founder and first emperor (1124–43) of the Xi (Western) Liao dynasty (1124–1211) of Central Asia.

Yelü was a member of the imperial family of the Liao dynasty (907–1125), which had been established by the Khitan (Chinese: Qidan) tribes and ruled much of Mongolia and Manchuria (now Northeast China). When the Liao dynasty was overthrown by the Juchen (Chinese: Nüzchen, or Ruzhen), who established the Jin dynasty, Yelü fled west to Turkestan, where he imposed his suzerainty over the Central Asian oases east and west of the Pamirs mountains. His empire was finally conquered in 1211 by the Mongols, who called it the Karakitai, or “Black Khitan,” empire.