Liao dynasty

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The Liao dynasty (traditional Chinese: 遼朝; simplified Chinese: 辽朝; pinyin: Liáo cháo), also known as the Khitan State, officially the Great Liao (Chinese: 大遼; pinyin: Dà Liáo), was a Khitan-led imperial dynasty of China and empire ruled by the Yelü clan that existed between 916 and 1125. Founded around the time of the collapse of the Tang dynasty, at its greatest extent it ruled over Northeast China, the Mongolian Plateau, the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, southern portions of Siberia, and the northern tip of the North China Plain.

Religion in Liao society was a synthesis of Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Khitan tribal religion. During Abaoji's reign, temples of all three major religions were constructed, but afterwards, imperial patronage was restricted mainly to Buddhism, which by the early tenth century, the majority of Khitans had adopted.

The Liao dynasty was defeated by the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in 1125 with the capture of the Emperor Tianzuo of Liao. However, the remaining Liao loyalists established the Western Liao dynasty (or "Qara Khitai"), which ruled over parts of Central Asia for almost a century before being conquered by the Mongol Empire.

Further reading

• Liao dynasty, Wikipedia