The Khitan, in Chinese Qidan (契丹 Pinyin: Qìdān), were an ethnic group which dominated much of Manchuria and was classified in Chinese history as one of the Tungus ethnic groups (東胡族 dōng hú zú). They established the Liao dynasty in 907, which was then conquered in 1125 by the Jin dynasty of the Jurchen. There is no clear evidence of any descendant ethnic groups of the Khitan in modern-day Northeast China. Although a number of the nobility of the Liao dynasty escaped the area westwards towards Turkestan, establishing the short-lived Kara-Khitan or Western Liao dynasty, they were in turn absorbed by the local Turkish and Iranic populations and left no influence of themselves. As the Khitan language is still almost completely illegible, it is difficult to create a detailed history of their movements. Chinese (written) language (pinyin: zhōngw n) written in Chinese characters The Chinese language (汉语/漢語, 华语/華語, or 中文; Pinyin: H nyǔ, Hu yǔ, or Zhōngw n) is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... Pinyin (拼音, pīnyīn) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to Hànyǔ Pīnyīn (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration to roman script) for Standard Mandarin used in the... This article or section should be merged with ethnicity An ethnic group is a group of people who identify with one another, or are so identified by others, on the basis of a boundary that distinguishes them from other groups. ... Approximate extent Northeast China (Simplified Chinese: 东北; Traditional Chinese: 東北; pinyin: Dōngběi; literally east-north), historically known as Manchuria, is the name of a region (ca. ... Tungus can mean several things: Tungus is an obsolete term for the Evenks of Russia. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Events Oleg leads Kievan Rus in a campaign against Constantinople Yelü Abaoji establishes Liao (Khitan) dynasty Births Deaths Categories: 907 ... Jin may refer to: Jin Dynasty (265-420) Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) (Jinn) Jin, a state in China during the Spring and Autumn Period Later Jin Dynasty, founded in 1616 by Nurhaci Jin, a ruler of the Xia dynasty The Jin state of late Bronze Age Korea Jin, Chinese American... The Jurchens (Chinese: 女真, pinyin: nǚzhēn) were a Tungusic people who inhabited parts of Manchuria and northern Korea until the seventeenth century, when they became the Manchus. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Türkistan (also spelled Turkistan or Turkestan) is a region in Central Asia, largely inhabited by Turkic people. ... This article needs cleanup. ... This article needs cleanup. ...

Ancestors of the Khitan were the Yuwen clan of the Xianbei, an ethnic group situated in the area covered by the modern Liaoning and Jilin provinces. After their regime was conquered by the Murong clan, the remnants scattered in the modern-day Inner Mongolia and mixed there with the original Mongolic population. They had been identified as a distinct ethnic group since paying tribute to the Northern Wei Dynasty in mid 6th century. The Yuwen (Simplified Chinese character: 宇文, Traditional Chinese character: 宇文, pinyin Yǔwén) was a pre-state tribe of Xianbei and Hun ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. ... The Xianbei (鮮卑, written Xiānbēi in pinyin or Hsien-pei in Wade-Giles) is a significant nomadic people residing in modern Manchuria and eastern Mongolia before migrating into areas of the modern provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Hebei, Inner Mongolia and Liaoning. ... Liaoning (Simplified Chinese: 辽宁; Traditional Chinese: 遼寧; pinyin: Liáoníng) is a northeastern province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Jilin (Chinese: 吉林; pinyin: Jílín; Wade-Giles: Chi-lin; Postal System Pinyin: Kirin), is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. ... Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: ᠥᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠨᠺᠤᠯᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠺᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠣᠷᠤᠨ r Mongghul-un bertegen Jasaqu Orun; Chinese: 内蒙古自治区; Hanyu Pinyin: N i Měnggǔ Z qū) is an Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Northern Wei Dynasty (北魏 386-534) is most noted for the unification of northern China in 440, it was also heavily involved in funding the arts and many antiques and art works from this period have survived. ... (5th century — 6th century — 7th century — other centuries) Events The first academy of the east the Academy of Gundeshapur founded in Persia by the Persian Shah Khosrau I. Irish colonists and invaders, the Scots, began migrating to Caledonia (later known as Scotland) Glendalough monastery, Wicklow Ireland founded by St. ...

The Khitan were known as خطا in Arabic (Khata) and are mentioned by Muslim chroniclers as they initially fought with Muslims and later converted to Islam. A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... Islam (Arabic al-islām الإسلام,  listen) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith and the worlds second-largest religion. ...

It is interesting to notice that this name was the origin for the Russian word for China, namely Kitai, as well as an ancient form in Portuguese, Catai.

See also

• Ethnic groups in Chinese history
• Kara-Khitai
• Khitan language