Emperor Tianzuo of Liao

Emperor Tianzuo of Liao, personal name Yelu Yanxi, was the ninth and last emperor of the Khitan-led Liao dynasty of China. Born in 1075, he succeeded his grandfather Emperor Daozong in 1101 and reigned until the dynasty fell in 1125. His reign coincided with the rise of the Jurchen under Wanyan Aguda, who founded the Jin dynasty in 1115 and allied with the Northern Song against the Liao. Tianzuo proved unable to meet the threat: a coup to install his uncle Yelu Chun failed in 1115, a second plot in 1121 to enthrone his son ended with the prince executed, and Jin forces took the Liao capitals between 1120 and 1123. He fled west, sought refuge with the Western Xia, and was captured by the Jin in 1125. Sources disagree on his death, which one history places in 1128 from illness and a later novel places in 1156.