Southern Yan

Yan
398–410
Southern Yan in 400 AD
Southern Yan in 400 AD
CapitalHuatai (398–399)
Guanggu (399–410)
GovernmentMonarchy
Emperor 
• 398–405
Murong De
• 405–410
Murong Chao
History 
• Established
398
• Capturing of Guanggu
399
• Disestablished
410
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Later Yan
Jin Dynasty (266–420)
Today part ofChina

Yan, known in historiography as the Southern Yan (Chinese: 南燕; pinyin: Nán Yān; 398–410), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Murong clan of the Xianbei during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms. Its founder Murong De (Emperor Xianwu) was a son of Murong Huang (Emperor Wenming) and brother of Murong Jun (Emperor Jingzhao) and Murong Chui (Emperor Chengwu), and therefore was an imperial prince of both the Former Yan and Later Yan dynasties.

All rulers of the Southern Yan declared themselves "emperors". Initially ruling from Huatai (滑台, in modern Anyang, Henan) in northern Henan, they later moved to Shandong and established Guanggu (廣固, in modern Qingzhou, Shandong) as their capital. As one of many Yan states from the period, they were given the prefix of "Southern" by historiographers to distinguish them with the others as they were based south of the Yellow River.