Karakorum
Topic: Nomadic Empires: The Mongols · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 2 "An Empire Across Three Continents"
Meaning
Karakorum was the capital of the Mongol empire, in Mongolia. It was the seat of the Great Khan, linked with Ogodei, the son Genghis Khan chose to succeed him. Under the Pax Mongolica (the period of Mongol peace) trade routes did not stop in China. They ran on north to Karakorum, the heart of the empire. Visitors found people from many lands and faiths living at the court there.
Example
In 1254 the Franciscan friar William of Rubruck, sent by Louis IX of France, reached the Great Khan Mongke at Karakorum. He met a woman from Lorraine and a goldsmith from Paris there. At court festivals, Nestorian Christian priests, then Muslim clergy, then Buddhist and Taoist monks blessed the Khan's cup in turn.
Don't confuse with
- Peking (Beijing): Qubilai became Grand Khan there in 1260, and it was the seat of Mongol rule in China. Karakorum, in Mongolia, was the older imperial capital.
Related concepts
- Hulegu
- Sack of Baghdad
- Abbasid caliphate
- Il-Khanate
- Battle of Ain Jalut 1260
- Ulus
- Golden Horde
- Kublai Khan
- Yuan dynasty