Khentii aimag, a few hours drive east of Ulaanbaatar, has the historical distinction of being the homeland of the 13th century conqueror Chinggis khaan. Dozens of sites scattered across this province are associated with his life, notably in his suspected birthplace, Dadal. The prominent ethnic minority is Khalkh, but several villages in yhe north are dominated by Buryats, a group that probably originated around Lake Baikal and the then migrated south towards Mongolia.
Aside from Chinggis khaan, racehorses, bred in Galchar sum (in the far south-east), are the pride of this province. These horses are famous throughout the country for their great speed and have won prizes in the national. Naadam competitions.

There are few things to see close to the Dadal sum center (sometimes called Bayan Ovoo). Hajuu Bulag is small spring in the middle of the forest near the Bayan River, from which Chinggis Khaan is said to have drunk. A bit east of this spring is Deluun Boldog, which local consider the birthplace of Temuujin (historians may think otherwise). The hill is topped with a stone monument dedicated in 1990 to honour the 750th anniversary The Secret History of the Mongols, a 13th century chronicle of the empire.

One of the lakes at Gurvan Nuur is known as Lake Deluun, or ‘Spleen lake’. Legend has it that when Temuujin (Chinggis khaan) was about to be born, his mother was preparing a soup made from the spleen of a white horse. It is also said that in those days, the lakes did not yet exist, but Temuujin’s family ger was pitched here. At the ger camp itself, visitors will find a mammoth 10-metre tall monument decorated with a portrait of Chinggis.
Dedicated on May 31, 1962, it celebrates the 800th anniversary of this birth. This was the high point of the festivities organized by Tomor Ochir, then secretary-general of the Central Committee of tha Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP). Beside the portrait is an inscription that reads, ‘I have exhausted myself to unite my people. Ifmy body should suffer, so be it! But let not my people fall into confusion’.

According to the Mongol scholar Damdinsuren, Mount Bayan Ulaan is the old Hodoo Aral. Where the great chronicle, the Secret History of the Mongols, was composed. It was here that the three great khans: Ogodei, Mongke, and Yeson Temur, were crowned. This side is located to the west of the town of Delserkhaan.
About 13 km south of Delgerkhaan is the archaeological site of Avragiin Balgas, which was discovered in 1969 by the Mongol archaeologist Kh.Perlee. It is believed that the Palace of Aurug, built by Chinggis khaan, was once here. This discovery shocked historians as it was previously thought that Karakorum was the only important town in the Mongol empire.
According to Mongol scholars, Aurug, founded in 1189, is the oldest Mongol population center and, like Karakorum, was first used as a supply base for the Mongol army. On the site, traces of a foundry, including part of an iron hub intended for a huge cart, have been uncovered.

Close to the spring and the site of Aurug, this is one of the few post-1990 monuments in Mongolia. The UNESCO funded granite block is topped by a Chinggiskhaanid standard, on which are engraved the words attributed to the great conqueror, ‘My body will disappear, but our people will live on eternally’. It commemorates the 750th anniversary of the Secret History of the Mongols, the most important historical chronicle written by the Mongols themselves at the time of Ogodei, son and successor to Chinggis (c. 1240, or 1324 according to some authors). In august 1990, more than 2000 people gathered at the monument, among them many scientists and political figures, to watch the grand festivities, which ended in a traditional naadam.
In June 2001, a new complex of nine white Imperial gers was set up, providing some idea of now the khans once lived. A statue of Chinggis is in the largest tent, and on the walls of the other tents hang the portraits of nine generals and 40 khaans.

The Hodoo Aral plain stretches for over 30km along the Kherlen River, to the west of Mount Kherlen Bayan Ulaan, at a height of 1,300 metres abouve sea level. In the middle of the plain, about four kilometers west of the Delgerkhaan sum center, is the Aurug Toson Lake and adjoining spa resort.
The mud baths and mineral-rich lake have been used for centuries as a spa. Each year, in August, dozens of gers and tents appear along its shores. The resort here offers cabins and meals at local rates, but is geared mostly for Mongolians on holiday. A more upscale option is the eight kilometers west of the resort. Camping spots are plentiful.

The remains of fortifications extend for some 600 kilometres, from Bayan-Adraga sum to the Gan River in Manchuria. Locals in the region call them the ‘Fortress of Chinggis Khaan’. Unfortunately, almost nothing remains of these 800 year old walls, most of it wass destroyed after the fall of the Mongol Yuan dynasty in 1368. Travellers in northern Khentii and Dornod may pass this wall in different areas; the map in this book on p. 215 shows the direction the wall follows. The area just south of this fortification is called the ‘path of Chinggis Khaans horse’.

Palaeolithic-40,000 BC until about 12,000 BC (domestication of animals occurred around 15,000 BC)
Mesolithic-12,000 BC to 6000 BC
Neolithic-5000 BC to 2000 BC. Metal implements gradually replace stone ones, and agriculture appears. Tamtsagbulag culture. Nomadic pastoralism appears on the steppes around 1500 BC.
Bronze Age-1300 BC to 1000 BC. Metal; working now on a large scale. Karasuk culture on the Yenisei (high point of the so-called Animal Style Art). The deer stele are thought to date to this time. Period of differentiation between the Mongoloid and Turkish populations. (With Mongoloid elements associated with Caucasian ones).
Iron Age-First millennium BC. Mounted nomadism is established around 900 BC. The Scythians enjoy their zenith around the fifthy century BC. Animal art develops.
Appearance of two distinct cultural zones: one represented by stone cist graves, and the other (north-west Mongolia) by kurgan of the Pazyryk type. Iron is commonly used for weapons and tools by 500 BC.

Xiongnu - Third and second centuries BC. Princely tombs of Noyon-Uul. Xianbei - 155-400 AD. Ruan-Ruan - 400-552. A vast empire extending from Korea to Russian Turkestan Minusinsk culture. Tujue Tuks - First khanate: 552 to 583. Second khanate: 680 to 740 Monuments to Kul-Tegin, Bilge-Khagan, and Tonyuquq. Uighur - 745-840. Conversion to Manichaeism in 762. Creation ofKharBalgas. Kirghiz - 840-924 Qidan - 937-1125. Chinese Liao Dynasty, defeated by the Jurchen (Jin dynasty). Mongols - 13th and 14th centuties: empire founded by Chinggis Khaan.
15th century: first Oirat empire.
17th century: second Oirat empire.