Liao Dynasty 907-1125 CE - Revision history

Root at 01:35, 22 April 2013

2013-04-22T01:35:52Z

Christopher W at 08:47, 17 April 2013

2013-04-17T08:47:35Z

Emmanuel R: /* Western Liao Dynasty */

2013-04-16T03:07:19Z

Western Liao Dynasty

Emmanuel R: /* The Jurchen Encroachment */

2013-04-16T02:59:02Z

The Jurchen Encroachment

Emmanuel R: /* The Downfall */

2013-04-16T02:44:13Z

The Downfall

Emmanuel R: /* Beginnings */

2013-04-13T05:11:33Z

Beginnings

Emmanuel R: /* Khitan Script */

2013-04-13T05:11:05Z

Khitan Script

Emmanuel R: /* Khitan Script */

2013-04-13T05:09:43Z

Khitan Script

Emmanuel R: /* Khitan Script */

2013-04-13T05:05:16Z

Khitan Script

Emmanuel R: /* The Liao Dynasty */

2013-04-13T05:04:48Z

The Liao Dynasty

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:35, 22 April 2013
Line 46:		Line 46:

	== Classroom Presentations ==		== Classroom Presentations ==
−	[[~~File~~:Southern_Song_and_Liao_Dynasties_Presentation.pptx]]	+	[[Media:Southern_Song_and_Liao_Dynasties_Presentation.pptx]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:Liao.png|300px|thumb|right|Liao Dynasty]]
 The '''Liao Dynasty 907-1125 CE''' was the first of the dynasties of conquest. It was founded by the Grand Kahn Abouji in 907. It was founded as the Khitan Empire, but would later be known as the Liao Dynasty. At the peak of its power, the Liao Dynasty encompassed Mongolia and parts of Manchuria and a small strip of China Proper. They developed a system of dual governments to rule over both Khitan and Han Chinese peoples. The dynasty would last until 1125 when the Khitans were conquered by the Jurchen people.
 == Beginnings ==
 === The Khitan ===
-[[File:Northeast_Asia_at_900.png|300px|thumb|right|Map of Northeast Asia showing the Khitans in relation to China]]
 The Khitan were a proto-mongolian people from the steppe of Manchuria. Like the other peoples on the steppe, the Khitan were a tribal, nomadic people. They practiced agriculture, animal husbandry and hunting. Horses were an important part of life for the Khitan, all men learned to ride and shoot and were potential warriors. The Khitan family unit was a clan, and many different clans formed a tribe. A tribal chief would be selected to lead a tribe based on military acumen. A tribe alone was relatively weak but a confederation of tribes united posed a significant military threat. Decisions were not made by a single leader, rather decisions were made from a meeting of all the tribe leaders in the confederation. (Ebrey 164-167)
 === Their Dealings with the Tang ===
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 ==== Abaoji ====
 Hello I am Abaoji. I was born in 872 CE into the Yelu tribe. My father was the chief of my tribe. My uncle was the ''yu-yueh'', or commander in chief of the military in your English language. Because of my family connections I quickly rose to prominence. I was a man of high stature and intelligence and I even knew Chinese. I kept my knowledge of Chinese from my fellow Khitan out of fear of exposing them to Chinese ideas that would cause them to lose their identity. I was a competent military commander and I would often conduct raids into China. In 901 I was elected chieftain of my tribe. I mounted a campaign to unite the steppe and to extend Khitan influence over other tribes. My campaign was successful. I united ten Khitan tribes into a federation and secured the steppe. In 907 I was elected Grand Kahn of the Khitan by the tribal chieftains. Here I became the undisputed leader of the Khitan. (Franke & Twitchett, 56-60)
-[[File:KhitanHuntersSong.jpg|300px|thumb|left|Khitan hunters using eagles to hunt]]
 == The Liao Dynasty ==
@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 ==== Khitan Script ====
 The Khitan language was a type of altaic language that resembles Mongolian, Turkic, and Tangusic. The language is considered a lost language so there is very little that is known about it. The Khitan did develop a writing script and there are examples that remain today. The Khitan script was introduced in 920. The script resembles either simple Chinese characters or artificially constructed characters. It seems that the Khitan script was greatly influenced by Chinese characters. (Franke and Twitchett, 31)
-[[File:Khitan_mirror_from_Korea.jpeg|300px|thumb|left|An example of the Khitan script. Notice how it resembles Chinese characters]]
 ===== Contemporary Commentator =====
 Abaoji wasn't a stranger to Chinese ways. He had a good understanding about Chinese traditions and language. It is plausible that he would want to model a Khitan script after Chinese. A lot of things in the Liao dynasty have been modeled after Chinese institutions in one way or another. It is only logical to continue that in a writing script.

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:07, 16 April 2013
Line 30:		Line 30:

	=== Western Liao Dynasty ===		=== Western Liao Dynasty ===
		+	Even though the Liao Dynasty was finished, a few Khitan survived and escaped the Jin. The commander in chief of the Khitan, Tashi managed to escape to northern Mongolia with a few followers. Tashi declared himself emperor and gathered the support of local tribes. Tashi and his followers headed west into Central Asia. Here he established a new empire which was known as the Western Liao Dynasty. This empire would last until 1218 when it was conquered by the Mongols. (Franke and Twitchett, 151-153)

	== References ==		== References ==

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 == The Downfall ==
 === The Jurchen Encroachment ===
-The Khitan were undone by another tribal people. The Jurchen were Tungusic people from Eastern Manchuria. They were powerful enough that the Song had considered allying with them against the Khitan. The largest group of Jurchen and the ones that would prove to be the biggest threat were the "wild" Jurchen. The Liao didn't really have control of the "wild" Jurchen. Eventually a clan from the "wild" Jurchen, the Wanyan, started to gradually take over and establish dominance over the other Jurchen tribes. Aguda soon came into power. He started a campaign of aggression against the Khitan. In 1115 Aguda declared himself Emperor of a new dynasty, the Jin.
+The Khitan were undone by another tribal people. The Jurchen were Tungusic people from Eastern Manchuria. They were powerful enough that the Song had considered allying with them against the Khitan. The largest group of Jurchen and the ones that would prove to be the biggest threat were the "wild" Jurchen. The Liao didn't really have control of the "wild" Jurchen. Eventually a clan from the "wild" Jurchen, the Wanyan, started to gradually take over and establish dominance over the other Jurchen tribes. Aguda soon came into power. He started a campaign of aggression against the Khitan. In 1115 Aguda declared himself Emperor of a new dynasty, the Jin. Aguda soon attacked the Liao. The Song saw this as an opportunity to retake the sixteen prefectures that the Khitan controlled. The Song entered into an alliance with the Jin and they both attacked the Khitan. The Song weren't much help though, they attempted an invasion of the Souther Capital but were repelled by the Khitan. The Jin stepped in and took the capital for themselves. By now the Jin controlled most of the Liao territory. In 1125, the Liao Emperor, Tianzuo was captured. His capture marked the end of the Liao Dynasty. (Franke and Twitchett, 140-151)
 === Western Liao Dynasty ===

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 == The Downfall ==
 === The Jurchen Encroachment ===
+The Khitan were undone by another tribal people. The Jurchen were Tungusic people from Eastern Manchuria. They were powerful enough that the Song had considered allying with them against the Khitan. The largest group of Jurchen and the ones that would prove to be the biggest threat were the "wild" Jurchen. The Liao didn't really have control of the "wild" Jurchen. Eventually a clan from the "wild" Jurchen, the Wanyan, started to gradually take over and establish dominance over the other Jurchen tribes. Aguda soon came into power. He started a campaign of aggression against the Khitan. In 1115 Aguda declared himself Emperor of a new dynasty, the Jin.
 === Western Liao Dynasty ===