The vast Mongolian steppe once contained countless ethnic groups. Almost all the peoples who have dominated the steppes have similar experiences. Starting from a small tribe, defeating or allying with other tribes, slowly merging into one large tribe. When the strength has accumulated to a certain limit, the grassland can be unified.
Isn't the process like playing a strategy game? Yes, this is the common rule of human society, and the grassland is even more respected by the strong, which greatly accelerates this process. That is to say, there are very few pure-blooded large empires on the steppe, and they are all a collection of countless small peoples and small tribes.
Thus, far from the central region of the steppe, ancient peoples can still be found, which existed thousands of years ago, and wave after wave of conquerors have not completely erased their own characteristics, and the Tuvans are one of them.
The Tuvans first inhabited the upper reaches of the Yenisei River in Siberia, which ranged from grasslands to woods. The Tuvans are not entirely nomadic, they also use logs to make houses and only use yurts when they are nomadic. Therefore, the meaning of Tuva in the ancient language is ''people of the forest''.'
Around the 3rd century BC, the Tuvans were ruled by the Huns. It is said that Suwu shepherds sheep are in the territory of the Tuvan people. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty attacked the Xiongnu in the north and turned this place into the territory of the Han Dynasty, but this kind of rule was not long, and as soon as the Han Dynasty fell into civil unrest, other nomadic peoples took advantage of the void.
Xianbei was the steppe strongman after the Xiongnu, and the next Turks assimilated the Tuvans, making them speak The Turkic language and customs moved closer to the Turks. During the Tang Dynasty, the Central Plains briefly restored the administration of the Tuva region and fell under the jurisdiction of the Anbei Capital Protectorate. But this was already the northern limit of the empire, the actual control time was not long, and it was the Uighurs who really managed the place.
The Mongols were the empire that had the deepest influence on the Tuvans, who for centuries to come under Mongol rule, submitting to the Wala and then the Khalkha Mongols. Modern people regard the Tuvans as a branch of the Mongols, but in fact they are still different.
During the Qing Dynasty, the whole of Mongolia belonged to the Central Plains Dynasty, and after the rebellion of the Dzungars was quelled, the Manchu Qing divided the Tuva region into territory and called it the "Tangnu Uliang Sea". At this time, the army of Tsarist Russia expanded into Siberia.
The Qing had no interest in expanding northwards, but could not stop the Cossacks from crossing the extreme cold of Siberia. Everywhere the Cossacks went, they built fortresses, established their rule, and slowly infiltrated their power into the Tangnu Ulyan Sea area.
The Manchu Qing dynasty originally had no clear concept of national borders, especially in the deserted north. In the 18th century, the Qing army faced the Cossacks, and it was not inferior, as long as it fought seriously, it could still defend the territory. The Treaty of Bryansky of 1727 demarcated the boundary between China and Russia, and the Area of the Tangnu Ulyan Sea clearly belonged to China.
After the British and French powers had brought out the weak nature of the Manchu Qing, the Tsarist Russia pressed forward step by step, cutting off large areas of land in the outer northeast and Siberia, and part of the Tangnu Uliang Sea area was forcibly occupied. Subsequently, Russian merchants and missionaries stepped up their infiltration to crowd out Qing officials and merchants.
After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the Beiyang government once again established its sovereignty over the region, and issued a formal official seal to the leaders of the local ethnic groups, which has been preserved to this day, proving that China has unquestionable sovereignty over the Tangnu Wuliang Sea.
While instigating the independence of Outer Mongolia, Russia continued to invade and occupy the territory of Outer Mongolia. They stepped up immigration, set up ruling institutions, and de facto occupied the area. The Beiyang government did not yield, and taking advantage of the revolution in Russia, decided to recover it by force.
In July 1919, the Beiyang Army defeated the White Russian army and established the Zorri Commissioner's Office to resume the exercise of sovereignty. This is one of the few righteous military operations of the Beiyang government that has been recognized by the people of the whole country.
However, the sharp deterioration of the situation in Outer Mongolia led to the complete collapse of the Beiyang garrison. A small number of Chinese garrisons and officials in the area, after losing support, were wiped out by the White Russian Army. And this White Russian army was quickly killed by the Red Army.
Next, Tangnu Urianghai declared independence and established an autonomous government. And in 1944, joined the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992, it became a constituent republic of the Russian Federation.
There are currently more than 200,000 Tuvans living in Russia, and their costumes and customs are the same as those in Mongolia, and they also celebrate the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival in China, preserving the influence of Han culture on them. In mongolia, there are also more than 30,000 Tuvans.
China's Tuvans live in Kanas, Xinjiang, and they may be the descendants of soldiers who stayed here during the Mongol Western Expedition, and they still maintain the habits of hundreds of years ago. They also live with a small number of Mongols, whose ancestors are said to be The Mongol officials who administered the Tuvans. It can be seen that the Tuvans and Mongols are likely not to be completely equated.
[References: Overview of the History of the Tangnu Wuliang Sea, etc.]