Western Xia

Great Xia
大夏
(白高大夏國)
(大白高國)
Great Xia 大夏; (白高大夏國); (大白高國)
1038–1227
	Location of Western Xia in 1111 (green in north west)
	Western Xia in 1150
Capital	Xingqing (modern Yinchuan)
Common languages	Tangut, Chinese
Religion	Primary:; Buddhism; Secondary:; Taoism; Confucianism; Chinese folk religion
Government	Monarchy
Emperor
• 1038–1048	Emperor Jingzong (founder)
• 1139–1193	Emperor Renzong (longest-reigned)
• 1226–1227	Li Xian (last)
Historical era	Post-classical history
• Li Jiqian rebels against Song dynasty	984
• Dynasty established by Emperor Jingzong	1038
• Subjugated by Mongol Empire	1210
• Destroyed by Mongol Empire after rebellion	1227
Area
1100 est.[1]	1,000,000 km2 (390,000 sq mi)
Population
• peak	3,000,000[2][3][4]
Currency	Barter with some copper coins in the cities[5]; (see: Western Xia coinage)
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Dingnan Jiedushi
	Xiliangfu
	Guiyi Circuit
	Gansu Uyghur Kingdom
	Liao dynasty
	Song dynasty
Mongol Empire
Today part of	China; Mongolia

The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (Chinese: 西夏; pinyin: Xī Xià; Wade–Giles: Hsi¹ Hsia⁴), officially the Great Xia (大夏; Dà Xià; Ta⁴ Hsia⁴), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as Mi-nyak[6] to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China that existed from 1038 to 1227. At its peak, the dynasty ruled over the modern-day northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, and southwest Inner Mongolia, and southernmost Outer Mongolia, measuring about 800,000 square kilometres (310,000 square miles).[7][8][9]

Quick facts: Great Xia大夏 (白高大夏國) (大白高國), Capital, Common... ▼

This article contains Tangut text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Tangut characters.

%E5%8D%97%E5%AE%8B%E7%96%86%E5%9F%9F%E5%9B%BE%EF%BC%88%E7%B9%81%EF%BC%89.png — East Asia and Central Asia in AD 1142: the Southern Song dynasty in orange ( ); the Jin dynasty in grey ( ) in the northeast; the **Western Xia in turquoise** ( ) and the Western Liao (Qara Khitai) in lime green ( ) in the northwest; and the Dali Kingdom in dark green ( ) in the southwest.

The capital of Western Xia was Xingqing (modern Yinchuan), another major Xia city and archaeological site is Khara-Khoto. Western Xia was annihilated by the Mongols in 1227. Most of its written records and architecture were destroyed, so the founders and history of the empire remained obscure until 20th-century research in China and the West. Today the Tangut language and its unique script are extinct, only fragments of Tangut literature remain.

The Western Xia occupied the area around the Hexi Corridor, a stretch of the Silk Road, the most important trade route between northern China and Central Asia. They made significant achievements in literature, art, music, and architecture, which was characterized as "shining and sparkling".[10] Their extensive stance among the other empires of the Liao, Song, and Jin was attributable to their effective military organizations that integrated cavalry, chariots, archery, shields, artillery (cannons carried on the back of camels), and amphibious troops for combat on land and water.[11]

Western Xia

Former empire in northwestern China (1038–1227) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions: