page_title: Möngke Khan
section_title: Foreign influence in Karakorum
hierarchical_section_title: Möngke Khan / Foreign influence in Karakorum
caption_attribution_description: English: Model of the Khan Palace in Karakorum in the National Museum of Mongolian History in Ulan Bator
context_page_description: Möngke was the fourth khagan of the Mongol Empire, ruling from 1 July 1251, to 11 August 1259. He was the first Khagan from the Toluid line, and made significant reforms to improve the administration of the Empire during his reign. Under Möngke, the Mongols conquered Iraq and Syria as well as the kingdom of Dali.
context_section_description: In 1252–53, Flemish missionary and explorer William of Rubruck saw Hungarians, Russians, Germans, and a Parisian goldsmith, Guillaume Boucher, in Karakorum. He even heard of Saxon miners in Dzungaria and other foreigners such as a woman from the Duchy of Lorraine mastered yurt-making.
  In 1253, Möngke deported households from China to repair and maintain the imperial ordas. He decorated the capital city of Karakorum with Chinese, European, and Persian architectures. One example of the construction was a large silver tree, with pipes that discharge various drinks and a triumphant angel at its top, made by Guillaume Boucher. Foreign merchants’ quarters, Buddhist monasteries, mosques, and churches were newly built. Markets were in the Muslim sector and outside the four gates. Chinese farmers grew vegetables and grains outside the wall of Karakorum.
caption: The Model of the Khan Palace in Karakorum in the National History Museum of Mongolia in Ulaan-Baatar
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