This regime survived until the arrival of Genghis Khan's Mongolian cavalries and was referred to in Chinese sources as Kara-Kitai, Kara-Khitai, Kara-Khitay, Kara-Khitan, Western Liao, Xi Liao or similar variants. The Kitai or Khitai suffixes were quoted from Russian sources.
Its capital, Balasagun (in today's Kyrgyzstan) flourished to a cultural and economic centre.
| Temple Names ( Miao Hao 廟號 miao4 hao4) | Posthumous Names ( Shi Hao 諡號 ) | Born Names | Convention | Period of Reigns | Era Names (Nian Hao 年號) and their according range of years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Convention: check each sovereign | |||||
| De Zong (德宗 de2 zong1) | Tian You Wu Lie Di|天祐武烈帝 tian1 you4 wu3 lie4 di4 | Yeluu Dashi|耶律大石 ye1 luu4 da4 shi2 or Yeluu Da Shi|耶律達實 ye1 luu4 da2 shi2 ("Da-Shi" might be the Chinese title "Tai-Shi", meaning "vizier"; Or it could mean "Stone" in Turkish, as the Chinese transliteration suggests) | use born name | 1124-1144 | Yanqing (延慶 yan2 qing4) 1124 or 1125-1134Kangguo (康國 kang1 guo2) 1134-1144 |
| Did not exist | Qian Tian Hou (感天后 gan3 tian1 hou4) | Tabuyan|塔不煙 ta3 bu4 yan1 | "Xi Liao" + posthumous name | 1144-1150 | Xianqing (咸清 xian2 qing1) 1144-1150 |
| Ren Zong (仁宗 ren2 zong1) | Too tedious thus not used when referring to this sovereign | Yeluu Yilie|耶律夷列 ye1 luu4 yi2 lie4 | "Xi Liao" + temple name | 1150-1164 | Shaoxing (紹興 shao4 xing1) 1150-1164 |
| Did not exist | Cheng Tian Hou (承天后 cheng2 tian1 hou4) | Yeluu Pusuwan|耶律普速完 pu3 su4 wan2 | "Xi Liao" + posthumous name | 1164-1178 | Chongfu (崇福 chong2 fu2) 1164-1178 |
| Did not exist | Mo Zhu |末主 mo4 zhu3 or Mo Di |末帝 mo4 di4 | Yeluu Zhilugu|耶律直魯古 ye1 luu4 zhi2 lu3 gu3 | use born name | 1178-1211 | Tianxi (天禧 tian1 xi1) 1178-1211 |
| Did not exist | Did not exist | Kuchlug (Ch 屈出律 qu1 chu1 luu4) | use born name | 1211-1221 | Did not exist |
The Islamized Qarluk princely clan, the Balasaghunlu Ashinalar (the Karakhanids) gravitated toward the Persian Islamic cultural zone after their political autonomy and suzereignty over Central Asia was secured during the 9-10th century.
As they became increasingly Persianized (to the point of adopting "Afrasiab", a Shahnameh mythical figure as the ancestor of their lineage), they settled in the more Indo-Iranian sedentary centers such as Qashgari, and became detached from the nomadic traditions of fellow Qarluqs, many of whom retained the Nestorian-Mahayana-Manichaean religious mixture of the former Uyghur Khanate.
When the Khitays came, along with Nestorian Naiman recruits, they solicited support among Qarluks from Semirechye to the Irtysh region.
Though largely Mahayana and Confucian in organizing principles, the nucleus of Khitay elites were wise to adopt elements of Nestorian identity, as reflected in the Christian names of the Kara-Khitay Gur-Khans.
The Khitay conquest of Central Asia, can thus be seen as internecine struggle within the Qarluk nomadic tribe, only played out as dynastic conflict between the conquering Khitay elites and the defending Kara-Khanid princes, resulting in the subjugation of the latter by the former, and in the subjugation of the Muslim Qarluks by their Nestorian kins and the Nestorian Naimans.