# Timeline of the Khitans

This is a timeline of the history of the Khitans. The Khitans were a nomadic people in Northeast Asia related to the Xianbei. Following the collapse of the Tang dynasty, they established the Liao dynasty in 916, encompassing parts of modern-day China, Mongolia, North Korea, and Russia. The Liao dynasty was eventually conquered by the Jin dynasty in 1125. Remnants of the Liao court led by Yelü Dashi fled westward to Central Asia where they established the Western Liao dynasty. In 1211, the Western Liao throne was usurped by a Naiman called Kuchlug. In 1218, the Mongol Empire defeated and conquered the Western Liao dynasty.

## 4th century

| Year | Date | Event |
| 388 | | The Kumo Xi are defeated by the Northern Wei. As a result, the Khitans split from the Kumo Xi and emerge as a recognizable group of people around the Songmo region in modern Heshigten Banner and Ongniud Banner; at some point they migrate to the east of Daling River in modern Beipiao, Fuxin, and Zhangwu County |

## 6th century

| Year | Date | Event |
| 553 | | Khitans raid Northern Qi, who retaliate dealing devastating losses to the Khitans |
| 585 | | Khitans move to the area between the Laoha River and Liao River |

## 7th century

| Year | Event |
| 605 | Yami Qaghan of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate attacks the Khitans on behalf of the Sui dynasty |
| 618 | Dahe Duoluo comes to power |
| 619 | Khitans led by Sun Aocao, great-grandfather of Sun Wanrong, submit to the Tang dynasty |
| 627 | Dahe Mohui succeeds Dahe Duoluo |
| 628 | Khitans led by Dahe Mohui submit to the Tang dynasty as vassals |
| 644 | Dahe Kuge succeeds Dahe Mohui |
| 648 | Khitans submit to the Tang dynasty as vassals |
| 653 | Abugu succeeds Dahe Kuge |
| 654 | Mohe and Goguryeo attack the Khitans |
| 660 | Tang dynasty attacks the Khitans and captures their leader Abugu at Songmo; Abugu is sent to Luoyang; |
| 675 | Dahe Jinzhong comes to power |
| 696 | Li Jinzhong (Mushang Khan) of the Khitans along with his brother-in-law Sun Wanrong revolt against Tang hegemony and attack Hebei; Li dies soon after and Sun succeeds him |
| 697 | Tang dynasty and Qapaghan Qaghan of the Second Turkic Khaganate defeat Sun Wanrong and Khitans become vassals of the Turks; Dahe Shihuo succeeds Sun Wanrong |

## 8th century

| Year | Event |
| 716 | Khitans break alliance with the Turks and ally with Tang |
| 717 | Dahe Suogu succeeds Dahe Shihuo |
| 720 | Ketuyu attacks Suogu and Suogu flees to the governor-general of Ying Prefecture, who sends 500 Tang soldiers to back Suogu but is defeated |
| 720 | Dahe Yugan succeeds Dahe Suogu |
| 724 | Dahe Tugan succeeds Dahe Yugan |
| 725 | Dahe Shaogu succeeds Dahe Tugan, who fled to the Tang dynasty in fear of Ketuyu |
| 730 | Ketuyu of the Khitans attacks Tang |
| 730 | Julü succeeds Dahe Shaogu |
| 732 | Tang forces inflict heavy casualties on the Khitans and Kumo Xi |
| 733 | A Tang-Kumo Xi army attacks a Turk-Khitan army |
| 734 | Zhang Shougui defeats Khitan forces in Youzhou (Hebei) |
| 735 | Guozhe murders Ketuyu and succeeds Julü |
| 736 | An Lushan attacks the Khitans but is defeated |
| 740 | An Lushan attacks the Khitans |
| 745 | Two Khitan tribes revolt and are defeated by An Lushan |
| 746 | Kailuo succeeds Guozhe |
| 750 | Chinese cultural dominance in Liaoning disappears and is replaced by Khitan culture |
| 752 | An Lushan attacks the Khitans |
| 778 | Su Khagan succeeds Kailuo |
| 795 | 60,000 Kumo Xi raid the Tang dynasty and are defeated by Liu Ji |

## 9th century

| Year | Event |
| 800 | Bala Khagan succeeds Su Khagan |
| 820 | Zhaogu Khagan succeeds Bala Khagan |
| 830 | Kumo Xi raid Youzhou and are defeated by Li Zaiyi |
| 842 | Qushu succeeds Zhaogu Khagan |
| 847 | The Kumo Xi rebel against the Tang dynasty and are defeated by Zhang Zhongwu |
| 860 | Xi'er succeeds Qushu |
| 882 | Qinde succeeds Xi'er |
| 890 | The Khitans drive the Kyrgyz away from the Orkhon Valley |

## 10th century
### 900s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 901 | | Abaoji is elected leader of the Yila tribe |
| 903 | | Abaoji becomes Yuyue, commander of all the Khitan nation's military forces |
| 905 | | Abaoji secures an alliance with Li Keyong in Datong |
| 907 | 27 February | Khitan chieftain Abaoji becomes khagan of the Khitans |
| 908 | | Abaoji attacks the Shiwei |

### 910s

| Year | Event |
| 910 | Abaoji subdues a rebellion by the Kumo Xi |
| 912 | Abaoji attacks the Zubu |
| 915 | Abaoji attacks the Khongirad |
| 916 | Abaoji declares himself emperor of the Khitans and force Goryeo and Silla to pay tribute |
| 917 | Wuyue offers the Khitans naphtha but they refuse |
| 918 | Khitans relocate their capital to Shangjing, the Supreme Capital |
| 919 | Khitans subdue the Khongirad |

### 920s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 922 | | Abaoji raids Jin |
| 923 | | Abaoji raids Later Tang |
| 924 | | Abaoji conquers the Tartars |
| 926 | | Khitans conquer Balhae and set up the puppet kingdom of Dongdan |
| 926 | 6 September | Abaoji dies and his son Yelü Bei withdraws his claim to the throne, and the second son Yelü Deguang becomes Emperor Taizong of Liao |
| 928 | | Khongirad rebels in the north |
| 929 | | Emperor Taizong of Liao orders the relocation of the Dongdan Kingdom and its people to the Eastern Capital in modern Liaoyang |

### 930s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 930 | | Yelü Bei flees to Later Tang |
| 933 | | Khitans attack the Tanguts |
| 936 | 28 November | Khitans install Shi Jingtang as emperor of the Later Jin. In return Shi transfers 16 prefectures in Shanxi and Hebei to the Liao. |
| 937 | | Shi Jingtang of the Later Jin kills Yelü Bei |

### 940s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 947 | | The Khitan state is named the Liao dynasty |
| 947 | | Liao dynasty invades Later Jin and sacks Xiang Prefecture, killing most of its population |
| 947 | 15 May | Emperor Taizong of Liao dies and the son of Yelü Bei, Yelü Ruan, succeeds him as Emperor Shizong of Liao |

### 950s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 951 | 7 October | Emperor Shizong of Liao is murdered by a relative and is succeeded by Yelü Jing, son of Emperor Taizong of Liao, who becomes Emperor Muzong of Liao |
| 952 | | Liao dynasty assists Northern Han in repelling Later Zhou |
| 954 | | Liao dynasty assists Northern Han in repelling Later Zhou |
| 959 | | Later Zhou invades the Liao dynasty but retreats after their emperor dies |

### 960s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 960 | February | Zhao Kuangyin declares himself Emperor Taizu of Song, replacing Later Zhou |
| 963 | | Minor skirmishes occur along the Liao dynasty and Song dynasty borders |
| 964 | | Liao dynasty assists Northern Han in repelling Song dynasty |
| 965 | | Khongirad and Shiwei tribes rebel |
| 967 | | Minor skirmishes occur along the Liao dynasty and Song dynasty border |
| 969 | 12 March | Emperor Muzong of Liao is murdered by his attendants and is succeeded by Yelü Xian, son of Emperor Shizong of Liao, who becomes Emperor Jingzong of Liao |

### 970s

| Year | Event |
| 973 | Jurchens raid Liao dynasty |
| 975 | Liao dynasty attacks Jeongan but fails |
| 976 | Liao dynasty assists Northern Han in repelling Song dynasty |
| 976 | Jurchens raid Liao dynasty |
| 977 | Liao dynasty assists Northern Han in repelling Song dynasty |
| 977 | An examination hall is built in Southern Capital |
| 979 | Liao dynasty attempts to assist Northern Han in repelling Song dynasty but is intercepted en route and demolished |
| 979 | Battle of Gaoliang River: Song dynasty invades Liao dynasty and is defeated |

### 980s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 980 | | Emperor Jingzong of Liao invades the Song dynasty and retakes territory in Hebei |
| 982 | | Emperor Jingzong of Liao invades the Song dynasty but is defeated |
| 982 | 13 October | Emperor Jingzong of Liao dies and his son Yelü Longxu succeeds him as Emperor Shengzong of Liao; Empress Xiao Yanyan becomes regent |
| 983 | | The Liao dynasty reverts to calling itself the Khitans |
| 986 | | Song dynasty attacks the Khitans but is defeated |
| 988 | | Khitans begin holding regular imperial examinations |

### 990s

| Year | Event |
| 992 | Khitans attack the Tanguts |
| 993 | First conflict in the Goryeo–Khitan War: Khitans invade Goryeo and acquire nominal tributary status over Goryeo |
| 997 | Zubu tribes rebel |
| 998 | Khitans invade the Song dynasty |

## 11th century
### 1000s

| Year | Event |
| 1000 | Khitan forces retreat from the Song dynasty after failing to take key cities |
| 1001 | Khitans attack the Song dynasty but are repulsed |
| 1003 | Khitans invade the Song dynasty and retreat without making permanent gains |
| 1004 | Emperor Shengzong of Liao conducts a full-scale invasion of the Song dynasty which ends in stalemate and the Chanyuan Treaty, an agreement to an annual payment of silk and silver from the Song to the Khitans |
| 1006 | The Kumo Xi are assimilated into the Khitan nation |
| 1007 | Zubu tribes rebel |
| 1009 | Empress Xiao Yanyan dies |

### 1010s

| Year | Event |
| 1010 | Second conflict in the Goryeo–Khitan War: Mokjong of Goryeo is murdered by Kang Cho and the Khitans send an expedition to punish him; Kang Cho is killed |
| 1012 | Zubu tribes rebel |
| 1018 | Third conflict in the Goryeo–Khitan War: Khitans invade Goryeo but are defeated |
| 1019 | Third conflict in the Goryeo–Khitan War: Khitans prepares another army to attack Goryeo |

### 1020s

| Year | Event |
| 1020 | Hyeonjong of Goryeo sends envoys to pay tribute to the Khitans |
| 1027 | Khitans attack the Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom but are repelled and then ambushed by Zubu tribes |
| 1029 | Da Yanlin, a distant relative of the defunct Balhae regime, rebels; he is defeated |

### 1030s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1031 | 25 June | Emperor Shengzong of Liao dies and his son Yelü Zongzhen succeeds him as Emperor Xingzong of Liao; Xiao Noujin becomes regent |
| 1034 | | Xiao Noujin attempts to dethrone Emperor Xingzong of Liao but fails and is banished |
| 1038 | 10 November | Li Yuanhao declares himself Emperor Jingzong of Western Xia |
| 1039 | | Xiao Noujin returns to the capital |

### 1040s

| Year | Event |
| 1042 | Khitans force the Song dynasty to increase annual tribute to 200,000 taels of silver and 300,000 bolts of silk |
| 1044 | Khitans attack the Western Xia but fail |
| 1049 | Khitans attack Western Xia but are repelled |

### 1050s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1050 | | Khitans attack Western Xia and extract tribute |
| 1055 | 28 August | Emperor Xingzong of Liao dies and is succeeded by his son Yelü Hongji, who becomes Emperor Daozong of Liao |
| 1055 | | All officials are required to wear Chinese court dress |
| 1056 | | The Pagoda of Fogong Temple is completed |
| 1059 | | Institutes of higher learning are established in the capitals and prefectural and county schools are established |

### 1060s

| Year | Event |
| 1063 | A group of Khitan dissidents ambush Emperor Daozong of Liao but are defeated |
| 1066 | Khitans revert to calling their state the Liao dynasty |
| 1069 | Zubu tribes rebel |

### 1070s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1076 | | Trade of gunpowder ingredients with the Liao dynasty and Western Xia is outlawed by the Song dynasty |
| 1082 | | Unusually heavy snowfall kills 70 percent of livestock and horses |

### 1080s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1085 | | The Shilu, the Veritable Records, are produced |

### 1090s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1093 | | Mogusi of the Zubu and the Dilie tribes of western Heilongjiang raid the Liao dynasty |

## 12th century
### 1100s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1100 | | Mogusi of the Zubu is captured and hacked to pieces at the capital |
| 1100 | | The Tianning Temple (Beijing) is completed |
| 1101 | 12 February | Emperor Daozong of Liao dies and his grandson Yelü Yanxi succeeds him as Emperor Tianzuo of Liao |
| 1102 | | The Zubu and Dilie tribes are pacified |

### 1110s

| Year | Event |
| 1114 | The Jurchens under Wanyan Aguda attack the Liao dynasty |
| 1115 | Wanyan Aguda declares himself emperor of the Jin dynasty |
| 1115 | Yelü Zhangnu rebels and is defeated |
| 1116 | Gao Yongchang rebels in the east and asks the Jurchens for help and ends up getting annexed by the Jin dynasty |
| 1117 | Emperor Taizu of Jin defeats the Khitan army of the Liao dynasty |
| 1118 | Zubu tribes rebel against the Liao dynasty and Liao territory suffers from famine |
| 1118 | Emperor Taizu of Jin captures the Liao dynasty's Eastern Capital |

### 1120s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1120 | | Emperor Taizu of Jin captures the Liao dynasty's Supreme Capital |
| 1121 | | Emperor Taizu of Jin captures the Liao dynasty's Central Capital |
| 1122 | | Emperor Tianzuo of Liao flees the Southern Capital and his uncle Yelü Chun is declared emperor of Northern Liao, however he dies three months later and the title is passed down to Yelü Ding, the son in hiding with his father the emperor also in hiding; real power goes to Empress Dowager Xiao Defei |
| 1122 | | Jin dynasty conquers the Western Capital and Southern Capital |
| 1122 | | Yelü Dashi and Empress Dowager Xiao Defei retreat to the west and meet up with Emperor Tianzuo of Liao, who executes the empress for disloyalty |
| 1123 | | Song dynasty attacks the Liao dynasty but is repelled |
| 1123 | | Yelü Dashi is captured by the Jin dynasty and leads an attack on Emperor Tianzuo of Liao, who escapes; afterwards Yelü Dashi escapes from the Jurchens and rejoins the emperor |
| 1124 | | Emperor Tianzuo of Liao attacks the Jin dynasty despite warnings from Yelü Dashi |
| 1124 | | Yelü Dashi declares himself king and flees with 200 followers to the Orkhon River, where he eventually takes the title of gurkhan, meaning "Universal Khan" |
| 1125 | 26 March | Emperor Tianzuo of Liao is captured by the Jin dynasty; so ends the Liao dynasty |
| 1128 | | Emperor Tianzuo of Liao dies in captivity |
| 1129 | | Yelü Dashi annexes two Jin tribes |

### 1130s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1130 | | Yelü Dashi leaves the Orkhon River with 20,000 followers and travels to the Kingdom of Qocho where the ruler welcomes him |
| 1131 | summer | Yelü Dashi attacks the Karakhanids at Kashgar but is repelled |
| 1134 | | Yelü Dashi captures Balasagun and vassalizes the nearby Kankalis, Karluks, Kyrgyz, and Kingdom of Qocho |
| 1134 | | Yelü Dashi launches an invasion of the Jin dynasty, which ends in failure |
| 1137 | | Yelü Dashi defeats Mahmud of the Western Karakhanids near Khujand and annexes Fergana and Tashkent |
| 1137 | | Khitans raid Jin dynasty |

### 1140s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1141 | 9 September | Battle of Qatwan: Yelü Dashi annihilates the army of Ahmad Sanjar of the Seljuk Empire and vassalizes the Khwarazmian dynasty |
| 1142 | | Qara Khitai plunders Khwarezm and forces Atsiz to pay an annual tribute of 30,000 dinars |
| 1143 | | Yelü Dashi dies and his wife Xiao Tabuyan succeeds him as regent |

### 1150s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1151 | | Yelü Yilie, son of Yelü Dashi, becomes gurkhan of the Qara Khitai |

### 1160s

| Year | Event |
| 1161 | Khitans rebel against the Jin dynasty |
| 1163 | The Khitan rebellion is defeated by the Jin dynasty |
| 1163 | Yelü Yilie dies and is succeeded by his sister, Yelü Pusuwan |
| 1165 | Qara Khitai conquers Balkh |

### 1170s

| Year | Event |
| 1171 | Qara Khitai defeats a Khwarazmian army |
| 1172 | Qara Khitai assists Ala ad-Din Tekish in taking the Khwarazmian dynasty from his brother Sultan Shah of Khwarezm |
| 1175 | Naimans and Kankalis switch sides to the Jin dynasty |
| 1177 | Yelü Pusuwan is discovered in an affair with Xiao Fuguzhi and gets executed; Yelü Yilie's son Yelü Zhilugu becomes gurkhan of the Qara Khitai |

### 1180s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1181 | | Qara Khitai assists Sultan Shah of Khwarezm in taking Merv, Sarakhs, and Abiward |
| 1181 | | Kipchaks raid the Qara Khitai |

### 1190s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1198 | | Qara Khitai assists Ala ad-Din Tekish against the Ghurids but is defeated and loses Balkh |

## 13th century
### 1200s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1204 | | Qara Khitai defeats Muhammad of Ghor |
| 1204 | | Kashgar and Khotan rebel unsuccessfully against the Qara Khitai |
| 1205 | | Ghurids seize Termez from the Qara Khitai |
| 1206 | | Qara Khitai retakes Termez |
| 1206 | spring | Kokochu, also known as Teb Tengri, chief shaman of the Mongols, bestows upon Temüjin the title of Genghis Khan, "Oceanic Ruler" of the Mongol Empire, at the kurultai of Burkhan Khaldun, sacred mountain of the Mongols |
| 1207 | | Muhammad II of Khwarezm captures Bukhara and Samarkand |
| 1208 | | Kuchlug of the Naimans arrives at the Qara Khitai court |
| 1209 | | Kingdom of Qocho rebels against Qara Khitai and switches allegiance to the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan |
| 1209 | | Qara Khitai captures Samarkand |

### 1210s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1210 | | Kuchlug sacks Uzgen |
| 1210 | August | A Qara Khitai army is defeated by Muhammad II of Khwarezm, who captures the Khitan commander Tayangu and annexes Fergana and Otrar |
| 1210 | | Buraq Hajib is captured by Muhammad II of Khwarezm |
| 1211 | | The Karluks rebel against the Qara Khitai and switch sides to the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan |
| 1211 | | Muhammad II of Khwarezm seizes Uzgen |
| 1211 | | Qara Khitai defeats Kuchlug but the returning army is refused entry into Balasagun due to being mistaken for Khwarazmian troops and ends up massacring the entire city |
| 1211 | | Kuchlug ambushes and captures Yelü Zhilugu, after which he usurps the throne of the Qara Khitai |
| 1211 | | Kuchlug attacks Ozar of Almaliq unsuccessfully, and Ozar submits to the Mongol Empire of Genghis khan |
| 1213 | | Yelü Zhilugu dies |
| 1214 | | Kuchlug captures Kashgar |
| 1216 | | Jebe of the Mongol Empire attacks the Qara Khitai and seizes Kashgar |
| 1218 | | Kuchlug is captured and executed by the Mongol Empire; so ends the Qara Khitai |

### 1220s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1224 | | Buraq Hajib becomes governor of Kerman and converts to Islam, at which point the caliph grants him the title of Qutlugh Sultan |
| 1226 | | Buraq Hajib rebels against the Khwarazmian dynasty |
| 1227 | September | Emperor Mozhu of Western Xia surrenders to the Mongol Empire and is promptly executed; so ends the Western Xia |

### 1230s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1232 | | Buraq Hajib submits to the Mongol Empire and becomes Qutlugh Khan |
| 1234 | 9 February | Siege of Caizhou: Emperor Aizong of Jin abdicates to a distant relative, Hudun, who becomes Emperor Mo of Jin, and commits suicide; Emperor Mo of Jin is killed by the Mongols; so ends the Jin dynasty |
| 1235 | | Buraq Hajib dies |
| 1236 | | Qutb al-Din, cousin of Buraq Hajib, comes to power and is succeeded by Rukn al-Din, son of Buraq Hajib |

### 1250s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1252 | | Rukn al-Din is succeeded by Qutb al-Din, cousin of Buraq Hajib and husband of his daughter Kutlugh Turkan |
| 1257 | | Qutb al-Din is succeeded by his wife Kutlugh Turkan |

### 1270s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1279 | 19 March | Battle of Yamen: Mongol fleet annihilates the Song fleet and Zhao Bing dies at sea; so ends the Song dynasty |

### 1280s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1282 | | Kutlugh Turkan is succeeded by her stepson Soyurghatmish |

### 1290s

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1292 | | Soyurghatmish is succeeded by Padishah Khatun, daughter of Qutb al-Din and Kutlugh Turkan |
| 1296 | | Padishah Khatun is succeeded by Sultan b. Hajjaj, son of Kutlugh Turkan and Qutb al-Din |

## 14th century

| Year | Event |
| 1304 | Sultan b. Hajjaj is succeeded by Jahan, son of Soyurghatmish |
| 1306 | Öljaitü of the Ilkhanate deposes Jahan and installs a Mongol governor in Kerman |
| 1307 | The last Qutlughkanid Jahan escapes to Shiraz |
| 1328 | Jahan's daughter, Qutlugh Khatun, marries Mubariz al-Din Muhammad, the founder of the Muzaffarids |
| 1340 | Mubariz al-Din Muhammad takes Kerman and reinstates the Qara Khitai |

## 19th century

| Year | Date | Event |
| 1811 | | People of the Ili region are still calling themselves the Qara Khitai |