Eli Dasha

Eliu Dashi received a classical education at the Hanlin Academy in the course of Han and Khitan philology, which, however, did not prevent him from becoming a great rider and an excellent archer.

In 1115, Eliy Dashi received a jinshi degree, rank and appointment as ruler of Dai and Siachou provinces (modern Shanxi province, China ). The war with the rebellious Jurchen was already in full swing, but the front line was still in the north, in the depths of Manchuria , and the twenty-eight-year-old governor did not participate in these battles. Only in 1122 he managed to meet with the new emperor of the Liao dynasty , Tianzo-di , who, fleeing the Jurchen , who was on the verge, arrived in his southern capital. But even here the emperor of the once powerful state found no peace, soon fled, wandered around the outskirts of the country, in 1125 he was captured and died in exile.

Eliy Dashi gained fame as a commander as a young man, as commander of the Liao forces during the war with the South Chinese Empire of Song , from which he emerged victorious. Then the government of the Chinese empire Song , once again showing political shortsightedness, decided to take advantage of the plight of the Khitan and hit them in the back. The Chinese ambassadors agreed with the Jurchen on a joint attack on the southern regions of the Liao Empire and timed it to 1122. The Chinese commander Tong Guan led the large army, which only 2,000 Khitan and Tatab horsemen could oppose to Yulu Dashi . However, this was enough - the Chinese were completely defeated. After the victory, the army of Yeluy Dashi increased to 30 thousand horsemen at the expense of the population of his region, who again believed in Khitan valor. However, in 1119 , when the Jurchen still captured Liao, Yulu Dashi was captured, where he spent some time as a privileged captive.

Later, during the campaign of the Jurchen to the remnants of the Khitan, united around the emperor Tianzo-di (天祚帝, Tiānzuòdì or Yeluy Yansi - 耶律 Y, Yēlǜ Yánxǐ; reign: 1100 - 1125), Yeluy Dashi was their guide ^{[2] [3]} . The Jurchen army had the task of capturing the Khitan emperor, but the troops got into the marshy area and got bogged down so that they could not continue the campaign. Then the Jurchen prince Zунngwàng ordered the associated Dasha to withdraw the army to the headquarters of Emperor Liao. He brought out, and although the emperor himself managed to escape, his harem, sons, daughters, uncles and dignitaries were captured by enemies. For this betrayal, the Jurchen emperor Aguda saluted Eli Dasha and gave him a wife.

From captivity, Eliyu Dasha managed to escape back to the Khitan. One might think that Tianzo-di complains that due to Dasha’s betrayal, he lost all his loved ones, but he accepted the defector prince with enthusiasm, because just at that time a new campaign was planned by the Khitan to conquer the Jurchen Western and Southern capitals. Every person here was dear, who knew the position in the camp of the enemy. Dasha, better representing the state of affairs, subjected the adopted plan of the campaign to severe criticism. He pointed out that the eastern regions of the country were flooded with enemies, the defile in the mountain passages were ceded without a fight, that the emperor, who led the army, did not prepare in time for defense, due to which, naturally, the whole empire fell into the hands of the enemy. Instead, he proposed his plan: to train soldiers and wait for the right moment. Of course, they did not listen to him. The emperor threw troops on the offensive, which completely failed, despite the fact that 50 thousand Tatar riders came out in support of the Khitan. Dasha, who, on the pretext of illness, refused to participate in the campaign, made another attempt to reason the monarch, but equally unsuccessfully. Judging by the fact that in the next year, 1125, the existence of the Liao empire ceased, one must think that Yeluy Dashi correctly assessed the situation, and this justifies his further actions both historically and ethically.

Without waiting for an imminent catastrophe, in the fall of 1124, Elyu Dashi killed two dignitaries, pursuing a destructive policy of unprepared and unsecured counter-offensives, declared himself khan and fled west at night, carrying only 200 faithful soldiers. Three days later, he crossed the Black River and was among the Tanguty ^[4] , their commander (xianven) named Chuangu-er ^[5] gave him 400 horses, 20 camels and a thousand sheep. This was the minimum necessary to cross the desert. Each rider received, apart from a combat, his own, one pack-pack and one winding (i.e., spare) horse. Military equipment and liquids could be loaded onto camels, and sheep in the steppes — a mobile supply of food. Thanks to the help of the Onguts, Yeluy Dashi crossed the Gobi Desert for three days of uninterrupted march and reached the Khotun fortress on Orkhon , the extreme western point of the Khitan empire. This fortress, due to its special importance, had a 20,000-strong garrison, which without a word obeyed Yelyu Dasha. There he took the title of the Gurkhan of Northern Liao , that is, the “ popular khan ”, and became the banner of the struggle of nomadic tribes with the Jurchen expansion. Khitan warriors and representatives of those tribes (sources say the number of 18 tribes) began to flock to Dasha, who did not want to change the power of Liao to the Jurchen. In the fortress, Dashi urged his supporters to prepare for the revenge of the Zhuzhen people and restore Liao, but for this, Dashi proposed retreating to the West and from where to start the fight with the Jurchen. Warriors willing to fight with Dasha voluntarily, there were more than 10 thousand. Officials were appointed, warehouses with supplies and weapons were created. For the new year, according to the Chinese calendar (1125 was the European year), Dasha made sacrifices of a white horse and a gray bull to the spirits of heaven, earth, and ancestors. The army was assembled and prepared for the campaign. But the forces in the war with the Jurchen were unequal, and in 1129 Yeluy Dashi went even further to the west. A message was sent to the Uighur idykut Bileige ^[6] in which Dashi recalled the gracious treatment of the Abigots with the Uighurs that began after the Khitan’s western campaign, when the emperor suggested that the Uighurs restore their old possessions in Dzungaria or settle in Gansu. Dashi asked the Uighurs for the right of peaceful passage to the country of “Arabs”. Bileige met in Dasha and they feasted for three days. Bileige gave Dasha 600 horses, 100 camels, 3,000 sheep and made it possible to freely pass through the Uyghur lands, giving his sons and grandchildren hostages for the passage. Then Dasha honestly released them.

Since that time, the Khitan who left with him are called Karakitai (Kara-Khitan - “ Black Khitan ”). Having gained a foothold in southern Dzungaria , he gains power over seven settled areas and eighteen nomadic tribes. During this period, Central Asia was ruled by the Karakhanid dynasty, due to intra-family strife forced to submit to the Seljuk Sultan Sanjar , the most influential ruler of the Muslim East.

Dasha manages to take the capital of Karakhanids , the city of Balasagun , without much effort, after which Maverannahr and Khorezm also submit to him. As a result, Eliu Dashi creates a power that stretches from the Caspian Sea to the Gobi Desert , which in Chinese historiography is referred to as “ Western Liao ”. And part of the Karakites, having separated from their fellow tribesmen, create an independent Naiman khanate in the north of the steppe. The separation, apparently, was based on religious grounds: all the naimans were Nestorians . However, in the Karakite empire the number of Nestorian communities increased, and they enjoyed the protection of the state ^[7] .

With a long-standing dream of restoring the Khitan empire of Liao in the Far East, Yelu Dasha had to say goodbye. Attempts to conduct active hostilities both from the Jurchen in 1130 - 1131 and from the Gurkhan in 1134 yielded no results - the troops of both sides returned from campaigns without even seeing the enemy. Mountains and deserts made irreconcilable enemies mutually inaccessible. Some found a new homeland, others on the ruins of Liao created the Jin empire ( Chinese ит Jīn Cháo, lit. Golden ).

In 1137, under Khujent, Eliy Dashi utterly defeated the troops of the Samarkand ruler Rukn ad-din Mahmud Khan . Sultan Sanjar , perceiving this as a real threat to the Islamic world, began to gather elite troops from all over the Muslim East. By 1141, his army was reinforced by auxiliary troops from Khorasan , Segestan, and the mountainous regions of Gur , Ghazna, and Mazanderan . Here were the best troops of the Muslim world, hardened in battles with the Greeks and Crusaders, equipped with the latest technology of the time. The army of Sanjar was estimated at approximately 100 thousand horsemen. Such forces did not gather even for a war with the crusaders .

Regarding the size of the troops of Yeluy Dasha, there are disagreements between historians. For example, one of the most famous Arab- Kurdish historians, Ibn al-Asir , claimed that Dashi put out 300 thousand soldiers “from Khitan, Turks and Chinese” ^[8] . However, L. N. Gumilyov disputes this statement with the following argument:

Khitan was less than 30 thousand horsemen. Most of the Turks lived north and west of Balkhash , that is, outside the Kara-Chinese state. There could be no Chinese. The eastern nomadic Mongols at that time actively fought with the Jurchen , the Tanguts too. In short, there was nowhere to come for reinforcements for the war with the Muslims, and there was no need for the eastern steppes to support the khan who had escaped from them.

- “Searches for a fictional kingdom”, section 2 “A trefoil of bird's flight”, ch. 6 "The prototype of the hero of the legend" ^[9] .

The troops converged on September 9, 1141 on the Katwan Plain , located between Khojent and Samarkand. Eluy Dashi, dividing his army into three parts, drove the Muslims to the Dirgam valley (one of the tributaries of Zerafshan ) and defeated them. Sultan Sanjar managed to escape, but his wife and associates were captured, and 30 thousand of the best Seljuk warriors died the death of the brave.

Eliyu Dasha managed to achieve this outcome of the battle thanks to her knowledge of the military tactics and strategies used by the Jurchen. The battle in the Katwan Valley became one of the most ambitious battles of the 12th century in world history. Since the Battle of Katwan, Uyghur cities flourished, and where power fell into the hands of Christians, Muslim merchants were taxed ^[9] .

Developing success, Yeluy Dashi easily mastered Samarkand and Bukhara , extending his power to the entire territory of Maverannahr . ^[10]

Chinese version

Chinese sources also maintained a vague reference to the battle of Dasha in Western countries with a 100,000-strong army of the Huershan people ^[11] . Eluy Dashi encouraged his warriors by saying that in a large enemy army it is impossible to simultaneously control the "head and tail." Xiao Volila ^[12] and Yului Songshan ^[13] hit 2,500 soldiers on the right flank of the enemy. Xiao Laabu ^[14] and Yului Shisue ^[15] attacked the left flank with 2,500 soldiers. The main forces led by Dasha hit the center. Enemies fled and the Khitan exterminated them for dozens of li. Dasha housed the warriors for recreation. After 90 days, a Muslim prince came to him and brought tribute.

The news of the Battle of Katwan, having reached Europe, caused a wave of rumors, speculation and tales of the Christian sovereign of the East, Presbyter John , who defeated the Muslim army of Sanjar. The Catholic cross army had a hope for a strong ally - the Christian kingdom that existed east of Persia . In fact, he was not there, but the idea of ​​his existence, his necessity and even the possibility of implementation arose and played a role in the political and military history of Asia. The Christian kingdom, led by the king-priest, is only a dream of Eastern Christians, but this dream was so effective that by the time of the death of Eluya Dasha, many began to seem to be a reality, and for the sake of a dream, former enemies - Nestorians and Jacobites (Monophysites) were reconciled . The unification of these two churches, with complete disregard for dogma, took place in 1142, during the life of Yeluya Dasha ^[9] .

Rumors about the successes of Nestorianism in the East penetrated Europe and gave food for the legend of Priest John, a powerful eastern king-priest who allegedly wanted to help the Latin crusaders in their campaigns. This myth, which appeared in 1145, two years after the death of Yeluy Dasha, in the writings of Otto Freisingensky , was repeated by other chroniclers and was perceived as absolutely reliable. Pope Alexander III sent an extensive message to the eastern “priest John,” but his ambassador did not find in Asia either the king-high priest or his kingdom. Subsequent travelers considered the heroes of the legend of the real Nestorian rulers who headed the steppe khanates. Guillaume de Rubruk believed that we were talking about Inanch Khan Naimansky , and Marco Polo - that about Van Khan Keraitsky . However, both of them led their peoples later than the legend of Pope John. In recent times, the identity of the prototype of the king-high priest has become the subject of research and controversy among scientists. The riddle was clarified by V.V. Bartold and finally resolved by L.N. Gumilyov, who devoted a whole book to this problem. The hero of the rumors that degenerated into the legend of Pope John, could only be the gurkhan Eliy Dashi, the founder of the Kara-Khitan state. His campaigns were financed by Nestorian Uyghuria . In the Battle of Katwana in 1141, the troops of Yeluy Dasha defeated the army of the Seljuk Sultan Sanjar, who had previously terrified the papal crusaders and defeated the best European commanders. The Crusaders wanted to see their allies in the Kara-Khitan - this was how the legend about Pope John and his kingdom was born.

Gurkhan Eliy Dashi himself was not a Nestorian. Education he received Confucian. Muslim author Ibn al-Asir calls him Manichaean . Gurkhan preceded his messages to Muslim rulers with the Islamic formula: " In the Name of God, the merciful, the merciful ." It is known for certain that shortly before his death, Yeluy Dashi sacrificed a gray bull and a white horse in front of his shelves to heaven, earth and ancestors, and this is clearly an act of the ancient Mongol “black faith” . However, it is possible that Yeluy Dashi (like Genghis Khan and the first Genghisides ) was distinguished by religious indifference and performed pagan rites in order to please part of his army. It remains unclear why Eliy Dashi is named John in the legend. Among the Kara-Khitan, there were no less Nestorians than pagans, and the name John was very popular in the Nestorian communities of Central Asia.

V.V. Bartold expressed the assumption of high tolerance of Yulia Dasha. Gurkhan could not be a preacher of any religion. He faced another task - to ensure peace in an empire inhabited by representatives of almost all faiths: Christians and Muslims, Buddhists and Manichs, Jews and Tengrians. The national-tribal composition was also rich. The country coexisted peacefully, having mutual benefit from the neighborhood, peasants and townspeople, nomads and hunters, merchants and warriors. To reduce the risk of separatism, Yulu Dashi personally appointed hundreds of commanders, without uniting them into larger units. Giving great importance to the army, he at the same time built cities in the heart of the steppe to strengthen caravan trade. Thanks to this, the country flourished.

The successors of Yuliu Dasha on the Kara-Khitan throne were Buddhists , and they continued the tolerance policy laid down by the founder of the empire ^{[16] [17]} .

It should be noted that adherents of Islam were not subjected to any oppression - Muslim authors praise the justice of the gurkhans and their respect for Islam ^[7] .

Elui Dashi died in 1143 . His son Elijah (耶律 夷 列, Yēlǜ Yíliè) remained underage, and power passed into the hands of his wife Eliu Dasha, whom the gurkhan had appointed regent before his death. But even after his death, the nomads of Mongolia, as well as both Far Eastern empires: the Jurchen - Jin and the Chinese - Song - considered his successors as Dasha himself, and attributed to him the actions of the Kara-Khitan rulers.

The Kara-Khitan empire ceased to exist in 1218 as a result of its conquest by the Mongol empire led by Genghis Khan . The complete subordination of the territories that made up Western Liao ended in 1220 .

In onomastics, that is, personal names of representatives of the Mongolian peoples, the name of Yeluya Dasha is still preserved as a memory of a great ancestor. In the Kalmyk Khanate, the name of Dasha was one of the most common, and among the Mongols and Buryats it still exists today. The name Yelyu as Yulia can be found in the genealogy of the Kalmyk khans, and the last mention of this name is in the Pushkin's "Captain's daughter" as Kalmyk Yulaya. The name of another representative of the Khitan royal house - Elyuy Chutzai - is also preserved (as Chuchey).

• History of the Iron Empire / Per. and com. L.V. Tyuryumina, otv. ed. V.E. Larichev. - Novosibirsk : Publishing House of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography SB RAS , 2007. - 365 + 16s. (Incl.) P. - (History and culture of the East of Asia). - 800 copies. - ISBN 978-5-7803-0160-8 .