Khara-Khoto

Khara-Khoto (; (Khar Khot); "black city") is an abandoned city in the Ejin Banner of Alxa League in western Inner Mongolia, China, near the Juyan Lake Basin. Built in 1032, the city thrived under the rule of the Western Xia dynasty. It has been identified as the city of Etzina, which appears in The Travels of Marco Polo, and Ejin Banner is named after this city. Name Khara-Khoto is known by many names, including Hēichéng "black city", Tangut: /*zjɨ̱r²-nja̱¹/ "black water" (transcribed into Chinese as 亦集乃 Yijinai), Modern Mongolian Khar khot (Middle Mongol language: Khara Khoto, "black city") and to Chinese as Heishui City ( Hēishuǐchéng, "black water city"). History The city was founded in 1032 and became a thriving centre of Western Xia trade in the 11th century. There are remains of -high ramparts and -thick outer walls. The outer walls ran for some east-west by north-south. The walled fortress was first taken by Genghis Khan in 1226, but—contrary to a widely circulated misunderstanding—the city continued to flourish under Mongol rule. During Kublai Khan's time, the city was expanded, reaching a size three times larger than during the Western Xia dynasty. The Northern Yuan dynasty under Toghon Temür concentrated its preparation for the reconquest of the Central Plain at Khara-Khoto. The city was located on the crossroads connecting Karakorum, Shangdu and Kumul.