Nomads live in tents, and the Mongols as nomads continued to live in tents even though the sumptuous gilded cloth palaces bore little resemblance to the threadbare yurts of the days prior to the quriltai of 1206. Even in the early days, however, their dwellings also contained permanent structures. These solid structures would be utilized each time the tribe returned to their winter (qi'shlaqs) or summer (yaylaqs) pastures. Remains of permanent structures have been found dating from the time of Chinggis Khan. Rock and brick platforms were used to support wooden and cloth structures. These features were developed over the years to include immovable walls, and divides and foundations became deeper and sturdier. Eventually these features outnumbered the movable elements, and the camps were transformed into cities. Even in the great cities of China the Mongol princes and generals liked to remind themselves of their roots, and spaces were allocated for the pitching of tents and the erection of yurts and the employment of the movable features of their former lives. The chronicler of the Mongols of Persia, Qashani, kept a detailed record of the itinerary of the Il-Khan Oljeitii (ruled 1304-16) and itemized in detail the king's travels during his reign. This chronology of Oljeitu's regular migrations throughout his reign illustrates what Charles Melville has termed "the continuum of the interaction between the nomadic and sedentary ethics of government."'" Though Oljeitii was mobile throughout his period on the Iranian throne, neither the gentle pace of his migration nor the limited area in which he roamed caused him to be absent from his central administration or from the day-to-day affairs of his country. During the rule of the Mongol administrator of western Asia, Arghun Aqa, more than 60 years before, the historian Juwayni complained that the constant traveling of what has been described as a "mobile secretariat" interfered with the writing of his famous history. In contrast, Oljeitu's administration carried an air of semipermanence, and foreign envoys had little difficulty tracking his whereabouts. The paraphernalia of government, the files, documents, archives, and the clerical staff, were also always at hand or nearby, and the growth in the number of permanent structures ensured tliat the hardware of the administration was provided for wherever the court settled. The summer and winter camps were w'ell documented; Ala Tagh (Ala Dau) in Turkey, Siyah Kuh northwest of Hamadan, SughurlukhorTakht-i-Suleiman, Khonkhur Oleng, which became the capital Sultaniya, Ujan southwest of Tabriz, Sayn south of Ardabil, and f lasht-rud east of Maragheh were frequently mentioned yuylnijs (summer camps). Often-mentioned qi'shlaqs (winter camps) included Jaghatu south of Lake Urumia, Baghdad, Hulan Moren, Qarabagh northeast of Nakhchivan, and various unspecified sites in Arran, Mazandaran, and Mughan. From this it can be seen that both the Il-Khan's summer and wintercampswereina relatively restricted area corresponding to the region known today as Azerbaijan. Tabriz became a capital in the full sense of the word under the reign of Ghazan Khan (ruled 1295-1304), as did Sultaniya under Oljeitu, who despite his itinerant habits furnished his capital with government, public, and imperial buildings and constructed six highways spreading out from this center to various points in his kingdom. He was resident in his capital during the summer months.
The increasingly elaborate tents that the princes lived in during their journeys around the country would often remain standing for months at a time, and when thev were not in use they would simply be packed up and stored until the court returned the following year. The actual material
Royal ordu, Dengsheng, Courtesy of Lan Tien Lang I’ublications
Making up the tent would not be carried from location to location but would remain in storage until needed. Sira-Ordu, mentioned later, was one such semipermanent structure that attracted the attention of its many illustrious visitors. Sira-Ordu, which was predominantly yellow, was used for quriltais along with the usual white tents.
In the Yuan period permanent and semipermanent structures were used together though increasingly the semipermanent structures were primarily for decoration and entertainment only. The summer residence of Shangdu (Xanadu) contained a structure called the da'ange, which was used for audiences, but in addition in another part of the city permanent structures were also employed for feasting and receiving foreign dignitaries. Shangdu was home to the fabulous Cane Palace constructed in the city's northern area of Beiyuan, which also housed a zoo and botanical gardens. This enormous semipermanent structure, the Zongdian or Zongmaodian, was made of canes supported by gilt and lacquered columns, each bearing a gilded dragon. Yesun Temiir (ruled 1323-28) in 1325 ordered this imposing movable palace revamped and refurbished, and some records of this work have survived and provide an indication of the size and expense of these so-called tents. Two carpets were specially woven and together covered an area of 850 square yards or one-sixth of an acre. They used 3,000 pounds of blue and white wool.
Four kinds of palatial building can be identified as having been used by the Great Khans: temporary buildings such as the Sira-Ordu; structures that combined permanent and temporary features, as have been found at sites used seasonally by Chinggis Khan; buildings on sites used for permanent and semipermanent structures, as seen in Shangdu; and structures built to last, as were the buildings of Qubilai's capital Da-du, today's Beijing.
World History
