The Khitan people , who used a para-Mongolic language, [1] founded a state known as the Liao dynasty in Central Asia and ruled Mongolia and portions of the present-day Russian Far East , northern Korea , and North China. In Genghis Khan was able to unite and conquer the Mongols , forging them into a fighting force which went on to establish the largest contiguous empire in world history, the Mongol Empire Buddhism in Mongolia began with the Yuan emperors' conversion [ when?
After the collapse of the Mongol-led China-based Yuan dynasty in , the Mongols returned to their earlier patterns of internal strife. The Mongols also returned to their old shamanist ways after the collapse of their empire and only in the 16th and 17th centuries did Buddhism reemerge.
At the end of the 17th century, present-day Mongolia became part of the area ruled by the Manchu -led Qing dynasty. During the collapse of the Qing in , Mongolia declared independence but had to struggle until to firmly establish de facto independence and until to gain international recognition.
As a consequence, Mongolia came under strong Soviet influence: in the Mongolian People's Republic was declared, and Mongolian politics began to follow the same patterns as Soviet politics of the time.
After the revolutions of , the Mongolian Revolution of led to a multi-party system , a new constitution in , and a transition to a market economy. The climate of Central Asia became dry after the large tectonic collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. This impact threw up the massive chain of mountains known as the Himalayas. The Himalayas, Greater Khingan and Lesser Khingan mountains act like a high wall, blocking the warm and wet climate from penetrating into Central Asia.
