The Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia and China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as parts of southern Siberia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of Mongolic peoples. The Oirats and the Buryats are classified either as distinct ethno-linguistic groups or as subgroups of Mongols.
The Mongols are bound together by a common heritage and ethnic identity, descending from the Proto-Mongols. Their indigenous dialects are collectively known as the Mongolian language. The contiguous geographical area in which the Mongols primarily live is referred to as the Mongol heartland, especially in discussions of the Mongols' history under the Mongol Empire and Northern Yuan.
Etymology
There are several proposals for the etymology of the ethnonym "Mongol": A change from Mongkhe-tengri-gal ("Eternal Sky Fire");National University of Mongolia, School of Social Sciences, Department of History (1999). "2. Хүний үүсэл, Монголчуудын үүсэл гарвал" [2. Origins of Humanity; Origins of the Mongols]. Монгол улсын түүх [History of Mongolia] (in Mongolian). Admon. pp. 67–69. A derivation from the personal name, transcribed in Chinese-language sources as Mùgǔlǘ (from Middle Chinese *muwk-kwot-ljo), of the progenitor of the Rouran Khaganate.
The designation "Mongol" first appeared in the mid-10th century Chinese Old Book of Tang to describe a tribe of the Shiwei who resided in the Argun River basin in the 9th century. In the 13th century, the word Mongol grew into an umbrella term for a large group of Mongolic-speaking tribes united under the rule of Genghis Khan.
The Mongols of the Mongol Empire were known in Central Asia, Western Asia and Europe as "Tatars", after a tribal confederation that was active on the Mongolian Steppes in the 12th century.
History
Prehistoric background
The ethnogenesis of Mongolic peoples is largely linked with the expansion of Ancient Northeast Asians. The Mongolian pastoralist lifestyle may in part be derived from the Western Steppe Herders, but without much geneflow between these two groups, suggesting cultural transmission.
Early historical background
In various times Mongolic peoples have been equated with the Scythians, the Magog, and the Tungusic peoples. Based on Chinese historical texts the ancestry of the Mongolic peoples can be traced back to the Donghu, a nomadic confederation occupying eastern Mongolia and Manchuria. The Donghu neighboured the Xiongnu, whose identity is still debated today. Although some scholars maintain that they were proto-Mongols, they were more likely a multi-ethnic group of Mongolic and Turkic tribes.Geng 2005 It has been suggested that the language of the Huns was related to the Xiongnu.Étienne de la Vaissière, Xiongnu. Encyclopædia Iranica online , 2006
The Donghu, however, can be much more easily labeled proto-Mongol since the Chinese histories trace only Mongolic tribes and kingdoms (Xianbei and Wuhuan peoples) from them, although some historical texts claim a mixed Xiongnu-Donghu ancestry for some tribes (e.g. the Khitan).Pulleyblank, Edwin G. (1983). "The Chinese and Their Neighbors in Prehistoric and Early Historic China," in The Origins of Chinese Civilization. University of California Press, pp. 411–466.Frances Wood, The Silk Road: two thousand years in the heart of Asia, p. 48
In the Chinese classics
The Donghu are mentioned by Sima Qian as already existing in Inner Mongolia north of Yan in 699–632 BCE along with the Shanrong. Unofficial Chinese sources such as Yi Zhou Shu ("Lost Book of Zhou")Yi Zhou Shu, "Wanghui jie" quote: "東胡黃羆。... 正北空同、大夏、莎車、姑他、旦略、豹胡、代翟、匈奴、樓煩、月氏、孅犁、其龍、東胡，請令以橐駝、白玉、野馬、騊駼、駃騠、良弓為獻。" and the Classic of Mountains and SeasClassic of Mountains and Seas, "Classic of the Regions Within the Seas: West" quote: "東胡在大澤東。夷人在東胡東。" translation: "Donghu are located east of the Great Marsh. Yi people are located east of Donghu." project the Donghu's activities back to the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BCE). However, the Hu (胡) were not mentioned among the non-Shang fang (方 "border-region"; modern term fāngguó 方國 "fang-countries") in the extant oracle bones from the Shang period.For a list of known fang-countries see Anderson, Matthew Mccutchen. (2015). "Change and Standardization in Anyang: Writing and Culture in Bronze Age China". Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 1589. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1589 pp. 96–98
The Xianbei formed part of the Donghu confederation, and possibly had in earlier times some independence within the Donghu confederation as well as from the Zhou dynasty. During the Warring States the poem "The Great Summons" () in the anthology Verses of Chu mentions small-waisted and long-necked Xianbei women,Chu Ci, "Da Zhao" . quote: "小腰秀頸，若鮮卑只。". translation (by Gopal Sukhu, 2017): "And she is as small-waisted and long-necked [a]s a Xianbei woman." and possibly also the book Discourses of the States, which states that during the reign of King Cheng of Zhou (reigned 1042–1021 BCE) the Xianbei came to participate at a meeting of Zhou subject-lords at Qiyang (岐阳) (now Qishan County) but were only allowed to perform the fire ceremony under the supervision of Chu since they were not vassals (诸侯) by enfeoffment and establishment. The Xianbei chieftain was appointed joint guardian of the ritual torch along with Chu viscount Xiong Yi.Discourses of the States, "Discourses of Jin 8" quote: "昔成王盟諸侯于岐陽，楚為荊蠻，置茅蕝，設望表，與鮮卑守燎，故不與盟。今將與狎主諸侯之盟，唯有德也，子務德無爭先，務德，所以服楚也。"Zhang, Zhengming. (2019) A History Of Chu (Volume 1) Honolulu: Enrich Professional Publishing. p. 42-46
These early Xianbei came from the nearby Zhukaigou culture (2200–1500 BCE) in the Ordos Desert, where maternal DNA corresponds to the Mongol Daur people and the Tungusic Evenks. The Zhukaigou Xianbei (part of the Ordos culture of Inner Mongolia and northern Shaanxi) had trade relations with the Shang. Liu Song dynasty commentator Pei Yin (裴駰), in his Jixie (集解), quoted Eastern Han dynasty scholar Fu Qian (服虔)'s assertion that Shanrong (山戎) and Beidi (北狄) are ancestors of the present-day Xianbei (鮮卑).Sima Qian's Shiji, ch. 110 , with commentaries; text: "服虔云：「山戎蓋今鮮卑。」"Shiji: Sanjiazhu, text: "〔一〕集解服虔曰:「山戎, 北狄, 蓋今鮮卑也。」, page 491" Again in Inner Mongolia another closely connected core Mongolic Xianbei region was the Upper Xiajiadian culture (1000–600 BCE) where the Donghu confederation was centered.
After the Donghu were defeated by Xiongnu king Modu Chanyu, the Xianbei and Wuhuan survived as the main remnants of the confederation. Tadun Khan of the Wuhuan (died 207 AD) was the ancestor of the proto-Mongolic Kumo Xi.Xin Tangshu 219. 6173. The Wuhuan are of the direct Donghu royal line and the New Book of Tang says that in 209 BCE, Modu Chanyu defeated the Wuhuan instead of using the word Donghu. The Xianbei, however, were of the lateral Donghu line and had a somewhat separate identity, although they shared the same language with the Wuhuan. In 49 CE the Xianbei ruler Bianhe (Bayan Khan?) raided and defeated the Xiongnu, killing 2000, after having received generous gifts from Emperor Guangwu of Han. The Xianbei reached their peak under Tanshihuai (reigned 156–181) who expanded their vast but short lived confederation.
Three prominent groups split from the Xianbei state as recorded by the Chinese histories: the Rouran (claimed by some to be the Pannonian Avars), the Khitan people and the Shiwei (a subtribe called the "Shiwei Menggu" is held to be the origin of the Genghisid Mongols).University of California, Berkeley. Project on Linguistic Analysis, Journal of Chinese linguistics, p. 154 Besides these three Xianbei groups, there were others such as the Murong, Duan and Tuoba. Their culture was nomadic, their religion shamanism or Buddhism and their military strength formidable. There is still no direct evidence that the Rouran spoke Mongolic languages, although most scholars agree that they were Proto-Mongolic.Thomas Hoppe, Die ethnischen Gruppen Xinjiangs: Kulturunterschiede und interethnische, p. 66 The Khitan, however, had two scripts of their own and many Mongolic words are found in their half-deciphered writings.
Geographically, the Tuoba Xianbei ruled the southern part of Inner Mongolia and northern China, the Rouran (Yujiulü Shelun was the first to use the title khagan in 402) ruled eastern Mongolia, western Mongolia, the northern part of Inner Mongolia and northern Mongolia, the Khitan were concentrated in eastern part of Inner Mongolia north of Korea and the Shiwei were located to the north of the Khitan. These tribes and kingdoms were soon overshadowed by the rise of the First Turkic Khaganate in 555, the Uyghur Khaganate in 745 and the Yenisei Kirghiz states in 840. The Tuoba were eventually absorbed into China. The Rouran fled west from the Göktürks and either disappeared into obscurity or, as some say, invaded Europe as the Avars under their Khan, Bayan I. Some Rouran under Tatar Khan migrated east, founding the Tatar confederation, who became part of the Shiwei. The Khitans, who were independent after their separation from the Kumo Xi (of Wuhuan origin) in 388, continued as a minor power in Manchuria until one of them, Abaoji (872–926), established the Liao dynasty (916–1125).
Mongol Empire
The destruction of the Uyghur Khaganate by the Kirghiz resulted in the end of Turkic dominance in Mongolia. According to historians, Kirghiz were not interested in assimilating newly acquired lands. The Khitans occupied the areas vacated by the Turkic Uyghurs bringing them under their control. The Yenisei Kirghiz state was centered on Khakassia and they were expelled from Mongolia by the Khitans in 924. Beginning in the 10th century, the Khitans, under the leadership of Abaoji, prevailed in several military campaigns against the Tang dynastys border guards, and the Xi, Shiwei and Jurchen nomadic groups.
Remnants of the Liao dynasty led by Yelü Dashi fled west through Mongolia after being defeated by the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty and founded the Qara Khitai (Western Liao dynasty) in 1124 while still maintaining control over western Mongolia. In 1218, Genghis Khan incorporated the Qara Khitai after which the Khitan passed into obscurity. Some remnants surfaced as the Qutlugh-Khanid dynasty (1222–1306) in Iran and the Dai Khitai in Afghanistan. With the expansion of the Mongol Empire, the Mongolic people settled over almost all Eurasia and carried on military campaigns from the Adriatic Sea to Indonesian Java and from Japan to Palestine. They simultaneously became Padishahs of Persia, Emperors of China, and Great Khans of the Mongols, and one (Al-Adil Kitbugha) became Sultan of Egypt. The Mongolic peoples of the Golden Horde established themselves to govern Russia by 1240.Jerry Bentley, Old World Encounters: Cross-Cultural Contacts and Exchange in Pre-Modern Times (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 136. By 1279, they conquered the Song dynasty and brought all of China proper under the control of the Yuan dynasty.
With the breakup of the empire, the dispersed Mongolic peoples quickly adopted the mostly Turkic cultures surrounding them and were assimilated, forming parts of Afghanistan's Hazaras, Azerbaijanis, Uzbeks, Karakalpaks, Tatars, Bashkirs, Turkmens, Uyghurs, Nogais, Kyrgyzs, Kazakhs, Caucasus peoples, Iranian peoples, and Moghuls; linguistic and cultural Persianization also began to be prominent in these territories.
The Oirats, a Mongolic-speaking people who at the time inhabited the forests of northwestern Mongolia, were not yet considered as a Mongol group in contemporary sources such as the Secret History of the Mongols or the Jami' al-tawarikh. According to Joo-Yup Lee, the Oirats had a non-Mongol origin and had maintained a separate identity until the time of the Dzungar Khanate.