28 Facts About Kuchlug

Kuchlug was a member of the Naiman tribe who became the last emperor of the Western Liao dynasty.

Kuchlug later rebelled, usurped the throne and took control of the empire, putting an end to the rule of the House of Yelu.

Kuchlug was killed in 1218 by the Mongols and the domain of the Qara Khitai was absorbed into the Mongol Empire.

Kuchlug was the son of Taibuqa, the Tayang khan of the Naimans, a Mongol-speaking tribe.

Kuchlug favored a direct assault on the Mongols on open ground.

Kuchlug went so far as to dismiss his father's plan as cowardly.

Taibuqa relented and allowed Kuchlug to carry out his attack.

Kuchlug managed to escape and with a few Naiman soldiers fled westward towards the Kara Irtysh.

In 1208, they again met in battle, and Kuchlug was pushed further west into Zhetysu.

Kuchlug was welcomed by Yelu Zhilugu, the emperor of the Qara Khitai.

Once he was accepted into the empire, Kuchlug quickly gained a strong foothold.

Kuchlug found service as an advisor for Yelu Zhilugu, and eventually married one of Yelu Zhilugu's daughters, Princess Hunhu.

Kuchlug was later given the title of Khan, and was allowed to reorganize his fellow Naimans into a military unit under his command.

Kuchlug apparently had formed an alliance with the Khwarezm-Shah.

In 1210, while Yelu Zhilugu was dealing with a revolt by the Karakhanids at Samarkand, Kuchlug took the chance to rebel against his father-in-law, seizing the empire's treasury at Uzgen.

Yelu Zhilugu pulled back to his capital at Balasagun and defeated Kuchlug who retreated eastward to his Naiman realm.

The Khwarezm-Shah then joined Kuchlug in capturing the Qara Khitai.

Yelu Zhilugu was made taishang huang and Kuchlug became emperor of the realm.

Once Kuchlug had established himself as ruler, Muhammad demanded the Qara Khitai Gur-khan to be handed over and a princess as a reward for his previous support.

Kuchlug tried to stall, but eventually Muhammad became more aggressive.

However, when Kuchlug threatened to resolve the rivalry by direct combat, Muhammad chose to evacuate the region of upper Jaxartes, demolished the settlements there in an attempt to form a buffer zone between his empire and Kuchlug's, and the Syr-Darya eventually came to be the de facto border between the two rulers.

Kuchlug's wife, daughter of the Gur-khan, was a Buddhist, and convinced him to adopt Buddhism.

However, in contrast to the policy of religious tolerance of the previous Qara Khitai rulers, once Kuchlug assumed power, he was reported to have instituted anti-Muslim policies.

Kuchlug was reported to have crucified the imam of Hotan onto the door of his madrassa.

Kuchlug attacked the city of Almaliq, and the Karlugs there appealed to Genghis Khan for help.

Kuchlug fled southwards to Kashgar his previous acts of pillaging and burning harvests in Kashgar when he first captured the town, his anti-Muslim policies, as well as the billeting of his troops on local households, had antagonized the people of Kashgar.

Kuchlug continued south across the Pamirs, eventually reaching the border between Badakhshan and Wakhan in 1218.

Kuchlug was beheaded, and according to the Chinese historical work Yuan Shi, his head was displayed across his former realm.