 Who's
Who? (2879BC - 1527AD)  Who's
Who? (1527-1954) Timeline
Heroes
& Heroines |
 |
m
| Kinh Duong Vuong reigns over the Xich Quy kingdom that spread in the North up to the Blue river; in the South to Central Viet Nam; in the West up to Sseutch'ouan; and in the East as far as the sea. The Hong Bang dynasty that reigns over the Van Lang kingdom situated in Tonquin and in the Northern part of Central Viet Nam. |
| The Thuc dynasty | |||
| 257-208 | An
D  ng
Vng |
Th c
Ph n |
|
| The Trieu dynasty | |||
| 207-136 | Tri u
V Vng |
Triu
Ð |
|
| 136-124 | Dng
V n Vng |
Triu
H |
|
| 124-112 | Triu
Minh Vng |
Triu
Anh T |
|
| 112 | Triu
Ai Vng |
Triu
Hng |
|
| 111BC | Triu
Dng
Vng |
Triu
Ki n Ð c |
|
| Chinese general Tch'ao To (Trieu Da) who reigns over the Nan-yue (Nam Viet) kingdom with capital at Fan-yu, subdued the Au Lac kingdom. He founded the Trieu dynasty that reigns at Fan-yu. In Tonquin (Kiao-tche, Giao Chi), legend of My Chau and Trong Thuy attached to the Co Loa capital (Phuc Yen province). |
| Trung Nu Vuong | |||
| 39-43AD | Trng
N Vng |
Trng
Tr c & Nh |
First queens |
 Trung
Trac and Trung Nhi,
In 39, when two widows of local aristocrats, the Trung sisters, led an uprising against foreign rule. The revolt was briefly successful, and the older sister, Trung Trac, established herself as ruler of an independent state. Chinese armies returned to the attack, however, and in 43 Viet Nam was reconquered. Trung sisters' Homepage |
Trieu
Thi Trinh,
fought for Viet Nam's independence against China in 248. Defeated at the
age of 23, she committed suicide. Folk Art commemorating Trieu Thi Trinh |
| The earlier Ly and Trieu | |||
| 544-548 | Lý
Nam Ð |
Lý Bôn | Thiên
Ðc |
| 549-555 | Lý
Ða Lang Vng |
Thiên
B o |
|
| 549-570 | Triu
Vit Vng |
Triu
Quang Phc |
|
| 571-602 | H u
Lý Nam Ð |
Lý
Pht T |
|
| The Ngo dynasty | |||
| Emperor | Reign Title | ||
| 939-944 | Ngô
Vng |
Ngô
Quyn |
|
| 944-950 | Dng
B nh Vng |
c p
ngôi |
Tam Kha |
| 950-965 | Ngô
Nam T n Vng |
Xng
Vn |
|
| 951-959 | Ngô
Thiên Sch Vng |
Xng
Ngp |
|
In a protracted
war which ended with the celebrated battle of Bach Dang. General Ngo
Quyen vanquished the Chinese invaders and founded the first National
dynasty. Ngo Quyen transfered the capital to Co Loa, the capital of Au
Lac Kingdom, thus affirming the continuity of the traditions of the Lac
Viet people. Ngo Quyen spent 6 years of his reign fighting the continual
revolts of the feudal lords. At his death in 967, the kingdom fell into
chaos and became known as the land of "Thap Nhi Su Quan", the 12 feudal
principlities constantly fighting each other. Ngo Quyen's Homepage |
| The Dinh dynasty | |||
| 968-979 | Ðinh
Tiên Hong |
B
L nh |
Thi
Bnh |
| 980 | Ðinh
Ph Ð |
Ðinh
Ton |
Thi
Bnh |
The most powerful
of the 12 feudal lords, Dinh Bo Linh rapidly ruled out the others.
He reunified the country and took the imperial title of "Dinh Tien Hoang
De" (The First August Emperor Dinh). He negotiated a non-aggression treaty
in exchange for tributes payable to the Chinese every 3 years. This set
the traditions with China which were to last for centuries. On the domestic
front, Dinh Tien Hoang established a royal court and a hierarchy of civil
and military servants. He instated a rigorous justice system and introduced
the death penalty to serve as a deterrent to all who threatened the new
order of the new kingdom. He organized a regular army divided into 10
Dao. Security and order were progressively re-established, inaugurating
a new era of "Thai Binh" (peace). He was assasinated in 979 by a palace
guard, who according to the Annals, saw "a star falling into his mouth"
- a celestial omen heralding promotion. The heir to the throne was only
6 years old. |
| The earlier Le dynasty | |||
| 980-1005 | Lê
Ð i Hnh |
Lê
Hon |
Thiên
Ph c |
| 1005 (3d) | Lê Trung Tông | Long
Vit |
|
| 1006-1009 | Lê
Long Ðnh |
(Lê
Ng a Triu) |
ng
Thiên |
Le
Hoan
dethroned Dinh Bo Linh's heir and proclaimed himself King Le Dai Hanh.
He retained the capital in Hoa Luu and succeeded in warding off several
Chinese invasions. With peace assured on the northern border, he decided
to pacify the South. In 982, Le Dai Hanh launched a military expedition
against the Champa kingdom, entered
Indrapura (present-day Quang Nam)
and burnt the Champa citadel. The conquest of this nothern part of the
Champa Kingdom brought about a marked Cham influence on Vietnamese culture,
particular in the fields of music and dance. Le Dai Hanh devoted a great
deal of energy to developing the road network in order to better administer
the countrýs different regions. After 24 years of difficult rule,
he died in 1005. |
Genghis
Khan,
original name Temujin (1167?-1227), Mongol conqueror, whose nomad armies
created a vast empire under his control, from China to Russia. He was
born near Lake Baikal in Russia, the son of Yesukai, a Mongol chief and
ruler of a large region between the Amur River and the Great Wall of China.
At the age of 13, Temujin succeeded his father as tribal chief. His early
reign was marked by successive revolts of his subject tribes and an intense
struggle to retain his leadership, but the Mongol ruler soon demonstrated
his military genius and conquered not only his intractable subjects but
his hostile neighbors as well. By 1206 Temujin was master of almost all
of Mongolia. In that year, a convocation of the subjugated tribes proclaimed
him Genghis Khan (Chinese chêng-sze, "precious warrior"; Turkish khan,
"lord"), leader of the united Mongol and Tatar tribes; the city of Karakorum
was designated his capital. The khan then began his conquest of China.
By 1208 he had established a foothold inside the Great Wall, and in 1213
he led his armies south and west into the area dominated by the Juchen
Chin (or Kin) dynasty (1122-1234), not stopping until he reached the Shantung
Peninsula. In 1215 his armies captured Yenking (now Beijing), the last
Chin stronghold in northern China, and in 1218 the Korean Peninsula fell
to the Mongols. In 1219, in retaliation for the murder of some Mongol
traders, Genghis Khan turned his armies westward, invading Khoresm, a
vast Turkish empire that included modern Iraq, Iran, and part of Western
Turkestan. Looting and massacring, the Mongols swept through Turkestan
and sacked the cities of Bukhoro and Samarqand. In what are now northern
India and Pakistan, the invaders conquered the cities of Peshawar and
Lahore and the surrounding countryside. In 1222 the Mongols marched into
Russia and plundered the region between the Volga and Dnepr rivers and
from the Persian Gulf almost to the Arctic Ocean. The greatness of the
khan as a military leader was borne out not only by his conquests but
by the excellent organization, discipline, and maneuverability of his
armies. Moreover, the Mongol ruler was an admirable statesman; his empire
was so well organized that, so it was claimed, travelers could go from
one end of his domain to the other without fear or danger. At his death,
on August 18, 1227, the Mongol Empire was divided among his three sons
and gradually dissipated. Four of his grandsons, however, became great
Mongol leaders in their own right. Genghis Khan's invasions were of great
historical importance long after his death, for the Turks, who fled before
him, were driven to their own invasion of Europe.
|
n
| Ly Cong Uan was a disciple of a famous monk, Van Hanh, who helped him into power in the Hoa Luu Court. Assuming the name Ly Thai To, the new sovereign inaugurated his dynasty with a change of capital. According to the Annals, king Ly Thai To saw the apparition of an ascending dragon on the site of the future capital and decided to name it Thang Long (Ascending Dragon). |
| Ly Thanh Tong rechristened the country Dai Viet. |
| Ly Thai Tong, Ly Anh Tong, and Ly Cao Tong led the Buddhist sects of Thao Duong and founded some 150 monasteries in the region of Thang Long. The Ly dynasty consolidated the monarchy by setting up a centralized government and establishing a tax system, a judiciary system and a professional army. Important public works, including the building of dikes and canals, were undertaken inorder to develop argriculture and settle the population. Vietnamese art and culture thrived during the Ly dynasty. |
ng
nh Tran
Hung Dao
(1213-1300), Vietnamese general. In 1284, Kublai Khan leads a 500,000-man
Chinese army into Viet Nam. Guerrillas organized by Tran Hung Dao virtually
destroy the invasion force. Tran Hung Dao's Homepage |
Kublai
Khan
(1215-94), Mongol military leader, founder and first emperor (1279-94)
of the Mongol Yüan dynasty in China, grandson of the Mongol conqueror
Genghis Khan and his best-known successor. Kublai Khan completed the conquest
of China that was begun by his grandfather. From 1252 to 1259 he aided
his brother Mangu Khan in the conquest of southern China, penetrating
successfully as far as Tibet and Tonkin. Upon the death of Mangu in 1259
he became the khan, or ruler. Between 1260 and 1279 he succeeded in driving
the Kin Tatars out of northern China and in subduing rebellious factions
among the Mongols. In 1264 he founded his capital on the site now occupied
by Beijing; it was called Khanbalik, which is romanized as Cambaluc or
Cambalu. He relinquished all claims to the parts of the Mongol Empire
outside China, consolidated his hold on China, and in 1279 established
the Yüan dynasty as the successor to the Southern Sung dynasty. He undertook
foreign wars in attempts to enforce tribute claims on neighboring states,
conquering Burma and Korea. His military expeditions to Java and Japan,
however, met with disaster. His name was known all over Asia and also
in Europe. The court at Cambaluc attracted an international group of adventurous
men, including the famous Venetian traveler Marco Polo. Kublai Khan did
much to encourage the advancement of literature and the arts. He was a
devout Buddhist and made Buddhism the state religion, but during his reign
other religions were also tolerated. Stern-faced portrait Bronze seal as authority emblem of Mongol officers |
| Princess Huyen Tran, married to the King of Champa in 1307. The marriage extended the national territory southwards with the peaceful annexation of the Hue region and at the same time inaugurated the politics and diplomatic marriage. |
| The Ho dynasty | |||
| 1400-1401 | H
Quý Ly |
Thnh
Nguyên |
|
| 1401-1407 | H
Hn Thng |
Thiu
Thnh |
|
| Le Qui Ly, founded a dynasty under his ancestral name of Ho. Under Ho, the competitive examination system for administrators was modified to demand more practical knowledge of peasant life, mathematics, history, the Confucian classics and literature. Legal reforms were undertaken and a medical service established. In 1407, The Ming intervention provoked the fall of the Ho dynasty. During the short period of Chinese occupation that followed, the Vietnamese suffered the most inhuman exploitation. |
| The later Tran dynasty | |||
| 1407-1409 | Tr n
Gin Ðnh |
Trn
Ð Ng i |
Hng
Khnh |
| 1409-1414 | Trn
Quý Khong |
Tr ng
Quang |
|
ng
c
| Le Loi, Vietnamese emperor (1428-1433), established the kingdom of Dai Viet. He organized a resistance movement from his village and waged a guerrilla war against the China's Ming Empire. By employing a strategy of surprise attacks targeting his adversary's weakest points, Le Loi managed to further weaken the enemy and at the same time avoid combat with the superior Chinese forces. His enforcement of strict military discipline ensured that no pillaging was carried out by his troops in the regions under his control and this made him a very popular hero. |
Nguyen Trai, poet and strategist,
set down the Vietnamese strategy in an
essay which subordinate military action to the political and moral
struggle, it stated: "Better to conquer hearts than citadels". In 1426,
Vietnamese finally routed the Chinese on a field at Tot Dong, west of
Hano In an accord signed
two years later, the Chinese recognized Viet Nam's independence, and apart
from a last abortive attempt in 1788, China never again launched a full-scale
assault against Viet Nam. |
| Le Thai Tong, Vietnamese emperor, son of Le Thai To. His sudden death was followed by a decade of confusion marked by intrigues and plots within the Royal Court. |
| Under his 36 year reign the country prospered as never before. Le Thanh Tong revised the fiscal system, encouraged argriculture and placed great emphasis on customs and moral principles. A writer himself, he founded the Tao Dan Academy and wrote the first volume of national history. He reorganized army won an easy victory over the Champa army in 1471. His farmer-soldiers excelled not only on the battlefields, but also in the fields where they established militarized argricultural communities wherever they went. In this way the national territory was gradually expanded southwards, until finally the Champa Kingdom was completely absorbed and assimilated in 1673. |
Alexandre
de Rhodes,
the misionary who traveled through out Asia in the 17th century. An accomplished
linguist, he improvised Portuguese into Quoc Ngu, still in use today,
to transcribe the Vietnamese language in Roman letters instead of Chinese
ideographs. Opening page of Alexandre de Rhodes's Latin Annamese religious text Stamps commemorating Alexandre de Rhodes |
