Buraq Hajib

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Buraq Hajib established a small portion of the Sinitic Central Asian Qara Khitay state, also known as the Khitan Khanate, in the southern Persian province of Kirman during the early 13th century.

The Khitan in northern China were known as خطا in Arabic (Khata) and are mentioned by Muslim chroniclers as they initially fought with Muslims before later converting to Islam from Tantric Buddhism. After the destruction of the Qara Khitay realm by the Mongols under Genghis Khan in 1218, the majority of the Qara Khitay resumed their nomadic life. Only a small part of the population under Buraq Hajib shifted to urban life and established a local dynasty in the Persian province of Kirman. The Mongol Ilkhanid ruler Öljeitü (r.1304-1316) ended the Khitan dynasty in 1306.