of Ikh Bayan. The last Northern Chanyu is defeated and flees over to the north west with his subjects. |
2nd century AD
Year |
Date |
Event |
147 |
|
The Xianbei, who gain strength beginning from the 1st century CE, are consolidated into a state under Tanshihuai. |
167 |
|
The Xianbei successfully repel an invasion of the Han dynasty. |
180 |
|
The Xianbei conquer areas of northern China. |
3rd century AD
4th century AD
5th century AD
6th century AD
7th century AD
8th century AD
Year |
Date |
Event |
711 |
|
Qapaghan Qaghan of the Second Turkic Khaganate defeats the Turgesh |
742 |
|
The Basmyl, Uyghurs, and Karluks revolt against the Second Turkic Khaganate |
745 |
|
The Uyghurs kill the last khagan of the Göktürks, Baimei Kagan Cooloon bey, and sent his head to the Tang. |
756 |
|
Uyghur Bayanchur Khan aids Emperor Suzong of the Tang dynasty against the An Lushan rebellion. Approximately 4,000 Uyghur horsemen assisted Tang armies in retaking Chang'an and Luoyang in 757. |
758 |
|
Uyghurs destroy several northern Yenisei Kyrgyz trading outposts before slaughtering a Kyrgyz army and executing their Khan |
9th century AD
Year |
Date |
Event |
840 |
|
The Tang dynasty surreptitiously encouraged the Yenisei Kirghiz and the Karluks to attack the Uyghurs and the Uyghur Khaganate fell under an invasion of the Yenisei Kirghiz |
10th century AD
11th century AD
12th century AD
13th century
Year |
Date |
Event |
1205 |
|
Temüjin unites all nomadic tribes who settled around at Baikal Lake to China's Great Wall. |
1206 |
|
Temüjin given the title Genghis Khan (Chinggis Khaan), first Khagan (Great Khan) of the Mongol Empire. |
1215 |
23 September |
Kublai Khan, son of Tolui and grandson of Genghis Khan, is born. |
1227 |
18 August |
Genghis Khan, 1st Khagan of the Mongol Empire, dies in Western Xia during the fall of Yinchuan aged c. 65. |
1229 |
13 September |
Ögedei Khan, third son of Genghis Khan, becomes second Khagan of the Mongol Empire. |
1241 |
11 December |
Ögedei Khan, second Khagan of the Mongol Empire, dies aged 55. |
1243 |
|
Zhenjin, second son of Kublai Khan and later founder of the Yuan dynasty, is born. |
1246 |
24 August |
Güyük Khan, eldest son of Ögedei Khan and grandson of Genghis Khan, becomes third Khagan of the Mongol Empire. |
1248 |
20 April |
Güyük Khan, third Khagan of the Mongol Empire, dies aged 42. |
1251 |
1 July |
Möngke Khan, eldest son of Tolui and grandson of Genghis Khan, becomes fourth Khagan of the Mongol Empire. |
1259 |
11 August |
Möngke Khan, fourth Khagan of the Mongol Empire, dies aged 50. |
1260 |
5 May |
Kublai Khan, son of Tolui and grandson of Genghis Khan, becomes fifth Khagan of the Mongol Empire. However, the Toluid Civil War begins as various members of the Tolui family line fight for the title of Khagan resulting in the division of the Mongol Empire. |
1268 |
|
The Kaidu–Kublai war breaks out, which lasts until 1301 and deepens the fragmentation of the Mongol Empire. All later Khagans of the Mongol Empire were nominal due to the empire's division. |
1269 |
|
Birth of the 'Phags-pa script, designed by Drogön Chögyal Phagpa for Kublai Khan. |
1271 |
|
Kublai Khan officially proclaims the founding of the Yuan dynasty with himself as first emperor. Khanbaliq (modern Beijing) named the dynasty's capital. |
1273 |
|
Zhenjin designated Crown Prince by Kublai Khan. |
1294 |
18 February |
Death of Kublai Khan (aged 78). By this time the Mongol Empire had already fractured into four khanates: the Yuan dynasty based in China, the Golden Horde based in Russia, the Chagatai Khanate based in Central Asia, and the Ilkhanate based in Iran, although the Yuan emperors held the nominal title of Khagan. |
1294 |
10 May |
Temür Khan, son of Crown Prince Zhenjin and grandson of Kublai Khan, becomes sixth Khagan of the Mongol Empire and second emperor of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. |
1295 |
|
Enthronement of Ilkhan Ghazan. Islamization of the Ilkhanate. |
14th century
Year |
Date |
Event |
1304 |
|
A peace among the Mongol khanates establishs the nominal supremacy of the Yuan dynasty over the three western khanates (the Golden Horde, the Chagatai Khanate and the Ilkhanate). However, the peace itself was short-lived and the war soon resumed. |
1307 |
21 June |
With the death of Temür Khan (aged 41), Külüg Khan, first son of Darmabala and Dagi of the Khunggirad clan, and a great-grandson of Kublai Khan, becomes seventh Khagan of the Mongol Empire and third Emperor of the Yuan dynasty. |
1311 |
7 April |
Külüg Khan dies (aged 29). Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan, second son of Darmabala and Dagi of the Khunggirat, and a great-grandson of Kublai Khan, becomes eighth Khagan of the Mongol Empire and fourth Emperor of the Yuan dynasty. |
1313 |
|
Enthronement of Öz Beg Khan. Islamization of the Golden Horde. |
1315 |
|
Revival of the imperial examination system within the Yuan dynasty under Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan. |
1320 |
19 April |
Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan dies (aged 34), Gegeen Khan, eldest son of Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan and Radnashiri, becomes ninth Khagan of the Mongol Empire and fifth Emperor of the Yuan dynasty. |
1323 |
4 October |
Death of Gegeen Khan (aged 20). Yesün Temür, son of Gammala, grandson of Zhenjin and great grandson of Kublai Khan, becomes tenth Khagan of the Mongol Empire and sixth Emperor of the Yuan dynasty. |
1328 |
October |
With the death of Yesün Temür (aged 34), Ragibagh Khan, eldest son of Yesün Temür, becomes 11th Khagan of the Mongol Empire at the age of 7-8 and designated seventh Emperor of the Yuan dynasty before being deposed in a coup before his succession. |
1328 |
16 October |
Jayaatu Khan Tugh Temür, second son of Khayishan, becomes 12th Khagan of the Mongol Empire and eighth Emperor of the Yuan dynasty. The War of the Two Capitals begins. His forces defeated, Ragibagh Khan disappears or dies at the age of 7-8, possibly murdered. |
1329 |
27 February |
Jayaatu Khan Tugh Temür abdicates and his elder brother Khutughtu Khan Kusala becomes 13th Khagan of the Mongol Empire and ninth Emperor of the Yuan dynasty. However, he dies on August 30 at age 28, four days after a banquet with brother Jayaatu Khan Tugh Temür, presumed to have been poisoned. Jayaatu Khan Tugh Temür regaines the throne on September 8. |
1332 |
23 October |
With the death of Jayaatu Khan Tugh Temür (aged 28), Rinchinbal Khan, second son of Khutughtu Khan Kusala, becomes 14th Khagan of the Mongol Empire and tenth Emperor of the Yuan dynasty at the age of six. |
1333 |
19 July |
Rinchinbal Khan dies nine months later (aged 6), Toghon Temür, (1320-1370) eldest son of Khutughtu Khan Kusala and older brother of Rinchinbal, becomes 15th Khagan of the Mongol Empire and eleventh Emperor of the Yuan dynasty. |
1335 |
|
Disintegration of the Ilkhanate after the death of Ilkhan Abu Sa'id. |
1368 |
14 September |
Toghon Temür flees Beijing for Shangdu in advance of approaching Ming Dynasty forces. Yuan dynasty falls. The remnants of the Yuan known as the Northern Yuan dynasty continue in Mongolia. |
1370 |
|
Biligtü Khan Ayushiridara (1340-1378), son of Toghon Temür, is declared Khan of Mongolia at Karakorum. Timur (Tamerlane) gains control of the western Chagatai Khanate. |
1378 |
|
Uskhal Khan Tögüs Temür (1342-1388) succeeds his brother Ayuushridar as Khan of Mongolia. |
1380 |
|
The Golden Horde is defeated at the Battle of Kulikovo. Karakorum is destroyed by Chinese troops. |
1388 |
|
Uskhal Khan Tögüs Temür is murdered by an ally of the Oirats, thus launching the Oirat-Mongol wars. Jorightu Khan Yesüder (1358-1392) becomes Khan of a fractured and diminished Northern Yuan Dynasty. |
1393 |
|
Elbeg Nigülesügchi Khan (1361-1399) succeeds his younger brother Jorightu Khan Yesüder as Khan of the Northern Yuan. |
1395 |
|
Timur invades The Golden Horde and sacks Saray and Astrakhan. |
1399 |
|
Elbeg Nigülesügchi Khagan is defeated by the Four Oirats and killed by their leaders, Ugetchi Khashikha and Batula. |
15th century
16th century
Year |
Date |
Event |
1510 |
|
Dayan Khan defeats the Ordos and Tümed Mongols at the Battle of Dalan Terigün (Inner Mongolia), reunifying the Six Tümens of the Mongols. |
1513 |
|
Dayan Khan launches successive invasions of China that continue through 1526 and include an unsuccessful assault on Beijing in 1517 |
1542 |
|
Following his brother's death in 1542, Altan Khan (grandson of Dayan Khan) becomes the de facto leader of the whole of the "Right Wing" (western Inner Mongolia and Ordos) and is given the title, "Tüsheet Sechen Khan." |
1550 |
|
Altan Khan launches large scale incursions into Ming territory, surrounds Beijing. |
1551 |
|
Altan Khan and the Ming strike accords on peace and border trade. |
1571 |
|
Altan Khan founds the city of Guihua or Köke Khota (Hohhot, meaning "The Blue City"), now the capital of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. |
1577 |
|
Altan Khan meets Sodnam Gyatso in northeast Tibet and bestows on him the Mongolian title "Dalai Lama". The Mongols’ “Second Conversion” to Buddhism begins |
1585 |
|
Abtai Sain Khan of the Tüsheet Khanate and nephew of Altan Khan founds Erdene Zuu Monastery, the first Buddhist monastery in Mongolia, adjacent to the ancient Mongol capital of Karakorum |
17th century
18th century
19th century
20th century
Year |
Date |
Event |
1907 |
|
The Qing government implemented sinification policies. |
1911 |
1 December |
Outer Mongolia declared independence from the Qing Dynasty under the Bogd Khan. |
29 December |
The Bogdo Khanate of Mongolia was proclaimed and Bogd Khan enthroned. |
1912 |
3 November |
The Russian Empire recognized Mongolian independence and the rule of Bogd Khan. |
1913 |
11 November |
Mongolia and Tibet concluded treaty on mutual recognition and mutual assistance. |
1915 |
|
Russia, China and Mongolia signed a treaty at Kyakhta under which China was recognized as sovereign over an autonomous Mongolia. |
1919 |
|
Outer Mongolia was occupied by the Republic of China. |
1921 |
|
The Russian Red Army, with the support of Damdin Sükhbaatar, defeated the forces of Roman Ungern von Sternberg. |
February |
Ungern drove Chinese troops out of Niislel Khuree. |
March |
All remaining Chinese troops were defeated by Ungern and driven from Mongolia, allowing the reassertion of Mongolian independence under Bogd Khan. |
18 March |
Communist guerrillas headed by Damdin Sükhbaatar, with the assistance of Red Army troops, defeated the Chinese garrison in the Mongolian settlement Maimachen near Kyakhta. |
1924 |
26 November |
After the death of the Bogd Khan, the Mongolian People's Republic was declared in Outer Mongolia. |
1928 |
|
Collectivization began. |
1932 |
|
The failure of collectivization led to widespread uprisings and a temporary thaw. |
1936 |
|
Prince Demchugdongrub formed the Mongol Military Government, a non-Communist state independent from China, in Inner Mongolia. |
1937 |
|
The Mongol Military Government was renamed the Mongol United Autonomous Government. |
|
Stalinist purges in Mongolia: A Stalinist terror began which would lead to the deaths of more than thirty thousand people in the Mongolian People's Republic. |
1939 |
|
Stalinist purges in Mongolia: The terror ended. |
May |
Battle of Khalkhyn Gol: Large scale fighting took place between Japanese and joint Soviet-Mongolian forces along Khalkhyn Gol on the border between Mongolia and Manchuria. |
16 September |
Battle of Khalkhyn Gol: The battle ended in a Japanese defeat. A truce was negotiated between Japan and the Soviet Union. |
1941 |
|
The Mongol United Autonomous Government was renamed the Mongolian Autonomous Federation, or Mengjiang. |
1945 |
August |
The Republic of China requested Soviet help in the war against Japan, and offered recognition of the independence of Outer Mongolia in exchange according to the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance. |
August |
The Mongolian People's Republic declared war on Japan, one day after the Soviet Union, and began to liberate Southern Mongolia from the China and the Japan. |
October |
A plebiscite yielded a 100% pro-independence vote. |
1946 |
January |
The Chinese government recognized the independence of Mongolian People's Republic. |
1949 |
6 October |
The newly established People's Republic of China recognized Mongolia and agreed to establish diplomatic relations. |
1950 |
|
Herds were successfully collectivized. |
1952 |
|
The Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan renounced the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance. |
1955 |
|
The ROC blocked the accession of the Mongolian People's Republic's entry to the United Nations. |
1961 |
|
The Mongolian People's Republic entered the United Nations. |
|
The Trans-Mongolian Railway was finished. |
1962 |
|
Mongolia became a member of the Comecon. |
|
Sino-Soviet split: The Communist Party leadership sided with the Soviet Union in a falling-out with China. |
1965 |
|
Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal purged the intelligentsia. |
1969 |
|
Sino-Soviet split: The Soviet Union stationed a large army on Mongolian territory in response to threats of Chinese aggression. |
1981 |
March |
Jügderdemidiin Gürragchaa became the first Mongolian in space. |
1984 |
August |
Tsedenbal resigned. |
1987 |
27 January |
Mongolia established diplomatic relations with the United States. |
1989 |
July |
The first Mongolian member of the Bahá'í Faith entered the country. |
December |
The first popular reform demonstrations took place; the Mongolian Democratic Association was organized. |
1990 |
January |
Large-scale pro-democracy demonstrations were held in sub-zero weather. |
2 March |
Mongolia and the Soviet Union announced that all Soviet troops would be withdrawn from Mongolia by 1992. |
May |
The constitution was amended to provide for a multi-party system and new elections. |
29 July |
The first democratic elections were held. The Communist Party, now the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP), won. |
3 September |
The first democratically elected People's Great Hural took office. |
1992 |
13 January |
A new constitution went into effect. |
8 April |
A new election law was passed. |
28 June |
An election was held for the first unicameral legislature, the State Great Hural. The MPRP won. |
1993 |
6 June |
The first direct presidential election took place. Opposition candidate Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat, a former MPRP member, won. |
1996 |
30 June |
The first non-Communist government was elected. |
1998 |
|
Sanjaasürengiin Zorig, Minister of Infrastructure and one of the leaders of the 1990 protests, was murdered. |
2000 |
2 July |
The MPRP was elected; a new government was formed by Prime Minister Nambaryn Enkhbayar. |
21st century
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