Yelü Dashi

Yelü Dashi, courtesy name Zhongde (重德), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Dezong of Western Liao (西遼德宗), was the founder of the Western Liao dynasty. He initially ruled as king from 1124 to 1132, then as emperor and gurkhan from 1132 to 1143. He was also known in Muslim sources as Nūshī Taifū, Qushqin Taifū or Qushqīn, son of Baighū. A member of the imperial Yelü clan, he fled the Liao dynasty in northern China as it was on the verge of destruction by the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty and moved westward into Central Asia where he established a new empire.