Mongols

The Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Mongolian Plateau, historically united into the largest contiguous land empire in history under Genghis Khan in the early thirteenth century, whose Mongol Empire and its successor khanates at their height stretched from Korea to Eastern Europe. Traditional Mongol society is built around pastoral nomadism, herding sheep, goats, cattle, camels and horses across the steppe, moving seasonally between pastures and living in portable felt dwellings called gers, and horsemanship and archery remain central to Mongol cultural identity, celebrated in the annual Naadam festival. Mongols today live chiefly in the independent state of Mongolia and in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, with smaller populations in Russia's Buryatia and Kalmykia regions.