William of Rubruck
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William of Rubruck or Guillaume de Rubrouck was a Flemish Franciscan missionary and explorer.
Voyage of William of Rubruck in 1253–1255
An initial from a 14th-century copy of the manuscript. The upper portion shows William of Rubruck and his travelling companion receiving a commission from Louis IX of France. The lower portion shows the two friars on their journey.
Karakorum
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Karakorum 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.
Erdene Zuu Monastery
Stupas around Erdene Zuu Monastery in Karakorum
13th-century stone turtle (bixi)
The Silver Tree of Karakorum. 18th-century Dutch imagination.