King Zhaoxiang of Qin

King Zhaoxiang of Qin
秦昭襄王
Relief tracing of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, with Lin Xiangru handling the Heshibi, and on Wu Family Shrines stone-relief, from Jinshisuo (金石索).
King of Qin
Reign307–251 BC
PredecessorKing Wu of Qin
SuccessorKing Xiaowen of Qin
RegentWei Ran
Born325 BC
Died251 BC (aged 73–74)
SpouseQueen Yeyang
Queen Dowager Tang
IssueCrown Prince Dao
King Xiaowen of Qin
Names
Ancestral name: Ying (嬴)
Given name: Ji (稷)
Posthumous name
King Zhaoxiang (昭襄王)
HouseYing
DynastyQin
FatherKing Huiwen of Qin
MotherQueen Dowager Xuan

King Zhaoxiang of Qin (Chinese: 秦昭襄王; 325–251 BC), also abbreviated as King Zhao of Qin (秦昭王), born Ying Ji (嬴稷), was the king of the Qin state from 306 BC to 251 BC. He was the son of King Huiwen and younger brother of King Wu.

King Zhaoxiang reigned as the King of Qin for 57 years, and was responsible for the state of Qin achieving strategic dominance over the other six major states. During his reign, Qin captured the Chu capital Ying in 278 BC, conquered the Xirong state of Yiqu in 272 BC, slaughtered a 450,000-strong Zhao army at Changping in 260 BC, and overthrew the Eastern Zhou dynasty in 256 BC. These aggressive territorial expansions and the strategic weakening of other rival states paved the path for Qin's eventual unification of China proper three decades later by his great-grandson Ying Zheng (Qin Shi Huang).