History of the Khitans

The Khitan (or Khitai, Chinese: 契丹; pinyin: Qìdān) were an ethnic group which dominated much of Manchuria (Northeast China) in the 10th century and has been classified by Chinese historians as one of the Eastern proto-Mongolic ethnic groups Donghu (simplified Chinese: 东胡族; traditional Chinese: 東胡族; pinyin: Dōnghú zú).. They raised from the 5th century under Turks domination, and started to show both growing power and unsubmission, and soon established the Liao Dynasty in 907. The Liao Dynasty proved to be a really important threat north to the Chinese plain, continuously moving south, gaining control over former Chinese territories. They eventually fell to the Jin Dynasty of the Jurchen in 1125. Following the fall of the Liao Dynasty, many moved further west and established the state of Kara Khitai. Their name survived in the Russian word for China (Китай, Kitay), as well as the archaic English (Cathay), Portuguese (Catai), and Spanish (Catay) appellations of the country.

Early history of the Khitans

See also : List of the Khitan rulers

References to the Khitan in Chinese sources date back to the fourth century. Ancestors of the Khitan were the Yuwen clan of the Xianbei, an ethnic group situated in the area covered by the modern Liaoning province. After their regime was conquered by the Murong clan, the remnants scattered in the modern-day Inner Mongolia and mixed there with the original Mongolic population. They had been identified as a distinct ethnic group since paying tribute to the Northern Wei Dynasty in the mid-6th century.

During the time of the Tang Dynasty in China, the Khitan people fell under the control of the Uyghurs. However, once the Uyghurs left their home in the Mongolian Plateau in 842, enough of a power vacuum was create that gave the Khitan the opportunity to make their rise. The Khitan invaded the areas vacated by the Uyghurs, bringing them under their control.

The Khitan are also said to have learned from history. On the one hand, they observed the fearsome effect that steppe cavalry had on the Chinese, through their use by the Uyghurs, Shatuo Turks, Kyrgyz, and later themselves. On the other, they also noted the effect that the adoption of Chinese writing and other tools of administration had on their cultural integrity. The Korean kingdom of Silla was known by the Khitan to refer to themselves as a “little China.” While their situation was not akin to that of Silla in a number of ways, they also did not want to fall into the same situation.

Liao Dynasty

Khitan Empire in 1025 AD, along with its neighbors.

Liao funerary mask, 10-12th century CE.

Main article: Liao Dynasty

The Liao Dynasty was founded in 907 when Abaoji, posthumously known as Emperor Taizu was named the leader of the Khitan nation. Even though the Great Liao Dynasty was not declared until the 947, it is generally said to have begun with the elevation of Abaoji.

Abaoji introduced a number of innovations, some more successful than others. He divided the empire into two parts, one of which was governed based on nomadic models while the sedentary population was government largely in accordance with Chinese techniques.

Less successful was the attempted introduction of primogeniture in succession to the throne. Although he designed his eldest son to be heir, he did not succeed Abaoji.

Abaoji was "afraid that their use of Chinese advisers and administrative techniques would blur their own ethnic identity, the Khitan made a conscious effort to retain their own tribal rites, food, and clothing and refused to use the Chinese language, devising a writing system for their own language instead." The first of these two scripts was created in 920. The second, based on alphabetic principles, was created five years later.

Relations with China

recorded notable Khitans' raids on Chinese Empire occured several times as earlier as the VIIe century. In 605, moving and raiding south, they were crushed by a Sui General leading 20.000 Turks cavaliers. In 695 they were walking south and were clothe to modern Beijing by 696, despite being vassals of the Tujue (Turks), themselves vassals of the Tang dynasty. The Tang dynasty then asked the Tujue to manage this issue, and the Khitans—promptly defeated—withdrew.

In 751-752 the Khitans moved south to attack the Chinese Tang Empire, and were blocked by An Lushan's troops. The continuous pressure of Khitans on the northeast of the Empire provided An Lushan more and more support troops from Chang'an. The high chancellor, Li Linfu, wanted both to resist the Khitans' pressure and counterbalance the growing influence of the Yang clan in Chang'an affairs. When Li Linfu died and Yang Guozhong—a Yang clan member—replaced him as high chancellor, An Lushan rose in rebellion with his armies, and attacked the central power, with some Khitan supporters .

Relations with Korea

Main article: Liao Dynasty § Korea

When the Khitan conquered the kingdom of Balhae, the border with Korea had been pushed to the Yalu River. Korea itself was undergoing significant transformations at the same time. Goryeo was founded in 918, and eventually unified the entire Korean Peninsula. The Silla kingdom, which had ruled the entire peninsula since the seventh century, fell in 935.

In 993, the Khitan invaded Goryeo's northwest border with 800,000 troops. The Khitan withdrew and ceded territory to the east of the Yalu River when Goryeo agreed to end its alliance with Song Dynasty China. However, Goryeo continued to communicate with Song, having strengthened its position by building fortresses in the newly gained northern territories.

In 1010, Emperor Shengzong of Liao led a massive invasion with 400,000 men, commanding the troops himself. He easily defeated the resisting army of General Gang Jo, who was executed by the Khitans. However, Gang Gam-chan urged King Hyeonjong to escape from the palace, and not to surrender to the invading Liao troops. King Hyeonjong followed Gang Gam-chan's advice, and managed to escape from the burning capital. A Korean insurgency began to harass the Khitan forces. Eventually, Shengzong ordered a withdrawal of the entire Khitan force; the Khitans lost the war, and didn't gain anything. Thus another bloody war between two nations was foreshadowed, as both sided remained hostile to each other. After the war, Gang was promoted as the Minister of Government Administration.

In 1018, General Xiao Baiya of Liao invaded Goryeo with 100,000 men. This time, many officials urged to king to enter a peace negotiation, since the damage from the 2nd Koryo-Khitan War was so great and Goryeo was not able to recover from the damage. However Gang again urged the king to fight the Khitans, since the Khitan force was much smaller than the previous invasions. Gang volunteered to be deputy commander-in-chief of the Goryeo army, at the age of 71. He led about 200,000 men toward the Goryeo-Liao border. The first battle of the war was the Battle of Heunghwajin, which was won by General Gang by blocking a stream and then destroying the dam when the Khitans were mid-way through crossing. Many Khitans drowned, but General Xiao did not give up hope of capturing the capital, Gaeseong, and continued to march southward. Later Xiao realized that the mission was impossible to achieve, and decided to retreat. General Gang knew that the Khitan army would withdraw from the war, and waited for them at the fortress of Kwiju, where he encountered retreating Khitans in 1019.(Battle of Kwiju). Discouraged and starving, the Khitans lost in a battle there. Following his victories in Third Goryeo-Khitan War, peace among three Asian empires temporarily settled; Goryeo established a long-term friendly relationship with Liao.

Post Liao Dynasty history

Though Abaoji died in 926, the dynasty would last nearly two more centuries. Five cities were designated as capitals during that dynasty. In addition to the Supreme Capital in the heartland of Khitan Territory, there were four regional capitals. One of which was Beijing, which became a capital in the first time in its history, though it was not the principle capital of the Dynasty, but rather was designated as the Southern Capital after the Khitan acquired the contentious Sixteen Prefectures in 935.

The Khitan were known as خطا in Arabic (Khata) and are mentioned by Muslim chroniclers, such as Ibn al-Athir, al-Thahabi and Ibn Khaldun. They had several clashes with the Khwarezmid Empire, winning at first, and imposing annual tribute on some, with territorial concessions (e.g. Tirmiz was handed over to them at one point). They eventually suffered a catastrophic defeat at the hands of Muhammad II of Khwarezm and no longer posed a serious threat to Muslims in adjacent regions.

Although a number of the nobility of the Liao Dynasty escaped the area westwards towards Western Regions, establishing the short-lived Kara-Khitan or Western Liao dynasty, they were in turn absorbed by the local Turkic and Iranic populations and left no influence of themselves. As the Khitan language is still almost completely illegible, it is difficult to create a detailed history of their movements.

For a while after the invention of the Korean Hangeul script in the mid-15th century, the name of the Khitans continued to appear in Korean texts as 거란 (Georan/Kǒran). The ethnonym eventually fell out of use, however, and vanished along with the distinct ethnic identity of the Khitan people.

There is no clear evidence of there being any descendant ethnic groups of the Khitan in modern-day Northeast China, but some recent genetic studies have tended to support the hypothesis that the Daur ethnic group of Inner Mongolia contains at least some direct descendants of the ancient Khitan. Some Yunnan Han Chinese are descendants of the Khitan.

See also

• Buraq Hajib
• Ethnic groups in Chinese history
• Goryeo-Khitan Wars
• Eagle hunting

References

• Mote, F.W. (1999). Imperial China: 900-1800. Harvard University Press. pp. 31–71. ISBN 0674012127.
• EBREY, Patricia Buckley (1996). The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-66991-X.
• HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRE-DYNASTIC KHITAN