History
During the Qing Dynasty, the territory of Outer Mongolia was divided (from east to west) into the Setsen Khan, Tüsheet Khan, Sain Noyon Khan, and Zasagt Khan provinces plus the Khovd area. The northern border to Russia was guarded by a watch post area. After Mongolia's second declaration of independence in 1921, the provinces were renamed in 1923, to Khaan Khentii Uulyn Province, Bogd Khan Uulyn Province, Tsetserleg Mandal Uulyn Province, and Khan Taishir Uulyn Province, respectively. The Khovd area and the Jebtsundamba Khutughtu's great shabi (personal fiefdom) turned into provinces of their own, Chandmani Uulyn Province and Delger Ikh Uulyn Province, respectively (the latter was later merged with Tsetserleg Mandal Uulyn Province). But otherwise the administrative structure was largely left unchanged until the 1930s.
An administrative reorganisation was initiated in 1931, which resulted in the Provinces Khovd, Dörvöd (later renamed Uvs), Altai (later renamed Govi-Altai), Khövsgöl, Zavkhan, Arkhangai, Övörkhangai, Ömnögovi, Tariachin (later split into parts of Bulgan and Selenge), Töv, Dornogovi, Khentii and Dornod (later renamed to Choibalsan). The Bayankhongor, Bayan-Ölgii, Bulgan, Dundgovi, Sükhbaatar, and Selenge provinces were created in the 1930s and 1940s.
The Choibalsan Province was re-renamed to Dornod Province in 1963, and the capital Ulan Bator was split from Töv Province as a separate district. The same status was given to the newly founded industrial cities of Darkhan (1961 in the Selenge Province) and Erdenet (1975 in the Bulgan Province). In 1994, two Sums of the Bulgan Province were taken to build the Orkhon Province around Erdenet, and four Sums of the Selenge Province to build the Darkhan-Uul Province around Darkhan, ending the special status of the two cities. In a highly disputed decision, the Govisümber Province was split from the Dornogovi Province in 1996.
Read more about this topic: Provinces Of Mongolia
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Three million of such stones would be needed before the work was done. Three million stones of an average weight of 5,000 pounds, every stone cut precisely to fit into its destined place in the great pyramid. From the quarries they pulled the stones across the desert to the banks of the Nile. Never in the history of the world had so great a task been performed. Their faith gave them strength, and their joy gave them song.”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)
“A country grows in history not only because of the heroism of its troops on the field of battle, it grows also when it turns to justice and to right for the conservation of its interests.”
—Aristide Briand (1862–1932)
“History has neither the venerableness of antiquity, nor the freshness of the modern. It does as if it would go to the beginning of things, which natural history might with reason assume to do; but consider the Universal History, and then tell us,—when did burdock and plantain sprout first?”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)