Abaoji Named Khagan of the Khitans (907)

February 27, 907

On February 27, 907, Abaoji, chieftain of the Yila tribe, was proclaimed khagan of the Khitan confederation, consolidating power at a pivotal moment as the Tang dynasty in China collapsed. This election set the stage for one of the most consequential transformations in Inner Asian history, as Abaoji would later abandon the Khitans' traditional rotating leadership system and found the Liao dynasty in 916, ruling as its first emperor under the temple name Emperor Taizu.

The Khitans Before Abaoji

The Khitans were a semi-nomadic people inhabiting the grasslands and forests of what is now Inner Mongolia and northeastern China, organized into eight tribes that formed a loose confederation. Leadership traditionally rotated among tribal chieftains, with a khagan elected periodically from among the tribal elite rather than inheriting the position through a fixed dynastic line. This system, common among steppe peoples, prioritized proven military and political skill but also created instability, as ambitious leaders could be replaced when their term expired. By the late 9th century, the Tang dynasty to the south was disintegrating, weakened by rebellions, warlordism, and the erosion of central authority. This power vacuum created both opportunity and danger for frontier peoples like the Khitans, who had long existed in the shadow of Chinese imperial power, sometimes as tributaries and sometimes as raiders. Abaoji emerged from the Yila tribe, one of the eight constituent groups, distinguishing himself through military campaigns against neighboring peoples and skillful navigation of tribal politics. His rise reflected both his personal capabilities and the shifting circumstances of an era when traditional structures throughout East Asia were being tested and often broken by the collapse of Tang authority.

The Election of February 907

On February 27, 907, the Khitan tribal leaders formally elected Abaoji as khagan, the supreme ruler of the confederation. This election followed the traditional Khitan practice of rotating leadership among qualified candidates from the tribal aristocracy, a system meant to ensure capable leadership through periodic reassessment. Abaoji's selection came at a moment of extraordinary historical significance, as the Tang dynasty formally collapsed later that same year when the warlord Zhu Wen forced the last Tang emperor to abdicate, ushering in China's chaotic Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. For the Khitans, a strong and unified leader was essential to capitalize on the disorder to their south while also defending against rival steppe powers and settled agricultural neighbors. Abaoji quickly demonstrated why he had been chosen, launching campaigns that expanded Khitan territory and influence. Unlike previous khagans who had accepted the customary limits on their tenure, Abaoji began consolidating personal power in ways that would eventually break entirely with tradition. His military successes against neighboring peoples, including campaigns into regions of northern China and against other nomadic groups, strengthened his position and the wealth flowing into Khitan society, laying groundwork for a permanent transformation of Khitan governance.

From Khagan to Emperor

Abaoji's election in 907 proved to be merely the first step in a far more ambitious project. Rather than stepping down after the traditional term, he retained power through the 910s, systematically undermining the rotational system that had governed Khitan leadership for generations. In 916, he took the unprecedented step of declaring himself emperor, adopting Chinese-style imperial titles and founding what would become the Liao dynasty, taking the reign title that history would remember through his posthumous name, Emperor Taizu of Liao. He also adopted the sinicized name Yelü Yi, or alternatively Liu Yi, reflecting the deep influence of Chinese administrative and cultural models on his new state, though historians continue to debate whether the surname Yelü was genuinely adopted during his lifetime or attributed to him later. Abaoji developed a hybrid system of governance, maintaining traditional Khitan tribal structures for his own people while establishing separate Chinese-style administration for the growing population of Han Chinese subjects incorporated through conquest. He also commissioned the creation of a Khitan script for writing, a significant step toward establishing his people as a literate, bureaucratic state rather than a purely nomadic confederation. Abaoji ruled as emperor until his death in 926, having transformed a tribal confederation into an empire that would dominate northern China and Mongolia for over two centuries.