Khitan people

The Khitan were a people of northeastern Asia who founded the Liao dynasty and whose name became the source of Cathay and Kitai.

Yuwen Xianbei: A branch of the Xianbei confederations that lived in northeastern China during the early medieval period. The Khitan emerged among northeastern peoples shaped by earlier Xianbei traditions.
Dual administration system: A system that governed nomadic and settled populations through separate but coordinated institutions. The Liao used distinct northern and southern administrations to rule diverse subjects.
Yelü Dashi: A Khitan prince who founded the Western Liao dynasty in Central Asia in the twelfth century. After the Liao fell, he led Khitan followers west and built a successor empire.
Cathay: A historical European name for China, derived from the Khitan name. Khitan rule made their ethnonym a lasting name for China in European usage.
Kumo Xi: A people of northeastern Asia who shared close historical and political ties with the Khitan. Khitan and Kumo Xi communities were closely connected before and during the Liao era.
Khitan script: A writing system developed under the Liao dynasty for recording the Khitan language. Khitan rulers created scripts to conduct administration and preserve their language.
Xiao family: A prominent Khitan aristocratic clan that supplied consorts and officials to the Liao dynasty. The clan's political influence illustrates the role of elite Khitan families in imperial rule.
Kitai: A name for China used in several Eurasian languages, derived from the Khitan ethnonym. The Khitan name spread through regional contacts and trade across Eurasia.
Abaoji: The Khitan leader who founded the Liao dynasty in 907 and ruled as Emperor Taizu. His unification of Khitan tribes established an enduring imperial state.
Khitan small script: A syllabic and logographic script used by the Khitan alongside the Khitan large script. It was one of the two writing systems developed for Khitan use.

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