Decline of the Western Liao (Black Khitan) State (1178)

Name: Decline of the Western Liao (Black Khitan) State (1178)
Start: 1178
End: 1180

Type Event Region Central Asia Time 1178–1180

Around 1178, the Western Liao (Qara Khitai) under its last Gurkhan saw intensifying internal division, vassal and frontier peoples growing restive, e…

Timeline

1178Balasagun · Central AsiaUnder the last Gurkhan, court power struggles intensified, control over vassals and frontiers declined, and taxation and religious policies provoked discontent, as the empire shifted from its zenith to a defensive posture.
1178–1180Syr Darya and regions north and south of the Tianshan · Central AsiaExpansion by the eastern Naimans and the Khwarazmshah squeezed Western Liao's influence, while western vassals such as the Kara-Khanid Khanate grew increasingly autonomous, and Western Liao's actual control along the Silk Road steadily shrank.

Sources

The Empire of the Qara Khitai in Eurasian History — Michal Biran (2005)
Jami' al-tawarikh (Compendium of Chronicles) — Rashid al-Din