Overview
Yelü Pusuwan, Empress Dowager Chengtian, ruled the Kara Khitai for fourteen years. Under her the gurkhans' influence reached its widest point in Khwarazm, but her end set off a palace coup.
Rise to Power
On her brother Yilie's death in 1163, his will gave her power until his son Zhilugu came of age.
Rule and Achievements
- Supported raids by the Karakhanid khan Mas'ud on Balkh and Andkhoy in 1165
- Defeated the Khwarazmshah Il-Arslan in 1172; in the civil war that followed, her husband Xiao Duolubu placed Tekish on the throne of Khwarazm in December 1172
- Later turned against Tekish, who killed one of her envoys, and backed his brother Sultan Shah
Legacy
While her husband was away she began an affair with his brother. Her father-in-law, Xiao Wolila, surrounded the palace and killed them both in 1177, and Yilie's son Zhilugu was placed on the throne.