This is a List of historical cities and towns of Mongolia.

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

is a landlocked

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

. It is bordered by

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

to the north and China to the south, east and west. Ulaanbataar, the capital and largest city, is home to about 45% of the population.

Special characteristics

"Mongolian cities" means those cities that were built in Mongolia as well those built in areas directly under Mongol influence. The special characteristic of Mongolian historical cities is that they came into being amidst a predominantly nomadic society. It is a misunderstanding to assume that there were no cities in Mongolia, or that all of the people were entirely nomadic all through their history. Based on current research, Mongolia's tradition of cities goes back over 2000 years.

Historical towns and settlements

Prehistoric settlements

* Tamsagbulag Neolithic Settlement, Khalkhgol sum,

Dornod Province Dornod ( mn, Дорнод, ; "East") is the easternmost of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. Its capital is Choibalsan. Population Halh are the ethnic majority of the Dornod aimag, but Buryat ethnic group is 22.8% of population total ...

* Norovlin Neolithic Settlement, Bulgan sum, Dornod Province

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...
period (209 BC-AD 93)

* Lungtang * Lungcheng ( Mongolian: Luut; Dragon City), capital of the Xiongnu Empire, Orkhon River valley * Lungzi * City built by Zhaoxin in 120 BC as ordered by the Shanyu * Kherlen Tsagaan Aral * Terelj Hasar Balgas * Bayanbulag Balgas * Tsenkher Gol Kherem * Shuvuutiin Gol Kherem

Rouran period (AD 330 - 555)

* Mume, capital of the Rouran Khaganate, Orkhon River valley * Lungcheng

Göktürk and Uighur period (AD 555-840)

* Toba Khan’s Ord * Bilge Khan’s Ord * Khar Els * Khar Balgas * Baibalyk * Kharkhurem

Khitan Liao period (AD 907-1125)

* Zuun kherem * Baruun kherem * Bars khot * Chin Tolgoin Balgas (Zhenzhou, built in AD 994) * Khar Bukhyn Balgas

Mongol Empire and
Yuan period The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
(AD 1206-1368)

* Khaidu Khan’s Ord * Tenduk * Tataryn Kherem * Genghis Khan’s Four Ordos *

Karakorum Karakorum (Khalkha Mongolian: Хархорум, ''Kharkhorum''; Mongolian Script:, ''Qaraqorum''; ) was the capital of the Mongol Empire between 1235 and 1260 and of the Northern Yuan dynasty in the 14–15th centuries. Its ruins lie in th ...

, capital of the Mongol Empire * Suurin * Tosokh * Shar Ord * Khokh nuuriin Ord * Ongiin Ord * Khogshin Teeliin Balgas * Tsagaan Balgas * Arlyn Balgas

Northern Yuan The Northern Yuan () was a dynastic regime ruled by the Mongol Borjigin clan based in the Mongolian Plateau. It existed as a rump state after the collapse of the Yuan dynasty in 1368 and lasted until its conquest by the Jurchen-led Later Jin ...
period (AD 1368-1635)

Choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

- 1691 * Tsagaan Baishin (or White Palace of

Tsogt Taij Tümengken Tsoghtu Khong Tayiji (Classical Mongolian: , ''Tümengken čoγtu qong tayiǰi''; modern Mongolian: , , Tümenkhen Tsogt Khun Taij; ; 1581–1637), was a noble in Northern Khalkha. He expanded into Amdo (present-day Qinghai) to help ...

) * Ikh Khuree (now the capital city

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...

) - 1639 *

Khovd (city) Khovd ( mn, Ховд, Howd, ), formerly known as Kobdo or Khobdo, is the capital of the Khovd Province of Mongolia. It is officially known as Jargalant sum. Geography and climate It is situated at the foot of the Mongol Altay Mountains, on ...

- In 1685 founded by

Galdan Boshugtu Khan Erdeniin Galdan (1644–1697, mn, Галдан Бошигт хаан, , ), known as Galdan Boshugtu Khan (in Mongolian script: ) was a Choros Dzungar- Oirat Khan of the Dzungar Khanate. As fourth son of Erdeni Batur, founder of the Dzungar ...

on the bank of the

Khovd River Khovd River ( mn, Ховд гол, Howd gol, ) is a river in Mongolia. It flows from Tavan Bogd mountain of the Altai Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central and East Asia, where Russia ...

.Ховд аймгийн нутаг дахь археологийн дурсгалууд
/ref> * Tsetserleg (city) - 1631. In 1586 the first monastery founded. *

Ulaangom Ulaangom (; mn, Улаангом, ; xal, Уланһом, ) is the capital of Uvs Province in Mongolia. It is located on the slopes of the Kharkhiraa mountain, southwest from the lake Uvs Nuur shore and south from the Russian border. Descri ...

- 1686?

Qing period (AD 1691-1911)

* Mörön (city) - 1809 *

Choibalsan (city) Choibalsan ( Mongolian: ) is the fourth-largest city in Mongolia after Ulaanbaatar, Darkhan, and Erdenet. The name of the city was Bayan Tümen () until 1941, when it was renamed after the communist leader Khorloogiin Choibalsan in honor of the ...

- 1823 *

Uliastai Uliastai ( mn, Улиастай; ), also spelled Uliyasutai or Oulia-Sontai, and sometimes known as Javkhlant, is a city in Mongolia located in the western part of the country and from the capital Ulaanbaatar. Uliastai is the capital of Zavkhan P ...

- 1833 ...

Architectural heritages in Mongolia

* Choijin Lama Temple * Winter Palace of the Bogd Khan *

Erdene Zuu Monastery The Erdene Zuu Monastery ( mn, Эрдэнэ Зуу хийд , Chinese:光顯寺, Tibetan:ལྷུན་གྲུབ་བདེ་ཆེན་གླིང་) is probably the earliest surviving Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. Located in Övörkh ...

Gandantegchinlen Monastery The Gandantegchinlen Monastery ( mn, Гандантэгчинлэн хийд, ''Gandantegchinlen khiid'', short name: Gandan mn, Гандан) is a Mongolian Buddhist monastery in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar that has been restored and r ...

Manjusri Monastery Mañjuśrī Monastery ( mn, Манзуширын хийд; alternately translated as Manzushir; ) is a former gompa established in 1733 and destroyed by Mongolian communists in 1937. Its ruins are located approximately 15 kilometers (as the crow ...

* :Buddhist monasteries in Mongolia

References

This article is based on the textbook "''Mongol Ulsyn Tuuh''" (History of Mongolia), National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 2006.