The ancient city of Karakorum

Karakoram was built in 1220 near the Orkhon River by order of Genghis Khan, to soon become the capital of the Mongol Empire. Translated into Russian, the name of the city means “black stone”.

Karakoram was needed by Genghis Khan as a place where he could leave his family for the duration of the conquest campaigns, as well as establish production to equip his troops.

After the Mongols conquered China in 1267, the capital of the Mongol Empire was moved to Khanbalyk (the old name of Beijing). However, a hundred years later, the Chinese drove the usurpers from their lands, and the Mongols had no choice but to move the capital back to Karakoram. The city was divided into quarters, and there lived merchants, artisans and representatives of various religions, who, taking advantage of the tolerance of the Mongol rulers to foreign beliefs, built their temples and mosques here.

Now the ruins of the city are located near the ancient monastery of Erdeni-Dzu, 380 kilometers from the modern capital of Mongolia - Ulaanbaatar.