The Dongdan Kingdom (926–936) (;

Khitan language Khitan or Kitan ( in large script or in small, ''Khitai''; , ''Qìdānyǔ''), also known as Liao, is a now-extinct language once spoken in Northeast Asia by the Khitan people (4th to 13th century). It was the official language of the Liao Empir ...

: Dan Gur,) was a puppet kingdom established by the

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 ...

to rule the former realm of Balhae (Bohai) in eastern

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 Manc ...

History

After conquering Balhae (Bohai) in 926, the Liao crown prince

Yelü Bei Yelü Bei () (899''History of Liao'', vol. 72. – January 7, 937''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 280.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), also known as Yelü Tuyu (耶律突欲 or 耶律圖欲), posthumously honored Emperor Wenxian Qi ...

ascended to the throne of Dongdan at the Huhan fortress, the former capital of Balhae, in today's

Mudanjiang Mudanjiang (; Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later ...

Heilongjiang Province Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...

. The state used Dongdan as its Chinese name, meaning the Eastern Dan Gur (Bohai), in respect to the

in the west. However, political tension soon evolved between Yelü Bei and his younger brother Yelü Deguang, who took the imperial throne of the Liao dynasty after their father Yelü Abaoji died, en route to his homeland from a relatively successful campaign against the

Later Tang Tang, known in historiography as the Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history. The first three of the Later Tang's four e ...

. The new emperor ordered his elder brother to move his capital from Huhan in eastern Manchuria to

Liaoyang Liaoyang () is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is home to Liaoning University's College of Fo ...

in western Manchuria. Yelü Bei obeyed the imperial order but soon fled to North China to avoid possible assassination in 930. Yelü Bei's son was elevated to the new king of Dongdan, but the kingdom was annexed by the Liao dynasty in 936. A minority of historians suggest Dongdan was annexed in 982. On the other hand some believe that Dongdan was never a "independent kingdom", but the former area of Balhae was instantly annexed in 926 by the Liao dynasty. To continue Balhae's friendly relations with

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, Dongdan sent a diplomatic mission over the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

in 929. But the Japanese court in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

rejected the mission from Dongdan, due to loyalty for the old Balhae regime.The Kitai Dynasty’s governance of Bohai and the structure of Dongdanguo as seen from Yelu-Yuzu’s Epitaph
/ref>

Notes

History of Manchuria Balhae Former countries in Chinese history History of Siberia Khitan history 10th century in Asia 936 disestablishments States and territories established in the 920s 926 establishments {{China-hist-stub

History

See also

Notes