Kuchlug

Kuchlug
Хүчлүг
屈出律 (Qū chū lǜ)
Emperor of the Western Liao dynasty
Reign1211–1218
PredecessorYelü Zhilugu
SuccessorDynasty collapsed
Khan of Naimans
Reign1204–1218
PredecessorTaibuqa and Buyruq khan
SuccessorMongol conquest of the Qara Khitai
Died1218
Badakhshan
SpousePrincess Hunhu (渾忽公主)
IssueLinqgun Khatun
Era name and dates
Tiānxī (天禧): 1178–1218
DynastyWestern Liao
FatherTaibuqa
ReligionNestorianism, then Buddhism

Kuchlug (also spelled Küchlüg, Küçlüg, Güčülüg, Quqluq) (Mongolian: Хүчлүг; Chinese: 屈出律; d. 1218) was a member of the Naiman tribe who became the last emperor of the Western Liao dynasty (Qara Khitai). The Naimans were defeated by Genghis Khan and he fled westward to the Qara Khitai, where he became an advisor to his future father-in-law Yelü Zhilugu. He later rebelled, usurped the throne and took control of the empire, putting an end to the rule of the House of Yelü. He was killed in 1218 by the Mongols and the domain of the Qara Khitai was absorbed into the Mongol Empire.

While his predecessor Yelü Zhilugu was the last Qara Khitai emperor from the Yelü clan, Kuchlug is sometimes regarded as the final ruler of the Western Liao realm as he retained the dynastic title of "Great Liao" upon his ascension to the throne.[citation needed]