
Khitan history – a Khitan woman, ca. 1000 AD (Musee Guimet, Paris)
Who are the Khitan?
The Khitan are part of the big group of Turkic and Altaic language speakers from Central Asia who gradually got more and more power during the Middle Ages.
Central Asian history
All our Central Asia articles
Where did the Khitan live?
By 300 AD, the Khitan were already living in the eastern part of Central Asia, north of China. Like other northern Asian people, they rode horses, kept herds of cattle, fished, and hunted.
More about cattle
Bows and arrows
During the Early Middle Ages, the Khitan lived in between two more powerful groups: first the Gokturks and then (after 742 AD) the Uighurs to their west and China to their south. Khitan soldiers fought as mercenaries for both the Uighurs and the Chinese. But like other mercenaries in other places about the same time, the Khitan slowly learned more about their employers, and began to think about getting some power themselves.
What is a mercenary soldier?
Who were the Gokturks?
More about the Uighurs
Three Kingdoms China

Liao Dynasty Buddhist monk, ca. 1000 AD (Musee Guimet, Paris)
The Liao Dynasty
So when the Uighur empire collapsed in 841 and the T’ang Dynasty collapsed about 900 AD, the Khitan were ready to jump into power.
The T’ang Dynasty
More China articles
In 907 AD the Khitan renamed themselves the Liao Dynasty, and they gradually conquered south and west, taking over old Chinese and Uighur land. As the Liao Dynasty, the Khitan forced the Chinese Song Dynasty to pay them lots of gold every year as tribute.
More about the Song Dynasty
The Khitan got rich and learned to write Chinese (or bought enslaved Chinese people who could write). The Khitan also developed their own writing system, though nobody really knows how to read it anymore. Just like many people in China at the same time, most Khitan people now converted to Buddhism.
Writing in China
Buddhism in China
The Jurchen defeat the Khitan
Who were the Jurchen?
Western Liao Dynasty
Women ruled the Khitan
As was usual in Central Asia, and as was common in Song Dynasty China as well, many of the Khitan rulers were women. When the khan Yelu Dashi died in 1143, his wife Xiao Tabuyan ruled as regent for their son. After their son, Yelu Yiliu, died in 1163, his sister Yelu Pusuwan ruled the Khitan.
What is a regent?
Women rulers in Song Dynasty China
More about women in Central Asia
More about women in China

Coin of Toregene
But to the east, the Mongols were already conquering the Jurchen and expanding their empire. By 1220 the Khitan became part of the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan. But after Genghis Khan died, the Mongol queen Toregene also ruled the Khitan.
Genghis Khan and Toregene
So did you find out what you wanted to know about Khitan history? Let us know in the comments!
Find out about the Jurchen and the Mongols
Bibiography and further reading about Khitan history:
Fascinating- the history of the Central Asian kingdoms and peoples has been ignored far too long, especially since some of these peoples have bumped into Europa and changed the course of our history many times, by both trade and war… Have often considered that one might do worse than to incarnate into those times and tribes.. often crude or violent, but really in comparison with European with 2 world wars in one century, perhaps not so much… I came to this site while researching the history of steel…
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it. We have articles specifically about the history of steel: https://quatr.us/india/steel-ancient-medieval-steel.htm and https://quatr.us/central-asia/steel-history-medieval-modern-steel.htm – but maybe you knew that. I see no reason to think that medieval Khitan was a more dangerous place to live than medieval Europe, and it certainly was richer and more literate.