Jin dynasty captures the Liao Supreme Capital

1117

Jurchen cavalry under Emperor Taizu stormed the Liao Supreme Capital at Shangjing, torching the palaces of the Khitan emperors who had dominated northern China and Mongolia for over two centuries. The Liao dynasty fractured beyond repair; its last emperor fled west into the steppe while the Jurchen warriors turned their restless ambitions southward toward the wealthy Song heartland beyond the Yellow River.