Gia Long

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Emperor Gia Long 嘉隆帝
Emperor of Việt Nam
Reign	1804–1820
Predecessor	Đại Việt renamed to Việt Nam
Successor	Minh Mang
Emperor of Đại Việt
Reign	1802–1804
Predecessor	Nguyễn Quang Toản of Tây Sơn dynasty
Successor	Đại Việt renamed to Việt Nam
Regent	Minh Mạng (1818–1820)
Emperor of Nguyễn dynasty
Reign	1802–1820
Predecessor	Dynasty established
Successor	Minh Mạng
King of Nguyễn
Reign	1780–1802
Predecessor	Nguyễn Phúc Dương
Successor	End of Military Commander
Born	8 February 1762 Phú Xuân, Đàng Trong, Đại Việt
Died	3 February 1820 (aged 57) Imperial City, Huế, Việt Nam
Burial	Thiên Thọ Tomb
Spouse	Empress Thừa Thiên Empress Thuận Thiên More than 100 concubines
Issue	Nguyễn Phúc Cảnh Nguyễn Phúc Đảm 13 other sons and 18 daughters
Names Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) Era name and dates Gia Long (嘉隆): 1802–1820[a] Regnal name Đại nguyên súy Nhiếp quốc chính (大元帥攝國政 "Commander in chief and the regent", 1778–1780)[1] Nguyễn Vương (阮王 "Prince of Nguyễn", 1780–1802)[2][a] Posthumous name Khai thiên Hoằng đạo Lập kỷ Thùy thống Thần văn Thánh võ Tuấn đức Long công Chí nhân Đại hiếu Cao hoàng đế 開天弘道立紀垂統神文聖武俊德隆功至仁大孝高皇帝 Temple name Thế Tổ (世祖)
House	Nguyễn Phúc
Father	Nguyễn Phúc Luân
Mother	Nguyễn Thị Hoàn
Religion	Ruism

Gia Long (Vietnamese: [zaː lawŋ] (North), [jaː lawŋ] (South); 8 February 1762 – 3 February 1820), born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) or Nguyễn Ánh, was the founding emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last dynasty of Vietnam. His dynasty would rule the unified territories that constitute modern-day Vietnam until 1945.

A nephew of the last Nguyễn lord who ruled over south Vietnam, Nguyễn Ánh was forced into hiding in 1777 as a fifteen-year-old when his family was slain in the Tây Sơn revolt. After several changes of fortune in which his loyalists regained and again lost Saigon, he befriended the French Catholic Bishop Pierre Pigneau de Behaine. Pigneau championed Nguyễn Ánh's cause to regain the throne to the French government and managed to recruit volunteers, however that soon fell through. From 1789, Nguyễn Ánh was once again in the ascendancy and began his northward march to defeat the Tây Sơn, reaching the border with the Qing dynasty by 1802, which had previously been under the control of the Trịnh lords. Following their defeat, he succeeded in reuniting Vietnam after centuries of internecine feudal warfare, with a greater landmass than ever before, stretching from the Qing's borders down to the Gulf of Siam.

Gia Long's rule was noted for its Confucian orthodoxy. He defeated the Tây Sơn rebellion and reinstated the classical Confucian education and civil service system. He moved the capital from Hanoi south to Huế as the country's populace had also shifted south over the preceding centuries, and built up several fortresses and a palace in his new capital. Using French expertise, he modernized Vietnam's defensive capabilities. In deference to the assistance of his French friends, he tolerated the activities of Roman Catholic missionaries, something that became increasingly restricted under his successors. Under his rule, Vietnam strengthened its military dominance in Indochina, expelling Siamese forces from Cambodia and turning it into a vassal state.

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