The Kidans were an ethnic group whose language belonged to the Mongolic group. Kagan Ambagyan founded the Kidan state in 911. The Kidan state covered a significant portion of what is now Mongolia including the basins of the rivers Kerulen, Tuul and Orkhon. As it grew strong and occupied parts of China, it became to be called the Liao Dynasty. The territory of the Kidan Empire consisted of two parts: one populated by pastoral herders in the north and the other populated by croppers in the south. The two parts of the empire actively traded with each other. Lubugu, a grandson of Ambagyan, and a... scholar named Tulyubu developed a Grand Alphabet based on the Chinese hieroglyphics in 920. Later, Tela, a son of Ambagyan, developed a Minor Alphabet based on the Uyghur script. A printing technology developed in the Kidan Empire. The Kidan language was widely studied abroad. The Jurjens, who were subjects to the Kidans, rebelled in 1113 and established in 1125 the Jin Dynasty which replaced the Liao Dynasty. A faction of the Kidans moved to the west escaping subjugation by the Jurjens. Those Kidans established the Kara-Kitai Kaganate in Eastern Turkestan.
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