Karakorum

This article is about the city in Mongolia. For the mountain range in Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and China, see Karakoram.

Not to be confused with Karakum Desert.

Karakorum
Хархорум ᠬᠠᠷᠠᠬᠣᠷᠣᠮ Qaraqorum (Mongolian)
Erdene Zuu Monastery
Location within Mongolia
47°12′37″N 102°50′52″E
Type	Ruins of a former capital
Location	Övörkhangai Province, Mongolia
Nearest city	Kharkhorin
History
Founded	1220
Demolished	c. 16th century

Stupas around Erdene Zuu Monastery in Karakorum

Karakorum (Halh Mongolian: Хархорум, Kharkhorum; Mongolian script: ᠬᠠᠷᠠᠬᠣᠷᠣᠮ, Qaraqorum) was the capital of the Mongol Empire between 1235 and 1260 and of the Northern Yuan dynasty in the late 14th and 15th centuries. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Övörkhangai Province of modern-day Mongolia, near the present town of Kharkhorin and adjacent to the Erdene Zuu Monastery, which is likely the oldest surviving Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. They are located in the upper part of the World Heritage Site Orkhon Valley.