The first record of the Jurchens occured towards the end of the Five Dynasties period in China (907-960). They were a loose group of primitive peoples living in the Changbai mountains and the Heilongjiang valley in north-eastern Manchuria. The Qidan (Khitan) Empire ruled over them, and was their lord. The Jurchens were a ferocious barbaric people, of simple farmers, hunters, fishermen and herders in the forests of Manchuria, with little contact with the outside civilised world.
They were very different fr the nomads of the steppes to the west, in that they lived in small static villages and that they farmed, rather than moved fr place to place like the nomadic tribes. Within the next few generations, the Jurchens learned iron-making and horseback-riding from their Qidan overlords and neighbours. As one of the subject peoples to the Qidans, they were called upon to provide men for the wars of the Qidan Liao Empire, usually in the form of horsemen.
In 1113, Aguda came to head the loose confederation of the 'wild' Jurchens (there're the 'tamed' Jurchens who were more civilised and lived closer to the south
). He was the great ruler who forged the loose grouping into a powerful Jurchen nation, which obeyed his every command. It was commonly said in the backwoods of Manchuria that when the Jurchens could raise a 10000-strong army, they would conquer the world.
In 1115, Aguda did just that, and declared war on the Qidan Liao. He proclaimed the founding of a new Jurchen dynasty - that of the Jin, which meant Golden in Chinese. The Qidan emperor responded swiftly, leading an army said to number 200000 to squash the Jurchen upstarts. The actual figure was probably closer to 90000, but these were all hardened nomadic warriors, of the same breed as the Mongols who were to come.
Most of the Qidan army never saw action, for the small but fierce Jurchen army rashly attacked the vanguard. Aguda had told his people to expect victory or certain annihilation at the hands of the Qidans. The Qidan vanguard was defeated, and the main army retreated in some disorder, harried by the Jurchen horsemen. I think the Qidan emperor was also killed, leading to dissension within the Qidan Liao tribal hierarchy (which ruled the Empire).
The other subject peoples also rose, like the Bohai and the Yi peoples. Furthermore, the Qidan clans themselves were splintered, with some supporting Aguda. In a swift campaign lasting until 1122, the Jurchens stormed every corner of the Qidan Empire and shook down the steppe world. I think at some point during this period, Aguda passed away. At any rate, by the time the Jurchen Jin were ready to take on the Song, a new power was at the helm.
A Qidan prince managed to escape westwards into the steppes, and roused the Qidan garrisons in W Mongolia. He led them westwards, to establish a new kingdom of the Qara-Khitai (the Black Khitans) on both sides of the Tianshan range in the far west, north of the lands of the Uighurs in the Tarim Basin. he would, in later years, lead an army of 70000 to try to reconquer the Qidans' old lands, but would fail...
In the meantime, the Jurchens allied with the Song in 1120 to invade the last Qidan stronghold of Yanjing (modern Beijing and its environs), which was the disputed territory between the Qidans and the Chinese. The Song army was slow to reach Yanjing, and growing impatient, the Jurchens attacked the city w/o waiting for the Chinese troops to arrive. They were ultimately successful, and looted the region extensively before retreating back into Manchuria, and as agreed, turned the region over to the Song. By 1122, the Qidans were all but finished and a triumphant Jurchen Jin Empire rose in its stead.
The Chinese complained about the extensive looting of Yanjing, and tensions grew with the Jurchens over the next few years. The Jurchens, ever a wild and impatient people, then launched an all-out attack on China. Their ferocious attacks culminated in 1127, in the capture of Kaifeng itself, the imperial Chinese capital. It was the scene of one the most horrific moments in Chinese history, as the rich city was looted, and thousands of officials and their dependants, including the Song emperor, and his father, the retired emperor, were led in chains to exile in Manchuria, never to see China again.
The younger brother of the Song emperor escaped south to found the new Southern Song dynasty. Coupled with the heroic efforts of Chinese generals like Yue Fei, Han Shizhong and others, the Song forces stopped the Jurchens at the Yangzi, and even making the Jurchens' lives difficult within the N Chinese plains. Eventually a peace was worked out between the two sides, with humiliating concessions on the part of the Nan-Song, and the Jurchens had their new Empire, stretching all the way fr Manchuria into the heart of China.
They were very different fr the nomads of the steppes to the west, in that they lived in small static villages and that they farmed, rather than moved fr place to place like the nomadic tribes. Within the next few generations, the Jurchens learned iron-making and horseback-riding from their Qidan overlords and neighbours. As one of the subject peoples to the Qidans, they were called upon to provide men for the wars of the Qidan Liao Empire, usually in the form of horsemen.
In 1113, Aguda came to head the loose confederation of the 'wild' Jurchens (there're the 'tamed' Jurchens who were more civilised and lived closer to the south
). He was the great ruler who forged the loose grouping into a powerful Jurchen nation, which obeyed his every command. It was commonly said in the backwoods of Manchuria that when the Jurchens could raise a 10000-strong army, they would conquer the world. In 1115, Aguda did just that, and declared war on the Qidan Liao. He proclaimed the founding of a new Jurchen dynasty - that of the Jin, which meant Golden in Chinese. The Qidan emperor responded swiftly, leading an army said to number 200000 to squash the Jurchen upstarts. The actual figure was probably closer to 90000, but these were all hardened nomadic warriors, of the same breed as the Mongols who were to come.
Most of the Qidan army never saw action, for the small but fierce Jurchen army rashly attacked the vanguard. Aguda had told his people to expect victory or certain annihilation at the hands of the Qidans. The Qidan vanguard was defeated, and the main army retreated in some disorder, harried by the Jurchen horsemen. I think the Qidan emperor was also killed, leading to dissension within the Qidan Liao tribal hierarchy (which ruled the Empire).
The other subject peoples also rose, like the Bohai and the Yi peoples. Furthermore, the Qidan clans themselves were splintered, with some supporting Aguda. In a swift campaign lasting until 1122, the Jurchens stormed every corner of the Qidan Empire and shook down the steppe world. I think at some point during this period, Aguda passed away. At any rate, by the time the Jurchen Jin were ready to take on the Song, a new power was at the helm.
A Qidan prince managed to escape westwards into the steppes, and roused the Qidan garrisons in W Mongolia. He led them westwards, to establish a new kingdom of the Qara-Khitai (the Black Khitans) on both sides of the Tianshan range in the far west, north of the lands of the Uighurs in the Tarim Basin. he would, in later years, lead an army of 70000 to try to reconquer the Qidans' old lands, but would fail...
In the meantime, the Jurchens allied with the Song in 1120 to invade the last Qidan stronghold of Yanjing (modern Beijing and its environs), which was the disputed territory between the Qidans and the Chinese. The Song army was slow to reach Yanjing, and growing impatient, the Jurchens attacked the city w/o waiting for the Chinese troops to arrive. They were ultimately successful, and looted the region extensively before retreating back into Manchuria, and as agreed, turned the region over to the Song. By 1122, the Qidans were all but finished and a triumphant Jurchen Jin Empire rose in its stead.
The Chinese complained about the extensive looting of Yanjing, and tensions grew with the Jurchens over the next few years. The Jurchens, ever a wild and impatient people, then launched an all-out attack on China. Their ferocious attacks culminated in 1127, in the capture of Kaifeng itself, the imperial Chinese capital. It was the scene of one the most horrific moments in Chinese history, as the rich city was looted, and thousands of officials and their dependants, including the Song emperor, and his father, the retired emperor, were led in chains to exile in Manchuria, never to see China again.
The younger brother of the Song emperor escaped south to found the new Southern Song dynasty. Coupled with the heroic efforts of Chinese generals like Yue Fei, Han Shizhong and others, the Song forces stopped the Jurchens at the Yangzi, and even making the Jurchens' lives difficult within the N Chinese plains. Eventually a peace was worked out between the two sides, with humiliating concessions on the part of the Nan-Song, and the Jurchens had their new Empire, stretching all the way fr Manchuria into the heart of China.
I'm almost sure that in your years of studying history, you've got to have written a few history essays or something...
