Aimags of Mongolia

The 21 Aimags are the top-level administrative divisions (provinces) of Mongolia. Each Aimag is subdivided into several sums. The capital Ulaanbaatar is administrated separately as a district. The name is derived from the Mongolian and Turkic languages word for "tribe".

History

During the Qing Dynasty, the territory of Outer Mongolia was divided (from east to west) into the "Setsen Khan", "Tüsheet Khan", "Sain Noyon Khan", and "Zasagt Khan" aimags plus the Khovd area. The northern border to Russia was guarded by a watch post area. After Mongolia's second declaration of independence in 1921, the aimags were renamed in 1923, to "Khaan Khentii Uulyn Aimag", "Bogd Khan Uulyn Aimag", "Tsetserleg Mandal Uulyn Aimag", and "Khan Taishir Uulyn Aimag", respectively. The Khovd area and the Jebtsundamba Khutughtu's great shabi (personal fiefdom) turned into aimags of their own, "Chandmani Uulyn Aimag" and "Delger Ikh Uulyn Aimag", respectively (the latter was later merged with Tsetserleg Mandal Uulyn Aimag). But otherwise the administrative structure was largely left unchanged until the 1930s.

An administrative reorganisation was initiated in 1931, which resulted in the Aimags Khovd, "Dörvod" (later renamed Uvs), "Altai" (later renamed Govi-Altai), Khövsgöl, Zavkhan, Arkhangai, Övörkhangai, Ömnögovi, "Tariachin" (later split into parts of Bulgan and Selenge), Töv, Dornogovi, Khentii and Dornod (later renamed to "Choibalsan"). The Bayankhongor, Bayan-Ölgii, Bulgan, Dundgovi, Sükhbaatar, and Selenge aimags were created in the 1930s and 1940s.

The "Choibalsan Aimag" was re-renamed to Dornod Aimag in 1963, and the capital Ulan Bator was split from Töv Aimag as a separate district. The same status was given to the newly founded industrial cities of Darkhan (1961 in the Selenge Aimag) and Erdenet (1975 in the Bulgan Aimag). In 1994, two Sums of the Bulgan Aimag were taken to build the Orkhon Aimag around Erdenet, and four Sums of the Selenge Aimag to build the Darkhan-Uul Aimag around Darkhan, ending the special status of the two cities. In a highly disputed decision, the Govisümber Aimag was split from the Dornogovi Aimag in 1996.

See also

*Sums of Mongolia
*Leagues of Inner Mongolia
*
*List of political and geographic subdivisions by total area
* [http://www.nc-cudpu.gov.mn/images//1911-1919.jpgAdministrative division 1911-1919 map]
* [http://www.nc-cudpu.gov.mn/images//1924-1929....jpgAdministrative division 1924-1929 map]
* [http://www.nc-cudpu.gov.mn/images//1931-1939.jpgAdministrative division 1931-1939 map]
* [http://www.nc-cudpu.gov.mn/images//1994.jpgAdministrative division 1940-1994 map]