Noion

(from the Mongol “noen,” “lord” or “prince”), a secular feudal lord in Mongolia. In the 11th and first half of the 12th centuries, the noions were the leaders of the ancient Mongol aristocratic clans, and in the second half of the 12th century, they were tribal notables who were in the process of becoming a feudal class. In the Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries the noions constituted a feudal class. During the breakdown of feudalism between the 14th and 17th centuries, the noions were independent rulers of feudal domains. Under Manchu rule, from the 17th to the early 20th century, the noions— rulers of different rank—lost their political independence. Regaining their independence between 1911 and 1919, they were removed from power by the Mongolian People’s Revolution of 1921. By 1940 they had disappeared as a result of the abolition of the feudal class in the Mongolian People’s Republic.