Sunday 18 September 2016

By James Kelly


Mongolia lies in central Asia between Siberia on the north and China to the south. An empire arose in the steppes of Mongolia in the thirteenth century that forever changed the map of the world, opened intercontinental trade, spawned new nations, changed the course of leadership in two religions, and impacted history indirectly in a myriad of other ways. At its height, the Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous empire in history, stretching from the Sea of Japan to the Carpathian Mountains. Although its impact on Eurasia during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was enormous, the Mongol Empire's influence on the rest of the worldâ€"particularly its legacyâ€"should not be ignored.

The name Mongol comes from a small tribe whose leader, Ghengis Khan, began a conquest that would eventually encompass an enormous empire stretching from Asia to Europe, as far west as the Black Sea and as far south as India and the Himalayas. But by the 14th century, the kingdom was in serious decline, with invasions from a resurgent China and internecine warfare.

The current flag of Mongolia was adopted on January 12, 1992, when Mongolia became a democracy. Before this, Mongolia was the Mongolian People's Republic from 1940 until 1992, and the flag was the same, but with the addition of a socialist star at the top of the column of the soyombo. From 1911 to 1921, a version of the flag was used that featured the soyombo centered on a red flag with a yellow border, and other variations have also been used.

Blue is a traditional Mongolian color and it represents the sky. The red stripes initially represented Mongolia's socialist beliefs, but a modern interpretation means liberty and progress. The soyombo is a national emblem which contains individual symbolism within it. The fire at the top of it represents prosperity, contentment and regeneration. The three flames represent the past, present and future.

The soyombo is made up of many symbols. At the top of the symbol, there is a flame, representing growth and wealth, each tongue of the flame symbolizes time, one for the past, present, and future. Below the flame is the sun over a crescent moon, representing Mongolia's eternal existence. Two triangles pointing down next to rectangular bands represent spears, defeating enemies.

The national emblem is a combination of geometric depictions of the sun, moon, earth, water and the Taijitu (also known as the yin-yang) fashioned in a pillar composition. This flag was used beginning on February 12, 1992. The Flag Company Inc specialized in flag designs offered a special edition of decals and flags to memorize the history of Mongolian flag for the future.




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