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TheYelü clan (Khitan:, spelledəy.er.uu.əld,^[1] pronouncedYeruuld;Chinese:耶律;pinyin:Yēlǜ), alternatively rendered asYila (Chinese:移剌;pinyin:Yílǎ) orYarud, was a prominent family of ethnicKhitan origin in thehistory of China. The clan assumed leadership of the Khitan tribal confederation in 907 whenAbaoji was made khagan. In 916, Abaoji founded theLiao dynasty. After the fall of the Liao dynasty in 1125, members of the Yelü family continued to play significant roles in history, most notably for ruling theWestern Liao and during theMongols era of conquest in the 13th century.Yelü Chucai, the last recorded person to be able to speak and read theKhitan language, is notable for advisingGenghis Khan in theConfucian tradition.

The Yelü clan established numerous dynastic regimes in Chinese history: the Liao dynasty,Northern Liao, Western Liao,Eastern Liao, andLater Liao. In particular, the Liao dynasty and Western Liao were powerful empires that had significant impact on regional history.

Abaoji, born in 872, was the son of the chieftain of the Yila tribe. At this time, the Yaolian clan had led the Khitan people since the mid-eighth century, and were the only Khitan family to have adopted a surname at this point as this was seen as a mark ofHan culture and not befitting of peoples of the steppe.

In 901, Abaoji was elected chieftain of the Yila tribe and in 905 forged relations withLi Keyong of theShatuo Turks. In 907, he was chosen leader of the Khitans, the first outside the Yaolian lineage to be chosen in more than a century and a half. From this, Abaoji and his successors developed the Liao dynasty, which would conquer all ofManchuria, the northern fringe of theCentral Plain known as theSixteen Prefectures and adjacent areas of northernKorea, easternMongolian Plateau and parts of far-easternSiberia.

Every monarch of theLiao dynasty was from the Yelü clan, which adopted the surname sometime in the 930s, after the death ofAbaoji (Emperor Taizu). The clan directly governed the southern half of the empire while the Xiaoconsort clan governed the north. The Southern Chancellory was charged with governing thesedentary population of the empire, mostly ethnicHan and residents of the conquered kingdom ofBohai. As such, there is evidence of at least limitedSinicization on the part of the Yelü clan.

Even as late as 1074, a proposal was brought before the Liao emperors to adopt surnames throughout the empire. This was rejected as an idea that would disrupt the traditional Khitan social order.

The Liao dynasty fell to theJurchen-ledJin dynasty in 1125, but a branch of the Yelü imperial clan survived and established another dynastic empire in theWestern Regions known as theWestern Liao, also called the Qara Khitai.

• Khitan people
• Liao dynasty
• Northern Liao
• Western Liao
• Eastern Liao
• Later Liao

• Mote, F.W. (1999).Imperial China: 900-1800.Harvard University Press. pp. 37–42, 53,75–76.

• Liao dynasty
• Yelü clan
• Chinese clans
• Individual Chinese surnames

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