Pages: 107-130

Khirkhira site is a town of Mongol Empire period, located in Transbaikalia. It was used as a residence for Yesünggü, a nephew of Genghis Khan. It was a real town with a palace, elite homesteads, over a hundred dwellings, but without fortifications. This site was excavated by S. Kiselev in 1957—1959 and A. Artemjev in 1997—2005. The article discusses the results of excavations on one of the homesteads. The wooden pillars of the building rested on stone bases. There was a kang (heating system) inside of the building with traces of reconstructions. The kang was heated by two hearths situated in northern and western parts of the excavated area. Our studies on Khirkhira allowed revisiting the chronology of the site. Porcelain found there makes it possible to date this site not only by the time of its founder Yesünggü Khan’s life, but also by the period of Yuan Dynasty (1206—1368) in 14th century. Besides, Khitan ceramics found in lower horizons of the unearthed homestead makes us conclude that this territory was inhabited already at the time of Liao dynasty (907—1125).

Keywords: Mongol Empire, Khirkhira town, nomadic urbanization, Genghis Khan, Qasar, Yesünggü

Information about authors:

Nikolay Kradin. Doctor of Historical Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology, Far-Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Pushkinskaya St., 89, Vladivostok, 690001, Russian Federation; Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist, and Tibetan Studies of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Sakhyanova St., 6, Ulan-Ude, 670047, Russian Federation.
E-mail: [email protected]
Svetlana Baksheeva. Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology, Far-Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.  Pushkinskaya St., 89, Vladivostok, 690019, Russian Federation.
E-mail: [email protected]
Evgeny Kovychev. Candidate of Historical Sciences. Transbaikal State University. Aleksandro-Zavodskaya St., 30, Chita, 672039, Russian Federation.
E-mail: [email protected]
Stanislav Prokopets. Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology, Far-Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.  Pushkinskaya St., 89, Vladivostok, 690019, Russian Federation.
E-mail: [email protected]
Artur Kharinsky. Doctor of Historical Sciences. Irkutsk National Research Technical University. Lermontov St., 83, Irkutsk, 664074, Russian Federation.
E-mail: [email protected]