The Khitan people (; Old Turkic: ; KITaYN), or Khitai, Kitan, or Kidan, were a nomadic people originally from Mongolia and Manchuria (or Northeast China) from the 4th century that spoke a language distantly related to the Mongolic languages. As the Liao dynasty, they dominated a vast area north of and including parts of China, but left few relics that have survived until today.