Burkhan Khaldun. Khentii aimag.
THE REGIONS OF MONGOLIA
KHENTII AIMAG
BURKHAN KHALDUN
Burkhan KhaldUn. The Burkhan Khaldun (Cyrillic: Áóðõàí Õàëäóí) is one of
the Khentii Mountains in the Khentii Province of northeastern Mongolia. The
mountain or its locality is believed to be the birthplace of Genghis Khan as
well as his tomb. It is also the birthplace of one of his most successful
generals, Subutai.
The mountain is part of the 12,000 square kilometres (4,600 sq mi) Khan
Khentii Strictly Protected Area established in 1992. It had strong religious
significance before Genghis Khan made it a powerful landmark and is considered
the most sacred mountain in Mongolia since it was designated as sacred by
Genghis Khan. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 4 July 2015
under the title "Great Burkhan Khaldun Mountain and its surrounding sacred
landscape." Under a Presidential Decree of 1995 the worship of this mountain has
been formalised and the mountain declared a national monument. Its ecosystem is
complex with unique biodiversity with flora of the Central Asian steppe. It has
50 species of fauna and 253 species of birds.
Burkhan Khaldun means the "God Mountain" and is also called Khentii Khan (The
King of the Khentii Mountain range). It is one of the Khentii Mountains in the
Khentii Province of northeastern Mongolia.[It is the highest mountain of the
region, rising to an elevation of 2,362 metres (7,749 ft), and is
crescent-shaped. It is the source of several rivers: the
Onon and Kherlen
rivers flow into the Amur, which has its outfall in the Pacific Ocean; and
the rivers Tuul, Kharaa and Yeruu flow northwards to join the Selenge, which
empties into the Arctic Ocean. It is in a complex ecosystem with unique
biodiversity which is defined as a "transition zone from Siberian permafrost
land forms to great steppe".
Presidential Decree of 1955 formalised the worship of the Burkhan
Khaldun Mountain as a national monument. Special worship is offered to the
mountain according to a prescribed procedure at the main "Ovoo of the Heaven";
it is reserved for a few officials of the state and local administration,
shamans and a few Buddhist lamas (monks).
Burkhan Khaldun was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the 39th
session of the World Heritage Committee on 4 July 2015 under the title "Great
Burkhan Khaldun Mountain and its surrounding sacred landscape", covering an area
of 443,739 hectares (1,096,500 acres) and an additional buffer zone of 271,651
hectares (671,260 acres), categorized under Criterion (iv) for its unique
cultural tradition of mountain and nature worship of past several millennium,
and (vi) for its universally known historical and literary epic of immense
importance.
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