Karakorum

Karakorum
/kahr'euh kawr"euhm, -kohr"-, kar'-/, n.
a ruined city in central Mongolian People's Republic: capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century.

* * *

Ancient capital, Mongol empire.

Its ruins lie on the upper Orhon River in north-central Mongolia. It was settled с 750; Genghis Khan established his headquarters there in 1220. In 1235 his son and successor, Ögödei, enclosed the city with walls and built a palace, which Marco Polo visited с 1225. Chinese forces invaded Mongolia and destroyed Karakorum in 1388. It was later partially rebuilt but was abandoned by the 16th century.

* * *

▪ ancient site, Mongolia
Chinese  (Wade-Giles) K'a-la-k'un-lun,  also spelled  Khara-khorin, or Har Horin,  
 ancient capital of the Mongol empire, whose ruins lie on the upper Orhon River in north-central Mongolia.

      The site of Karakorum may have been first settled about 750. In 1220 Genghis Khan, the great Mongol conqueror, established his headquarters there and used it as a base for his invasion of China. In 1267 the capital was moved to Khanbaliq (modern Peking) by Kublai Khan, greatest of the successors of Genghis Khan and founder of the Mongol (Yüan) dynasty (1206–1368) in China. In 1235 Genghis Khan's son and successor, Ögödei, surrounded Karakorum with walls and built a rectangular palace supported by 64 wooden columns standing on granite bases. Many brick buildings, 12 shamanistic shrines, and two mosques were once part of the city, which also was an early centre for sculpture, especially noteworthy for its great stone tortoises.

      In 1368, Bilikt Khan, the son of Togon Timur, the last emperor of the Mongol dynasty of China, who had been banished from Peking, returned to Karakorum, which was partly rebuilt. It was then known as Erdeni Dzu (the Mongol name for Buddha), because during the 13th century lamaistic Buddhism had made progress under Kublai Khan. In the Battle of Puir Nor in 1388, Chinese forces under the leadership of the emperor Hung-wu invaded Mongolia and won a decisive victory, capturing 70,000 Mongols and destroying Karakorum. Later it was partially rebuilt but was subsequently abandoned. The Buddhist monastery of Erdeni Dzu (built 1585), which today remains only as a museum, was built on the city site.

      In 1889 the precise location of Karakorum was discovered by two Russian Orientalists working in the area, and in 1948–49 the ruins were explored by members of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R. Among their discoveries were the site of Ögödei's palace (in the southwestern part of the city) and the remains of a late 12th- or early 13th-century Buddhist shrine.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Karakorum — (Khalkha Mongolian: Khara khorin , Classical Mongolian: Qara Qorum ) was the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, although for only about 30 years. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Övörkhangai Province of Mongolia,… …   Wikipedia

  • Karakorum — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Karakorum puede referirse a: Karakórum, cordillera del Himalaya. Karakorum, una ciudad de Mongolia, antigua capital del Imperio Mongol. Karakorum Torres es un condominio urbano privado que consta de dos torres, K1 y… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Karakorum — steht für: Karakorum (Gebirge), ein innerasiatisches Hochgebirge Karakorum (Stadt), die mittelalterliche erste Hauptstadt der Mongolei Siehe auch: Karakorum Highway (KKH), eine internationale Hauptstraße Diese Seite ist ei …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Karakorūm — Karakorūm, 1) (tibet. Nyentschen Tangla, »Steppenpaß der großen Wildnis«, im W. auch Mustagh, »Eisgebirge«) Gebirgskette in Zentralasien, das zweithöchste Gebirge der Erde, zieht vom Pamirplateau nördlich und parallel zum westlich m Himalaja in… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Karakōrum — Karakōrum, Gebirgskette des nordwestlichen Himalaya, grenzt östlich an den Küenlün, westlich an den Belurtagh; das Gebirge begrenzt nordöstlich Klein Tibet; an seinem Südwestabfalle entspringen Zuflüsse des Indus Von den beiden gemessenen Gipfeln …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Karakorûm — Karakorûm. 1) K. (Mus tag), Gebirge Zentralasiens, Wasserscheide zwischen dem Indus und dem Tarimbecken; höchster Gipfel der Dapsang (8620 m); durch dasselbe führt von N. nach S. der Karakorumpaß, 5650 m hoch. [Karte: Asien, I, 1.] – 2) K.,… …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Karakorum — Karakórum m DEFINICIJA geogr. planinski sustav u J Aziji, najviši vrh 8611 m, jedan od najviših na svijetu …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • Karakórum — Para otros usos de este término, véase Karakórum (desambiguación). Vista aérea del glaciar Baltoro, en la parte central del Karakórum, con los ochomiles Gasherbrum I y Gasherbrum II …   Wikipedia Español

  • Karakorum —  Ne pas confondre la ville avec Karakoram, le massif montagneux se trouvant dans la région du Gilgit Baltistan, au nord du Pakistan. La fontaine Arbre d Argent dessinée pa …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Karakorum — Ka|ra|ko|rum [auch: … rʊm], der; [s]: Hochgebirge in Mittelasien. * * * Karakorum   [karako rʊm, kara koːrʊm],    1) die 1220 von Dschingis Khan im Tal des Orchon gegründete erste Hauptstadt des Mongolenreichs; Blütezeit ab 1235/36 unter dem… …   Universal-Lexikon

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”