NOTE 1.—­KARAKORUM, near the upper course of the River Orkhon, is said by Chinese authors to have been founded by Buku Khan of the Hoei-Hu or Uigurs, in the 8th century, In the days of Chinghiz, we are told that it was the headquarters of his ally, and afterwards enemy, Togrul Wang Khan, the Prester John of Polo. ["The name of this famous city is Mongol, Kara, ‘black,’ and Kuren, ‘a camp,’ or properly ‘pailing.’” It was founded in 1235 by Okkodai, who called it Ordu Balik, or “the City of the Ordu,” otherwise “The Royal City.”  Mohammedan authors say it took its name of Karakorum from the mountains to the south of it, in which the Orkhon had its source. (D’Ohsson, ii. 64.) The Chinese mention a range of mountains from which the Orkhon flows, called Wu-te kien shan. (T’ang shu, bk. 43b.) Probably these are the same.  Rashiduddin speaks of a tribe of Utikien Uigurs living in this country. (Bretschneider, Med.  Geog. 191; D’Ohsson, i. 437. Rockhill, Rubruck, 220, note.)—­Karakorum was called by the Chinese Ho-lin and was chosen by Chinghiz, in 1206, as his capital; the full name of it, Ha-la Ho-lin, was derived from a river to the west. (Yuen shi, ch. lviii.) Gaubil (Holin, p. 10) says that the river, called in his days in Tartar Karoha, was, at the time of the Mongol Emperors, named by the Chinese Ha-la Ho-lin, in Tartar language Ka la Ko lin, or Cara korin, or Kara Koran.  In the spring of 1235, Okkodai had a wall raised round Ho-lin and a palace called Wang an, built inside the city. (Gaubil, Gentchiscan, 89.) After the death of Kublai, Ho-lin was altered into Ho-Ning, and, in 1320, the name of the province was changed into Ling-pe (mountainous north, i.e. the Yin-shan chain, separating China Proper from Mongolia).  In 1256, Mangu Kaan decided to transfer the seat of government to Kaiping-fu, or Shangtu, near the present Dolonnor, north of Peking. (Supra in Prologue, ch. xiii. note 1.) In 1260, Kublai transferred his capital to Ta-Tu (Peking).

Plano Carpini (1246) is the first Western traveller to mention it by name which he writes Caracoron; he visited the Sira Orda, at half a day’s journey from Karakorum, where Okkodai used to pass the summer; it was situated at a place Ormektua. (Rockhill, Rubruck, 21, III.) Rubruquis (1253) visited the city itself; the following is his account of it:  “As regards the city of Caracoron, you must understand that if you set aside the Kaan’s own Palace, it is not as good as the Borough of St. Denis; and as for the Palace, the Abbey of St. Denis is worth ten of it!  There are two streets in the town; one of which is occupied by the Saracens, and in that is the marketplace.  The other street is occupied by the Cathayans, who are all craftsmen.  Besides these two streets there are some great palaces occupied by the court secretaries.  There are also