Administrative divisions of the Liao dynasty

This region was the largest geographically within the Liao state, and also contained the area the Khitan lived in prior to the foundation of the Liao dynasty. It was home to a large number of nomadic tribes that were under varying degrees of control, and also contained some sedentary settlements.

The tribal system that governed the various nomad clans who considered themselves to be a part of the Liao state was very convoluted and relied more on personal relationships than any formalized system.[8] In general, the more proximate a tribe was located relative to the center of the empire and the more its members had personal dealings with the emperor, the more loyal it was. At the opposite end of the spectrum, tribal confederations such as the Zubu or Tsu-Pu who were on the distant fringes of the empire tended to be significantly less reliable and more hostile to Khitan activity in their areas; frequent military expeditions were required to keep them in line.[9]

The Northern Region was home to a Supreme Capital, which was decently sized. The emperor and his advisers, however, rarely spent significant time there; they would instead spend most of the year traveling through the northern region and meeting with individual tribes and their leaders, who expected the emperor to personally make decisions regarding matters of law and justice.[8]

While the Northern Region retained its tribal character for the entire history of the Liao Empire, there was a gradual importation of governmental and economic customs taken from Chinese and other sedentary populations into the area. In 983 the legal code of the Tang dynasty, already in use in the Southern Capital, was translated into the Khitan language so it could be adopted by officials in the North. Further reforms followed, to the chagrin of Khitan tribal members.[10]

During the 1114-1125 war with the Jurchen that resulted in the destruction of the Liao state, the Jurchen leader Aguda decided to seize the Supreme Capital, not so much because it held any strategic importance as that it would be useful for symbolic purposes. This was accomplished in 1120; Jurchen troops looted and burned down buildings and tombs of the imperial family.[11] Aguda's Jin Empire, however, never managed to subordinate the bulk of the various Mongol and Turkic tribes that had previously pledged allegiance to the Liao; these tribes remained largely independent until the formation of the Mongol Empire at the beginning of the 13th century.

The original Southern Region, formed by the split of the Liao Empire into two administrative divisions, is discussed above. It was eventually split into multiple provinces, one of which was a "new" Southern Region, with a capital at modern-day Beijing.

The Southern Circuit largely formed out of a portion of the Sixteen Prefectures that had been ceded to the Liao Empire by Emperor Gao Zu of the Later Jin dynasty in 937.[12] Over the course of the next several centuries the Song Empire continually claimed a right to this province but despite military efforts it was retained by the Liao. Due to its wealth it was at times taxed more heavily than other provinces. The region was suitable for growing rice, but the central government repeatedly banned the growing of paddy fields, likely out of a fear that the fields and the canals needed to sustain them would hinder the effectiveness of the Khitan cavalry.[13]

During the Jurchen invasion the Southern Region held out until 1122, under the banner of a separatist government. A Song attempt to seize the province having failed that year, Aguda invaded and captured the Southern capital without much difficulty.[14]

The Eastern Circuit consisted of the bulk of the old Kingdom of Balhae, which had originally survived within the Liao empire as a vassal state under the rule of a member of the imperial family.[15] The capital of the original Southern Region had been located here; after the Southern Region was split the city instead became the capital of the Eastern Region and was named Dongjing.[16] It bordered both the Kingdom of Goryeo and the Jurchen tribes, and as a result it contained a series of frontier stations and trading posts.[17]

As a result of its proximity to the Jurchen, it was the first Liao province to fall before them when they declared war. Having begun to attack border stations in 1114, they had largely completed their conquest of the Eastern Region by 1118.[18]

The Central Circuit was composed of the former territories of the Hsi, a people who, like the Balhae, had been allowed to retain a degree of autonomy after their conquest by the Khitan. Administratively this area fell under the Southern Region. Toward the end of the 10th century the central government enacted a series of measures that largely ended the Hsi's special status and fully incorporated the region into the empire. In 1006 the former residence of the Hsi king was declared to be the site of a new Central capital, which was walled in the following year. Chinese settlers moved into the capital[19] and the surrounding lands, which were suitable for farming. Unlike the other capital cities, however, the Central capital never evolved into a large city, maintaining only a small population of Chinese and Hsi citizens.[20]

The Central Region was lost in the first month of 1122. Aguda had sent a Jurchen army under the command of a Liao defector toward the end of 1121, and during a winter campaign it seized the capital and surrounding area.[21]

The Western Circuit was the final province created within the Liao state. In 1044 the modern-day city of Datong was declared to be a capital of an area consisting of parts of the conquered Sixteen Prefectures and the Yinshan Mountain region. Prior to this, it had been a part of the Southern Circuit. A large Chinese population was located within this region.[22]

During the war with the Jurchen the Liao emperor Tianzuo had retreated to the Yinshan region, which served as an effective move; although the Jurchen took the Western Capital in that same year they were unable to root out Tianzuo's remaining forces. It was only after Tianzuo left this area and attempted to recapture the Southern Capital that the Jurchen were finally able to defeat and capture him.[23]

Before Tianzuo launched his ill-fated offensive, a member of the royal family, Yelü Dashi, advised him not carry out the expedition. Upon Tianzuo's refusal, Dashi abandoned the emperor's camp and fled northward. From there he was able to eventually set up his own domain and expand west, forming the successor state known as the Qara Khitai or Western Liao.[24]