Later Han Empire (947-979) - the Last Empire of Shatuo in China

Abstract

The history of the Later Han Empire (947-950) - the last Empire created by Shatuo, as well as the history of its continuation - the Northern Han Empire (951-979), which existed on the lands of the Shatuo in Shanxi is considered. It is reported that the Empire of Later Han recognized the dependence of the Khitan Liao Empire; the Northern Han Empire existed in the region of Taiyuan exclusively with the support of the Khitan, who protected it from the Later Zhou and Song, sequentially successive empires on the Central plain of China. The article shows that the Shatuo were a small part of the population of the Empire, being primarily the ruling elite of the Han state, and did not have significant support of the Chinese (Han) population. The study traces the political and military history of the Han Empire. The influence of the Khitan foreign and domestic policy on the military and political situation in the Later Han Empire is shown. The study revealed that for seven decades of power over the Shanxi region, the Shatuo failed to create an effective system of management of the region, resulting in a massive outflow of population, economic and demographic crisis; all this eventually led to the collapse of the last Empire of the Shatuo in China.