Yelü Yanxi 辽天柞帝耶律延禧

Yelü Yanxi (1075-1128), Emperor Tianzuo, was the ninth and last emperor of the Liao Dynasty (916-1125). During his reign from 1101 to 1125, he was ignorant of the threat from the rising Wanyan clan of the Jurchens who later destroyed his state and founded the Jin Dynasty.

Emperor Tianzuo, deeply absorbed in hunting, fishing and playing polo, entrusted Xiao Fengxian, brother of his empress, to handle the state affairs, and raised malicious officials such as Li Chuwen to high positions. These officials then plunged the state administration into chaos and darkness. He was also indulged in extravagant and depraved lifestyles, caring nothing about the welfare of the populace.

Emperor Tianzuo's negligence of state affairs led to the more fierce political conflicts and fighting for power among the imperial families, rampant peasant uprisings and coups launched by different clans. In 1124, he fell captive to the Jin troops, and he was abused and killed in 1128. His corpse was trampled by horses.

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