Emperor Mo of Western Xia (d. 1227), personal name Li Xian (), was the tenth and last

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

of the

Western Xia dynasty 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 ...

of China, ruling from 1226 to 1227. His reign saw the collapse of the Western Xia as forces of the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan overran and conquered it following the defiance of earlier emperors.

Reign

He was a nephew of his predecessor

Emperor Xianzong Emperor Xianzong of Tang (4 March to 1 April 778''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 14. – 14 February 820; r. 805 – 820), personal name Li Chun, né Li Chun (), was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He was the eldest son of Emperor Shunzon ...

. Faced with the threat of the Mongols, Li Xian and his officials rallied around the capital Zhongxing, trying to use its large walls to hold off the Mongol cavalries. However, Zhongxing suffered from a massive earthquake, which resulted in pestilence and food shortage. In 1227, Li finally surrendered to the Mongol Empire, but the Mongols killed him and his entire family out of fear that the Western Xia would rebel against Mongol Empire. His death marked the end of the Western Xia dynasty. The Mongols gave the last ruler of the Western Xia the name Shidurghu (), meaning "simple, right, just", and in 18th century European sources he is referred to as Schidascou or Shidaskû from his Mongolian name.

References

Western Xia emperors 13th-century Chinese monarchs 13th-century Tangut rulers Murdered Chinese emperors Executed Western Xia people People executed by the Mongol Empire {{China-royal-stub