Anarchy of the 12 Warlords

Clay figurine from the 10th century. HCMC Museum of National History.

History of Vietnam
2879–258 BC Hồng Bàng dynasty 2879–1913 BC • Early Hồng Bàng 1912–1055 BC • Mid-Hồng Bàng 1054–258 BC • Late Hồng Bàng 257–179 BC Thục dynasty 207–111 BC Triệu dynasty 111 BC–40 AD 1st Chinese domination 40–43 Trưng Sisters 43–544 2nd Chinese domination 544–602 Early Lý dynasty 602–938 3rd Chinese domination 939–967 Ngô dynasty 968–980 Đinh dynasty 980–1009 Early Lê dynasty 1009–1225 Later Lý dynasty 1225–1400 Trần dynasty 1400–1407 Hồ dynasty 1407–1427 4th Chinese domination 1428–1788 Later Lê dynasty 1527–1592 • Mạc dynasty 1545–1787 • Trịnh lords 1558–1777 • Nguyễn lords 1778–1802 Tây Sơn dynasty 1802–1945 Nguyễn dynasty 1858–1945 • French imperialism from 1945 Republic
Further subjects Champa dynasties (192–1832) Historical capitals Prehistoric and ancient cultures List of monarchs Country's names Economic history Military history

The Anarchy of the 12 Warlords^[1] (Vietnamese: Loạn 12 sứ quân or Loạn Thập nhị sứ quân), also the Period of the 12 Warlords,^[2] was a period of chaos and civil war in the history of Vietnam, from 966 to 968 during the Ngô Dynasty, due to a conflict of succession after the death of King Ngô Quyền. This period is also sometimes simply called the Twelve Warlords^[3] (Vietnamese: Thập nhị sứ quân, Hán tự: 十二使君).

History

According to the annals of Đại Việt sử lược, Ngô Quyền became King of Tĩnh Hải quân (as Vietnam was called then) after defeating the Southern Han in 939 and declaring independence from centuries of Chinese rule. After King Ngô Quyền's death in 944, his brother-in-law Dương Tam Kha, who was to serve as regent to help the king's son Prince Ngô Xương Ngập succeed the reign, usurped the throne and proclaimed himself king under the title Dương Bình Vương, ruling from 944 to 950. As a result, Prince Ngô Xương Ngập fled and hid in the countryside. The prince's younger brother, Prince Ngô Xương Văn became the adopted son of Dương Tam Kha.

Because of the illegitimate accession of Dương Tam Kha, many local lords rebelled by seizing power of their local government and creating conflicts with the Dương court. King Dương Tam Kha sent an army led by Prince Ngô Xương Văn to suppress the rebellion. However, with the army at his command, the prince turned back and defeated the king in 950. Rather than administering a harsh punishment, Ngô Xương Văn forgave Dương Tam Kha and demoted him to the title of lord. Ngô Xương Văn was then crowned king under the title Nam Tấn Vương, and sent envoys in search for his older brother. In 951, Ngô Xương Ngập returned and was crowned king under the title Thiên Sách Vương, and with his brother became a co-ruler of the country. Unfortunately the co-rule would be short-lived, when in 954, the elder brother King Ngô Xương Ngập died of illness.

Despite the return of the legitimate heirs to the throne, the rebellions continued throughout the country. In 965, in an attempt to quell a rebellion, King Ngô Xương Văn was killed in Bố Hải Khẩu (now Thái Bình Province). Prince Ngô Xưong Xí, the son of King Ngô Xương Văn, inherited the throne, but could not maintain the reign. He retreated to the area of Bình Kiều and became a lord there. With the Ngô Dynasty having collapsed, the country was fractioned into 12 regions each administered by a lord, and the conflicts among them intensified into war as each sought to expand their rule over the entire country.

Đinh Bộ Lĩnh, adopted son of Lord Trần Lãm who ruled the region of Bố Hải Khẩu, succeeded Lãm after his death. In 968, Lord Đinh Bộ Lĩnh suppressed the other 11 lords, thereby taking control over the country. In the same year, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh ascended the throne, proclaimed himself emperor under the title Đinh Tiên Hòang Đế, establishing the Đinh Dynasty, and renamed the country Đại Cồ Việt. He moved the capital to Hoa Lư (now modern-day Ninh Bình).

List of 12 lords

1. Ngô Xương Xí (吳昌熾) held Bình Kiều, now Khoái Châu, Hưng Yên Province.
2. Đỗ Cảnh Thạc (杜景碩) referred himself as the Duke Đỗ Cảnh, held Đỗ Động Giang, now Thanh Oai, Hà Nội.
3. Trần Lãm (陳覽) referred himself as the Duke Trần Minh, held Bố Hải Khấu, Kỳ Bố, Thái Bình Province.
4. Kiều Công Hãn (矯公罕) referred himself as Kiều Tam Chế, held Phong Châu – Bạch Hạc, Phú Thọ Province
5. Nguyễn Khoan (阮寬) referred himself as Nguyễn Thái Bình, held Tam Đái - Vĩnh Tường, Vĩnh Phúc Province
6. Ngô Nhật Khánh (吳日慶) referred himself as the Duke Ngô Lãm, held Đường Lâm, Hà Nội
7. Lý Khuê (李奎) referred himself as Lý Lãng, held Siêu Loại - Thuận Thành, Bắc Ninh Province.
8. Nguyễn Thủ Tiệp (阮守捷) referred himself as Duke Nguyễn Lệnh, held Tiên Du, Bắc Ninh Province
9. Lã Đường (呂唐) referred himself as the Duke Lã Tá, held Tế Giang - Văn Giang, Hưng Yên Province
10. Nguyễn Siêu (阮超) referred himself as the Duke Nguyễn Hữu, held Tây Phù Liệt - Thanh Trì, Hà Nội
11. Kiều Thuận (矯順) referred himself as the Duke Kiều Lệnh, held Hồi Hồ - Cẩm Khê, Hà Nội
12. Phạm Bạch Hổ (範白虎) referred himself as Phạm Phòng Át, held Đằng Châu, Hưng Yên Province.

Of those, Ngô Xương Xí and Ngô Nhật Khánh were nobles of Ngô Dynasty, Phạm Bạch Hổ, Đỗ Cảnh Thạc, Kiều Công Hãn were officials of Ngô Dynasty. The remainders were considered local landlords or nobles from Northern nations, which was the ancient nations holding what is now China.

Đinh Bộ Lĩnh

Originally, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh emerged as an independent force, but later he followed Trần Lãm, became his subordinate general. Considering Đinh Bộ Lĩnh was most reasonable leader which could manage the circumstance, Trần Lãm retired, gave all power to him. Đinh Bộ Lĩnh led the army to occupy Hoa Lư where became the national capital under his reign afterward.^[4] Some years later, one by one, other lords was defeated or succumbed or followed him to become a general under his flag such as :

1. Phạm Bạch Hổ willingly discharge his army and followed Đinh Bộ Lĩnh.
2. Ngô Xương Xí and Ngô Nhật Khánh surrendered.
3. Nguyễn Siêu, Nguyễn Thủ Tiệp, Kiều Công Hãn, Lã Đường, Kiều Thuận and Đỗ Cảnh Thạc withstood to the last and eventually were killed.
4. The armies of Nguyễn Khoan, Lý Khuê spontaneously disintegrated and the final of leader were not clarified.

Đinh Bộ Lĩnh was respected as Vạn Thắng Vương (万胜王, Wànshèng Wáng, lt. the King of Ten thousands victories) because of the continuous victories. In 968, the era finished and was replaced by the era of Đinh Dynasty

References