Karakorum

Karakorum
Native name Mongolian: Хархорум ᠬᠠᠷᠠᠬᠣᠷᠣᠮ Qaraqorum
Erdene Zuu Monastery
Type	Ruins of a former capital
Location	Övörkhangai Province, Mongolia
Nearest city	Kharkhorin
Coordinates	47°12′37″N 102°50′52″E / 47.21028°N 102.84778°E / 47.21028; 102.84778
Founded	1220
Location of Karakorum in Mongolia

Karakorum (Khalkha Mongolian: Хархорум, Kharkhorum; Mongolian script:ᠬᠠᠷᠠᠬᠣᠷᠣᠮ, Qaraqorum; Chinese: 哈拉和林) was the capital of the Mongol Empire between 1235 and 1260 and of the Northern Yuan dynasty in the 14–15th 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 in the upper part of the World Heritage Site Orkhon Valley.