On the Question of the Two Mongol States in the Early XIII Century

Abstract

The problem of the two Mongol states in the early XIII century, which is little researched in Mongolian studies, was reported about in 1216 in the work “Jianyan yi lai chao ye za ji” by the South Sun scientist Li Xinchuan. It is noted that one state founded by Genghis Khan was located in Mongolia, the other in the lower streams of the Amur. The results of the latest studies of the ethnogenesis of the Mongols and the history of the names of the r. Amur are used in the article. The issue of the original homeland of the Mongols is being considered. An assumption has been put forward that this is the Ergune-kun area, located on the right bank of the Argun. As an initial variant for the name mongol, the form of mangol is reconstructed with the semantics ‘those who live on the river “Mangu”. It is proved that since ancient times Argun and Amur were represented by different peoples as one river, called Mangu. It is reported that the Tungus-Manchu tribes of the lower stream of the Amur, by the collective nickname received from the outside, were known as manguni — “people of the Mangu River”. It is determined that the Chinese of the community of mangol and manguni called the same name — mengu, which designated the Mongols. It is emphasized that they also applied a common name to the polities that existed among them — Da mengu go. It was established that these facts and a number of other external coincidences in both groups misled Li Xinchuan, forcing him to consider the polity of the Lower Amur Manguns as a Mongol state. It is stated that this was reflected in his work, forcing modern researchers to make mistakes.

Keywords

• argun
• lower amur
• the original homeland of the mongols ergune-kun
• selfname mangol
• the ethnic nickname of the manguni, the state of yeke mongγol ulus
• great mangun “state”