SEASONAL MIGRATIONS OF THE MONGOL EMPERORS AND THE PERI-URBAN AREA OF KHARAKHORUM

Abstract

A study of the site of Kharakhorum suggests it was a large city with an extensive population. The rulers however did not live here permanently but in seasonal palaces in the environs of the city. I have identified the Spring and Winter Palaces and been able to narrow down the possible sites of the Summer and Autumn Palaces. The Spring Palace (the Qarshi-“Sūrī” of Juvainī, the Gegenchaghan of Rashīd al-Dīn and the Jiajianchahan-dian of Saolin-cheng of the Yuan shi) is located at the site known as Doityn Balgas, and the Winter Palace (the Ong-khin of the Rashīd al-Dīn) I consider to be at the Shaazan-khot site. The sites of the Summer and Autumn Palaces are uncertain at this point. Judging from the location of the Spring and Winter Palaces, it is clear that the emperors moved over a distance of 450 km each year and a reconstruction of the migration route shows that the emperor had a domain of 14,000 square km. This area can be called the peri-urban area of Kharakhorum, the political, economic, and cultural centre of the Mongol empire.