KHara-Hot - The Black & Dead City The City's history: Khara-hot was the oldest city in Gobi Desert, which situated on the east bank of Ezen (Lord in Mongolian) River (the Chinese call Hei He, or Black River) and in the middle of the Gobi Gurvansaikhan mountain (lowest part of the Altai Mountains) and the Alasha Gobi (now in China). The lost city was a remote land in several hundred miles far from the Tumen Gazruin Tsagaan Kherem (the White Wall of 10,000 li or just Great Wall in correct English) in the north. The Great Wall chained in the frontiers of Alasha Desert, which were the natural border of Mongols and Chinese. According to the Chinese resources, the city was the northern center of Chinese civilization to distribute the Chinese culture to Barbarians (our direct ancestors) since II century of B.C. The Tangut's Shi-Shia Empire conquered this land in VIII century and belonged to them for four centuries. But they lost in war with Mongols and it was handed to the Mongol Empire in XII century. Khara-hot means the Black City in Mongolian language and it existed as a Mongol city for centuries. In 1372 the Ming armies captured Ezen (Etsina) region from the Mongols and destroyed the Khara-hot during the Mongol-Chinese conflict. In the Mongolian legend of Khara-hot, "the black & dead city", Khara Baatar (black hero with black magic words) Janjin ruled this city with his brave warriors. The first legend of Khara Baatar and the city's death: Khara Baatar was so great and powerful than the Chinese Emperor. But the Chinese armies encircled Khara-hot and Khara Baatar with his people was without water, determined to die fighting at the head of his brave warriors. Khara Baatar prepared for the attack, but his favourite daughter prevailed on him to save his life. After a parley with Chinese Emperor it was decided that the Chinese should be allowed to enter the town unopposed on the following morning by the gate in the west wall. During the night the whole Chinese army assembled before the western gate impatiently awaiting the pillage of the coming day. But the under cover of darkness of the night Khara Baatar and the remnant of his army left the eastern gate of the town, and the his favourite daughter stayed behind alone to open the western gate at daybreak in fulfillment of the promise given. The warriors, once so proudly mounted, were obliged to escape on foot, for all their horses had died of thirst. Only at the head of the melancholy remnant of his period army. All the while during the flight the chief spoke "black words", and the country about the fugitives was transformed. All natural life dead. The trees of the forest threw themselves to the ground, outstretched in the direction in which Khara Baatar was disappearing and storms arose which soon buried the country in sand. The Khara Baatar and his warriors went never again on victorious campaigns, for they encamped upon the boundary between their ancient land and that of the Chinese to let themselves be buried under the advancing wave of sand. But during the night, before the Chinese obtained entrance to the town, Khara Baatar's daughter threw its remaining treasures into the dried-up well. In the morning the Chinese found to their consternation that what at sunset had been forests and fertile grazing grounds was now transformed to barren desert. Raging they stormed into the town to seek vengeance and to plunder, but all they found was one lonely girl who sat weeping in a watch tower. Khara Baatar's treasure was never found by the Chinese, for the girl was slain without having revealed its hiding place, and soldiers had to flee hurriedly from the dead town and its barren surroundings if they were nor to perish of thirst and hunger. Since that time many treasure seekers have tried to bring to light the assembled treasure of the town. On certain nights in may be lying in a great pot deep down in the well, but so soon as anyone approaches flames rise up for its protection. Shamans and Tibetan lamas have been bought to frustrate the magic power that protects it. But all has been vain. The Khara Baatar's spirit still guards the riches of the town. The second legend of Khara Baatar and the city's death: During the last days of Mongols rule Etsina was commandad by a brave chiefman called Khara Baatar, a name given to him because of his ability to invoke black magic. On hearing that a large force of rebellious Chinese was advancing against the city, he led his warriors out to engage them in open country. But he was defeated and had to withdraw within the wall of his fortress town. The siege of city lasted a long time. Unable to take it by force, the Chinese built a dam to cut off its source of water. This was a channel of Black River that washed up against the wall as a sort of moat whose bed could still be made out. The defenders dug a well in the northwest corner of the city, desperately sinking it down over nine hundred feet, but they failed to find any water. Khara Baatar decided to go down fighting. He gave order to kill his two wives and his son and daughter lest they be abused by the enemy. And he hid all his treasures, over a million ounces of silver plus untold quantities of gold and many other valuables, in the well before filling it in. Then, through of opening cut in the north wall, he galloped out at the head of his men to fight his way through the gauntlet of encircling Chinese. One by one his outnumbered warriors fell before the pursuing Chinese. As he fled, fighting all the way, Khara Baatar cried out words of black magic. Immediately, all life about him withered and died. Irrigated fields dried up, clops shriveled, trees became skeletons, eveything turned black, and sand storms rose to cover the city and the countryside around it. The discovery of Khara Baatar's treasures: This dead human memory had slept for six centuries in the desert's embrace when Peter Kuzimich Kozolov discovered it in 1909. After a month's work, during which the rapacious Russian traveler had to maintain constant camel communications with the Ezen River, greedy Kozolov found, deep beneath the sand, a vault filled with treasures of art from long-vanished epoch, banners, marvellous paintings, cult objects and quantities of ancient manuscripts. The treasures he excavated had been preserved undamaged through the centuries in the dry desert climate, an the colors growed with their pristine brilliance. | |
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Night photo of Khara-Hot We are indebted to Dr. Shirchin Baatar http://baatar.freeyellow.com for modern material and photos on the Gobi. | ||||||||
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