High Middle Ages · East Asia · War

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Jurchen capture the last Liao emperor

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After years of desperate flight across the Mongolian steppe with a dwindling band of followers, the last Khitan emperor Tianzuo was finally cornered and taken prisoner by Jurchen horsemen on the grasslands. The Liao dynasty, which had dominated the northern Chinese frontier for over two centuries, was formally and irrevocably extinguished. Its refugees scattered westward to found the Kara-Khitai in Central Asia.