Constructing Space: An Imperial Launched Settlement System in the Core Area of the Mongol Empire

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Archaeology of Medieval Eurasian Steppe Urbanism" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Permanent settlements of the Mongol Empire era on the Mongolian Plateau seem to be rare and only few sites have been explored so far in some detail. Well-known are Karakorum, the capital of the Mongol Yeke Ulus, Avraga near the Kherlen River, and Khirkhira in Transbaikalia. To date, there is no differentiation of settlements by form and function; they are all called cities, which prevents the recognition of the amazing diversity in the settlement system until now. On the basis of about 50 settlements with permanent architecture it is possible to create a classification and to relate form and function to each other. Several clusters stand out in the distribution, at least one of which reveals the careful planning hand of a ruler. The city itself is embedded in a network of palaces, artisan and agricultural settlements, and production sites. Quite obviously, the political elites of the empire used the advantages of cities and representative palaces for their own purposes.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Archaeology of Medieval Eurasian Steppe Urbanism   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36503.0