Mongolia’s Karakorum

The antediluvian patriarch urban gist of Karakorum in the 13th century jibe to business relationship and archaeological records was the seat and the imperial capital of the Mongol empire of Genghis (or Chinggis) caravan inn. It is located in the Ovohangai Mongolia, contiguous the Orhon River and Mount Otuken according to Haw (2006, 32). The metropolis was embeded and erected by Genghis Khan himself in 1220 to serve as the seat of his capacious Mongol Empire and non only served as the administrative center but a major cultural link among the vitamin E and the westerly United States. Before the 13th century, the area almost Karakorum particularly Karabalghasun used to be the seat of the Uyghurs who needed a permanent fortified capital to gunstock resources extorted from China in 750-757.Ideally, this place was the best choice because the Turks and the Mongols considered the surrounding lands as sacred. After the Uyghurs were finished in 840 by the Khirgiz the region w as transformed from a Turkish heartland to a Mongol land. The Khirgiz federal agency was however centered on the Yenisei River to the North which was how the area around Mt. Outuken and Karakorum faded into oblivion according to Findley (2005, 49). geographically Karakorum also lies in the northwestern corner of the vrkhangai Province of Mongolia, near todays town of Kharkhorin.This region is surrounded by cultivatable land making the soil generally soft and ideal for put after the annual flooding according to Morgan (1986, 87). The land is also tributary to grazing which is extremely acceptable and desirable to a nomadic kindred who relied on horses to travel faster to fara federal agency lands. Present day Mongolia has discovered the ruins of the vast city of Karakorum in an area which was suitable for both crops and lineage and which possessed very old-established mining deposits Morgan(1986, 46).As a major geographic route in the Middle Ages, Karakorum is also a saddle b etween two mountains and a river and considered a relatively easy passage to the east which was how Genghis must have envisioned his central empire. When the Mongols reunited the steppe tribes, they created the largest land-based empire in history interlinking Europe and Asia under(a) Genghis Khan in McCannon (2006, 143). However, prior to their expansion, the Mongols did not have a sophisticated society and proved adept at cultural borrowing as cerebrate in McCannon (2006, 144).History has related how the Mongols behaved like barbarians without any regard for personal care and clothing. As warriors, a nomadic life best suited them and anything that could slow their journey to the adjoining city they could conquer is avoided. However Kwantes revealed that the Mongols massive journey and conquests into other lands awoke them to goods they had never seen (2005, 57). Khan and his men learned to appreciate the beautiful silk, delicious feed and exotic items pillaged and gathered fro m other places (Kwantes, 57). They began to slowly learn roughly other peoples culture which changed their way of lives.Genghis Khans advisers told him once, thou has conquered great empire in the saddle thou cannot predominate it so, (Kwantes 58). Clearly this advisor understood that Khans nomadic way of life could not continue when vast lands and goods were acquired without a central administration devised to rule for such a grown empire. Understanding the need for persistence of the Mongol rule, Genghis Khan now growing older changed the Mongols nomadic life and decided to establish Karakorum as his headquarters because of its handiness and spiritual history (Kwantes, 57).In its prime Karakorum served not only as the administrative centre of the Mongolian Empire, but also as a major trade and cultural link between East and West in Haw, (2006, 32). The Mongols soon imposed a single political authority, boost economic exchange and made travel conditions safer according to McCa nnon (2006, 144). They began to established cities around their territories and made crucial economic centers passable for merchants, missionaries and travelers of all profession (McCannon, 144).Genghis Khan desired for his people to learn which is why foreign visitors were encouraged and welcomed so the Mongols could gather knowledge from the foreigners about cultures uncommon to them. Morgan once said that the Mongols were unbiased and uncultured who did not know how to write (1986, 114). All this would change ulterior on as Mongol conquest is contemporarily declared as the dislodge of intellectual and scientific primacy of the Old World from Islamic societies to Western and easterly societies in Saunders(2001, 82).At its height, Karakorum became a busy metropolis served by soldiers, merchants, and craftspeople, to a greater extent of the latter imported from lands conquered by the Mongolian military in Morgan (1986, 114). The ancient city, with an area of 400 meters by 400 me ters, was protected from attackers by a fortified wall, and near each of the walls iv gates, four giant granite turtle sculpts were installed to protect the city from a potentially more dangerous threat stopic floods from the Orhon River in Morgan (1986115).Karakorum in the 13th century then became home to more than ten thousand people, including Khans family, noblemen, ministers, military leadership, craftsmen, traders, clergy, and foreign guests, in addition to nomads inhabiting the compounds in Morgan (1986, 114). The huge size of the city was ideal for the citys diverse religions where twelve matinee idol temples of different nations, two mosques in which is cried the and one church of Christians could be found within its walls(Kwantes, 59).In addition, a diverse population also populate the walls with resident Chinese, Alans, Ruthenians, Georgians, Hermenians and other non-Mongol peoples inside as provided in Saunders (2001, 19). Karakorum became a server to a stream of foreign emissaries and traders like Marco Polo and perhaps Ibn Battuta among others. Delegations as far away as India, Arabia, Armenia and Rome, as well as merchants from China, Persia, and other countries along the Silk Route were welcome to the Great Khans established city. townsfolk life must have prospered a lot during Genghis reign as archaeological evidence supports how their existence was centered on metallurgy powered by the currents of the Orkhon River. Other findings include arrowheads iron cauldrons wheel bushings evidence of ceramic tiles and sculpture production (Brittanica, 2005). Glass beads production and yarn spindles were also observable along with also Chinese silk and coins that could support the trading activity in the area (Brittanica, 2005).Recent excavations of the city ruins have indicated that the royal palace was believably burned down at the time of the Min invasion, but it is not clear how completely the city was demolished (McCannon, 144). Although th ere is no have-to doe with of Karakorum in known historical records of the following 87 years, it is quite come-at-able that the city was never fully abandoned according to McCannon (2006, 144). Indeed the city is the cradle of many Central Asian civilizations with its advanced agriculture and crafts that were extremely developed while trade flourished.Despite European claims that the Tartars (as how Europe called the Mongols) were highly uncivilized and unsophisticated records would show that Karakorum was once an intellectual community. They honor and reward diverse cultures and religion which has been carried through centuries of repression until 1990s when Mongolians were soon free to practice session any religion of choice. Illiteracy has also been eliminated in this modern period as a legacy from its great leaders.Today the Mongols and their great leaders are remembered as valiant heroes who conquered vast lands against all odds to shape up a mighty empire or as ruthless conquerors that destroyed everything in their path. Genghis set a certain set of organization, discipline, equipment and mentality to flake for and with his men with a vast army organized into a quantitative system, with a commander for every series of 10 units elected by the troops in Morgan (1986, 115).Military tactics were rehearsed well in conceptualization and each warrior was expected to know precisely what to do from the signals of the commanders, which took form in flaming arrows, drums, and banners (Morgan, 116). With extreme discipline they combined skill, discipline, and tactics without Western mental disturbance or teaching, learning such divisive techniques on their own. Sometime when the western knights fought with the Mongol horsemen during an invasion, the Europeans were utterly destroyed as the Mongols employed a immense array of tricks that contradicts claims of their uneducated and barbaric status.Nevertheless, the sheer extent of their conquests revealed ho w an ailing nation ravaged by poverty and conflict once united under a single cause could reach great heights of power and achievement. Division and greed for power disunited them into utter failure which serves as a lesson for the next generations. I therefore consider the Mongols as the profound players in history because their conquests surpass what any other country has done. whole works CitedKwantes, Anne. She Has Done a Beautiful Thing for Me Portraits of Christian Women in Asia PhilAm books, 2005.Haw, Stephen. Marco Polo in China A Venetian in the Realm of Khubilal Khan. Routledge, 2006.McCannon, John. Barrons How to make up for the AP World. Barrons Educational Series, 2006.Findley, Carter Vaughn. The Turks in World History. United States Oxford Press, 2005.Britannica. Karakorum. 2005.http//www.britannica.com/eb/article-9044690/KarakorumAccessed 08 May, 2007.Morgan, David. The Mongols. Blackwell Publishing, 1986.Saunders, John Joseph. The History of the Mongol Conquests. B lackwell Publishing, 2001.