Qara Khitai

This article is about the specific polity Qara Khitai and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.

If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here:All Statistics

Was a sinicized empire in Central Asia, ruled by the Khitan Yelü clan. The dynasty was founded by Yelü Dashi (Emperor Dezong of Liao), who led the remnants of the Liao dynasty to Central Asia after fleeing from the Jurchen conquest of their homeland in the north and northeast of modern-day China.

Establishment

January 1125: Qara Khitai was a sinicized empire in Central Asia, ruled by the Khitan Yelü clan. The dynasty was founded by Yelü Dashi (Emperor Dezong of Liao), who led the remnants of the Liao dynasty to Central Asia after fleeing from the Jurchen conquest of their homeland in the north and northeast of modern-day China.

Chronology

Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation

1. Song-Xia wars

Were a series of military conflicts fought by the Northern Song dynasty, Western Xia dynasty, and Liao dynasty from the late 10th century to early 12th century.

January 1137: Western Xia Expansion by 1136.

2. Mongol invasions and conquests

Were a series of military campaigny by the Mongols that created the largest contiguous Empire in history, the Mongol Empire, which controlled most of Eurasia.

2.1.Conquest of Mongolia and Siberia

By 1206, Genghis Khan had conquered all Mongol and Turkic tribes in southern Siberia and Mongolia.

January 1207: In 1206, Temujin was crowned as the khagan (Emperor) of the Yekhe Mongol Ulus (Great Mongol State) at a Kurultai (general assembly/council). It was there that he assumed the title of Genghis Khan (universal leader) instead of one of the old tribal titles such as Gur Khan or Tayang Khan, marking the start of the Mongol Empire.

January 1208: Jochi subjugated the Siberian forest people, the Uriankhai, the Oirats, Barga, Khakas, Buryats, Tuvans, Khori-Tumed, and Kyrgyz

2.2.Invasion of Central Asia

Were a series of expansionistic military campaigns by the Mongols in Central Asia.

2.2.1.Conquest of the Qara Khitai

Was the Mongol conquest of the Qara Khitai.

January 1211: The Uyghur state of Kara-Khoja was a vassal of the Qara Khitai, but in 1210, the Uyghur ruler of Kara-Khoja, Idiqut Barchuq appeared before the Khan to declare his allegiance to the Mongolians.

January 1217: In 1216, the Mongol general Jebe, also known as "The Arrow," conquered the city of Balasagun, which was the capital of the Qara Khitai. Jebe defeated a large army of 30,000 troops, forcing the Qara Khitai ruler Kuchlug to flee. This victory further expanded the territory of the Mongol Empire.

January 1217: In 1216, after requesting Muhammad II of Khwarazm not to aid Kuchlug, Genghis Khan dispatched general Jebe with two tumens. The two armies traveled alongside each other through the Altai and Tarbagatai Mountains until arriving at Almaliq.

January 1219: Mongol general Jebe pursued Kuchlug, the ruler of Qara Khitai, across the Pamir Mountains into Badakhshan in modern Afghanistan. A group of hunters caught Kuchlug and handed him over to the Mongols, who promptly beheaded him. Qara Khitai was annexed to the Mongol Empire.

3. Further events (Unrelated to Any War)

January 1126: The Mongolian plateau was occupied mainly by five powerful tribal confederations (khanlig): Keraites, Khamag Mongol, Naiman, Mergid, and Tatar.

January 1135: The Khitans then conquered Kashgar, Khotan, and Beshbalik.

January 1135: In 1134, the city of Balasagun was captured from the Kara-Khanid Khanate by the Qara Khitai, a Turkic dynasty.

January 1138: The Khitans defeated the Western Kara-Khanid Khanate at Khujand in 1137, eventually leading to their control over the Fergana Valley.

September 1141: The Qara Khitai won the Battle of Qatwan against the Western Kara-Khanids and the Seljuk Empire, which allowed the Khitans to gain control over Transoxiana.

January 1142: In 1141, the Seljuq Sultan Ahmed Sanjar was defeated by the Qara Khitai at the battle of Qatwan, and Anush Tigin's grandson Ala ad-Din Atsiz became a vassal to Yelü Dashi of the Qara Khitan.

January 1167: Georgian king George III marched into Arran at the beginning of 1166 and occupied a region extending to faraway cities as Nakhchivan and Beylagan.

February 1167: After devastating a region including Arran, Nakhchivan and Beylagan the Georgian army left the area.

January 1181: The Western Kara-Khanid Khanate fell to the Khwarazmian Empire.

January 1187: The Ghurid dynasty overthrew the Ghaznavid Empire in 1186 when Sultan Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad of Ghor conquered the last Ghaznavid capital of Lahore.

January 1195: In 1194, the last Sultan of the Great Seljuq Empire, Toghrul III, was defeated and killed by the Khwarezm ruler Ala ad-Din Tekish, who subsequently conquered parts of Khorasan and western Iran.

January 1211: Samarkand, a city in Central Asia, was occupied by the Qara-Khitai in 1210.