Yelü Yilie (, d. 1163), otherwise known by his

temple name Temple names are posthumous titles accorded to monarchs of the Sinosphere for the purpose of ancestor worship. The practice of honoring monarchs with temple names began during the Shang dynasty in China and had since been adopted by other dynas ...

Emperor Renzong of Western Liao (), was the second

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

of the Western Liao dynasty (Qara Khitai), ruling from 1150 to 1163.

Reign

He was too young to succeed as emperor when

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 ...

died in 1143. Not much is known about his reign. ''

History of Liao History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

'' states he changed his era name to Shaoxing in 1151, however recent coins unearthed in

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

might prove it was a scribal mistake. During his reign, there was a census conducted, which turned out 84,500 households in the empire. Although it may also be the number of adult men who could serve in the army. In 1156, he tried to establish peace with the

Jin dynasty Jin may refer to: States Jìn 晉 * Jin (Chinese state) (晉國), major state of the Zhou dynasty, existing from the 11th century BC to 376 BC * Jin dynasty (266–420) (晉朝), also known as Liang Jin and Sima Jin * Jin (Later Tang precursor) ...

unsuccessfully. The same year

Karluks The Karluks (also Qarluqs, Qarluks, Karluqs, , Qarluq, Para-Mongolic languages, Para-Mongol: Harluut, zh, s=葛逻禄, t=葛邏祿 ''Géluólù'' ; customary phonetic: ''Gelu, Khololo, Khorlo'', , ''Khallokh'', ''Qarluq'') were a prominent no ...

under Ayyar Beg revolted against Western Karakhanid ruler Ibrahim III and killed him. Yelü Yilied appointed Ali b. Hasan as Chaghrï Khan to

Samarqand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek and Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia. Samarkand is the capital of the Samarkand Region and a district-level ...

. Chagri marched on Ayyar Beg with reinforcements from Qara Khitai and eastern Karakhanid Ibrahim II (who was created Ilig Türkmen by

). Ibrahim's forces killed Ayyar Beg and Chaghri Khan was reinstated on his throne. In 1158, Yelü Yilie ordered expulsion of Karluks from

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

and

Kashgar Kashgar () or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is a city in the Tarim Basin region of southern Xinjiang, China. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the country's border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. For over 2,000 years, Kashgar ...

and charged Chaghri to deal with matter. Purged Karluks went to Khwarazmshah

Il-Arslan Il-Arslan ("The Lion") (full name: ''Taj ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Abul-Fath Il-Arslan ibn Atsiz'', Persian: تاج الدین ابوالفتح ایل ارسلان بن اتسز) (died March 1172) was the Shah of Khwarezm from 1156 until 1172. He was th ...

to ask for help. Chaghri just had reinforcements from new East Karakhanid ruler Muhammed II consisting of 10,000 men, while Karluks marched on Bukhara with Khwarazmi help. The same year, Chaghri died and was replaced by Masud II, who appeared before Bukhara and defeated Karluks. That same year, Yelü Yilie died. Since his son

Yelü Zhilugu Yelü Zhilugu () was the third emperor of the Western Liao dynasty, ruling from 1177 to 1211. He was the final ruler of the Western Liao to come from the House of Yelü, as the throne would be usurped by his son-in-law Kuchlug in 1211. Reign ...

was too young to rule, Yelü Yilie‘s younger sister Yelü Pusuwan was appointed regent.

References

{{Authority control 1163 deaths Emperors of Qara Khitai 12th-century Chinese monarchs 12th-century Khitan rulers