Editing Balhae (section)

===Fall===
In 907, Balhae came into conflict with the Khitan [[Liao dynasty]] because of the decision of the [[Khitan people|Khitans]] near modern [[Chifeng]] and [[Tongliao]],<ref>[https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/o-dzasak-hanah-perednego-znameni-levogo-kryla-horchinov-pri-dinastii-tsin/viewer About Zusak-khan front banner of the left wing of korchenov of the Qing dynasty]</ref> who recognized the supremacy of Balhae, to become part of the Liao dynasty. The Liao ruler [[Abaoji]] took possession of the [[Liao River]] basin, which led to a long conflict.<ref name="Crossley 2016"/> In 911, Silla allied with Balhae against the Khitans.{{sfn|Kim|2011a|p=354}} In 924, Balhae attacked the Khitans. The next year, a Balhae general, Sindeok, surrendered to [[Goryeo]]. In 925, Silla allied with the Khitans and helped them in their war against Balhae. Afterwards, warriors from Silla were rewarded by the Khitan ruler.{{sfn|Kim|2011a|p=353}} In 926, the Khitans laid siege to the Balhae capital [[Shangjing Longquanfu|Shangjing]]/Sanggyeong and forced their surrender.{{sfn|Shin|2014|p=66}} In Balhae's place, the Khitans established the autonomous kingdom of [[Dongdan Kingdom|Dongdan]] ruled by the Liao crown prince [[Yelü Bei]].{{sfn|Twitchett|1994|p=69}} Its independence ended in 929 when a new Liao ruler ordered the relocation of its population.{{sfn|Twitchett|1994|p=69}} It was soon absorbed into the Liao in 936.<ref name="Dillon2016" /> The name of Balhae was officially removed in 982.{{sfn|Dillon|2016|p=55-56}} Meanwhile, a series of nobilities and elites led by key figures such as crown prince [[Dae Gwang-hyeon]], were absorbed into [[Goryeo]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title=North and South States Period: Unified Silla and Balhae|url=http://www.korea.net/AboutKorea/History/Unified-Silla-Balhae|journal=Korea}}</ref> Some Balhae aristocrats were forced to move to Liaoyang, but Balhae's eastern territory remained politically independent in [[Later Balhae]], which was later renamed to [[Jeongan]] (Ding'an). The Liao invaded Jeongan in 975 but failed to conquer them. In 985–6, the Khitans attacked [[Jeongan]] again, this time successfully.{{sfn|Twitchett|1994|p=102}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Jinwung|title=A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict|date=2012|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0253000248|pages=87–88|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s2EVi-MpnUsC&pg=PA87|access-date=27 August 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref name="BirthDeath">據《渤海国记》："定安国王大氏、乌氏迭见其理不可晓。渤海亡，始建国，下讫淳化二年，凡六十四年。"</ref>

Some scholars considered [[946 eruption of Paektu Mountain|the eruption of Mount Baekdu]] in the 930–940s to have dealt a final blow to the surviving forces of Balhae based on records of massive population displacement of Balhae people to the Liaodong peninsula of the Khitan empire and the Korean peninsula of Goryeo.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=ko:발해멸망과 백두산 화산폭발 |trans-title=The Fall of Bohai and the Mt. |url=http://m.khan.co.kr/view.html?art_id=201205300951451 |website=Khan.co|date=30 May 2012 |language=ko}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Eruption of Mt. Baekdu and collapse of Balhae |url=http://www.donga.com/en/article/all/20150403/410414/1/Eruption-of-Mt-Baekdu-and-collapse-of-Balhae |access-date=27 March 2020 |agency=[[The Dong-A Ilbo]] |date=3 April 2015}}</ref> However this theory has lost popularity in Korea in recent times and Russian scholars do not consider it a plausible reason for Balhae's collapse. The most paramount reason seems to have been military confrontation with a superior power, the Khitans.{{sfn|Kim|2011|p=298}}

The ''Old Book of Tang'' stated that the kingdom originally had around 100,000 households and tens of thousands of soldiers, suggesting a population of around 500,000.<ref name="OldTangBook2019">{{Cite book |author= 劉昫 |title= 舊唐書 |trans-title= Old Book of Tang |chapter= 列传第一百四十九下 北狄 靺鞨 渤海靺鞨 |volume= 199下 |chapter-url= https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E8%88%8A%E5%94%90%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7199%E4%B8%8B#%E6%B8%A4%E6%B5%B7%E9%9D%BA%E9%9E%A8 |language=zh |access-date=18 December 2019 |quote= 越熹靺鞨東北至黑水靺鞨，地方二千里，編戶十余萬，勝兵數萬人。 }}</ref><ref name="战继发"/> At the time of its fall, its soldiers numbered "hundreds of thousands" according to the ''[[History of Liao]]''. The kingdom's total population in its last years is variously estimated at between 1.5 and 4 million by historians today.<ref name="Crossley 2016"/><ref name="杨军"/><ref name="战继发">{{cite book |author1=战继发 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jUxsEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA53 |title=黑龙江屯垦史（第1卷） |date=2017 |publisher=[[Social Sciences Literature Press]] |isbn=9787520113977 |location=北京 |page=53 |trans-title=History of Land Reclamation in Heilongjiang (Volume 1)}}</ref>