Yelü Zhilugu () was the third
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, 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
Kuchlug (also spelled ''Küchlüg'', ''Küçlüg'', ''Güčülüg'', ''Quqluq'') (; ; d. 1218) was a member of the Naiman tribe who became the last emperor of the Western Liao dynasty (Qara Khitai). The Naimans were defeated by Genghis Khan and h ...
in 1211.
Reign
He was
Yelü Yilie's second son,
['' History of Liao'']
vol 30
/ref> after Xiao Wolila (萧斡里剌) killed his aunt Yelü Pusuwan in coup, Zhilugu killed his elder brother too. According to Juvaini, "he was sacrificed in order to secure new sovereign".
Involvement in Khwarazm continued under his reign. Xiao Duolubu (蕭朵魯不) assisted Sultan Shah with his seizing of Merv
Merv (, ', ; ), also known as the Merve Oasis, was a major Iranian peoples, Iranian city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, near today's Mary, Turkmenistan. Human settlements on the site of Merv existed from the 3rd millennium& ...
and Sarakhs
Sarakhs () is a city in the Central District (Sarakhs County), Central District of Sarakhs County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Sarakhs was once a stopping po ...
. In turn Tekish's new son-in-law, Kipchak leader Qara Ozan invaded Talas in 1181. However, around the 1190s, after Sultan Shah's death, Tekish again submitted to Qara Khitai
The Qara Khitai, or Kara Khitai ( zh, t=喀喇契丹, s=哈剌契丹, p=Kālā Qìdān or zh, c=黑契丹, p=Hēi Qìdān, l=Black Khitan, links=no), also known as the Western Liao ( zh, t=西遼, p=Xī Liáo, links=no), officially the Great L ...
and began sending tributes.
He met with fugitive Kereit
The Keraites (also ''Kerait, Kereit, Khereid'', Kazakh: керейт; Kyrgyz: керей; Mongolian: Хэрэйд; Nogai: Кереит; Uzbek: ''Kerait''; Chinese: 克烈) were one of the five dominant Turco-Mongol tribal confederations ...
prince Toghrul
Toghrul ( ''Tooril han''; ), also known as Wang Khan or Ong Khan ( ''Wan han''; ; died 1203), was a Khan (title), khan of the Keraites. He was the blood brother (anda (Mongol), anda) of the Mongol chief Yesugei and served as an important early ...
in 1195, who probably asked for military help with no success.
War with Ghurids
In 1198, Kara Khitai and Khwarazm combined forces invaded Ghurid
The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; ; self-designation: , ''Šansabānī'') was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Tajik people, Tajik origin, which ruled from the 8th-century in the region of Ghor, and became an Emp ...
principalities, with Tekish invading Herat
Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Se ...
and Zhilugu capturing Guzgan. However, the Ghurids shortly managed to inflict a heavy defeat on the two empires, and then used the opportunity to conquer Marv, Sarakhs
Sarakhs () is a city in the Central District (Sarakhs County), Central District of Sarakhs County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Sarakhs was once a stopping po ...
, Nasa, Abiward, Tus, and Nishapur
Nishapur or Neyshabur (, also ) is a city in the Central District (Nishapur County), Central District of Nishapur County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.
Ni ...
. Baha al-Din Sam II captured Balkh and read a Friday sermon in name of Ghurid sultan Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad. Zhilugu soon sent a military detachment under a ''Tayangu'' (a military advisor) that year unsuccessfully.
Xiao Duolubu (蕭朵魯不) allegedly asked for huge compensation from Tekish for the war with heavy casualties. Tekish therefore turned to Ghurids for monetary help, by whose money he compensated Kara Khitai.
After Tekish's death and his energetic successor Muhammad II, war with Ghurids resumed in 1200. Soon new Ghurid sultan Muhammad of Ghor was defeated and captured by combined forces of Kara Khitai led by a ''Tayangu'' of Talas, Karakhanid khan Osman khan and his cousin Tajaddin Bilge Khan in 1204. He was released by Osman after paying ransom to the Tayangu.
Ghurid army soon arrived with reinforcements on gates of Tirmidh on summer of 1204 and seized the city. But sultan's murder on 15 March 1206 ended all his hopes of invading Central Asia. As a result, Tirmidh was recaptured by Khwarazmis and handed over to Osman khan same year.
Relations with Khwarazm
Cooperation between Qara Khitai and Khwarazm did not continue after fall of Ghurids. Soon a defector from Khwarazm army - namely Tört Aba - offered his services to Zhilugu. Defeat of Muhammad, caused a small scale civil war in Khorasan. His brother Taj ad-Din Ali-Shah and his commander Közli revolted against him, lingering his efforts on stabilisation of Khwarazm.
Around 1209 Zhilugu sent his minister Mahmud Tai to collect tributes from Khwarazm, Muhammad went to Jand and asked Terken Khatun to take care of matters, which she accomplished successfully.
Later reign
After a series of troubles in the west, Zhilugu's relations with his subjects deteriorated, especially after he refused to marry his daughter to Osman Khan, which infuriated the latter. As a result, Osman Khan reached out to Muhammad II in hopes of eventually forming an alliance against the Qara Khitai overlords. Although his request was soon accepted by the Gurkhan, Zhilugu was already making moves to suppress dissent among his Muslim subjects. He took Yusuf Khan's son Muhammad Bughra as hostage in 1205. The previous year, he had asked for Karluk Arslan khan's aid against rebellious king of Khotan
Hotan (also known by #Etymology, other names) is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region in Northwestern China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to become an ...
. His minister, ''Tayangu'' Shamur advised Arslan khan to commit suicide to pass the throne to his son, because either way Zhilugu was preparing to destroy him.
After Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...
's ascension in 1206, his subjects in east - Qarluqs's new khan Arslan Sartaqtai and Uyghur idiqut Baurchuk Art Teqin submitted to Genghis Khan. Soon a refugee arrived from Mongolia in Zhilugu's court - Kuchlug
Kuchlug (also spelled ''Küchlüg'', ''Küçlüg'', ''Güčülüg'', ''Quqluq'') (; ; d. 1218) was a member of the Naiman tribe who became the last emperor of the Western Liao dynasty (Qara Khitai). The Naimans were defeated by Genghis Khan and h ...
in 1208. He was a prince of Naimans, a son of late Tayang khan who was killed by Genghis Khan in 1205. His uncle Buyruq khan was also killed by Genghis Khan in 1208. Zhilugu believing he could be an important asset, allowed him to gather his troops from Naimans and Merkids. He even married his daughter Princess Hunhu to him.[Biran (2005) p. 60-90] However Kuchlug's ambitious policy made Zhilugu suspicious. He summoned Osman Khan to his court but his refusal made him angry, so he marched on Samarkand with a 30,000 strong army.
Around that time, the Qara Khitai were dealing with rebellions in the east, as well as engaging in a struggle against Muhammad II of the Khwarezmian Empire in the west. The Khwarezm-Shah took 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 ...
in 1207, but was defeated by the Qara Khitai at Samarkand
Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...
. Kuchlug, however, apparently had formed an alliance with the Khwarezm-Shah. In 1210, while Zhilugu was dealing with a revolt by people of Samarkand
Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...
, Kuchlug took the chance to rebel against his father-in-law, seizing the Qara Khitai's treasury at Uzgen. Zhilugu left Samarkand to deal with Kuchlug, but Muhammad II used the opportunity to seize Samarkand, then defeated the Qara Khitai near Talas and gained control of Transoxiana
Transoxiana or Transoxania (, now called the Amu Darya) is the Latin name for the region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...
. Zhilugu pulled back to his capital of Balasagun, and defeated Kuchlug, who retreated eastward to his Naiman realm.
However, in 1211, while Zhilugu was out hunting, he was ambushed and captured by Kuchlug who arrived with 8000 men near 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 ...
.
Life in captivity
After his capture, he was given honorific title Taishang Huang (太上皇, ''Emperor Emeritus''). His era name
A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin 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 rule, a t ...
"Tianxi" (天禧; "Heavenly Joy") was continued to be used until 1218, when Kuchlug
Kuchlug (also spelled ''Küchlüg'', ''Küçlüg'', ''Güčülüg'', ''Quqluq'') (; ; d. 1218) was a member of the Naiman tribe who became the last emperor of the Western Liao dynasty (Qara Khitai). The Naimans were defeated by Genghis Khan and h ...
died. Sometime Muhammad II him and his daughter's hand from Kuchlug, which was denied and apparently paved way for a new war between Kuchlug and Muhammad. He died in 1213. His death is considered the end for Liao dynasty. However, through his daughter Princess Hunhu, he would be a great grandfather of Qutuqtu (the son of Yelü Zhilugu's granddaughter Linqqun Khatun and Tolui
Tolui (born ; died 1232) was the youngest son of Genghis Khan and Börte. A prominent general during the early Mongol conquests, Tolui was a leading candidate to succeed his father after his death in 1227 and ultimately served as regent of th ...
.
Religious policy
He allowed Eliya III to raise a metropolitan district around 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 ...
during his reign.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yelu Zhilugu
Emperors of Qara Khitai
12th-century births
1213 deaths
Zhilugu
12th-century Chinese monarchs
13th-century Chinese monarchs
12th-century Khitan rulers
13th-century Khitan rulers