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129-634: The "War of the Eight Princes" is somewhat of a misnomer : rather than one continuous conflict, the War of the Eight Princes saw intervals of peace interposed with short and intense periods of internecine conflict. At no point in the whole conflict were all of the eight princes on one side of the fighting (as opposed to, for example, the Rebellion of the Seven States ). The initial conflicts prior to

258-470: A Jie chieftain who was previously sold into slavery during the great famine in Bing province of 303. After Gongshi Fan's defeat, his subordinates, Ji Sang and Shi Le, fled to the pastures of Shandong where they gathered followers, many of who were horse shepherds, and raided the surrounding counties. Claiming to avenge the popular Prince of Chengdu, Sima Ying who had recently died, their forces grew to such

387-747: A multi-ethnic rebellion against Jin in Liang and Qin provinces that lasted until 279, with the rebels briefly taking control over Liang. From 296 to 299, the various tribes rebelled again, this time within Guanzhong and acclaiming the Di chieftain, Qi Wannian as their emperor. These rebellions were accompanied by famines and plagues, with Qi Wannian's rebellion being so severe that it devastated Guanzhong and prompted tens of thousands of refugees to move into Hanzhong and Sichuan in search of food. The rebellions, along with tribal revolts in Bing, raised alarms among

516-423: A bandit group. His forces grew immensely, and in 307, he invaded Qing and Xu provinces, ravaging the commanderies and killing many of the local officials. Wang Mi then attached himself to Han, and in 308, his rebellion spilled over to Yan and Yu provinces while his forces swelled to the tens of thousands. He was even able to enter Xuchang and empty the city's arsenal before laying siege on Luoyang . However,

645-526: A breakthrough as they crossed the Yellow River to march on Luoyang. As the coalition forces approached, officials and generals in the capital began to turn on Lun and Sun Xiu despite their attempts to suppress reports of their losses. The defeat at Huangqiao left Sun Xiu's camp greatly alarmed as they struggled to devise a plan in response. On 30 May 301, the general of the Left Guard led troops into

774-540: A chief of the Yuwen, who provided him with auxiliaries who fought in the campaigns against Sima Ying and Sima Yong . The Xianbei were a deciding factor in Sima Yue's victory in the civil war, but they also partook in the sacking of Ye in 304 and Chang'an in 306, killing thousands of the cities' inhabitants. Their effectiveness encouraged Jin to continue employing them in containing the growing threat of Han-Zhao , with

903-632: A commandery under Wang Jun, to the Tuoba. In the end, Shi Le was able to exploit Wang Jun and Liu Kun's weaknesses. During a siege on Xiangguo in 312, Shi Le's forces captured a cousin of the Duan chieftain, opening up negotiations between the two sides. Convinced by Shi Le's sincerity, the Duan agreed to severe their ties with Wang Jun, and as Shi Le capitalized on his victory, the Wuhuan also defected to Han. Deprived of his tribal forces, Shi Le captured Wang Jun at

1032-535: A disturbance occurred in Sun Fu's camp, causing him to flee back to Luoyang and claim that Zhang Hong was defeated. Lun recalled a segment of his army to defend Luoyang, but when news of Zhang Hong's recent victories reached him, he sent them out again to attack Sima Ying. However, by this time Jiong had reversed his early defeats and repelled Zhang Hong back to his camp. Sun Hui led the main army against Ying at Huangqiao (黃橋, in present-day Wen County, Henan ), defeating

1161-423: A few days later. On 2 November, Ai's forces defeated Ying's army again outside of Luoyang. The next day, Ai brought with him Emperor Hui and personally confronted Lu Ji's army at the city gates. Ai's officers had several thousand cavalry equipped with double-ended halberds charge Lu Ji's forces, heavily defeating them. Many of Lu Ji's officers were killed, and the dead on his side reportedly laid in piles and clogged

1290-518: A few people in the Jin court. After the unification, the minister Guo Qin (郭欽), advised Emperor Wu to focus on moving the tribal peoples out of the borders. Following Qi Wannian's defeat, another minister, Jiang Tong , submitted an essay titled Xi Rong Lun (徙戎論; Discussion on Relocating the Rong Tribe) to the court, also calling for the tribes' repatriation. However, both proposals were rejected. Near

1419-612: A proclamation to campaign against Sima Lun. The most important figure to accept his call was Sima Ying. Ying was described as beautiful but dull in the mind and did not read books, but he heeded his advisor Lu Zhi 's advice to rally the people to his cause. Some 200,000 troops, including the forces of the Prince of Changshan (later known as the Prince of Changsha), Sima Ai , were thus assembled near his base in Ye . In Chang'an , Sima Yong initially dispatched troops to support Lun but later sided with

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1548-573: A revival of the Han dynasty, citing that his ancestors like Modu Chanyu were married to Han princesses through Heqin . He initially took the imperial title of King, only becoming Emperor in 308 to imitate the ascension of Emperor Gaozu of Han . To bolster his forces, he was willing to accept the Han Chinese and tribes from other ethnic groups like the Xianbei and Di to serve under him. In

1677-411: A size that in 307, they sacked the city of Ye and left it to burn for ten days. Around 10,000 people were killed including the city's commander. However, after they left to invade Yan province , they suffered a string of defeats. Ji Sang was killed, but Shi Le survived and made his way to Han. Liu Bogen's subordinate, Wang Mi , also survived his superior's defeat and fled to Shandong, where he formed

1806-844: A subordinate army on his way to Chang'an. On his way back, Zhang Fang seized over 10,000 slave women in Luoyang and cut them into mince meat to feed to his men. Liu Chen defeated Yong in succession, and 5,000 of his soldiers were able to break into Chang'an. However, he was slow to capitalize on his success, and the soldiers in Chang'an were eventually killed while Zhang Fang arrived just in time to defeat and capture him. After Sima Ai's death, Sima Ying appointed himself Prime Minister and promoted Sima Yue to President of State Secretariat. Despite his new position, Ying kept Emperor Hui at Luoyang , leaving behind an army of 50,000 under Shi Chao while he returned to his base in Ye . On April 304, he imprisoned

1935-468: A text that said, amongst other things, that Emperor Hui should abdicate in favor of him. Empress Jia then presented the copied text to Emperor Hui, who then decided to place him under house arrest. Sima Lun was tutor to the prince at the time and had climbed his way into Empress Jia's inner circle during his time in Luoyang. He also commanded some troops in the capital as general of the Right Army and

2064-403: A three-year-long rebellion led by Li Te and his family. Li Te had much success against the Jin forces as he defeated them in several battles. In 303, his forces reached the vicinity of Chengdu where he declared a new reign era, hinting at a new regime. However, before he could realize it, he was abruptly killed in an ambush. Leadership fell to his brother, Li Liu , and after he died at the end of

2193-573: A word that is used incorrectly or misleadingly. The word "misnomer" does not mean " misunderstanding " or " popular misconception ", and a number of misnomers remain in common usage  — which is to say that a word being a misnomer does not necessarily make usage of the word incorrect. The term anachronym refers to this type of misnomer. "Anachronym" should not be confused with anacronyms , which refers to words (such as laser and sonar ) with acronymic origin but which are now used syntactically as words in their own right. Upheaval of

2322-789: Is often seen as the beginning of the Sixteen Kingdoms period, and the Later Zhao is also considered as one of the sixteen. As Jin lost ground in the north, the Zhang clan in Liang province and the Murong tribe in Liaodong became effectively independent. Their natural defenses and stable governance made them popular areas for refugees, with the Murong notably employing Han Chinese officials into their administration. The Zhang clan's regime

2451-693: The Battle of White Wolf Mountain , the Xianbei Murong , Duan and Yuwen tribes came to fill in the power vacuum. The Murong was the first of the three to associate themselves with the Central Plains dynasties by aiding the Cao Wei in their campaign against Gongsun Yuan . They remained affiliated well after the founding of Jin, and despite a war between both sides from 281 to 289, the Murong resubmitted to Jin and their chieftain, Murong Hui ,

2580-672: The Disaster of Yongjia . In 316, Jin's hope of restoring imperial authority in the north were crushed when Han defeated and captured Emperor Min in Chang'an . The establishments of Cheng-Han and Han-Zhao in 304 were seen as the start of the Sixteen Kingdoms period, and the defeat of Emperor Min led to the formation of the Eastern Jin dynasty by Emperor Yuan in Jiankang in 318. For the next 130 years or so, China would be divided between

2709-647: The Five Barbarians . Coinciding with the War of the Eight Princes that greatly weakened the empire, these conflicts eventually drove the Jin imperial court out of northern and southwestern China. The " Five Barbarians " were the Xiongnu , Jie , Qiang , Di and Xianbei , many of whom had resettled within China during the preceding centuries. Despite the period's name, many Han Chinese and other tribal people like

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2838-602: The Jiaping era (249 – 254) before the Wei-Jin courts intervened and forced them back into five. The Five Divisions nobility were allowed to serve as government officials and underwent significant degree of sinicization , but resentment against the ruling dynasty persisted. As the noble, Liu Xuan , states in the Book of Jin : “In the past, our ancestors and those of the Han acted like brothers through joy and sorrow. However, since

2967-563: The North China Plain , Liu Yuan's son Liu Cong attacked Luoyang twice in 309, without success. The attacks, famine and animosity with the emperor convinced Sima Yue to bring the imperial army out on the field. In 310, he left the capital with the 40,000 men to Xiang County (項縣; in present-day Shenqiu County , Henan ) to campaign against Shi Le, leaving behind Emperor Huai despite his opposition. Yue had also fallen out with his own generals, especially Gou Xi , and for this reason, he

3096-573: The Qihuo (乞活; "Begging Life") emerging, either to flee south or to defend themselves against the chaos. Some of them huddled in fortresses, with their leaders becoming known as wuzhu s (塢主; "fortress masters"). The Book of Jin described the famine as follows: By the Yongjia period [307–12] trouble and disturbances were widespread. From Yongzhou eastward many suffered from hunger and poverty. People were sold [as slaves]. Vagrants became countless…there

3225-429: The War of the Eight Princes after his death in 290. His successor, Emperor Hui of Jin , was developmentally disabled , and the princes pitted their armies against each other for control over the empire in light of the new emperor's lack of agency. While the Jin military weakened itself under the princes, many defenseless commanderies became targets for rebellion by the empire's disgruntled or opportunistic subjects. In

3354-741: The Wuhuan were also involved in the uprisings and often joined forces with the Five Barbarians. Years of poor administration and civil wars between the ruling princes left the empire vulnerable to its disaffected and opportunistic subjects. Ethnic tensions in the Guanzhong region between the Han and the tribes, primarily the Qiang and Di, led to major revolts which resulted in an influx of refugees into southwestern China . Efforts to force them back to Guanzhong were met with resistance and culminated in

3483-567: The 12-year-old Emperor Min of Jin (Emperor Huai's nephew) as the new emperor in 313. Elsewhere, Jin governors also refused to surrender and continued to resist Han. Although Luoyang was at hand, the Han court opted to remain in Pingyang , as the former Jin capital was still surrounded by enemies and had been razed by Liu Yao . Being only a minor upon his ascension, Emperor Min was mostly a figurehead for his closest generals, only retaining his ability to legitimately hand out appointments throughout

3612-655: The Army of Readiness. Li Han was afraid to accept the appointment due to enmity between himself and Huangfu Shang , one of Jiong's advisers. Li Han fled back to Yong and conspired with him to rebel against Jiong. Yong was told to align himself with Sima Ying, offering him the role of Crown Prince due to his public support. He was also told to force Sima Ai, who was in Luoyang , into joining so that Jiong would execute him and provide justification to overthrow him. In January 303, Yong rebelled while Ying, despite opposition from Lu Zhi,

3741-476: The Empress Dowager. Empress Jia enlisted the help of Sima Liang and the Prince of Chu, Sima Wei to overthrow Yang Jun. Liang was reluctant to help her, but Wei agreed and left his fief for the capital, Luoyang with his troops. On the night of 23 April 291, Empress Jia and her allies sent out an imperial edict calling for the deposal of Yang Jun and occupied the gates leading to his residence. Yang Jun

3870-725: The Five Barbarians Jin dynasty The Upheaval of the Five Barbarians also translated as the Uprising , Rebellion or the Revolt of the Five Barbarians ( simplified Chinese : 五胡乱华 ; traditional Chinese : 五胡亂華 ; lit. 'Five foreign tribes disrupting China' ) is a Chinese expression used to refer to a chaotic period of warfare during the Jin dynasty (266–420) roughly between 304 and 316 which heavily involved non- Han peoples living in China, commonly called

3999-560: The Five Divisions to elect him as their leader, so they sent an envoy to Ye , where Liu Yuan was stationed, to inform him of the plot. At the time, Sima Ying was on the verge of defeat as Wang Jun and his army of Xianbei and Wuhuan cavalry marched onto Ye. After agreeing to join the plot, Liu Yuan received Sima Ying's permission to return to Bing so that he could gather the Five Divisions to help repel Wang Jun. Once Liu Yuan reached Lishi , however, he instead acclaimed himself as

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4128-592: The Han. They moved their court to Xihe Commandery in Bing province and resettled in the frontier commanderies within the Great Wall . They were dependent on trade with the Han and cooperated with them to destroy the rival Northern Xiongnu . Although relations declined in the later years, with the Xiongnu occasionally rebelling, they remained as vassals even after the Han was replaced by the Cao Wei in 220. In 216,

4257-547: The Inspector of Bing province , Liu Kun , who were backed by the Xianbei Duan and Tuoba tribes respectively. The Duan continued their alliance with Wang Jun after the War of the Eight Princes and played a crucial role in hindering Shi Le's forces. In addition to the Duan, Wang Jun was also supported by the Wuhuan tribes. The Tuoba first assisted Jin against Han forces in 305, but their involvement intensified during

4386-406: The Inspector of Yi in his rebellion against Jin, but later betrayed and ousted him from the provincial capital, Chengdu , sacking it in the process. Li Te soon submitted back to Jin due to the arrival of the army led by the new inspector, Luo Shang but retained a significant amount of influence in the region as an acting representative for the refugee families. In 301, the court in Luoyang ordered

4515-541: The Jia clan was beset with widespread corruption and bribery. Rumors began to spread of Empress Jia's personal debauchery and tyrannical behavior, laying the seeds of discontent that would surface by the end of the decade. Empress Jia also carried out a series of transfers that would influence the next stage of the War of the Eight Princes. In 296, a major tribal rebellion led by Qi Wannian broke out in Qin and Yong provinces under

4644-573: The Prince of Changsha, Sima Ai , discovered the plan, he prompted Jiong to reject it and have Wang Bao executed. Shortly after Lun's defeat in May 301, the court issued an edict ordering refugees in Yi province to return north. However, many of them, including Li Te , refused to comply with the edict. In winter 301, the provincial inspector, Luo Shang declared war against Li Te. Jiong wanted to appoint Li Han, one of Sima Yong 's chief of staff, to be colonel of

4773-463: The Prince of Huainan, Sima Yun rebelled against Lun with only 700 men in Luoyang. Lun was nearly killed in the fighting, but one of his supporters pretended to defect to Yun and killed him, ending his rebellion. The rebellion provided Lun and Sun Xiu with pretext to purge their court rivals and oppositions. Meanwhile, the Prince of Qi, Sima Jiong , who played a vital part in Empress Jia's arrest,

4902-782: The Qiang were the Di people, who also became tributaries to the Han as the Han expanded westwards. The fall of Han and the Three Kingdoms period further encouraged the immigration of nomadic people to repopulate devastated areas and provide military power and labour. The Guanzhong region in particular became a contested region between warlords and later between the states of Cao Wei and Shu Han . In 219, Cao Cao relocated around 50,000 Di from Wudu to Tianshui and Fufeng commanderies. The Qiang and Di people were numerous in northwestern China, and they often fought for Wei or Shu depending on their circumstances. Other tribal people who resided in

5031-461: The Qianjin Dam (千金堨), effectively cutting off Luoyang's water supply. In response, Ai convinced the Inspector of Yong province , Liu Chen , to defect from Yong's side and attack Chang'an . He also sent Huangfu Shang out with an edict from the emperor to get the generals attacking Huangfu Zhong to disband, thus allowing him to send reinforcements to Luoyang. However, along the way, Huangfu Shang

5160-736: The Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin before the eventual dissolution of Jin by the Liu Song dynasty and the unification of the north by the Northern Wei dynasty . When the Jin dynasty was established in 266, Emperor Wu of Jin sought to learn from the mistakes of his predecessor, the Cao Wei , by empowering the princes. Unlike the Wei, the princes were allowed to become military governors and were given personal armies in their fiefdoms. After unifying China in 280, Emperor Wu issued for

5289-585: The Tuoba joining on the side of Jin as well. Modern historians and meteorologists believe that climate change was an important factor in the migration of nomadic peoples into the Chinese interior, as the weather became too cold and dry in the north for agriculture. Chu Coching stated that there was a cold period from the Three Kingdoms to the Northern and Southern dynasties , with relevant historical records reporting cases of extreme weather phenomena, such as

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5418-467: The Wei emperor Cao Huan to abdicate the throne and established the Jin dynasty . Sima Yan sought to learn from the mistakes that led to the Cao Wei's downfall. Previously, the Wei regime had discouraged their princes from holding government and military offices, instead sending them away to live in their fiefs. Thus, Sima Yi, with the backing of the powerful gentry clans, was able to take control over

5547-555: The Wei government with minimal resistance. Identifying this issue, Sima Yan bolstered the power of the Sima clan by enfeoffing his uncles, cousins, and sons. Those with large enfeoffments were entitled to an army of five thousand, those with medium enfeoffments were entitled to an army of three thousand, and those with small enfeoffments were entitled to an army of one thousand five hundred. As time passed, these princes and dukes were given administrative powers over their lands and were granted

5676-516: The Yang clan’s defeat, Sima Wei was notorious for his violent temperament. They attempted to strip him of his military power and send him back to his fief in Jing province , but Wei retaliated by conspiring with Empress Jia to depose them, claiming to her that the two were planning to overthrow her. Soon, Empress Jia produced an edict from the emperor calling for the removal of Liang and Wei Guan. However, Wei

5805-513: The advice of Lu Zhi , Ying withdrew to Ye to care for his ailing mother and handed over all major responsibility to Jiong. At Ye, Ying carried numerous popular policies to win over the people. He arranged for grain to be transported to the famine-stricken region of Yangdi, which had been devastated by war. He then had over 8,000 coffins constructed for high-ceremony funerals of those who had fallen in battle and over 14,000 of Sima Lun's soldiers to be buried. These were all Lu Zhi's ideas. In May 302,

5934-504: The capital at the time were killed. Gou Xi was also defeated and captured by Shi Le at Mengcheng County . Just a few months later, Han forces led by Liu Can captured Chang'an , briefly placing the two ancient capitals under Han control. Despite the loss of the emperor and the capital, the Western Jin would survive for another five more years. In 312, a group of Jin generals managed to recapture Chang’an , where they then acclaimed

6063-671: The coalition after learning that they were larger in size. Due to their strategic bases and command over vast armies, Jiong, Ying and Yong were collectively referred to as the "Three Princes" (三王) in records. Another notable participant of the coalition was the Duke of Xinye, Sima Xin . Lun sent Zhang Hong (張泓) and Sun Fu (孫輔) with 24,000 men to secure the passes and 30,000 under Sun Hui (孫會) to confront Ying. Zhang Hong fought Jiong at Yangdi (陽翟, modern Yuzhou, Henan ) and defeated him several times before Jiong retreated and made camp at Yingyin (潁陰; in present-day Xuchang , Henan ). However, one night,

6192-486: The coalition against Sima Lun in 301 also cannot be considered as wars, but rather a series of political intrigues and coups d'état . The literal Chinese translation, Disorder of the Eight Kings , may be more appropriate in this regard. While initial conflicts were relatively minor and confined to the imperial capital of Luoyang and its surroundings, the scope of the war expanded with each new prince who entered

6321-426: The conflict, the eight major players in this conflict were: Other people of note included Emperor Hui of Jin , co-regent Yang Jun , Empress Dowager Yang , Empress Jia Nanfeng , and the senior minister Wei Guan . It is also important to note that the fiefdom titles of the princes do not reflect their base of operation. For example, although Sima Ying was the Prince of Chengdu , he mostly operated in Ye throughout

6450-478: The court allowed the refugees to go further south into the Ba-Shu region. They were scattered throughout Yi and Liáng provinces, where they became hired labourers for the local populace. Among the refugees was one of their leaders, Li Te . He and his family were Ba-Di people, an ethnic group whose ancestors were Cong people from Ba who moved north and mingled with the Di. In 300, Li Te and his brothers joined

6579-418: The demobilization of every province and commandery in the empire and reduced the military authority of the provincial inspector into a civilian role. Only 100 military officials were stationed in large commanderies, while smaller commanderies only had 50. The emperor had hope that concentrating military power in the hands of the princes would deter the gentry clans from assuming power, but these decisions led to

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6708-535: The eastern part of his empire. The Xianbei Duan tribe in Liaoxi and Tuoba tribe in Dai were initially important allies of Jin in helping them fight against Han, but later pulled out from the conflict to consolidate control over their territories. Li Te's son Li Xiong captured Chengdu and established Cheng-Han in 304. In 311, Han captured Emperor Huai of Jin and the ancient capital, Luoyang in an event known as

6837-423: The edict's authenticity among his soldiers. Deserted by his followers, Wei was captured and executed. His full-brother Sima Ai the Prince of Changsha, who provided support, was demoted to the lesser title of Prince of Changshan as punishment. For the next nine years, Empress Jia ruled Jin in the emperor's name while entrusting power to her closest family members, most notably Jia Mi , and Guo Zhang . From now on,

6966-595: The emperor's conspiracy with Gou Xi to depose him. Yue wanted to attack Gou Xi, but was so overwhelmed with stress that he grew ill and soon died. Following Yue's death, his followers were unsure on how to proceed, so the imperial army, led by Wang Yan , decided to hold Yue's funeral at his fief in Donghai first. However, Shi Le pursued and defeated the funeral procession at the Battle of Ningping , where reportedly more than 100,000 soldiers perished including Wang Yan himself. The defeat of Wang Yan's forces finally exhausted

7095-413: The emperor's final decree appointing him and Sima Liang as co-regents while his daughter, the empress Yang Zhi , issued another edict making her father the sole regent. Emperor Wu was aware of Yang Jun's manipulations, but was too ill to stop him. On 16 May 290, Emperor Wu died, and Sima Zhong, posthumously known as Emperor Hui of Jin, ascended the throne. Yang Jun was instated as his regent while Yang Zhi

7224-524: The empire left Jin vulnerable to rebellions. In 304, the Ba-Di -led Cheng-Han and the Xiongnu -led Han-Zhao broke away from Jin, beginning the Sixteen Kingdoms period. In the south, there were also the rebellions of the Man leader, Zhang Chang , between 303 and 304 and Han Chinese general, Chen Min between 305 and 307. However, unlike their Ba-Di and Xiongnu contemporaries, they were eventually suppressed in

7353-491: The empire. In the southwest, Li Te's rebellion raged on despite his death. Along the Changjiang , rebels consisting of refugees and draft evaders led by the Man leader, Zhang Chang took up arms. When the court ordered Sima Yong to campaign against Zhang Chang, he refused to move his troops. Later, when the Prince of Xinye, Sima Xin , asked for permission to send his troops out, Ai rejected his request, believing that Xin

7482-470: The empire. Not long after recapturing Chang'an, these generals fought each other in a brief but bloody power struggle, with Emperor Min eventually falling into the hands of the pair, Suo Chen and Qu Yun . Even then, the two men's authority was restricted to Chang'an and its surroundings, as they did not have the capacity to exert their rule over the rest of Guanzhong , let alone outside of it. The Jin administrators in Guanzhong were unenthused about supporting

7611-520: The empress, Yang Xianrong , and depose his nephew, Sima Tan from the position of Crown Prince . On 1 May, Ying was installed as Crown Prince and his power was described as being equal to that of Cao Cao during the end of the Han dynasty . Sima Yong was also appointed the Grand Governor and Grand Commander. As Crown Prince, Ying was said to have become more brazen and extravagant in his actions and

7740-602: The empress, Lun's actions would only lead to the accession of Yu, who would then exact revenge on Lun himself. With Lun's encouragement, the empress had Yu assassinated. Lun then produced an edict allegedly from Emperor Hui calling for her removal. On 7 May 300, he arrested Empress Jia and put her under house arrest, and later forced her to commit suicide by drinking gold powered wine. He also executed many of her partisans, including Jia Mi, Zhang Hua and Pei Wei. Sima Lun assumed regency over Emperor Hui , but delegated most of his power over to Sun Xiu . Lun and Sun Xiu plotted to take

7869-421: The end of the Han dynasty, the Xianbei people, under their leader Tanshihuai , supplanted the Xiongnu on the northern steppe and launched numerous raids on the Han's borders. However, after Tanshihuai's death and the immediate decline of their confederation, many of the Xianbei decided to migrate southward into the Chinese interior. In the northeast, where the Wuhuan people once dominated before their defeat at

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7998-430: The end. In late 289, Emperor Wu developed a deadly illness and considered appointing his father-in-law, Yang Jun , and his uncle, the Prince of Ru'nan, Sima Liang , as Sima Zhong's regent. As the emperor's health declined, Yang Jun sought to monopolize his control over Zhong as consort kin , first by sending away Sima Liang to Xuchang and then by forcing his court rival, Wei Guan , into retirement. Yang Jun also hid

8127-482: The enemy forces. However seeing how few of the opposing army remained, the capital troops regretted surrendering and secretly plotted to free Ai. Fearing the consequences should Ai escape, Yue sent Ai to Zhang Fang, who put Ai to the torch. Although Ai was defeated, Yong was still threatened by Liu Chen, while Huangfu Zhong continued to resist in his city of Jicheng (冀城; in present-day Gangu County , Gansu ). Yong recalled Zhang Fang to deal with Liu Chen, who had defeated

8256-492: The enmity between Yue and the emperor. In addition to constant warfare, the famine in northern China also worsened due to natural disasters. In 309, a great drought was reported to have sunk the Yellow , Yangzi and Han rivers to the point that one could wade their way across them. The following year, locust swarms affected six northern provinces, including the capital region. The war and famines resulted in refugee groups like

8385-538: The fall of Han and the rise of Wei and Jin, our titles of chanyus hold no value, and we have not gained a foot of land since. Although we have been bestowed with many noble ranks, our households are all equally low." The hu tribes excluded from the Five Divisions intermingled with tribes from other ethnic group, such as the Tiefu tribe , who descended from the Xiongnu and mixed with the Xianbei . The Jie were also among

8514-438: The finals years of the Western Jin, tribal subjects collectively known as the Five Barbarians emerged dominant over northern and western China. These Five Barbarians were the Xiongnu , Jie , Qiang , Di and Xianbei . The migration of the nomadic people into the Chinese interior had been ongoing since the Han dynasty. In 50 CE, a few years after the Xiongnu empire was divided into two, the Southern Xiongnu became vassals to

8643-510: The freezings of the Huai River in 226 and the Bohai Sea in 336. Research conducted in the Mu Us Desert also found that desertification took place around the steppe between the Han and Tang dynasties, making it difficult for cities to survive. There was a severe decline in population; the Han census in 157 was 56.5 million people and 10.7 million household, but Jin census in 280 was only 16 million people and 2.5 million households. The cold and dry weathers prompted Chinese farmers to move to

8772-406: The government system was such that first all matters are reported to the empress, then all important or minor decisions are made by the empress's appointees, and then they are given to her to accept or reject the decisions, and she issued decrees in the name of the emperor. Despite the efforts of ministers like Zhang Hua and Pei Wei to uphold the government's functionality, the imperial court under

8901-451: The interests of their dynasty. However, after Zhong took the throne and became a mere figurehead, the princes later proved themselves self-serving and willing to undermine one another for real control over the empire. The War of the Eight Princes coincided with the upheaval of the " Five Barbarians "; tribal people who had been resettling into the Chinese interior since the Eastern Han dynasty . The princes' infighting and mismanagement of

9030-498: The last of Sima Yu 's lineage died, throwing the line of succession into confusion. Sima Jiong designated the Emperor's nephew, Sima Tan (司马覃), as crown prince. At the same time, Sima Yue , Prince of Donghai, was appointed to direct the Central Secretariat. Throughout his regency, Jiong alienated many of his ministers due to his arrogant and extravagant personality. He rarely visited the emperor and attended court meetings, and despite multiple attempts to get him to change his ways, he

9159-417: The latter's own capital in Jicheng and executed him in 314. In 316, the Tuoba fell into civil war and left Liu Kun without his key ally to fend off Shi Le. Soon afterwards, Liu Kun suffered a decisive defeat to Shi Le, prompting his subordinates to surrender the province to Han. Liu Yao, having lost Chang'an under his watch, was entrusted by Liu Cong to recapture the city. Shortly after Emperor Min ascended

9288-478: The military capacity of the Jin, leaving Luoyang open to capture. Upon entering the city in July 311, the Han armies led by Wang Mi , Huyan Yan and Liu Yao engaged in a massacre, razing the city and causing more than 30,000 deaths. This event in Chinese history was known as the Disaster of Yongjia , after the era name of Emperor Huai; the emperor himself was captured, while his crown prince and clansmen who were in

9417-463: The military. Immediately following the deaths of Sima Liang and Wei Guan , he was advised to utilize his military authority to execute Empress Jia's powerful relatives, Jia Mi and Guo Zhang . However, Wei was hesitant in accepting this plan. In Empress Jia's camp, the minister, Zhang Hua urged her to punish Wei for killing the emperor's regents. Just one day after Liang's death, Empress Jia deployed her troops against Wei and spread doubt regarding

9546-511: The miscellaneous hu people in Bing province. Their exact origins is still debated by scholars today, although one of the Jie chieftains, Shi Le , was a descendant of a Southern Xiongnu tribe. When a great famine broke out in 303, many of the Jie and hu were displaced, allowing the Chinese provincial inspector to capture and sell them into slavery in Hebei and Shandong to fund his own military. In

9675-484: The new Grand Chanyu and rallied around 50,000 soldiers. Later in 304, Liu Yuan established the state of Han (renamed Zhao in 319, thus the name Han-Zhao). Official history states that Liu Yuan was a direct descendant of the Southern Xiongnu chanyu as the grandson of Yufuluo , although some modern Chinese historians have challenged this claim. Regardless, Liu Yuan sought legitimacy by depicting his state as

9804-562: The new emperor. However, after the rebellion, Shi Le finally declared his independence in 319. Liu Yao relocated the capital to Chang'an and renamed the state to (Former) Zhao , followed by Shi Le founding his own state of (Later) Zhao in Xiangguo. This led to a decade-long confrontation that would end in Han-Zhao's demise and the Later Zhao asserting dominance over most of northern China. The founding of Han-Zhao and Cheng-Han in 304

9933-470: The new government and often hesitant to send out their forces to aid it. Emperor Min had to rely on the Inspector of Qin province , Sima Bao and the Inspector of Liang province , Zhang Gui (later his son, Zhang Shi ) in the west to provide him with reinforcements. Along with the administrators in Guanzhong, the Qiang , Di and other tribes were also left to their own devices and asserted their power over

10062-509: The next few years, more rebellions began to break out in northeastern China. In 305, Gongshi Fan rebelled in Hebei and in 306 Liu Bogen (劉柏根), rebelled in Shandong . The two rebellions were swiftly dealt with by late-306, but Jin was unable to completely wipe out their forces, allowing their remnants to develop into more serious threats. Many of these rebel leaders were Han Chinese , but the most influential of them would prove to be Shi Le ,

10191-478: The night. Ai thought that Zhang Fang had been dealt with, but after realizing that the ramparts had been completed, he attacked them unsuccessfully. Ai's officials attempted to negotiate peace with Ying, seeing that the two were brothers. However, when offered to split the empire between him and Ai, he rejected it. Ai personally wrote a letter to Ying to persuade him, but Ying would only accept it if Ai executed Huangfu Shang, which Ai refused to do. Zhang Fang severed

10320-525: The northwest included the Lushuihu and Chuge , along with the newly-migrated Xianbei tribes such as the Tufa (禿髮) and Qifu (乞伏). The tribes made up around half of the population in Guanzhong. While Wei kept the situation mostly under control, the northwest descended into chaos under the Western Jin as their governors failed to keep the support of the tribes. In 270, the Xianbei chieftain, Tufa Shujineng , led

10449-430: The palace and arrested Lun. Sun Xiu and many of Lun's supporters were also captured and executed. Lun spent the next few days denouncing his own conduct before he was forced to commit suicide. Emperor Hui was reinstated and celebrated the occasion with a five-day non-stop drinking binge. Ying was the first to reach the capital on 1 June, followed by Yong on 7 June. Jiong was still fighting Zhang Hong's forces at Yangdi at

10578-487: The power to levy taxes and employ central officials. Emperor Wu’s reign was troubled by a succession crisis due to his heir, Sima Zhong, being developmentally disabled. Some ministers wanted Wu’s brother, the abled Sima You , to replace Zhong as the Crown Prince, but Wu was adamant in upholding the traditional succession law. Zhong was the son of Wu’s first empress, Yang Yan , and married to Jia Nanfeng , so he had

10707-471: The prince's vanguard and killing 10,000. Ying planned to retreat back to Zhaoge , but Lu Zhi advised him to carry out a surprise attack during the early morning. Sun Hui and his contemporaries were complacent by their recent victory and did not prepare any defense. Ying rallied his troops and returned with a counterattack, smashing Hui's forces north of the Yellow River . Ying's army was the first to make

10836-472: The rebellion of the Ba-Di refugee, Li Te in 301. In the north, the Southern Xiongnu of Shanxi took advantage of the Jin prince's infighting to establish the state of Han-Zhao in 304, acclaiming the noble, Liu Yuan as their ruler. As anti-Jin revolts spread to Hebei and Shandong , a former Jie slave, Shi Le , rose to prominence, and after joining Liu Yuan, he would effectively control

10965-478: The refugees to return to Guanzhong, but they were reluctant to comply as they believed that it was still unstable and they did not have enough supplies to guarantee a safe journey. Li Te extended their stay by negotiating with Luo Shang, but the latter soon became frustrated with the delay and tried to force a move. As conflict appeared inevitable, many of the refugees flocked to Li Te to defend themselves. In winter 301, Luo Shang sent his troops to attack them, beginning

11094-440: The region to Cheng. Its existence was threatened in 309 when Luo Shang launched an offensive to support rebelling Cheng administrators. Despite losing key commanderies early on, Cheng was eventually successful at recovering them and repelling Jin by 311. The wars with Li Te and Cheng created more refugees, this time from Yi province moving east into Jing province. Jin forces in the south were unable to concentrate their resources on

11223-603: The region. While some of the tribes welcomed and sided with the Han regime, there were also those who remained loyal to Jin and helped in the restoration. Others remained neutral during the conflict and formed independent domains, only submitting to Han-Zhao after the fall of the Western Jin. The two most notable examples were the Di, Pu Hong , in Lüeyang commandery and the Qiang, Yao Yizhong , in Fufeng commandery . Since joining Han, Shi Le had full control over his own forces and

11352-440: The reign of Tuoba Yilu , who made a formal alliance with Liu Kun in 309. For their efforts, the Duan received Liaoxi while the Tuoba received Dai Commandery as their fiefs. However, both Wang Jun and Liu Kun were heavily reliant on their tribal allies. The two governors had trouble maintaining population in their territories, as initially, they would attract thousands of refugees, but just as many people would leave them to join

11481-539: The revolts in Hubei and Hunan were put down by Jin in the end. In 304, the Five Divisions in Bing province conspired to take advantage of the Jin princes' infighting to break away from the empire. Serving under the prince, Sima Ying , was the general, Liu Yuan , who was the son of Liu Bao and had served a series of offices under Jin overseeing the Five Divisions, becoming popular among the tribes and Han Chinese in Bing and You provinces. His granduncle, Liu Xuan , convinced

11610-458: The river. Lu Ji managed to escape but was arrested and executed on Ying's orders. Meng Jiu (孟玖) replaced him as head of military operations. Ai then moved west to face Zhang Fang. The emperor's presence caused panic within Zhang Fang's army, so he was badly defeated and lost 5,000 soldiers. Zhang Fang rejected his subordinates' advice to retreat and instead secretly constructed ramparts during

11739-411: The safer and better-managed Xianbei fiefdoms. Thus, their populations declined as the war and famines began to take their tolls. When Liu Kun lost his capital to Han in 312, he was forced to flee to the Tuoba, who helped him reclaim the city. Wang Jun and Liu Kun were also distrustful of and refused to collaborate with each other, stemming from Liu Kun's role in persuading the court to award Dai Commandery,

11868-403: The self-abdication of Emperor Hui and usurped the throne on 3 February 301. During Lun's regency, the Inspector of Yi Province , Zhao Xin , a relative of Empress Jia, rebelled in his province. In early 301, his rebellion was quelled after his subordinate, the Ba-Di refugee leader, Li Te , betrayed and ousted him from Chengdu . Not long after his usurpation, Sima Jiong rebelled and sent out

11997-452: The siege ended in failure as he was unable to break through the capital's defense. With his momentum coming to a halt, Wang Mi brought his forces over to Han. Under Liu Yuan, Shi Le and Wang Mi were elevated to powerful commanders. Wang Mi was a friend of Liu Yuan and was thus immediately entrusted with important military affairs. Meanwhile, Shi Le, around the time of joining Han, helped convinced several hu tribes around Shanxi into joining

12126-430: The situation by recalling Li Han to Luoyang and ordering Zhong to disperse his troops, but Zhong refused. Finally, Yong secretly ordered Li Han to have Ai assassinated. Huangfu Shang discovered their plot and informed Ai, and so the prince had Li Han executed. After the failed assassination attempt, Yong prepared his troops for war. At the time, Sima Ying was setting out to quell Zhang Chang's rebellion, but hearing about

12255-508: The situation in Luoyang and Guanzhong, he took his troops to join Yong instead, once again ignoring Lu Zhi's advice. In fall 303, Yong sent an army of 70,000 under Zhang Fang to attack the capital. Ying also sent an army 200,000 strong under Lu Ji against the capital. Uncharacteristically, Emperor Hui commanded his own troops to help Sima Ai defend Luoyang. On 21 September 303, Ai sent 10,000 men under Huangfu Shang to oppose Zhang Fang, but he

12384-537: The southwest due to rebellions in Hubei and Hunan . Between 303 and 304, a Man official, Zhang Chang led a revolt that spread across Jing , Jiang , Xu , Yang and Yu provinces consisting of refugees and people evading the draft to fight against Li Te's rebellion. From 311 to 315, Du Tao , a Han Chinese , led a refugee uprising against Jin in Jing and Xiang (湘州; in modern Hunan ) provinces. Unlike Li Te's rebellion,

12513-538: The state. For his deeds, he was given full command over the armies east of the Taihang Mountains . The War of the Eight Princes had concluded by the start of 307, but Jin’s new paramount authority, Sima Yue , inherited a difficult situation. The civil wars had exhausted the Jin military in the north and left major cities, including Luoyang, vulnerable. Despite quelling them, Ji Sang and Wang Mi’s rebellions saw rebels occupying Ye and Xuchang. Internally, Yue

12642-513: The strong backing of the influential Yang and Jia clans. Another factor for choosing Zhong was that Wu saw great potential in his grandson, Sima Yu , should he succeed Zhong. By empowering the princes, Emperor Wu intended for them to act as a safeguard for his successors against the gentry clans should they overstep their boundaries, even more so considering Sima Zhong's disability. Wu had likely hoped that his family members, by virtue of their familial ties, would cooperate with each other to protect

12771-501: The struggle. The civil wars opened the empire to rebellions, most notably by tribal subjects that had resettled into the Central Plains . At its conclusion, the war devastated the Jin heartlands in northern China, and ushered in the Sixteen Kingdoms era in northern China, causing centuries of warfare between the numerous short-lived dynasties in the north and the Eastern Jin dynasty in the south. While many princes participated in

12900-461: The throne by following the precedent of the Jin dynasty's foundation. They awarded their family members and allies with high-ranking positions and noble titles, while also posthumously honoring Sima Yu and recruiting famed individuals into their administration to win the people's support. Yang Xianrong , a distant relative of Sun Xiu, was installed as the new empress of Emperor Hui. In autumn 300, after Lun attempted to take his military authority away,

13029-571: The throne in 313, Liu Yao and the other Han generals immediately began efforts to defeat him. Emperor Min's generals were able to inflict the Han forces some defeats but ultimately failed at halting their advances. In autumn 316, Liu Yao finally laid siege on Chang'an. Suo Chen and Qu Yun mounted a last-ditch defence, but by winter, the food supply within the city had exhausted. Most of the city's inhabitants had either fled or perished, and with no signs of reinforcements, Emperor Min surrendered to Han on 11 December 316. While Han enjoyed military success, it

13158-469: The time, so Ying had to send his soldiers to assist him. After Zhang Hong and his peers surrendered, Jiong entered the capital with "several hundred thousand armored soldiers, before whom the capital trembled in awe" on 23 July. On 11 August 301, Sima Jiong received the Nine Bestowments and was made regent of Emperor Hui . Jiong had intention to share his regency with Sima Ying , but through

13287-399: The upheaval, Shi Le’s army operated as a roving band that attacked and pillaged counties but never capturing them. After a disastrous campaign to attack Jiankang in 312, he took the advice of his advisor, Zhang Bin , to establish and cultivate a base in Xiangguo (襄國, in modern Xingtai , Hebei ). The strongest Jin forces in the northeast were the Inspector of You province , Wang Jun and

13416-463: The war and was never near his fief. Sima Yi , an official, general, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period, effectively seized control of Wei in early 249 after instigating a successful coup against his co-regent, Cao Shuang . Sima Yi and two of his sons, Sima Shi and Sima Zhao , came to serve as the de facto rulers of Wei. In February 266, Sima Zhao's eldest son, Sima Yan , also known as Emperor Wu of Jin, forced

13545-482: The warlord, Cao Cao , abolished the chanyu office and divided the Southern Xiongnu into Five Divisions in central Shanxi . Though the Southern Xiongnu gradually ceased as a coherent ethnic group, Bing province remained home to various tribes who were vaguely referred to as hu and other terms for the non-Chinese. The Five Divisions became dominated by the Chuge branch, whose leader, Liu Bao briefly unified them during

13674-776: The warmer southlands and steppe peoples to move into northern China for fertile land. During the Taikang era (280–289), the Jin accepted a series of submissions from people claiming to be "Xiongnu" living outside the border, with the largest group coming in 286, purportedly at 100,000. Natural disasters and famines became common occurrences and were aggravated by the War of the Eight Princes. The people displaced by Qi Wannian's rebellion were from six commanderies in Guanzhong and composed of both Han Chinese and tribal peoples. They initially moved southwards to Hanzhong , where one Di chieftain, Yang Maosou , brought his followers to Chouchi and declared semi-autonomy from Jin in 296. Later,

13803-608: The watch of the Prince of Zhao, Sima Lun . Due to his failure to quell the uprising, Lun was recalled back to Luoyang . Later on, the Prince of Chengdu, Sima Ying was assigned away to Ye following a heated argument he had with Jia Mi over the latter's treatment of the Crown Prince , Sima Yu . The Prince of Hejian, Sima Yong , was garrisoned in Guanzhong through the endorsement of the gentry families. The rebellion in Qin and Yong coincided with famines and plagues, and although it

13932-525: The west, the Qiang people of modern day Gansu and Qinghai were initially vassals of the Xiongnu empire but gradually submitted to the Han dynasty. The Qiang were allowed to resettle into the Guanzhong region, as well as the watersheds of the Wei and Jing rivers. There, they practiced agriculture and lived together with Chinese settlers. However, they also faced oppression from the local administrators, which often led to large-scale rebellions. Living close to

14061-552: The year, it fell to Li Te's son, Li Xiong . In 304, Li Xiong drove Luo Shang out of Chengdu and established the state of Cheng (renamed Han in 338, thus the name Cheng-Han). Li Xiong initially declared himself King before promoting himself to Emperor in 306. Between Cheng's inception and the fall of Western Jin, Cheng took a slow approach to expansion, only acting when there was a neighbouring refugee revolt. Their most significant gain came in 314, when rebels in Hanzhong surrendered

14190-418: Was a bad plague of locusts…Virulent disease accompanied the famine. The people were murdered by bandits. The rivers were filled with floating corpses; bleached bones covered the fields…There was much cannibalism. Famine and pestilence came hand in hand. In 308, the Han conquered Pingyang Commandery, where they shifted their capital and brought themselves closer to Luoyang. While Shi Le and Wang Mi's forces raided

14319-579: Was active in the northwest, where he attracted the hu people in Hebei and Shandong to his cause. His influence was amplified when, after the Disaster of Yongjia , he assassinated Wang Mi at a banquet and absorbed his army. Liu Cong, fearing that Shi Le would rebel, was powerless to punish him and could only appease him to prevent escalation. Shi Le virtually controlled the Han's eastern domain, with his only challenge coming from Cao Ni in Shandong , who even then had to constantly waiver his allegiance. Early in

14448-459: Was also desperate to secure his paramountcy and avoid the same fate as his predecessors, especially with the ascension of the abled Emperor Huai of Jin in early 307. Yue was wary of the new emperor and left Luoyang with the imperial army shortly after his enthronement. During his return in 309, he had Emperor Huai’s advisors killed and replaced the veteran palace guards with soldiers from his own fief. While consolidating his power, these acts deepened

14577-452: Was also internally unstable. Due to conflict between Liu Cong and his own ministers, the court suffered from bloody infighting with Liu Cong executing many key officials. After he died in 318, his successor Liu Can and their family were exterminated in a coup in by the powerful consort kin , Jin Zhun . Liu Yao and Shi Le joined forces to defeat Jin Zhun, during which Liu Yao was acclaimed as

14706-461: Was appointed Commander of the Xianbei. Meanwhile, in 258, another Xianbei tribe, the Tuoba , occupied the abandoned city of Shengle north of Shanxi , also becoming a vassal of Wei and Jin. At the turn of the 4th century, the Inspector of You province , Wang Jun , sought to consolidate his control over his province amidst the War of the Eight Princes. He allied himself with the neighbouring Duan and

14835-458: Was captured and killed. Sima Ai seized control of the capital but deferred authority to his half-brother, Sima Ying . The outcome of the conflict put a halt to Sima Yong and Ying's plans, which frustrated the two princes. Ying in particular was unhappy with his restricted control over the state as he shared power with Ai, and the relationship between the brothers deteriorated over time. Ai's administration failed to deal with rebel movements in

14964-459: Was captured and killed. Ai held out in Luoyang until March 304, and by this point, Zhang Fang had given up hope of taking Luoyang and was planning to withdraw. Despite this fact, the Minister of Works , Sima Yue feared that Ai would not succeed in the long run. On March 17, he and a group of officials kidnapped and put Ai under house arrest. The next day, they opened the gates and surrendered to

15093-447: Was caught by surprise and was unable to decide on his next move. Empress Dowager Yang Zhi tried to get the soldiers to turn on Empress Jia, but failed and implicated herself in the process. Soon, the soldiers advanced and set fire to the residence. Yang Jun's soldiers were routed, and he was killed while trying to escape. His families, supporters were all rounded up and executed as the extermination of all third degree relatives . Yang Zhi

15222-557: Was colluding with Ying, who he had good relations with, and plotting to rebel. Xin was killed in battle by the rebels, and Zhang Chang's rebellion spread throughout the southern provinces. Ai also employed Huangfu Shang as an advisor, putting Li Han at unease. Shang had a brother, Huangfu Zhong , who was the Inspector of Qin province , which placed him in a position to threaten Sima Yong's rear in Guanzhong . Yong and Li Han conspired to have him arrested, but he saw through their plans and led his troops to attack Li Han. Ai tried to defuse

15351-404: Was defeated in a surprise attack. Zhang Fang momentarily broke through the city walls and carried out a mass plundering before withdrawing. Meanwhile, Emperor Hui was constantly on the move and shifting his base before he defeated Ying's troops at Goushi (緱氏; in present-day Yanshi District , Henan ) on 22 October. However, when Shi Chao threatened his position at Goushi, he returned to the palace

15480-412: Was inclined towards favoritism, which lost him some of the goodwill from his supporters. Misnomer A misnomer is a name that is incorrectly or unsuitably applied. Misnomers often arise because something was named long before its correct nature was known, or because an earlier form of something has been replaced by a later form to which the name no longer suitably applies. A misnomer may also be

15609-400: Was known to be "avaricious and false" as well as "simple and stupid," heeding only the advice of Sun Xiu . Yu's arrest sparked outrage among many officials, and a few of them approached Lun for his military strength to overthrow Empress Jia. Lun had long wished to betray the empress, but Sun Xiu convinced him to wait until Yu was out of the way, arguing that because of Lun's reputed loyalty to

15738-401: Was promoted to Empress Dowager . However, Yang Jun was not well-received by his ministers due to his apparent attempts at consolidating power and refusal to take advice. He also tried to assassinate Sima Liang without success and rejected suggestions to cooperate with him. Meanwhile, the new empress, Jia Nanfeng , was unhappy with the little control she has over state affairs due to Yang Jun and

15867-432: Was reluctant to follow through his supporters' advices. The minister, Wang Bao , was concerned about the various princes' military power, believing that they would one day use it against Jiong just as they did with his predecessors. In a letter to Jiong, Wang Bao urged him to send the princes back to their respective fiefs and to divide control over the state between him and Sima Ying. Jiong was initially convinced, but when

15996-401: Was reluctant to go north and campaign in Han's domain, fearing that Gou Xi and the others might cut off his rear. After Liu Yuan died in late 310, his successor, Liu He was overthrown by Liu Cong just a week into his reign. After taking the throne, Liu Cong made another attempt to capture Luoyang. Tension between Sima Yue and Emperor Huai reached its breaking point in 311 when Yue discovered

16125-492: Was spared but confined inside the palace, where she remained until her death in 292. On 4 May 291, Sima Liang and Wei Guan were installed as the new regents of Emperor Hui . Now that he was in power, Liang asserted his authority by freely handing out new appointments and titles to around 1,081 people to garner support. At the same time, Empress Jia began placing her relatives and allies into positions of power. Liang and Wei Guan were wary of Sima Wei . Despite his role in

16254-481: Was tempted to join him. Yong sent Li Han and Zhang Fang to campaign against Jiong, and they sent a proclamation to ordering Ai to attack Jiong. Believing that Ai was involved, Jiong sent troops to kill him, who fled to the imperial palace for protection. There, using both imperial guards and his own personal forces, Ai defended the palace against Jiong within Luoyang for three days, bringing Emperor Hui along with him. On 27 January, Jiong's own officers betrayed him and he

16383-424: Was ultimately put down in 299, it sparked an influx of refugees fleeing south to Yi province . It also allowed a Di leader, Yang Maosou to set up the state of Chouchi south of Tianshui in 296. Empress Jia deemed the Crown Prince , Sima Yu as a threat to her power should he ascend the throne, since he was not her biological son. In early 300, she orchestrated his arrest by convincing him while drunk to copy

16512-466: Was unhappy with the positions he received under Lun's administration. Sensing his discontent, Lun had Jiong assigned away to Xuchang . After Yun's rebellion, Lun was granted the Nine Bestowments . The following year, he claimed in a report that the spirit of his father, Sima Yi , had ordered him to move into the Western Palace (西宮), the residence of Emperor Hui. He then forged an edict stating

16641-502: Was unsatisfied with the content of the original edict, as he was not included among the princes who had to raise their troops. Without the empress's knowledge, Wei forged an edict which made him Commander over all military forces and granted himself full control over the operation. On 26 July 291, he sent his subordinates and soldiers to arrest Liang and Wei Guan in Luoyang . Both men gave no resistance and were put to death. The forged edict meant that Sima Wei held significant control over

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