Battle of Muye

Battle of Muye
Datec. 1046 BC[a]
Location
Muye (in present-day central Henan)
Result Zhou victory
Belligerents
Shang Zhou
Commanders and leaders
King Zhou of Shang
Strength
50,000–70,000 troops
  • 45,000 footmen
  • 3,000 elites
  • 300 chariots
  • 3,700 allied chariots
Casualties and losses
Heavy
Battle of Muye
Traditional Chinese牧野之戰
Hanyu PinyinMùyě zhī zhàn
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinMùyě zhī zhàn
Wade–GilesMu-yeh chih chan

The Battle of Muye, Mu, or Muh (c. 1046 BC)[a][b] was fought between forces of the ancient Chinese Shang dynasty led by King Zhou of Shang and the rebel state of Zhou led by King Wu. The Zhou defeated the Shang at Muye and captured the Shang capital Yin, marking the end of the Shang and the establishment of the Zhou dynasty—an event that features prominently in Chinese historiography as an example of the Mandate of Heaven theory that functioned to justify dynastic conquest throughout Chinese history.
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