Emperor Tianzuo of Liao (5 June 1075 – 1128 or 1156), personal name Yelü Yanxi,

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theo ...

Yanning, was the ninth and last

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

of the Khitan-led

Liao dynasty The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...

of China. He succeeded his grandfather, Emperor Daozong, in 1101 and reigned until the fall of the Liao dynasty in 1125.

Jin invasion

During the reign of Emperor Tianzuo, the

Jurchen Jurchen may refer to: * Jurchen people, Tungusic people who inhabited the region of Manchuria until the 17th century ** Haixi Jurchens, a grouping of the Jurchens as identified by the Chinese of the Ming Dynasty ** Jianzhou Jurchens, a grouping of ...

tribes led by Wanyan Aguda established the Jin dynasty in 1115. Aguda formed the

Alliance Conducted at Sea The Alliance Conducted at Sea () was a political alliance in Chinese history between the Song and Jin dynasties in the early 12th century against the Liao dynasty. The alliance was negotiated from 1115 to 1123 by envoys who crossed the Bohai Sea.. ...

with the Han-led

Northern Song dynasty Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

against the Liao dynasty, and began to establish authority over former Liao territory in

Outer Mongolia Outer Mongolia was the name of a territory in the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China from 1691 to 1911. It corresponds to the modern-day independent state of Mongolia and the Russian republic of Tuva. The historical region gain ...

. Emperor Tianzuo, however, proved incompetent in dealing with the Jin threat, and in 1115 a coup was attempted by Liao generals to install his uncle Yelü Chun to the throne but was thwarted. Jin troops advanced from

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...

in 1117, and captured the Liao supreme capital in 1120, then its central capital in 1122. Another coup was attempted in 1121 to install Emperor Tianzuo's son, the Prince of Jin, on the throne, but was again thwarted. The prince was executed, and most of the coup participants defected to the Jin dynasty. In 1122, Emperor Tianzuo fled from

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

(present-day

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

) to the western regions. His uncle Yelü Chun then founded the short-lived Northern Liao dynasty in Nanjing, but died soon afterwards, and Nanjing was conquered by the Jin dynasty at the end of 1122 or in early 1123.

End of the Liao dynasty

After the end of the Northern Liao dynasty, the general

Yelü Dashi Yelü Dashi (; alternatively ), courtesy name Zhongde (), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Dezong of Western Liao (), was the founder of the Western Liao dynasty (Qara Khitai). He initially ruled as king from 1124 to 1132, then as e ...

rejoined Emperor Tianzuo. In 1123, Jin troops captured Emperor Tianzuo's palace at Qingzhong (south of present-day

Hohhot Hohhot,; abbreviated zh, c=呼市, p=Hūshì, labels=no formerly known as Kweisui, is the capital of Inner Mongolia in the north of the People's Republic of China, serving as the region's administrative, economic and cultural center.''The N ...

), capturing members of his family. Emperor Tianzuo fled to the

Western Xia The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...

and sought refuge there. Later, Emperor Tianzuo expressed his intention to attack the Jin dynasty, but Yelü Dashi withheld his support, considering it folly as the Jin dynasty was too militarily powerful. In 1124, Yelü Dashi fled to the west with a band of his followers, and established the Western Liao dynasty. In 1125, Emperor Tianzuo was captured by the Jin dynasty, thereby marking the collapse of the Liao dynasty.Chinese History – Liao Dynasty
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Death

In 1156, in an act of humiliation, the Jin emperor who at the time was the Prince of Hailing ordered him and the former Emperor Qinzong of Song to compete in a match of

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small ha ...

Emperor Qinzong Emperor Qinzong of Song (23 May 1100 – 14 June 1161), personal name Zhao Huan, was the ninth emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the last emperor of the Northern Song dynasty. Emperor Qinzong was the eldest son and heir apparent of Empe ...

was weak and frail, and thus quickly fell off the horse. Yelü Yanxi was more familiar with horse riding, and tried to escape, but was shot to death by Jurchen archers.

Titles

* Prince of Liang (1081–1084) * Prince of Yan (1084–1101) * Emperor of Jian (1101–1125) * Prince of Haibin (1125)

Family

Consort and issue(s): *Empress Xiao, of the Xiao clan (蕭皇后蕭氏), personal name Duolilan (奪里懶) – No issue. * Virtuous Consort, of the Xiao clan (德妃蕭氏), personal name Shigu (師姑) **Yelü Talu, the Prince of Yan (耶律撻魯燕國王, d. 1104), 3rd son * Consort Wen, of the Xiao clan (文妃蕭氏, 1080 – 1121), personal name Sese (瑟瑟) **Yelü Aoluwo, the Prince of Jin (耶律敖盧斡晉王, d. 1122), 1st son **Princess of Shu State (耶律余里衍蜀國公主), personal name Yuliyan (余里衍), 3rd daughter * Consort Yuan, of the Xiao clan (元妃蕭氏), personal name Guige (貴哥) **Yelü Yali, the Prince of Liang (耶律雅里梁王, 1094 – 1123), 2nd son **Yelü Ning, the Prince of Xu (耶律寧許王), 6th son * Zhaorong, of the Zhao clan (昭容赵氏) **Yelü Xinilie, the Prince of Zhao (耶律習泥烈趙王), 4th son *Unknown **Yelü Ding, the Prince of Qin (耶律定秦王), 5th son **Unnamed Princess, 1st daughter **Princess Yelü (耶律氏), personal name Guyu (骨欲), 2nd daughter **Princess Yelü (耶律氏), personal name Woliyan (斡里衍), 4h daughter **Princess Yelü Da'aoye (耶律氏), personal name Da'oye (大奥野), 5th daughter **Princess Yelü (耶律氏), personal name Ci'aoye (次奥野), 6th daughter

References

, - 1075 births 1128 deaths 1156 deaths Liao dynasty emperors Monarchs taken prisoner in wartime 12th-century Chinese monarchs People from Chifeng Heads of government who were later imprisoned 11th-century Khitan people 12th-century Khitan rulers {{China-royal-stub