Administrative divisions of the Liao dynasty

As time went on and the Liao consolidated their hold over their sedentary possessions, the southern region was eventually split into four provinces (called circuits).

The names of their capitals are listed below: The high-ranking officials of each circuit would travel to the emperor's camp twice a year and discuss matters of the state.

[5] Below the regents, government officers tended to be of the same ethnic background as the populations they ruled over; generally speaking, officials in the north were largely Khitan, while those in the south were not.

The powers of the prefects and magistrates varied depending on the region and time period; in several situations some of their functions were assumed by officials of the circuit level or the central government.

In general, however, prefects were responsible for the collection of taxes and management of regionally stationed military forces, while magistrates dealt with village leaders and made sure the laws of the government were being carried out on a local basis.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, tribal confederations such as the Zubu or Tsu-Pu who were on the distant fringes of the empire tended to be significantly less reliable and more hostile to Khitan activity in their areas; frequent military expeditions were required to keep them in line.

[8] While the Northern Region retained its tribal character for the entire history of the Liao Empire, there was a gradual importation of governmental and economic customs taken from Chinese and other sedentary populations into the area.

The Southern Circuit largely formed out of a portion of the Sixteen Prefectures that had been ceded to the Liao Empire by Emperor Gao Zu of the Later Jin dynasty in 937.

[14] The Eastern Circuit consisted of the bulk of the old Kingdom of Balhae, which had originally survived within the Liao empire as a vassal state under the rule of a member of the imperial family.

[18] The Central Circuit was composed of the former territories of the Hsi, a people who, like the Balhae, had been allowed to retain a degree of autonomy after their conquest by the Khitan.

Aguda had sent a Jurchen army under the command of a Liao defector toward the end of 1121, and during a winter campaign it seized the capital and surrounding area.

In 1044 the modern-day city of Datong was declared to be a capital of an area consisting of parts of the conquered Sixteen Prefectures and the Yinshan Mountain region.