MnKhitn

Phase I Variables (polity-based)

General variables

♠ RA ♣ Agathe Dupeyron ♥

♠ Original name ♣ Khitan Empire ♥

♠ Alternative names ♣ Liao Dynasty ♥

♠ Peak Date ♣ ♥

Temporal bounds

♠ Duration ♣ 907-1125 CE ♥

♠ Degree of centralization ♣ confederated state ♥ "The Kitan tribal confederation comprised several tribes of Uighur origin, such as the I-shih, second in rank only to the imperial Yeh-lü clan." "The incorporation of Chinese craft and administrative specialists is closely tied to the transition from a confederation to a state. Prior to this phase of empire-building, the various ‘‘tribes’’ within the Khitan polity had collectively elected a central leader for three-year terms. As with other steppe polities, the term ‘‘tribe’’ was applied to groups that were part of the Khitan confederation but not necessarily ethnically Khitan. In some cases certain ‘‘tribes’’ had only recently come into existence and were linked to other ethnicities, such as the Uighurs (Franke 1990, p. 404)."

♠ Supra-polity relations ♣ ♥

Supra-cultural relations

♠ preceding (quasi)polity ♣ Uigur Khaganate ♥

♠ relationship to preceding (quasi)polity ♣ cultural assimilation ♥ "The Liao Empire of the Khitan (907-1125) opened a new stage in the relationship between mediaeval China and the neighboring people. Their rise was preconditioned by the crisis and fall of the T'ang dynasty and the desolation of the steppe caused by the defeat of the Uighur Kaganate by the Yenisei Kyrgyz. The Khitans first brought under their power several small states which were formed on the remains of the T’ang Empire." "It may be more accurate to suggest that A-pao-chi took advantage of a political vacuum created by the gradual withdrawal of the Kyrgyz into their homeland in the Yenisei region. What is certain is that by 924 the Kyrgyz evacuation of the Orkhon region must have been completed."

♠ succeeding (quasi)polity ♣ Early Mongols ♥

♠ Supracultural entity ♣ ♥

♠ scale of supra-cultural interaction ♣ ♥ km squared.

♠ Capital ♣ {Boro Khoton; Central Capital; Liao-yang; Ta-T'ung; Beijing} ♥ " There were five capitals in the empire. The Supreme Capital of empire was located not far away from Shira Muren River in the neighborhood of the present city of Boro Khoton, Inner Mongolia. The Central Capital was situated near the Shira Muren River inflow point to Liao River. These are zones of residence of Kitans and other pastoral nomads of empire. The East Capital was near city of Liao-yang in the area of settlement of Bohai peoples. Two last capital cities were situated within the area of the Chinese people residence. The West Capital is the modern city of Ta-T'ung in Shansi province while the South one is the modern city of Peking (Steinhadrt 1997)." "In 918, in another step toward establishing a more permanent regime, Apao-chi ordered the building of a great capital city, the Imperial Capital (Huang-tu), later to be known as the Supreme Capital (Shang-ching). This was constructed at Lin-huang, north of the Shira muren (a place that later became the Mongol city of Boro Khoton), in the ancient central territory of the Khitan tribes."

♠ Language ♣ Khitan ♥ Describing the Shiwei: "Their language is variously described as similar to Kitan and Qai (Chinese, Xi), that is, Mongolic, or as similar to Mohe (Malgal or Mukri), that is, Manchu-Tungusic."

General Description

"The Khitan first appear in documentary sources in the 4th century as a people of the south-central portion of northeast China, from a region of mountains and open grasslands. Under the leadership of Abaoji, the Khitan rapidly adopted a centralized royal form of organization, with clear similarities to Chinese traditions but also incorporating some of the familiar steppe pastoralist strategies (Wittfogel and Feng 1949, pp. 59-65). Although Buddhism was a central feature of the polity, as the empire expanded into Central Asia the majority of the population was actually Muslim (Biran 2006, p. 66; Dunnell 1996, p. 4)."

"Liao occupation of the Central Plains, 947"

"The Liao emperor did not conquer and govern the Central Plains directly. ... by dint of military success, he had become the legitimate emperor of the Central Plains. Familiar with T'ang protocols, and advised by formally educated ministers from both Liao and the Later Chin, Te-kuang observed such practices as declaring a new dynasty, wearing Chinese dress, and reemploying former officials. ... He appointed new governors, demoted K'ai-feng from its capital status, and established Chen-chou as a capital instead. But Te-kuang did not intend to stay. ... he treaded the conquest as a very large raid, in which public relations were irrelevant and only loot mattered. Perhaps most damaging to Te-kuang's image was the policy of "smashing the pasture and grain" (ta ts'ao-yu) ... The Liao armies devestated the region around the capital, foraging to supply themselves and practicing the all-too-common cruelties of soldiers in wartime. To reward his troops, claimed to number three hundred thousand, Te-kuang demanded from an already overtaxed population cash and cloth to be stockpiled for transport north. Most ambitious of all was Te-kuang's attempt to take north every material element of the Later Chin imperial institution, including palace women and eunuchs, the complete contents of the imperial storehouses, and every last bureaucrat. ... Te-kuang ... apparently wrote his younger brother listing his own three faults in this venture: demanding cash from the people. ordering indiscriminate foraging and plundering, and failing to return the governors to their provinces in good time. The letter, preserved in the Liao shih (Official history of the Liao), describes the "foreignness" of the Khitan: they are raiders (rather than tax collectors) and pastoralists (rather than farmers), and they keep their governors at court(rather than giving them active responsibility in their provinces)."

Revolts against Liao: "Te-kuang, preoccupied with removing himself and his plunder north to the Liao homeland, was largely unresponsive to these events, although he did make an example of Hsiang-chou2, slaughting some hundred thousand men and children, and taking away the women."

"The Liao, for their part,did not vigorously defend the territory they had conquered. On the few occasions when they did fight, they did not try very hard."

"The one region the Liao seemed concerned to hold was the key strategic city of Chen-chou, which controlled the main access between the Central Plains and the Liao homeland."

Standen, N. "The Five Dynasties." in Twitchett, D and Smith, P J ed. 2009. The Cambridge History of China Volume 5: The Sung Dynasty and its Precursors, 907-1279, Part 1. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

"The comitatus of the early Khitan, a Mongolic people, is known from the ac- counts of An Lu-shan’s Rebellion. For a detailed treatment of the later Liao Dynasty of the Khitan, including discussion of its imperial guard corps, see the outstanding early study by Wittfogel and Fêng (1949). “Each [Khitan Liao] emperor had a separate ordo, or camp, with a ‘heart and belly guard’ of 10,000 to 20,000 households. . . . The members of this guard, particularly the non-Khitans, were the emperor’s private slaves, but their proximity to him gave them high status. After the emperor’s death they guarded his mausoleum while his suc- cessor recruited a new ordo and guard” (Atwood 2004: 297). The Liao state, with its five capitals (ordo), seems to have been organized, theoretically, around the ideal of the “khan and four-bey” system. The khan of the Kereit, who were rivals of Temüjin during his rise to power, “had crack forces of ba’aturs, ‘heroes’, and a 1,000-man day guard, institutions Chinggis Khan would later imitate” (Atwood 2004: 296), along with the golden tent (ordo) connected to them."

Social Complexity variables

♠ RA ♣ Agathe Dupeyron ♥

Social Scale

♠ Polity territory ♣ [1,500,000-2,000,000]: 908 CE; [2,000,000-2,500,000]: 1000-1100 CE ♥ in squared kilometers

♠ Polity Population ♣ 3,800,000 ♥ People. "In that multinational state the Khitan nomads (core - metropolis of nomadic empire) made up only a fifth of the population (750 thousand people). In addition to them the empire embraced the agricultural Chinese - over one half of the population (2,400 thousand people), the Bohai (450 thousand people), the non-Khitan (the so-called “barbarian”) hunter and nomadic (200 thousand people) tribes. The total number of the Empire’s population was 3,800 thousand people (Wittfogel, Feng 1949: 58)."

♠ Population of the largest settlement ♣ ♥ Inhabitants.

Hierarchical Complexity

♠ Settlement hierarchy ♣ 4 ♥ levels. Probably four levels (see below) "With the expansion of the empire, the Khitans organized around three geographical divisions, a north, a central, and a southern region. Inside these core regions organizational imposition was practiced. Beyond the core, overlay organization and marginal incorporation were utilized to administer the diverse populations. Dual administration also was used, with Khitans in the northern division governed by traditional law and Chinese subjects in the south governed by Chinese administrators (Biran 2006, p. 66)."

"As the empire grew, central, western, and southern capitals were established, along with many other major settlements and border outposts (Jagchid 1981; Mullie 1922; Perlee 1962; Scott 1975; Steinhardt 1997). All of their capitals were in the region of the Great Wall, and the southern capital was located at present-day Beijing."

1. Capital

2. Regional capital

3. Major settlement

4. smaller settlement?

"There were about fifty known Khitan settlements."

♠ Administrative levels ♣ [4-5] ♥ levels.

1. Emperor

2. Grand princes

3. Tribe chief (ilichin)

"the tribes were basic administrative-political units in the northern part of the country"

4. "Each tribe had its own control organization"

5? another level?

"The highest levels of the empire’s social pyramid were occupied by the imperial clan of Yeh-lü and clan of the empress Hsiao. The representatives of these clans were the first-rate proprietors in the country and held a major portion of the most important military and civil posts in the empire administration. Since the rule of the empire founder Apao-chi, the clan has been subdivided into two parts: Five or North Divisions and Six or South Divisions. These parts were governed by grand princes (wang). The family of the Kitans’ emperor was related to five divisions. The direct descendants of Apao-chi gave belonged to so called Horizontal Tents (hêng chang) while the descendants of two his uncles and brothers were known as Three Patriarchal Household (san fu fang). Jointly, they have formed four leading lineages (LS 73: 6b; Wittfogel, Feng 1949: 191-192)."

"The North part was considered to be higher than the South one by rank though, as for the administrative machine size and bureaucracy qualification, it ranks below the latter. The heartland of nomadic empire was headed by the Prime Minister of the Northern Administration (LS 1: 10b; Wittfogel, Feng 1949: 472) who, as a rule, has been appointed from the representatives of Yeh- lü and Hsiao clans. His competence included the most important affairs of state such as, for example, army control, supervision of the state sector of stock- raising business, participation in working out of the most important political decisions."

"In accordance with the hierarchical principle of the steppe society organization, the nomads were divided into subdivisions by the decimal principle (Taskin 1979: 511-513). In this case, only a part of nomads has taken part in acts of war while the remaining warriors have always stayed put as the basis of a tribe (ibid: 426). The tribes being autonomous and independent formations before the Apao-chi accession to the throne have become main administrative units for a period of empire. Their duties included the following functions: [...] Second, the tribes were basic administrative-political units in the northern part of the country. Each tribe had its own particular territory for leading a nomad’s life. Each tribe had its own control organization being headed by a traditional chief (ilichin). A title of the tribal chief was transmitted hereditably. In the course of signification a pressure on the nomadic tribes has occurred. Traditional territories of a leading of nomad’s life became to limit and reduce by the imperial government. Sometimes, the tribes were transferred from their traditional pastures to new lands."

♠ Religious levels ♣ [2-3] ♥ levels.

"cloisters"

♠ Military levels ♣ 6 ♥ levels.

Likely used decimal hierarchy.

1. King

2. of 10,000

3. of 1,1000

4. of 100

5. of 10

6. Individual soldier

Decimal system organization. "In accordance with the hierarchical principle of the steppe society organization, the nomads were divided into subdivisions by the decimal principle (Taskin 1979: 511-513). In this case, only a part of nomads has taken part in acts of war while the remaining warriors have always stayed put as the basis of a tribe (ibid: 426). The tribes being autonomous and independent formations before the Apao-chi accession to the throne have become main administrative units for a period of empire. Their duties included the following functions: First, it is military function. The tribal home guard has formed a part of the military organization side by side with the professional army divisions of emperor and a number of eminent aristocrats and armed forces of vassal people. It is not accidental that in Laio shi it is mentioned that a banner is a distinctive attribute of a tribe (LS 49: 1b-2a)."

Professions

♠ Professional military officers ♣ present ♥ "The tribal home guard has formed a part of the military organization side by side with the professional army divisions of emperor and a number of eminent aristocrats and armed forces of vassal people. It is not accidental that in Laio shi it is mentioned that a banner is a distinctive attribute of a tribe (LS 49: 1b-2a)."

♠ Professional soldiers ♣ present ♥ "The tribal home guard has formed a part of the military organization side by side with the professional army divisions of emperor and a number of eminent aristocrats and armed forces of vassal people. It is not accidental that in Laio shi it is mentioned that a banner is a distinctive attribute of a tribe (LS 49: 1b-2a)."

♠ Professional priesthood ♣ present ♥ "cloisters"

Bureaucracy characteristics

♠ Full-time bureaucrats ♣ present ♥

♠ Examination system ♣ present ♥ "In contrast to other medieval societies, the Chinese civilization has distinguished by the high vertical mobility. It was related to the existence in China of the system of tests of positions. This system was adopted by Kitans and, since 988, introduced in Liao. According to the rules established, the examinations were conducted in the volosts, regions and administration of Stationary Office every three years. Those who passed examinations in volosts were called hsiang-chien, in the region - fu-chieh and in the administration of Stationary Office - chiti (LS 12: 4a; Wittfogel, Feng 1949: 454-455, 491)."

♠ Merit promotion ♣ inferred present ♥ "In contrast to other medieval societies, the Chinese civilization has distinguished by the high vertical mobility. It was related to the existence in China of the system of tests of positions. This system was adopted by Kitans and, since 988, introduced in Liao. According to the rules established, the examinations were conducted in the volosts, regions and administration of Stationary Office every three years. Those who passed examinations in volosts were called hsiang-chien, in the region - fu-chieh and in the administration of Stationary Office - chiti (LS 12: 4a; Wittfogel, Feng 1949: 454-455, 491)."

♠ Specialized government buildings ♣ present ♥ "The scope of using the servile labor among Kitans was limited by housekeeping in case of private individuals and by service of the imperial tombs, palaces, administrative buildings and cloisters. The slaves could be also attributed to ordo of nomads and they could be used in construction works or even for service in army."

Law

♠ Formal legal code ♣ inferred absent ♥ There was a legal system. However, there is no indication that the legal system is uniform or formal. "The presence of the certain class boundary between the Kitan’s grand people (Chinese ji) and ordinary nomads (Chinese shujen) is confirmed, particularly, the fact that, if the representative of the aristocratic social group has made legal wrongs, he could be transferred to the commoners (Wittfogel, Feng 1949: 193). The aristocrats of different ranks were charged small taxes and were freed from public works. In case of commission of crime, the Kitan aristocrats were punished by milder penalties than other categories of subjects. In case that they were inflicted to penal confinement, their living conditions were fairly good and, in any event, they were freed from servile labor."

♠ Judges ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ Courts ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ Professional Lawyers ♣ suspected unknown ♥

Specialized Buildings: polity owned

♠ irrigation systems ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ drinking water supply systems ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ markets ♣ ♥

♠ food storage sites ♣ suspected unknown ♥

Transport infrastructure

♠ Roads ♣ present ♥ "In Sheng-tsung's early years (984-9) serious attention was given to building roads and bridges to provide easier passage for carts and to improving the courier system, which was essential to the rapid transmission of orders and information. In 1027 a strip of land thirty double paces wide on either side of official highways was ordered to be kept cleared for security purposes."

♠ Bridges ♣ present ♥ "In Sheng-tsung's early years (984-9) serious attention was given to building roads and bridges to provide easier passage for carts and to improving the courier system, which was essential to the rapid transmission of orders and information. In 1027 a strip of land thirty double paces wide on either side of official highways was ordered to be kept cleared for security purposes."

♠ Canals ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ Ports ♣ absent ♥

Special purpose sites

♠ Mines or quarries ♣ inferred present ♥ "More importantly, the Kitan’s country was an ore-rich land; mining and metallurgy in general were to play a major role in Kitan history".

Information

Writing System

♠ Mnemonic devices ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ Nonwritten records ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ Written records ♣ present ♥ "Abaoji had two new scripts developed to write Khitan, and the dynasty supported monastic Buddhism, artisanal and agricultural production in the steppes, and established two hundred cities or more in what is now Inner Mongolia." "In 920 the first Khitan script (the "large script," an adaptation of the Chinese script to the very different, highly inflected Khitan language) was presented, and by the end of A-pao-chi's reign this script was widely used. In 925, when Uighur envoys visited the court, the emperor's younger brother Tieh-la (whom A-pao-chi recognized as the most clever member of his family) was entrusted with their reception and, after learning their script (which was alphabetic), devised a second "small script" for Khitan."

♠ Script ♣ present ♥ "The Khitan too developed a writing system on the Chinese model, though it was little used." "In 920 the first Khitan script (the "large script," an adaptation of the Chinese script to the very different, highly inflected Khitan language) was presented, and by the end of A-pao-chi's reign this script was widely used. In 925, when Uighur envoys visited the court, the emperor's younger brother Tieh-la (whom A-pao-chi recognized as the most clever member of his family) was entrusted with their reception and, after learning their script (which was alphabetic), devised a second "small script" for Khitan."

♠ Non-phonetic writing ♣ inferred present ♥ "The Khitan too developed a writing system on the Chinese model, though it was little used." "In 920 the first Khitan script (the "large script," an adaptation of the Chinese script to the very different, highly inflected Khitan language) was presented, and by the end of A-pao-chi's reign this script was widely used. In 925, when Uighur envoys visited the court, the emperor's younger brother Tieh-la (whom A-pao-chi recognized as the most clever member of his family) was entrusted with their reception and, after learning their script (which was alphabetic), devised a second "small script" for Khitan."

♠ Phonetic alphabetic writing ♣ present ♥ "The Khitan too developed a writing system on the Chinese model, though it was little used." "In 920 the first Khitan script (the "large script," an adaptation of the Chinese script to the very different, highly inflected Khitan language) was presented, and by the end of A-pao-chi's reign this script was widely used. In 925, when Uighur envoys visited the court, the emperor's younger brother Tieh-la (whom A-pao-chi recognized as the most clever member of his family) was entrusted with their reception and, after learning their script (which was alphabetic), devised a second "small script" for Khitan."

Kinds of Written Documents

♠ Lists, tables, and classifications ♣ inferred present ♥ Within bureaucracy.

♠ Calendar ♣ present ♥ "The relations between the Khitan and the southern states of Wu-Yiieh and Southern T'ang were at their height in the late 930s and 940s; for a while Wu-Yiieh even used the Khitan calendar."

♠ Sacred Texts ♣ present ♥ "The Khitan now began to loot the capital thoroughly. It was decided to take back to Manchuria the entire body of Chin officials. This proved impossible, but in the third month of 947 they began shipping off to the Supreme Capital the personnel of the main ministries, the palace women, eunuchs, diviners, and artisans in their thousands; books, maps; astronomical charts, instruments, and astronomers; musical treatises and ceremonial musical instruments; the imperial carriages and ritual impedimenta; the weapons and armor from the arsenals; and even the copies of the Confucian classics engraved on stone slabs."

♠ Religious literature ♣ present ♥ "The Khitan now began to loot the capital thoroughly. It was decided to take back to Manchuria the entire body of Chin officials. This proved impossible, but in the third month of 947 they began shipping off to the Supreme Capital the personnel of the main ministries, the palace women, eunuchs, diviners, and artisans in their thousands; books, maps; astronomical charts, instruments, and astronomers; musical treatises and ceremonial musical instruments; the imperial carriages and ritual impedimenta; the weapons and armor from the arsenals; and even the copies of the Confucian classics engraved on stone slabs."

♠ Practical literature ♣ inferred present ♥ Within bureaucracy.

♠ History ♣ present ♥ "By Sheng-tsung's time there was already a Historiographical Office and a director of the national history. In 991 they presented the first Liao veritable records (shih-lu), with those for Ching-tsung's reign taking up twenty chapters. The director Shih Fang was rewarded in traditional style. We know also that during Sheng-tsung's reign a daily calendar (jih-li), the preliminary draft from which a later veritable record would be written, was already being compiled, as in 1003 the officials were warned not to include trivial matters in it." Rules on which matters should be reported for inclusion were made in 1011. By the next reign in 1044 we find as head of the Han-lin Academy and compiler of the national history one of the most remarkable scholars of the period, Hsiao Han-chia-nu, who translated a variety of Chinese historical works into Khitan and also began the compilation of veritable records for earlier reigns together with two venerable Khitan scholars, Yeh-lii K'u-yii and Yeh-lii Shu-ch'eng."

♠ Philosophy ♣ inferred present ♥ "The Khitan now began to loot the capital thoroughly. It was decided to take back to Manchuria the entire body of Chin officials. This proved impossible, but in the third month of 947 they began shipping off to the Supreme Capital the personnel of the main ministries, the palace women, eunuchs, diviners, and artisans in their thousands; books, maps; astronomical charts, instruments, and astronomers; musical treatises and ceremonial musical instruments; the imperial carriages and ritual impedimenta; the weapons and armor from the arsenals; and even the copies of the Confucian classics engraved on stone slabs."

♠ Scientific literature ♣ present ♥ "The Khitan now began to loot the capital thoroughly. It was decided to take back to Manchuria the entire body of Chin officials. This proved impossible, but in the third month of 947 they began shipping off to the Supreme Capital the personnel of the main ministries, the palace women, eunuchs, diviners, and artisans in their thousands; books, maps; astronomical charts, instruments, and astronomers; musical treatises and ceremonial musical instruments; the imperial carriages and ritual impedimenta; the weapons and armor from the arsenals; and even the copies of the Confucian classics engraved on stone slabs."

♠ Fiction ♣ inferred present ♥ "The Khitan now began to loot the capital thoroughly. It was decided to take back to Manchuria the entire body of Chin officials. This proved impossible, but in the third month of 947 they began shipping off to the Supreme Capital the personnel of the main ministries, the palace women, eunuchs, diviners, and artisans in their thousands; books, maps; astronomical charts, instruments, and astronomers; musical treatises and ceremonial musical instruments; the imperial carriages and ritual impedimenta; the weapons and armor from the arsenals; and even the copies of the Confucian classics engraved on stone slabs."

Money

♠ Articles ♣ present ♥

♠ Tokens ♣ present ♥ "The Khitan had made copper cash even before the time of A-pao-chi, and sometime in T'ai-tsung's reign (927—47) an official was appointed to control the minting of cash and iron production. Shih Ching-t'ang, founder of the puppet Chin regime (936-46) and a loyal vassal of the Khitan, had supplied large amounts of copper cash to help the Liao economy. But during Shih-tsung's reign, the Sung captive Hu Chiao reported that silk, rather than cash, was the main form of currency even at the capital."

♠ Precious metals ♣ ♥ unknown

♠ Foreign coins ♣ present ♥

♠ Indigenous coins ♣ present ♥ "The Khitan had made copper cash even before the time of A-pao-chi, and sometime in T'ai-tsung's reign (927—47) an official was appointed to control the minting of cash and iron production. Shih Ching-t'ang, founder of the puppet Chin regime (936-46) and a loyal vassal of the Khitan, had supplied large amounts of copper cash to help the Liao economy. But during Shih-tsung's reign, the Sung captive Hu Chiao reported that silk, rather than cash, was the main form of currency even at the capital."

♠ Paper currency ♣ ♥

Postal System

♠ Couriers ♣ present ♥ "Eventually the capital covered an area of 27 It: It was built on a standard Chinese plan with walls, gates, a street grid, palaces, ministry buildings, temples, courier stations, and so forth. It was in fact a dual city, for to the south was a separate Chinese city, with dense housing and markets. It also had a special quarter for the Uighur merchants, who played a major part in the trade of the north, and lodgings for envoys from foreign nations."

♠ Postal stations ♣ present ♥ Courier stations. "Eventually the capital covered an area of 27 It: It was built on a standard Chinese plan with walls, gates, a street grid, palaces, ministry buildings, temples, courier stations, and so forth. It was in fact a dual city, for to the south was a separate Chinese city, with dense housing and markets. It also had a special quarter for the Uighur merchants, who played a major part in the trade of the north, and lodgings for envoys from foreign nations."

♠ General postal service ♣ suspected unknown ♥

Warfare variables

♠ RA ♣ Agathe Dupeyron; Edward A L Turner ♥

Military Technologies

Military use of Metals

♠ Copper ♣ inferred present ♥ Majemir culture from 900 BCE is an example of one of the first iron-using cultures in the Altai region. and by 300 BCE in the Ordos region of Mongolia iron was becoming much more frequently used for weapons and horse fittings.

♠ Bronze ♣ inferred present ♥ Majemir culture from 900 BCE is an example of one of the first iron-using cultures in the Altai region. and by 300 BCE in the Ordos region of Mongolia iron was becoming much more frequently used for weapons and horse fittings.

♠ Iron ♣ present ♥ Majemir culture from 900 BCE is an example of one of the first iron-using cultures in the Altai region. and by 300 BCE in the Ordos region of Mongolia iron was becoming much more frequently used for weapons and horse fittings. "Khitan tombs also commonly contain iron weaponry".

♠ Steel ♣ suspected unknown ♥

Projectiles

♠ Javelins ♣ suspected unknown ♥ "With the military system of the Liao dynasty, every regular soldier was provided with a full set of military equipment, including ... the long spear, the short spear, the short pole lance ..." Was the short spear a thrown weapon?

♠ Atlatl ♣ absent ♥ New World weapon.

♠ Slings ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ Self bow ♣ suspected unknown ♥ "With the military system of the Liao dynasty, every regular soldier was provided with a full set of military equipment, including three horses and nine iron weapons (namely, four bows, 400 arrows ..."

♠ Composite bow ♣ present ♥ "The Khitan, Jurchen and Mongolian peoples excelled in horseback archery". "The first composite bow with bone reinforced 'ears', a major development, may have been used around Lake Baikal, c.500 BC. Despite many individual external differences, across the steppe, and across time, the composite bow would remain essentially uniform in construction method." "Khitan tombs also commonly contain ... arrowheads of various types."

♠ Crossbow ♣ present ♥ "There were also misgivings about the troops' training, particularly the Chinese units. In 1035 the armies were enjoined to supervise the regular training of their catapulteers, crossbowmen, archers, and swordsmen. In 1046 the emperor watched the exercises of Chinese troops while they practiced using catapults and bows, but serious concern about the inferior skills of the Chinese armies' catapulteers and crossbowmen continued through the next reign. These were skills that were irrelevant to the Khitans' traditional mobile cavalry warfare but essential to their warfare with their sedentary Chinese and Korean neighbors."

♠ Tension siege engines ♣ present ♥ "With the help of the Khitan and the Chinese they had taken into their army, as well as the Uighurs, the Mongols learned how to use siege machinery to capture cities." "There were also misgivings about the troops' training, particularly the Chinese units. In 1035 the armies were enjoined to supervise the regular training of their catapulteers, crossbowmen, archers, and swordsmen. In 1046 the emperor watched the exercises of Chinese troops while they practiced using catapults and bows, but serious concern about the inferior skills of the Chinese armies' catapulteers and crossbowmen continued through the next reign. These were skills that were irrelevant to the Khitans' traditional mobile cavalry warfare but essential to their warfare with their sedentary Chinese and Korean neighbors."

♠ Sling siege engines ♣ inferred absent ♥ First use of the counter-weight trebuchet 1165 CE at Byzantine siege of Zevgminon.. However, it is noted that Khitan were involved in sieges: "The Khitan first attacked Goryeo in 993 with subsequent invasions following in 1010 and 1018, all ending in defeat. One of the major battle sites was Heunghwajin. The Khitan laid siege to the fortress there three times...".

♠ Gunpowder siege artillery ♣ absent ♥ first mentioned in later sources for Genghis Khan

♠ Handheld firearms ♣ absent ♥ "Firearms appeared in Siberia and Mongolia in the 17th century in the form of flintlock rifles. Flintlocks were the only firearms used in most areas until the turn of the 20th century."

Handheld weapons

♠ War clubs ♣ present ♥ "With the military system of the Liao dynasty, every regular soldier was provided with a full set of military equipment, including ... the hammer ..."

♠ Battle axes ♣ present ♥ "With the military system of the Liao dynasty, every regular soldier was provided with a full set of military equipment, including ... the broadax ..."

♠ Daggers ♣ present ♥ "Among the steppe riders a dagger was typically carried in all periods, and a number of dagger designs are encountered in the archaeological and artistic record."

♠ Swords ♣ present ♥ "The so-called 'Sword of Charlemagne' is probably an example of an 8th-century Avar sabre, and a similar blade in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is also believed to have been made among Turkic or Mongol steppe people some time between the 9th and 12th centuries AD." "Khitan tombs also commonly contain iron weaponry, notably swords, spears, and arrowheads of various types." Cavalrymen often used the sabre to chop their enemy's wooden lance.

♠ Spears ♣ present ♥ "Khitan tombs also commonly contain iron weaponry, notably swords, spears, and arrowheads of various types."

♠ Polearms ♣ suspected unknown ♥ "With the military system of the Liao dynasty, every regular soldier was provided with a full set of military equipment, including three horses and nine iron weapons (namely, four bows, 400 arrows, the long spear, the short spear, the short pole lance, the broadax, the hammer, the banderole and the fire stone)."

Animals used in warfare

♠ Dogs ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ Donkeys ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ Horses ♣ present ♥ "The Khitan, Jurchen and Mongolian peoples excelled in horseback archery".

♠ Camels ♣ suspected unknown ♥ Khitan tomb murals depict "camel-drawn yurt carriages" so it is possible camels could have been used as a pack animal in the context of warfare.

♠ Elephants ♣ suspected unknown ♥

Armor

♠ Wood, bark, etc ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ Leather, cloth ♣ inferred present ♥ "Shields were known in all periods and, though they are mentioned in the contemporary literature, they only occasionally appear in artistic representations. They were typically made of leather on a reed frame, and a few rare examples survive."

♠ Shields ♣ inferred present ♥ "Shields were known in all periods and, though they are mentioned in the contemporary literature, they only occasionally appear in artistic representations. They were typically made of leather on a reed frame, and a few rare examples survive."

♠ Helmets ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ Breastplates ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ Limb protection ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ Chainmail ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ Scaled armor ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ Laminar armor ♣ present ♥ "Under Manchurian influence of the Liao dynasty, Koreans admired Khitan leather crafts and lamellar armor."

♠ Plate armor ♣ suspected unknown ♥

Naval technology

♠ Small vessels (canoes, etc) ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ Merchant ships pressed into service ♣ absent ♥ There were rivers, but the Khitan were steppe nomads so did not have much use for boats to travel armies from point A-B when they had horses that were much more mobile. Half the year the rivers would be frozen.

♠ Specialized military vessels ♣ absent ♥ There were rivers, but the Khitan were steppe nomads so did not have much use for boats to travel armies from point A-B when they had horses that were much more mobile. Half the year the rivers would be frozen.

Fortifications

♠ Settlements in a defensive position ♣ present ♥ "Uglugchiin Kherem is a fortified site with the unusual feature of massive stone walls positioned on the side of a steep hill in Khenti Province, Mongolia."

♠ Wooden palisades ♣ present ♥ "We know for certain that the Khitans tried to prevent the trade and tributary relations of their Jurchen vassals with the Sung. In 991 they cut off the land route by building palisades near a place through which travelers from Manchuria had to pass. But Sung-Jurchen relations continued by the sea route until the beginning of the eleventh century."

♠ Earth ramparts ♣ suspected unknown ♥ Khar Bukhyn Balgas in Mongolia: "Built in stone by the Khitan, it was surrounded by ramparts and a moat."

♠ Ditch ♣ inferred present ♥ Qarshi, built by Kebek of the Chagatai Khaganate is an example "typical of Mongolian and south Siberian cities from the Xiongnu period onwards."; it was "bounded by a strong wall, 4.5 m thick, surrounded by a deep defensive ditch, 8-10 m wide and 3.5-4 m deep, and had four gates. The original layout of the city (before Timurid additions) included one central fortress/palace surrounded by an open spaced designed for the erection of tents."

♠ Moat ♣ present ♥ Khar Bukhyn Balgas in Mongolia: "Built in stone by the Khitan, it was surrounded by ramparts and a moat."

♠ Stone walls (non-mortared) ♣ inferred present ♥ Khar Bukhyn Balgas in Mongolia: "Built in stone by the Khitan, it was surrounded by ramparts and a moat." Internet search of photographs - wals looked dry-stone in construction. Lots of tiny stones between bigger stones/rocks.

♠ Stone walls (mortared) ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ Fortified camps ♣ present ♥ "There are several sites in central and western Mongolia that probably served as border outposts inhabited by relocated Jurchen and Chinese (Ou-yang Hsu ̈an 1937a). One of these is the site of Khar Bukhyn Balgas. Like several other sites, it consists of a large square defensive wall constructed of rammed earth enclosing an area of nearly 1 km2 (Rogers et al. 2005, p. 807). Additional sites in Mongolia that have large defensive walls are the Kherlen Bars 1, Kherlen Bars 3, Sumt, East Wall, and West Wall sites (Dashnyam et al. 1999)."

♠ Complex fortifications ♣ inferred present ♥ Study of the Chintolgoi balgas: "The town was surrounded by two ramparts." "The Chintolgoi Wall is a 1256 x 655 m earthen enclosure is thought to have housed some 20,000 Khitan warriors."

♠ Long walls ♣ suspected unknown ♥ km.

♠ Modern fortifications ♣ absent ♥ Before the time of modern cannon forts

Phase II Variables (polity-based)

Institutional Variables

♠ RA ♣ Agathe Dupeyron ♥

Limits on Power of the Chief Executive

These codes refer to an explicit or defined right for some group to constrain the activity of the executive in some way, typically through a legal code, but other ways are imaginable (explain in paragraph if other mechanisms found). When coding ‘present’ for each of the below codes, provide explanation and give examples of the constraints being used, or note that the constraints were formalized but are no known instances of its use in practice.

Power distributed

♠ Constraint on executive by government ♣ present ♥ "After T'ien-tso abandoned them and fled west, severing all communication with the court, the high officials of the Southern Capital, led by the Hsi king and Yeh-lii Ta-shih, had in the third month of 1122 proclaimed Prince Ch'un their new emperor, citing as justification the precedent of T'ang Su- tsung's seizure of the throne during An Lu-shan's rebellion, when Hsiian-tsung fled to Szechwan. T'ien-tso was demoted to the rank of a prince (it is for this reason that he was never granted a temple name). ' The Liao empire was now split: Tien-tso's authority, such as it was, was confined to the remote tribal areas of the far west. The territory controlled by Prince Ch'un was limited to the sedentary southern regions, and the Liao empire he ruled was reduced to a minor Chinese frontier state, its officials mostly Chinese, and the army, once almost entirely composed of Khitan tribesmen, now a motley mixture of Chinese troops and refugees from the east, under Khitan or Hsi commanders."

♠ Constraint on executive by non-government ♣ ♥

♠ Impeachment ♣ absent ♥ If impeachment was possible, nobles wouldn't have to conspire to depose the head of state, and could use a legal route. "Some of the most powerful men in the Liao state were tired of T'ien-tso's self-indulgence, dependence on favorites and sycophants, arbitrary justice and endless levies of manpower, and requisitions of money and goods. Above all, they resented his favorite Hsiao Feng-hsien's ability to prevent the emperor's hearing their own proposals or even from learning how truly desperate the situation was. In the spring of 1121 Lady Wen, the second wife of T'ien-tso and mother of the prince of Chin, conspired with her brother-in-law, General Yeh-lii Yii-tu, to depose the emperor and install her own son in his stead. The plot was uncovered by the emperor's favorite Hsiao Feng-hsien, who was the brother of a rival consort, Lady Yuan, and hoped to ensure the succession for one of her sons. Lady Wen was forced to commit suicide, and some of the other conspirators were executed. Her son, the prince of Chin, in whom everyone had high hopes, was exonerated."

Social Mobility

Status

Elite status

♠ elite status is hereditary ♣ present ♥ "Sons and grandsons of high Chinese officials of the Liao also enjoyed the hereditary privilege of entry to office (yin) as under the T'ang, and such entrants generally enjoyed better prospects than did graduates. This practice fitted with the Khitans' widespread traditional use of hereditary succession (shih-hsiian) to office. Many offices were reserved for members of specific lineages of the Yeh-lii and Hsiao clans. Khitans were debarred from taking the Chinese examinations. Shortly after Sheng-tsung's death a prominent scholarly member of the imperial clan, Yeh-lii Shu-chen, was given two hundred lashes for allowing his precocious son to sit illegally for the chin-shih examination. The son was, nevertheless, employed and later gained preferment because he was also able to prove his mastery of a true Khitan skill, archery,' by killing three hares with three successive arrows." "The southern commissioners were usually members of the Yeh-lii royal clan, the northern commissioners mostly members of the Hsiao consort clan. The administration of the Northern Region was mainly, though not exclusively, staffed by Khitan holding traditional Khitan titles. Its most powerful officers were the Khitan commissioners for military affairs, the prime ministers of the Northern and Southern administrations {Pei-fu tsai-hsiang, Nan-fu tsai-hsiang), the Northern and Southern Great Kings (Pei Ta-wang, Nan Ta- wang), both of whom were members of the royal clan, and the commander in chief {yu-yueh). These men controlled all military and tribal affairs, the selection of military commanders, the disposition of the tribal herds, and the allocation of pastures. Beneath them was a bewildering array of tribal officials, an office for the royal clan of the former Po-hai state, and a range of offices providing services to the imperial house: artisans, physicians, huntsmen, and commissioners responsible for the royal herds, stud farms, and stables. No one could possibly confuse the administration of the Northern Region with the orderly model of T'ang government. It was essentially a great tribal leader's personal retinue, and many of its offices were specifically reserved for members of one or another branch of the royal or consort clans and filled by hereditary selection (shih-hsiian)."

Religion and Normative Ideology

We are interested here in any systems of thought and behavior that can influence people's actions, which we term a Normative Ideology. Normative ideologies are thought-systems concerned with the correct behavior of people, governments/leaders, and other groups (and particularly the relationships between these groups).

Mainly, this will be a religious or ritual system. As usual, when we mention Religious or Ritual System our focus is on the 'official cult', defined the same way as in the Rituals section:

With the official cult we refer to the set of collective religious practices that are most closely associated with legitimation of the power structure (including elites, if any).

However, Normative Ideologies are not restricted to religious/ritual systems. They include other thought systems, such as philosophy or anything that prescribes a particular pattern of behaviour. An example is classical Greek philosophy, such as the works of Plato and Aristotle, who were concerned with correct or moral behaviour and whose thoughts influenced the actual practice of several societies (the empire of Alexander the Great, notably).

♠ RA ♣ Enrico Cioni ♥ The name of the research assistant or associate who coded the data. If more than one RA made a substantial contribution, list all.

Deification of Rulers

(‘gods’ is a shorthand for ‘supernatural agents’)

♠ Rulers are legitimated by gods ♣ suspected unknown ♥

♠ Rulers are gods ♣ absent ♥ “The problem of violence stems from human craving, the root of all evil, and there are two basic responses to the problem: On the social level, the response takes the form of the human - not divine (!) - institution of a ruler who is given a monopoly on the use of force so as to contain violence and guarantee peace and justice.” NB This variable is particularly likely to vary according to polity/NGA.

Normative Ideological Aspects of Equity and Prosociality

These codes refer to acts undertaken without direct compulsion from or out of adherence to a religious system (religious aspects of prosociality are coded below)

♠ Ideological reinforcement of equality ♣ present ♥ Buddhism is fundamentally egalitarian: every human being has a potential to achieve what Buddha achieved, regardless of class or ethnicity .

♠ Ideological thought equates rulers and commoners ♣ absent ♥ “The king’s religious status was generally seen as that of the leading lay-follower, the first among the faithful laity. Under Mahāyāna influence - though by no means only in Mahāyāna-Buddhist countries - he was accorded the status of a Bodhisattva, that is, one who is on his way to becoming a Buddha and acts only for the welfare of all others (see Chapter 10).”

♠ Ideological thought equates elites and commoners ♣ present ♥ Buddhism is fundamentally egalitarian: every human being has a potential to achieve what Buddha achieved, regardless of class or ethnicity .

♠ Ideology reinforces prosociality ♣ present ♥ “The twofold benefit of living a morally good life is linked to a twofold motivation: ‘Protecting oneself, one protects others; protecting others, one protects oneself ’ - just as each acrobat in a balancing act protects his partner by concentrating on himself, and protects himself by concentrating on his partner (see SN 47:19). If we take care of our own spiritual development, we render a service to others; and if we develop love towards others, we thereby also help ourselves. Accordingly, it is explicitly stated, someone who pursues the path of salvation only for his or her own benefit is to be censured, while the one who follows the path for one’s own benefit and for the benefit of others is to be commended (see AN 7:64).” “Three segments of the Noble Eightfold Path (3 - 5) are traditionally subsumed under the principle of morality (śīla): ‘right speech’ (3), ‘right action’ (4) and ‘right livelihood’ (5). [...] ‘Right action’ is explained as abstaining from harming and killing sentient beings - including animals (!), and further as abstaining from ‘taking what is not given’ and from sexual misconduct, which means avoiding sexual relations with women who are still under the protection of their families, or with those who are married, betrothed, or celibate for religious reasons. From monks and nuns complete sexual abstention is demanded. ‘Right livelihood’ means abstaining from those sources of income which involve harming other beings: trading in weapons for instance, or trading in living beings, meat, intoxicants or poison; also included is the avoidance of fraud and avarice.”

♠ production of public goods ♣ present ♥ “Leading a moral life is seen as having a wider social dimension as well. Establishing public parks, constructing bridges, digging wells and providing a residence for the homeless (see SN 1:1:47; similarly Jat 31) - all these are commended.”

Moralizing Supernatural Powers

♠ Moral concern is primary ♣present♥

♠ Moralizing enforcement is certain ♣present♥

♠ Moralizing norms are broad ♣present♥

♠ Moralizing enforcement is targeted ♣present♥

♠ Moralizing enforcement of rulers ♣present♥

♠ Moralizing religion adopted by elites ♣present♥

♠ Moralizing religion adopted by commoners ♣absent♥

♠ Moralizing enforcement in afterlife ♣present♥

♠ Moralizing enforcement in this life ♣present♥

♠ Moralizing enforcement is agentic ♣absent♥

These data were reviewed by expert advisors and consultants. For a detailed description of these data, refer to the relevant Analytic Narratives, reference tables, and acknowledgements page.

References

Beckwith, C. I. 2009. EMPIRES OF THE SILK ROAD: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Karasulas, A. 2004. Mounted Archers of the Steppe 600BC-AD1300. Oxford: Osprey.

Kradin, N. 2010. North and South in the Dynamics of Inner Asia: the Movement of People, Empires and Technologies. III Northern Archaeological Congress Papers. November 8-13, 2010. Khanty-Mansiisk. pp. 236-266.

Kradin, N. 2014. Nomads of Inner Asia in transition. Moscow: URSS.

Rogers, J. D. 2012. Inner Asian States and Empires: Theories and Synthesis. Journal of Archaeological Research 20:205-256

Sneath, D. 2007. The Headless State: Aristocratic Orders, Kinship Society and Misrepresentations of Nomadic Inner Asia. New York: Columbia University Press.

Standen, N. "The Five Dynasties." in Twitchett, D and Smith, P J ed. 2009. The Cambridge History of China Volume 5: The Sung Dynasty and its Precursors, 907-1279, Part 1. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

Twitchett, D.C. and K. Tietze. 1994. The Liao. In Franke, H. and D.C. Twitchett (eds) The Cambridge History of China Volume 6: Alien Regimes and Border States, 907-1368 pp. 43-153. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Van de Ven, H. 2000. Introduction. In Van de Ven, H. (ed.) Warfare in Chinese History, pp. 1-32. Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill.

Wittfogel, Karl A., and Feng Chia-sheng. 1949. History of Chinese society, Liao (907-1125). Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, n.s., vol. 36. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society.