Qara Khitai

This article is about the Khitan state. For the Turkic state, see Kara-Khanid Khanate.

Qara Khitai Western Liao
Kara Khitan (喀喇契丹) 大遼 (Great Liao)
Sinicized Khitan empire in Central Asia
1124–1218
Qara Khitai in Asia, c. 1200.
Capital		Balasagun
Languages		Khitan, Middle Chinese(For administration, court and dignitaries only), Old Uyghur
Religion		Buddhism Church of the East Islam
Government		Monarchy
Khan
•	1124–1143	Dezong (Yelü Dashi)
•	1144–1150	Xiao Tabuyan (regent)
•	1150–1164	Renzong (Yelü Yilie)
•	1164–1178	Yelü Pusuwan (regent)
•	1178–1211	Yelü Zhilugu
•	1211–1218	Kuchlug
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Fall of Liao dynasty	1125
•	Established	1124
•	Yelü captures Balasagun	1134
•	Kuchlug usurps power	1211
•	Kuchlug executed by Mongols	1218
•	All former territories fully absorbed into Mongol Empire	1220
Area
•	1210 est.
Preceded by Succeeded by Liao dynasty Kara-Khanid Khanate Mongol Empire
Today part of		China Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Mongolia Russia Tajikistan Uzbekistan

The Qara Khitai (alternatively spelled Kara Khitai, Mongolian: Хар Хятан, 1124–1218), also known as the Kara Khitan Khanate or Western Liao (traditional Chinese: 西遼; simplified Chinese: 西辽; pinyin: Xī Liáo), officially the Great Liao (traditional Chinese: 大遼; simplified Chinese: 大辽; pinyin: Dà Liáo), was a sinicized Khitan empire in Central Asia. The dynasty was founded by Yelü Dashi, who led the remnants of the Liao dynasty to Central Asia after fleeing from the Jurchen conquest of their homeland in the north and northeast of modern-day China. The empire was usurped by the Naimans under Kuchlug in 1211; traditional Chinese, Persian, and Arab sources considered the usurpation to be the end of the Qara Khitai rule. The empire was later taken by the Mongol Empire in 1218.

Names

Kara Khitan (Hala Qidan) was the name used by the Khitans to refer to themselves. The phrase is often translated as the Black Khitans in Turkish, but its original meaning is unclear today. In Mongolian, "Kara-Khitan" is rendered "Хар Хятан" (Khar Kidan). Since no direct records from the empire survive today, the only surviving historical records about the empire come from outside sources. The empire took on trappings of a Chinese state, so Chinese historians generally refer to the empire as the Western Liao dynasty, emphasizing its continuation from the Liao dynasty in north and northeast China. The Jurchens referred to the empire as Dashi or Dashi Linya (after its founder), to reduce any claims the empire may have had to the old territories of the Liao Dynasty. Muslim historians initially referred to the state simply as Khitay or Khitai; they may have adopted this form of "Khitan" via the Uyghurs of Kocho in whose language the final -n or -ń became -y. Only after the Mongol conquest did the state begin to be referred to in the Muslim world as the Kara-Khitai or Qara-Khitai.

History

Map of eastern Asian events in 1142 showing the Qara-Khitai empire (in light green on the west)

Founding of the Qara Khitai Empire

The Qara-Khitai empire was established by Yelü Dashi, who led nomadic Khitans west by way of Mongolia after the collapse of the Liao dynasty. The Jurchens, once vassals of the Khitans, had allied with Song China and overthrown the Liao. Yelü captured Balasagun from the Kara-Khanid Khanate in 1134, which marks the start of the empire in Central Asia. The Khitan forces were soon joined by 10,000 Khitans, who had been subjects of the Kara-Khanid Khanate. The Khitans then conquered Kashgar, Khotan, and Beshbalik. The Khitans defeated the Western Kara-Khanid Khanate at Khujand in 1137, eventually leading to their control over the Fergana Valley. They won the Battle of Qatwan against the Western Kara-Khanids and the Seljuk Empire on September 9, 1141, which allowed the Khitans to gain control over Transoxiana.

Yelü Dashi's successors

Yelü Dashi died in 1143, and his wife, Xiao Tabuyan, then acted as regent for their son. Their son, Yelü Yiliu, became the ruler in 1150 and died in 1163, to be succeeded by his sister, Yelü Pusuwan. She sent her husband, Xiao Duolubu, on many military campaigns. She then fell in love with his younger brother, Xiao Fuguzhi. They were executed in 1177 by her father-in-law, Xiao Wolila, who then placed Yelü Zhilugu on the throne in 1178. The empire was weakened by rebellions and internal wars among its vassals, especially during the latter parts of its history.

Kuchlug's usurpation and end of the Khanate

A Qara Khitan man with horse, illustration from Wang Qi's Sancai Tuhui (1607).

Main articles: Kuchlug and Mongol conquest of the Qara Khitai

In 1208, a Naiman prince, Kuchlug, fled his homeland after being defeated by Mongols. Kuchlug was welcomed into the empire of the Qara-Khitans, and was allowed to marry Zhilugu's daughter. However, in 1211, Kuchlug revolted, and later captured Yelü Zhilugu while the latter was hunting. Zhilugu was allowed to remain as the nominal ruler but died two years later, and many historians regarded his death as the end of the Qara-Khitan empire. In 1216, Genghis Khan dispatched his general Jebe to pursue Kuchlug; Kuchlug fled, but in 1218, he was finally captured and decapitated. The Mongols fully conquered the former territories of the Qara-Khitans in 1220.

Aftermath

The Qara Khitais became absorbed into the Mongol Empire; a segment of the Qara-Khitan troops had previously already joined the Mongol army fighting against Kuchlug. Another segment of the Qara-Khitans, in a dynasty founded by Buraq Hajib, survived in Kirman as a vassal of the Mongols, but ceased to exist as an entity during the reign of Öljaitü of the Ilkhanate. The Qara-Khitans were dispersed widely all over Eurasia as part of the Mongol army. In the 14th century, they began to lose their ethnic identity, traces of their presence however may be found as clan names or toponyms from Afghanistan to Moldova. Today a Khitay tribe still lives in northern Kyrgyzstan.

Administration

Funerary mask of the Liao, an ancestor of the Qara-Khitans, 10th-12th century.

The Khitans ruled from their capital at Balasagun (in today's Kyrgyzstan), directly controlling the central region of the empire. The rest of their empire consisted of highly autonomous vassalized states, primarily Khwarezm, the Karluks, the Kingdom of Qocho of the Uyghurs, the Kankali, and the Western, Eastern, and Fergana Kara-Khanids. The late-arriving Naimans also became vassals, before usurping the empire under Kuchlug.

The Khitan rulers adopted many administrative elements from the Liao dynasty, including the use of Confucian administration and imperial trappings. The empire also adopted the title of Gurkhan (universal Khan). The Khitans used the Chinese calendar, maintained Chinese imperial and administrative titles, gave its emperors reign names, used Chinese-styled coins, and sent imperial seals to its vassals. Although most of its administrative titles were derived from Chinese, the empire also adopted local administrative titles, such as tayangyu (Turkic) and vizier.

European maps showed the land of "Kara-Kithay" somewehere in Central Asia for centuries after the disappearance of the Qara-Khitan Khanate. This 1610 map by Jodocus Hondius places it north of Tashkent

The Khitans maintained their old customs, even in Central Asia. They remained nomads, adhered to their traditional dress, and maintained the religious practices followed by the Liao dynasty Khitans. The ruling elite tried to maintain the traditional marriages between the Yelü king clan and the Xiao queen clan, and were highly reluctant to allow their princesses to marry outsiders. The Qara-Khitai Khitans followed a mix of Buddhism and traditional Khitan religion, which included fire worship and tribal customs, such as the tradition of sacrificing a gray ox with a white horse. In an innovation unique to the Qara-Khitai, the Khitans paid their soldiers a salary.

The empire ruled over a diverse population that was quite different from its rulers. The majority of the population was sedentary, although the population suddenly became more nomadic during the end of the empire, due to the influx of Naimans. The majority of their subjects were Muslims, although a significant minority practiced Buddhism and Nestorianism. Although Chinese and Khitan were the primary languages of administration, the empire also administered in Persian and Uyghur.

Association with China

After the Tang dynasty, non-Han Chinese empires gained prestige by connecting themselves with China using the title of "Chinese emperor". The Khitan ruler was called the Khan of Chīn, and the Qara Khitai used the "image of China" to legitimize their ruler to the Central Asian Muslims. The Chinese emperor, together with the rulers of the Turks, Arabs, India and Byzantium, were known to Islamic writers as the world's "five great kings". The Khitan Qara-Khitai empire in Central Asia kept the trappings of a Chinese state, such as Chinese coins, the Chinese writing system, tablets, seals, and used Chinese products like porcelein, mirrors, jade and other Chinese customs. The adherence to Liao Chinese traditions has been suggested as a reason why the Qara Khitai did not convert to Islam. The Chinese characteristics appealed to Central Asian Muslims and helped validate Qara Khita rule over them, despite the fact that there were comparatively few Han Chinese among the population of the Qara Khitan. These Han Chinese had lived in Kedun during the Liao dynasty, and in 1124 migrated with the Khitans under Yelü Dashi along with other people of Kedun, such as Bohai, Jurchen, Mongol tribes, Khitan, in addition to the Xiao consort clan.

Qara Khitai's rule over Muslim Central Asia has the effect of reinforcing the view among some Muslim writers that Central Asia was linked to China a few hundred years after the Tang dynasty had lost control of the region. Marwazī wrote that Transoxania was a former part of China, while Fakhr al-Dīn Mubārak Shāh defined China as part of "Turkestan", and the cities of Balāsāghūn and Kashghar were considered part of China.

Legacy

The association of Khitai with China meant that the most enduring trace of the Khitan's power are names derived from it, such as Cathay, which is the medieval Latin appellation for China. Names derived from Khitai is still current in many modern usage, such as the Russian, Bulgarian, Uzbek and Mongolian name for China. However, the use of the name Khitai to mean China or Chinese by Turkic speakers within China, such as the Uyghurs, is considered pejorative by the Chinese authority who had tried to ban it.

Sovereigns of Qara Khitai

See also: Rulers family tree

Sovereigns of Qara Khitai i.e. Western Liao dynasty (1124/1125–1218)

Temple Names (廟號 miàohào)	Posthumous Names (諡號 shìhào)	Birth Names	Convention	Period of Reign	Era Names (年號 niánhào) and their according range of years
1. Dezong (德宗 Dézōng)	Emperor Tianyou Wulie (天祐武烈帝 Tiānyòu Wǔliè Dì)	Yelü Dashi (耶律大石 Yēlǜ Dàshí or 耶律達實 Yēlǜ Dáshí) 1	use birth name	1124–1144	Yanqing (延慶 Yánqìng) 1124 or 1125–1134 Kangguo (康國 Kāngguó) 1134–1144
Not applicable	Empress Gantian (感天皇后 Gǎntiān Huánghòu) (regent)	Xiao Tabuyan (蕭塔不煙 Xiāo Tǎbùyān)	"Western Liao" + posthumous name	1144–1150	Xianqing (咸清 Xiánqīng) 1144–1150
2. Emperor Renzong (仁宗 Rénzōng)	Too tedious thus not used when referring to this sovereign	Yelü Yilie (耶律夷列 Yēlǜ Yíliè)	"Western Liao" + temple name	1150–1164	Shaoxing (紹興 Shàoxīng) or Xuxing (Xùxīng 續興)2 1150–1164
Not applicable	Empress Dowager Chengtian (承天太后 Chéngtiān Tàihòu) (regent)	Yelü Pusuwan (耶律普速完 Yēlǜ Pǔsùwán)	"Western Liao" + posthumous name	1164–1178	Chongfu (崇福 Chóngfú) 1164–1178
3. Did not exist	Mozhu (末主 Mòzhǔ "Last Lord") or Modi (末帝 Mòdì "Last Emperor")	Yelü Zhilugu (耶律直魯古 Yēlǜ Zhílǔgǔ)	use birth name	1178–1211	Tianxi (天禧 Tiānxī) 1178–1218
Did not exist	Did not exist	Kuchlug (Ch. 屈出律 Qūchūlǜ)	use birth name	1211–1218
1 "Dashi" might be the Chinese title "Taishi", meaning "vizier"; or, it could mean "Stone" in Turkish, as the Chinese transliteration suggests. 2 Recently discovered Western Liao coins have the era name "Xuxing", suggesting that the era name "Shaoxing" recorded in Chinese sources may be incorrect.

See also

• Buraq Hajib
• History of the Khitans
• Kara-Khanid Khanate
• List of emperors of the Liao dynasty
• Northern Liao
• Proto-Mongols

Gallery

• Kara-Khitan Khanate 2.jpg

  Qara Khitai