Ordu-Baliq (Kharabalghasun, Karabalgasun, Kara Balgasun, Khar Balgas, Mubalik, Ordu Balykh, Ordu Balik, Ordu-Baliq, Ordu Balig, Ordu Baligh, and of course Ördu-Baliğ ) was the capital of the first Uyghur Empire. The name in fact means "city of the court". It was built on the site of the former Gokturk imperial capital. The ruins called Khar Balgas "Black Wall" are at 47'25'53 N 102'39'54 E. The Uyghur (Uyghur: ئۇيغۇر; Turkish: Uygur; Simplified Chinese: 维吾尔; Traditional Chinese: 維吾爾; Pinyin: Wéiwúěr) are a Turkic people, forming one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Gokturks or Kokturks (Gök-Turks or Kök-Turks, with the meaning Celestial Turks), known as Tujue (突厥 tu2 jue2) in medieval Chinese sources, established the first known Turkic state around 552 under the leadership of Bumin/Tuman Khan/Khaghan (died 552) and his sons, and expanded rapidly to rule...

The west gate as seen from the citadel

This article is about a type of fortification. ...

Geographical Context

Ordu-Baliq is situated in a grassy plain called the Talal-khain-dala teppe, to the south-east of Ughei-nor on the western bank of the Orkhon River in Arhangay Province Mongolia. The Orkhon emerges from the gorges of the Khantai Mountains and flows northward to meet the Tola (on whose upper reaches the current capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, is located). A favorable micro-climate makes the location ideal for pasturage, and it lies along the most important east-west route across Mongolia. As a result, this region was a center of habitation and important political and economic activity long prior to the thirteenth century. see Orhon River ... Arhangay aymag (Архангай аймаг) is one of the 21 provinces of Mongolia. ... For tola, an Indian unit of mass, see Tola (measure) Tola (תּוֹלָע Worm; grub, Standard Hebrew Tolaʿ, Tiberian Hebrew Tôlāʿ) was one of the judges of Israel whose career is documented in Judges 10:1-2. ... September 2004. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ...

History

The ruler of the Gok Turk Empire in the eighth century, Bilgä Qaĝan, erected a stone stele with, runic inscriptions in the Orkhon River Valley. Some 25 miles to the north of the stele he ruled from his Ördü a nomadic capital, in the shadow the sacred forest-mountain Ötüken. Mountians were considered sacred in Tengrisim as an axis mundi, but Ötüken was espcially sacred because the ancestor spirts of the qağans and beys resided here. Moreover, a force called qut emenated from this mountain , granting the Qağan the divine right to rule the turkic tribes. Whoever controlled this valley was considered heavenly appointed leader of the turks and could rally the tribes. Thus control of the Orkhon Valley was of the utmost strategic importance in every turkic state. Historically every turko-mongolian captial (Ördü) was located here for this exact reason.

In 744, after the defeat of the last Kök-Türk Qağan by the Uyghur-Qarluk-Basmyl alliance, the Uyghurs established their imperial capital Ordu Baliq on the site of the old ördü. Ordu Baliq was the first walled city-state to exist in Mongolia. It was designed by Sogdian architects and at its height rivaled Changan and Constantinople in cosmopolitan affluence. The Uyghur (Uyghur: ئۇيغۇر; Turkish: Uygur; Simplified Chinese: 维吾尔; Traditional Chinese: 維吾爾; Pinyin: Wéiwúěr) are a Turkic people, forming one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Sogdians were an ancient people of Central Asia, who inhabited the region known to the West as Sogdiana. ...

It occupied 25 square kilometers. The ruins of the town, which include the 10 meter high town wall, a 12 meter high tower and another 14 meter high sentry tower, clearly indicate that in its own time Ordu Baliq was a well-constructed town. The town can be divided into three main parts.The central part consisting of numerous buildings surrounded by continuous wall forms the biggest part. Ruin of a large number of temples and dwelling houses are to be found to the south beyond the center. The Khaans residential palace, which was also surrounded by high walls on all sides, stood in the northeastern part of the town. Ordu Baliq was a fully-fortified commandry and commercial entrepot typical of the central points along the length of the Silk Route. The well-preserved remains now consist of concentric fortified walls and lookout towers, stables, military and commercial stores, and administrative buildings. There are also remains of a water drainage system there. Archaeological studies demonstrate areas of the town were allotted for trade and handcrafts, and in the center of the town, were places, monastery and cloister, temples. The palace had castle walls around it and two main gates, north and south, plus watchtowers. Russian archaeologist N.M.Yadrintsev discovered a green granite monument with rolled up dragon on its head, bearing a runic inscription. The Akshardham Hindu temple (mandir), Delhi, India, 2005 The Ecclesia, the Rosicrucian healing temple, Oceanside, California, United States, 1920 The word temple has different meanings in the fields of architecture, religion, geography, anatomy, and education. ... The quintessential medieval European palace: Palais de la Cité, in Paris, the royal palace of France. ... The Silk Road (Traditional Chinese: 絲綢之路; Simplified Chinese: 丝绸之路; pinyin: sī chóu zhī lù) was an interconnected series of routes through Southern Asia traversed by caravan and ocean vessel, and connecting Changan, China with Antioch, Syria, as well as other points. ... Cloister of Saint Trophimus, in Arles, France A cloister (from latin claustrum) is part of cathedrals and abbeys architecture. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Quarrying granite for the Mormon Temple, Utah Territory. ... Chinese dragon, colour engraving on wood, Chinese school, 19th Century A dragon is a legendary creature, typically depicted as a large and powerful serpent or other reptile, with magical or spiritual qualities. ... A rune can mean a single character in the Runic alphabet as well as an inscription of several runic charcters or symbols. ...

An Arab ambassador from the Samanid Empire, Tamim ibn Bahr, visited Ordu Baliq in 821 CE and left the only historic account of the city. In his a brief description of he traveled through uninhabited steppes until arriving in the vicinity of the Uighur capital. He described Ordu-Baliq itself as a great town, "rich in agriculture and surrounded by rustaqs (villages) full of cultivation lying close together. The town had twelve iron gates of huge size. The town was populous and thickly crowded and had markets and various trades." The most colorful part of his description is the 100 foot high golden yurt on top of the citadel where the Qaĝan held court. The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ) are a large and heterogeneous ethnic group found throughout the Middle East and North Africa, originating in the Arabian Peninsula of southwest Asia. ... The Sāmānid dynasty (875-999) was a Persian dynasty in Central Asia, named after its founder Saman Khoda. ... Events Tang Mu Zong becomes emperor of China Births Deaths February 11 - Benedict of Aniane, monastic founder and saint December 18 - Theodulf, Bishop of Orléans Coenwulf, king of Mercia Categories: 821 ...

Discovery

The Russian traveller Paderin in 1871 visited the Uighur capital now called by the Mongols Kara Balghasun (black city) or khara-kherem (black wall), of which only the wall and a tower are in existence, while the streets and ruins outside the wall are seen at a distance. Paderin's belief that this was the old Mongol capital Karakorum has been shown to be incorrect. The Mongolian Karakorum, has been identified by several authorities with a site on which the 16th century Buddhist monastery of Erdeni Tsu was built. This monastery lies about 25 m. south by east of the Uighur capital, Kharabalaghasun. North and north-east of the monastery are ruins of ancient buildings. The proper position of the two Karakorums was determined by the expedition of N. Yadrintsev in 1889, and the two expeditions of the Helsihg-fors Ugro-Finnish society (1890) and the Russian academy of science, under Dr W. Radlov (1891), which were sent out to study Yadrintsev's discovery. 1871 (MDCCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Honorary guard of Mongolia. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... The Tikse monastery in Ladakh, India A monastery is the habitation of monks, derived from the Greek word for a hermits cell. ... 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

External links

• satellite image
• pictures of ruins
• Tamim ibn Bahr's journey