Raum & Zeit
Time
Between 745 and 840, the nomadic tribe of the Turkic people of the Uyghurs formed an empire far beyond the size of present-day Mongolia. The Uyghurs acted as close military allies of the Chinese Tang dynasty. Their support was so crucial to the Chinese dynasty that it granted favourable trading conditions and committed itself to tribute payments amounting to hundreds of thousands of silk bales per year. This wealth enabled the Uyghurs to participate in trade on the Silk Roads. They were significantly supported by the people of the Iranian Sogders from Central Asia as traders, advisors and administrators of their empire.
To facilitate trade, diplomacy and crafts, the Uyghurs founded urban settlements. Most prominent among them was their capital Karabalgasun, located in the "Ötükän yis" on the river Orkhon, in the sacred lands of the ancient Turkic peoples between the Khangai and Khentii mountains. The Arab traveller Tamīm ibn Baḥr reported, "[...] that this is a large city, rich in agriculture and surrounded by rustāqs full of cultivation and closely spaced villages. The city has twelve iron gates of immense size. The city is populous and densely packed and has markets and various trades [...]". In 840, the city was destroyed by the invading Turkic tribe of Kyrgyz from the upper Yenisei region. With the destruction of Karabalgasun, the Uyghur Empire also fell.
Only 30 km south of the ruins of the Uyghur metropolis, the Mongols founded Karakorum as the capital of their growing empire. Consequently, almost 400 years after the fall of Karabalgasun and the Uyghur Empire, the Orkhon Valley once again became the centre of a steppe empire. Some sources report that Genghis Khan himself chose the location of the city in 1220. In 1235, a city wall, palace and temple were built. Further information about Karakorum is provided by the accounts of travellers and chroniclers from different cultures. The city was a cosmopolitan centre populated by diplomats, nobles, merchants, missionaries and craftsmen from China, Central Asia, the Near and Middle East and even Western Europe. The heyday of Karakorum lasted until 1260, when Qubilai Khan took the throne of the empire and established his residences in Shangdu and Dadu (Beijing).
Space
Due to its sparse vegetation and settlement, the Mongolian steppe offers almost perfect conditions for remote sensing techniques. Extensive land use by nomadic grazing minimizes the loss of archaeological material.