Eastern Liao () was a 13th-century kingdom in what is now

Northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of ...

, established by the Khitan

Yelü The Yelü clan ( Khitan: , spelled ''ey.är.uu.eld'', pronounced ''Yäruuld''; ), alternatively rendered as Yila () or Yarud, was a prominent family of ethnic Khitan origin in the history of China. The clan assumed leadership of the Khitan triba ...

clan in an attempt to resurrect 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 ...

. Its capital was situated in modern-day Kaiyuan, Liaoning.

Establishment

Yelü Liuge, a descendant of the

imperial clan, rebelled against the rule of 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 ...

-led Jin dynasty in 1212. Within several months, Yelü Liuge was able to build up a sizeable following. The Jin emperor Xuanzong appointed Wanyan Husha and

Puxian Wannu Púxiān Wànnú ({{zh, t=蒲鮮萬奴, s=蒲鲜万奴, w=P'u-hsien Wan-nu) was a Jurchen warlord who established the short-lived Eastern Xia dynasty in 13th-century China. He originally served the waning Jin dynasty under pressure from the Mon ...

to crush the rebellion, but Yelü Liuge subsequently defeated the Jin forces in modern Changtu, Liaoning with Mongol support. In 1213, Yelü Liuge proclaimed himself king, adopted the dynastic name of "Liao" () and

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of ...

of "Yuantong" (). To distinguish this regime from other similarly named realms in Chinese history, historians refer to this kingdom in retrospect as "Eastern Liao" (). In 1214, the Jin dynasty once again attacked Eastern Liao under the command of

. After defeating the Jin forces the second time, Yelü Liuge established his capital at modern-day Kaiyuan, Liaoning and renamed it to "Zhongjing" (lit. "Middle Capital"; ). Puxian Wannu himself rebelled against Jin and founded the Eastern Xia kingdom in Dongjing (Liaoyang) of Jin in 1215.

Relations with Later Liao

In 1215, Yelü Liuge occupied the eastern capital of the Jin dynasty (modern Liaoyang, Liaoning). Soon after, Eastern Liao officials began to urge Yelü Liuge to assume the title of "emperor". Yelü Liuge declined and subsequently allied himself with

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...

who had by this time united the Mongol tribes. In 1216, Yelü Sibu (the younger brother of Yelü Liuge) rebelled against the pro-Mongol faction led by Yelü Liuge. Yelü Sibu proclaimed himself the emperor of a new regime, Later Liao (), in modern Haicheng, Liaoning. In 1218, Yelü Liuge attacked Later Liao with the support of the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

and

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificat ...

. In the spring of 1219, the Later Liao ruler Yelü Hanshe committed suicide after suffering military defeat by Eastern Liao, marking the collapse of the Later Liao regime.

Later history

The kingdom then became a vassalage of the Mongol Empire. Yelü Liuge died in 1220. His son, Yelü Xuedu lived at the Mongol court and served in Genghis Khan's army. In 1269, the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...

abolished the title, ending the Eastern Liao kingdom.

Monarchs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liao Dynasties in Chinese history Former countries in Chinese history Khitan history

Establishment

Relations with Later Liao

Later history

Monarchs

See also

References