The Khitan forces were soon joined by 10,000 Khitans, who had been subjects of the Kara-Khanid Khanate.

YelГј conquered Balasagun from the Kara-Khanid Khanate in 1134, which marks the start of the empire in Central Asia. The Kara-Khitai empire was established by YelГј Dashi, who led 100,000 Khitans into Central Asia from Manchuria by way of Mongolia. It was only after the Mongol conquest that the state began to be referred to in the Muslim world as the Kara-Khitai or Qara-Khitai. Muslim historians initially referred to the state simply as Khitay or Khitai. The Jurchens referred to the empire as Dashi or Dashi Linya (after its founder), to reduce any claims the empire may have had to the old territories of the Liao Dynasty. Since the empire took on trappings of a Chinese state, Chinese historians generally refer to the empire as the Western Liao Dynasty, emphasizing its continuation from the Liao Dynasty in Manchuria. Since no direct records from the empire survive today, the only surviving historical records about the empire come from outside sources. The phrase is often translated as the Black Khitans, but its original meaning is unclear today. Kara Khitan (Hala Qidan) was the name used by the Khitans to refer to themselves. The Kara-Khitan state was destroyed by the Mongol Empire in 1218. The dynasty was founded by YelГј Dashi, who led the remnants of the Liao Dynasty, to Central Asia after fleeing from the Jurchen conquest of their homeland in Manchuria. The Kara-Khitan Khaganate, or Western Liao вЂ“ Xi Liao in Chinese - was a Khitan empire in Central Asia.

Medieval 2 broken crescent