Becker, Evan. “Karakorum - Questions about the City Layout.” Academia.edu. May 5, 2013, Accessed May 20, 2019. https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/37474286/EBecker_-_Karakorum-Questions_about_the_city_layout_-_academia.edu.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1555717467&Signature=Ed6x88bI0SQisgVnSJir1ZrcYeM%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DKarakorum_-_Questions_about_the_city_lay.pdf .
Evan Becker takes on a more skeptical approach for the layout of the Karakorum, challenging the prevailing notions of a Chinese city layout. Becker reasons that a nomadic society, such as that of the Mongolians, would not have boded well with a sedentary structure such as the Chinese. Becker pushes the idea that the Karakorum was likely much more influenced by other nomadic societies that were conquered, such as the Persians or the Uyghurs. Becker delves into primary sources that describe the Karakorum and its contents, while also drawing from the findings from past excavations on the site to further argue the claim. While contested, Becker’s analysis provides a detailed understanding of the external influences that were present within the Karakorum, spanning from its architecture to the diverse set of citizens within.
Brunn, Ole, and Li Narangoa, eds. Mongols From Country to City. Copenhagen: Nias Press, 2006. Diva-Portal. Accessed May 20, 2019. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:847401/FULLTEXT01.pdf#page=38
Narangoa and Brunn detail the constant shifting of identities that the territory of Mongolia underwent throughout the last two centuries. They aimed to dissociate Mongolian identity from that of prevailing notions which regard Mongolian state history as a dichotomy of nomadism abruptly ended by a sedentary lifestyle. They found that as Mongolian society developed in the dawn of the Mongolian conquests, Mongolian towns were strategically planned to be readily adaptive in anticipation for agricultural needs, or political and cultural appeasement. Rather than a dichotomy, they find a fusion of the two lifestyles which were necessary responses to the ever-changing contexts around them which have persisted even through the modern-day.
Bira, Shagdaryn. "The Mongols and Their State in the Twelfth to the Thirteenth Century." History of Civilizations of Central Asia: Age of Achievement, 8750 Ad to the End of the 15th Century, 248-64. UNESCO Regional Office for: 1998.
Shagdaryn Bira is a historian with a specialization in Mongolian history and culture. Bira focuses on the greater history of the Mongolian conquests but subtly highlights many of the important roles in which the Karakorum played in cementing Mongolian hegemony at the time. What Bira discusses was that the Mongols desired for Mongolia to become the center of the empire. With that in mind, the Mongols shaped the Karakorum to become an international hub that symbolized the great virtues of the Mongols. While the capital was largely built by the hands of forcibly resettled artisans as spoils of Mongolian conquest, it was a place of great cultural and religious interaction. The Karakorum would also be where Mongolian leaders would officiate the elections of their kurultay, general council, in the view of the diverse masses they subjugated. While broad in scope and its focus shifts from capital city, this chapter presents insight into the purpose which the Karakorum served during the peak of the empire.
Christian, David. “A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia” Volume 2. Inner Eurasia from the Mongol Empire to Today, 1260-2000. Wiley Blackwell, 2018.
David Christian attempts to detail an in-depth history of “Inner Eurasia.” He covers the history of the indigenous people of the region such as the Mongols, Russians, Ukranians, etc and how the geographical and ecological conditions shaped the development of its inhabitants. Developments that are discussed include technologies to social habits that formed resulting from the conditions of the region. The work is quite extensive and covers many topics, but it does go into detail regarding the region of where the Karakorum once stood and its shifting purposes as it evolved alongside the empire.
Fenner, Tumen, and Khatanbaatar, Dorjpurev. “Food fit for a Khan: stable isotope analysis of the elite Mongol Empire cemetery at Tavan Tolgoi, Mongolia” Volume 46. Journal of Archaeological Science. Science Direct, 2009. Accessed June 1, 2019 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440314000995?via%3Dihub
This research journal fuses scientific analysis to make historical discovery. Through the measurement of carbon and nitrogen isotopes, it is revealed that Mongolian diets were largely similar between the elite and common class. The major difference only being that the elites had greater access to meats and mares’ milk. The discoveries also identified foreign sources of food such as millet in further parts of China, however, proved to be insufficient for the Mongolian people’s needs in terms of nutrition. This research also analyzed Mongolian life through the understanding that these were people of pastoralist roots, and employed historical perspective to relate their diets with their social contexts. While the piece was scientific in nature, the science bolsters the historical arguments that are made, highlighting the important interplay between science and history.
Lane, George. Daily Life in the Mongol Empire. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006.
Historian George Lane writes a comprehensive description of the Mongolian steppe lifestyle and the transition into a more settled life when officially settling in the Karakorum as the Mongolian capital. Furthermore, Lane goes into more of the nuances in everyday Mongolian life, such as their relationship with alcohol and religion. It will be inevitable that such description of Mongolian society will seep its way into the crafting and development of the Karakorum.
Pohl, Ernst, Lkhagvadorj Mönkhbayar, Birte Ahrens, Klaus Frank, Sven Linzen, Alexandra Osinska, Tim Schüler, and Michael Schneider. "Production Sites in Karakorum and Its Environment: A New Archaeological Project in the Orkhon Valley, Mongolia." Silk Road Foundation. Accessed May 20, 2019. http://www.silkroadfoundation.org/newsletter/vol10/SilkRoad_10_2012_pohl.pdf .
The article consists of the findings from the German-Mongolian excavation of the Karakorum site, starting in 1999. The authors focused more on the archaeological positioning and material make-up of key infrastructure. A major emphasis is put on the survey in relation to the cardinal locations outside of the wall that encapsulated the Karakorum. There found discoveries of various infrastructure, agriculture to the east, trading routes to the north. Furthermore, there is extensive coverage of the usage of kilns within Karakorum, serving multiple functions, to fire clay for decoration, to craft building materials, and possibly even crematorial purposes. Through utilizing the archaeological findings to see what consisted of the Karakorum, it reveals what mattered to the people, and empire, at the time.
Smith, John. “Dietary Decadence and Dynastic Decline in the Mongol Empire” Volume 34. The Mongols in World History. Columbia University, 2004. Accessed June 1, 2019 http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/pastoral/masson_smith.pdf
With an entire website dedicated to history of the Mongolian Empire, Columbia University has conducted in-depth research pertaining to the nomadic lifestyles of the Mongolian people. One of their investigations focuses primarily on the nomadic people’s diets and contrasts elite diets from that of common diets. What they discovered was that the common people actually lived with much healthier diets as their food came from more natural sources. The investigations also tell about how Mongolian diets were largely protein oriented, and therefore extremely unbalanced in nutrients. Yet, their heavy protein diets were a consequence of the warlike lifestyles that they lived, as horses became abundant during the Empire, therefore their diets extended beyond just their appetites. Furthermore, the investigations highlight Mongolian perceptions surrounding drinking culture may have influenced the general life spans of the Mongolian people.
University of Bonn. “Excavations in the Center of the Medieval Capital of the Mongol Empire.” Web Archive. Accessed April 27, 2019.
https://web.archive.org/web/20080121051256/http://www.vfgarch.uni-bonn.de/Karakorum.html
The Institute of Prehistoric Archeology works alongside universities and scholars to promote archaeology as a tools to understand the past. Beginning in 1999, the Institute of Prehistoric Archeology, alongside multiple German and Mongolian universities and archaeological institutes, conducted an excavation of the site of the capital of the Mongolian Empire, Karakorum. The article discusses its findings on the urban development of the ancient city, relating the infrastructure found to its contemporaneous purposes. Furthermore, the article provides insights into the various artisanal institutions that inhabited it throughout its lifetime as capital. These discoveries characterize the gradual development of the Karakorum from an economic and political command center to that of being a city that also represented the empire’s prosperity.
Weatherford, Jack. The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire. New York: Crown Publishers, 2010.
Recipient of the Order of the Polar Star, Mongolia’s highest honor for foreigners, Jack Weatherford delves into the lost history of the royal Mongolian women. Women indeed played a crucial role in the development of the empire. In the earlier ages in the conquests, when the Karakorum was just a yurt town, the Queen was left to take command of the tribe while the men were out on warring. There she would maintain the order and peace of the tribe while also coordinating the movement of the tribe when the seasons became harsh. By understanding the role that women played in the early days of conquest, the birth of the Karakorum can be better understood.