The gurkhan's own domain is the land round his palace camp (ordo) near Balasagun on the Chu: the Chu valley, the Issyk-Kul basin and the mountain pastures above them, where the Khitan clans and the gurkhan's salaried soldiers live with their herds, and the old Qarakhanid town of Balasagun with its Muslim and Christian townsmen.
He governs the Talas valley through his general Tayangu and keeps a garrison at Tirmidh on the Oxus. Zhilugu likes to hunt, and he is seized by Kuchlug on a hunt in 1211. His officers attested in his reign include Tayangu, the Muslim minister Mahmud Tai (attested 1209) and the chamberlain Baraq (attested 1209-10); who served him in 1200 besides Tayangu is not pinned.
Who he is
- Name
- Yelu Zhilugu
- Title
- Gurkhan, emperor of the Western Liao (reign name Tianxi, 1178-)
- Since
- 1177-78
- Born
- Not pinned (before 1163)
- Family
- Second son of Yelu Yilie (Renzong); an unnamed empress; a daughter (Hunhu or Qunqu) who marries Kuchlug in 1208. See the Qara Khitai realm record.
- Confidence
- high
Liao shi ch. 30 via Wikipedia; Biran 2005 via Wikipedia; TDV 'Karahitaylar'.
What it holds
- The ordo (palace camp) and the town of Balasagun (Quz Ordu)
- The Chu valley from the Kara-Balta to the Boom gorge, with the old town of Nawakath and the ruins of Suyab
- The Issyk-Kul basin and its summer pastures
- The garrison of Tirmidh on the Oxus (see the town record)
- The treasury at Uzgend (in the Ferghana khan's land)
How it was acquired
Inherited the empire founded by his grandfather Yelu Dashi (Balasagun about 1134).
Allies and rivals
See the Qara Khitai realm record. Officers: Tayangu of Taraz; Mahmud Tai and Baraq Hajib later in the reign.
How things stand that morning
In his ordo near Balasagun, ruling in peace at home after the defeat of 1198 in Guzganan.
Wealth
Tribute of the vassals; the Chu valley's farms and the herds of the pastures; tolls on the China road.
Military
The ordo guard and the Khitan clan soldiers, paid salaries (Biran). No figures.
Threats
- See the realm record.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1211Seized by Kuchlug while hunting; kept as emperor emeritus until his death (1213 per Wikipedia).Depends on: Kuchlug's coming and revolt (1208-10). Stopped by: Far beyond 1200.
Places of note
- Balasagun and the ordo: Capital and palace camp.
- Nawakath (Krasnaya Rechka): Old Sogdian and Christian town of the Chu valley, east of Bishkek; its life in 1200 is not pinned.
- Suyab (Ak-Beshim): Ruined capital of the Western Turks near Tokmok, deserted long before 1200.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The gurkhan's person is barely described; the extent of his direct lands is inferred from the capital, the treasury and his officers' seats.
On the map: A rough outline of the valley and basin; the upper pastures south of Issyk-Kul are given to the herders' province.
Primary sources for Qara Khitai
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The History of the World Conqueror, Ata-Malik Juvayni (1252 to 1260). Written for the Mongols but with a long retrospective on the powers they destroyed. Read online
- The Life of Sultan Jalal al-Din Mankubirti, Shihab al-Din Muhammad al-Nasawi (about 1241, at Aleppo). A Khwarazmian secretary's life of the last Khwarazmshah. Read online
- The Nasirid Generations: a General History of the Muslim Dynasties, Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani (1259 to 1260, at Delhi). The Ghurid court's own history, by a man born in 1193 whose family served the sultans of Ghur and Ghazna. Read online
- Compendium of Chronicles, Rashid al-Din Fadl Allah Hamadani (1300 to 1311, at Tabriz). The official Ilkhanid history, compiled from Mongol oral tradition and the lost Altan Debter. Read online
- Compendium of Chronicles: the Turkic and Mongol tribes and the life of Chinggis Khan, Rashid al-Din Hamadani (about 1300 to 1311, in the Ilkhanate). The fullest description of who held what on the steppe around 1200, written a century later from Mongol court records (the Altan Debter) and from informants such as Bolad Chingsang. Read online
- History of the Liao, chapter 30, on the Western Liao, Toqto'a (脫脫) and the Yuan history office (1343 to 1344). The only Chinese official notice of the Qara Khitai, a few pages at the end of juan 30. Read online
- History of the World Conqueror: the Qara Khitai (Gur Khans) and the Uyghurs of Beshbaliq, Ala al-Din Ata-Malik Juvayni (begun about 1252 to 1253, ends with 1260). Juvayni's chapters on the Uyghur kingdom (its origin legend, Beshbaliq and Qocho, and the idiqut Barchuq's murder of the Qara Khitai resident before his submission to Chinggis Khan in 1209) and on the Gur Khans of the Qara Khitai are the fullest Muslim account of the Tarim and Zhetysu around 1200: the gurkhan Zhilugu's court at Balasagun, his tax collectors in the oasis towns and in Samarkand, his relations with the Khwarazmshah Tekish and then Muhammad, and the arrival of the Naiman prince Kuchlug in 1208. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.